J. Oliver's Hilarious Take On Ferguson & The Militarization Of Our Police

[DA60]

Jon Stewart who?

 

[PrometheusBound]

:roll:

You're still here? If I'd know that, I wouldn't have come back to this Netiquette Nanny forum.

 

[Geoist]

You're still here? If I'd know that, I wouldn't have come back to this Netiquette Nanny forum.

If you are not going to contribute to this thread then please move on.

 

[Reformedfindlay]

Got 4 minutes in before I couldn't take it any more.

The kid says he's been "verbally abused" by the cops. What does that mean? Do cops just walk up and down the street hollering obscenities at black kids or is it more of a negative response when you tell the cop to "**** off. I ain't doin nothin!"?

You're upset because the PD doesn't have many blacks? Well why is that?

How about looking at the cause of these issues instead of just the end result.

FFS....
"Hey man, you're missing a finger!"

-"Yeah. The MF'er blew it off!"

"How'd that happen?"

-"MF'er sold me some M-80's and when I lit it off it blew my finger off."

"Man, I seen that MF'er eyeballin' you. He ****ed you over good! Let's go burn his place down."

Agreed, our police was not overmilitarized.

Probably the only point I disagree was that you seem to not care about the disproportionate amount of blacks in that PD. The PD should have diversity, we used to live in Shelton CT (I will only tell you that since I don't live there anymore) in which the police force had no representation of any other race, lo and behold my father was the victim multiple times of police brutality.

They accused him of being in the Latin Kings just because he was brown...

Anyways, other than that I am inclined to agree with the other points you made, the kid told the cop to **** off and the cop got angry. What we need now is evidence that will determine whether the kid was charging the cop or surrendering (the strange bullet-hole in his head) and then the case will be closed.

 

[Lutherf]

Agreed, our police was not overmilitarized.

Probably the only point I disagree was that you seem to not care about the disproportionate amount of blacks in that PD. The PD should have diversity, we used to live in Shelton CT (I will only tell you that since I don't live there anymore) in which the police force had no representation of any other race, lo and behold my father was the victim multiple times of police brutality.

They accused him of being in the Latin Kings just because he was brown...

Anyways, other than that I am inclined to agree with the other points you made, the kid told the cop to **** off and the cop got angry. What we need now is evidence that will determine whether the kid was charging the cop or surrendering (the strange bullet-hole in his head) and then the case will be closed.

If the cops are doing their job appropriately then race shouldn't factor into the equation at all. The ONLY reason to have racial parity on a police force is if the general assumption is that there is racial animus to begin with.

 

[Reformedfindlay]

If the cops are doing their job appropriately then race shouldn't factor into the equation at all. The ONLY reason to have racial parity on a police force is if the general assumption is that there is racial animus to begin with.

:shrug: Diverse police forces simply happen to be better, maybe it's because when you know your partners are of a different race you have to keep any prejudices in check so as to not create conflict within the PD?

I've always believed in a police force that has representation from all races.

 

[Lutherf]

:shrug: Diverse police forces simply happen to be better, maybe it's because when you know your partners are of a different race you have to keep any prejudices in check so as to not create conflict within the PD?

I've always believed in a police force that has representation from all races.

It's FAR more important to have the right people on the force than it is to simply have the "right color" people on the force.

 

[GhostlyJoe]

If the cops are doing their job appropriately then race shouldn't factor into the equation at all. The ONLY reason to have racial parity on a police force is if the general assumption is that there is racial animus to begin with.

Well, if the police force is drawn from the community and represents the community in terms of race and socio-economics, it helps lessen the divide between the authorities and the citizens. Are the police part of the community, or are they outside the community? Are they there for the protection and well-being of the community, or are they a dampening presence viewed with distrust and fear?

It's clear that, in Ferguson at least, the people and the police regard each other with suspicion. That's not healthy. It's the difference between an outside force of armed peacekeepers or a community policing itself, and race is a part of that for sure.

 

[Reformedfindlay]

Well, if the police force is drawn from the community and represents the community in terms of race and socio-economics, it helps lessen the divide between the authorities and the citizens. Are the police part of the community, or are they outside the community? Are they there for the protection and well-being of the community, or are they a dampening presence viewed with distrust and fear?

It's clear that, in Ferguson at least, the people and the police regard each other with suspicion. That's not healthy. It's the difference between an outside force of armed peacekeepers or a community policing itself, and race is a part of that for sure.

+1000000

That's my ninth like, well said.

 

[PoS]

I liked John Oliver's comment in the 10 minute mark in which he says, "cops arent military". At least he gets it.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Well, if the police force is drawn from the community and represents the community in terms of race and socio-economics, it helps lessen the divide between the authorities and the citizens. Are the police part of the community, or are they outside the community? Are they there for the protection and well-being of the community, or are they a dampening presence viewed with distrust and fear?

It's clear that, in Ferguson at least, the people and the police regard each other with suspicion. That's not healthy. It's the difference between an outside force of armed peacekeepers or a community policing itself, and race is a part of that for sure.

I have already stated my distaste for "military" police. However I was listening to Curtis & Kuby on the radio and apparently on 6% of Ferguson votes. Seems they need a good community organizer to get a more diverse government.

 

[tech30528]

It's FAR more important to have the right people on the force than it is to simply have the "right color" people on the force.

A good point and one willfully missed by the diversity crowd. If a small number of qualified (name your group) applicant are available, do you leave the positions vacant, lower the standards, or fill them with some other qualified person? Considering we are talking about people who are (in theory) trained and armed, I'm going with number 3. But then, I'm not looking for an excuse.

 

[Tonic]

Those those of you that don't see a problem with this, consider this. If the police, look, feel and act like the military, why have them? maybe we could save a ton of money disband the multitudinous police departments in this country and just use the National Guard to maintain order. Gets too hard for them, call in a few army divisions.

When the dividing line between your military and your police gets blurred we're really on a slippery slope. The really ludicrous, funny yet deadly serious part of Oliver's show was the application from Keene NH requesting funds for an armored Bearcat to protect the annual Pumpkin Festival.

How the Hell did we get here?

 

[Tonic]

...and one more thing. The pictures of 'cops' trekking through the streets with weapons up, is all wrong. Any of us that have been in the military are taught, you ONLY raise your weapon when you intend to fire. These cops are acting like wanna be soldiers in a video game. Sooner or later something (more) awful is going to happen.

Bit like what would happen if you gave mall Cops guns....then again some of you may want that too!