Because the problem is bigger than the police? Black people in America have been facing these problems for generations, and a huge part of what makes progress so slow is the public's apathy towards it. Yeah, everyone would rather forget about it and get to work on time and fawn over the royal couple. Just get right back to the status quo.
They don't want to adress it because the problem is bigger than race.
We could start to change that by mandating that a special prosecutor be appointed to try excessive force cases. And we need more independent oversight, with teeth. I have little confidence in internal investigations.
Hear hear! That's the most obvious thing I heard all year, and I cannot understand why you don't ask less nicely. Seriously you cannot call your thugs a "police force" as long as you don't have that. Right now, your "police" is not much more than a well armed gang, literally. That's why I said it's more than a race problem : having a gang as a police force is... quite a problem in itself? That the gang in question seems to be a subsidiary of "aryan nation" is just a detail.
If you didn't want anyone to reply to it and you didn't want to defend it yourself then why post it at all? If you want to stop talking about something then just stop posting, don't try and throw in some arrogant parting shot that implies you're better than everyone else, particularly when it's as dishonest and selectively read as the one you made.
I was primarily responding to nenjin, who was "Jealous of Australia" in light of these deaths. It does apply to anyone being hypocritical about it, though. Nothing in my post suggested I was better than anyone. You shot at me as I tried to leave, calling my post "lame" without any explanation. And it's me that's smug and arrogant?
Firstly the focus of Reelya's post (and the focus of praise for the only other person who responded positively to it - note that two people would not, in any case, justify your parting shot against the entire thread) was on the first story, which involved police officers being disciplined for negligence. That alone is a pretty impressive achievement compared to the US, where police officers can fatally shoot or strangle unarmed black people with no consequences.
"No consequences"... Whatever. You didn't back it up, I won't refute it.
In the Australian case, a medical expert opined that the death was avoidable. Actually reading the article reveals:
"It was primarily Craig Douglas' actions that were patently dangerous and precipitous, and were the principle causal factor,"
So despite the officers provoking the suspect with "gung-ho" behavior, and the death being avoidable if the police had behaved professionally, the coroner definitely places the blame on the dead suspect. Isn't that a massive no-no, here?
Yes, Nenjin was probably focusing on the case which let him admire Australia. That doesn't change the fact that there was no outcry here over the other case, despite it being in some ways worse than Ferguson.
The second story is notable because "police officer shoots an armed individual" would not be questioned for one second in the US. I mean there are plenty of cases where cops have shot unarmed people and it's been ruled that eh, the black person probably did something to deserve it, whatever. The idea of "incitement" would not even be considered (indeed, you do not consider it at all when attempting to defend Wilson's actions - if this incident happened in the US you'd be jumping to defend the cop).
The unrestrained college student suspect had a knife in the room and was non-compliant, yet people here are assuming he didn't need to be *tased*. Much less shot.
And incitement is the main charge people are leveling at Wilson! Brown was justified in punching him and grabbing at his gun because Wilson "pulled up to him rapidly" or "got too close".
You have a point, though, that I am dismissive of Wilson's supposed incitement (and very skeptical). But I didn't say the Australian cops were at fault for inciting, either. I'm asking, if inciting made everything Wilson's fault, why aren't people outraged at the Australian cops for doing it? It seems hypocritical.
I agree with Rolan7 there, the cop should have been at least fired for gross incompetence and possibly sued.
Edit : I mean according the expert, his gross incompetence is indirectly resonsible for a loss of life.
