Do you think that the decision was fair?.

Inb4 So Boerd.

OT: Being human and therefore vulnerable to inherent bias and racist attitudes when confronted with social issues such as these, I naturally don't buy the cop's story---but that's mostly due to the fact that I wasn't there when the entire thing went down. Saw the viral video where Michael Brown decided to have his way with that mini-mart or whatever, so it's hard (if not downright impossible) for me to defend him.

I'm more angry with how the folks down there have decided to burn and loot stores and homes indiscriminately (which is disrespectful to the humble wishes of the Brown family, whom called for peaceful protests), which is going to have devastating socioeconomic consequences in the near future. Aside from white flight, you're going to witness 'store flight' when entire swathes of local business departs Ferguson en masse. Goodbye jobs, goodbye spenders and hello being broke.

Extreme poverty will ensue, moving out of the town will become impossible and the cycle of crime, violence and ignorance will drive on.

This'll only get worse as 2043 draws closer. I'll be prepared by then though.

Oh my god, look at this image:

So how long until this finally stops being news so we can get back to >rape on the news?

ASTA said
Inb4 So Boerd.OT: Being human and therefore vulnerable to inherent bias and racist attitudes when confronted with social issues such as these, I naturally don't buy the cop's story---but that's mostly due to the fact that I wasn't there when the entire thing went down. Saw the viral video where Michael Brown decided to have his way with that mini-mart or whatever, so it's hard (if not downright impossible) for me to defend him.I'm more angry with how the folks down there have decided to burn and loot stores and homes indiscriminately (which is disrespectful to the humble wishes of the Brown family, whom called for peaceful protests), which is going to have socioeconomic consequences in the near future. Aside from white flight, you're going to witness 'store flight' when entire swathes of local business departs Ferguson en masse. Goodbye jobs, goodbye spenders and hello being broke.Extreme poverty will ensue, moving out of the town will become impossible and the cycle of crime, violence and ignorance will drive on.This'll only get worse as 2043 draws closer. I'll be prepared by then though.

The St. Louis area is already dead in much the same way Detroit here went dead. It lost its main economic crutch a long-time ago, that being the railway.

Shit already died there. It'll bubble and turn into a pocket of low income nonsense for a decade or two until it straightens out and folk start trickling back for whatever reason. But as it stands, St Louis is in the same boat as us here around Detroit, just a lot quieter. And St Louis dropped all its people a lot faster and a lot earlier. This is not to mention Ferguson - and the St Louis area - has already lost all their wealthy major business operating white people. It's not starting, it's already happened.

Welcome to the ghetto, we got fun and games. Leave yo sneakers at the door but don't expect to find them later.

First of all, Missouri kinda blows. Second of all, Ferguson also kinda blows. Even more so than Missouri. That guy chose to tangle with a United States Officer of the Law, who's job it is to protect the people of America. He got shot. Turns out he was an asshole anyway. Also turns out he was black. And the officer was white. Ferguson makes it a race thing, it gets taken to court, Officer wins, everyone loses their shit over a scumbag criminal, Anarchy ensues.

I typically make it a point to avoid Missouri...because it blows.

The fact that people are protesting here is kinda funny. They are so damned stoned they have no idea what they are saying. But Ferguson looks like a shit hole. Do not envy that clean up.

A lot of people were very heavily invested in making this a total meltdown, and it looks like they've succeeded, more or less.

The evidence was tricky and suspect enough, combined with the fact that the boy shot was overly aggressive AND had past criminal behaviour to suggest he wasn't some "Good kid shot by a racist cop" that I'm not surprised by the ruling. Nor am I angry at all.

The fact is, Ferguson was never really a case about racism. It was shitty and rebellious people, looking for an excuse to start a mob, rob stores and feel justified and empowered for it. So when this case happened, they saw their chance, pulled the race card and then let their inner demons out. It had nothing to do with race, it had nothing to do with respect for the kid who died, people wanted to start shit and they used this kids death as an excuse to do it.

I think I'm young (20) but Michael Brown was younger than me and was unarmed when he was gunned down. The fact that he was unarmed when Wilson murdered him is reason enough for people to be angry. There was literally no reason for him to die. None.

So I'm angry. Especially since this is not an isolated incident.

Honestly, I have no interest in this case or what people do. At the end of the day, it's their life and their city that they want to burn down, so why should words of one man matter? I will, however, say that while I think some are entitled to protesting, those who are just using this as an excuse to loot stores should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure MLK would be so proud of those people. >_>

Kidd said
I think I'm young (20) but Michael Brown was younger than me and was unarmed when he was gunned down. The fact that he was unarmed when Wilson murdered him is reason enough for people to be angry. There was literally no reason for him to die. None. So I'm angry. Especially since this is not an isolated incident.

"Murder" isn't really the term I'd use. The kid had robbed a bank 15 minutes before he encountered the cop. They have video evidence. What happened to him was called self-defense. He probably could avoided death if he just surrendered. It may be a harsh sentence but he'd get out...eventually. What I'm saying is that this kid was too dumb to stop fighting and just give up. And it killed him.

TheMusketMan said
"Murder" isn't really the term I'd use. The kid had robbed a bank 15 minutes before he encountered the cop. They have video evidence. What happened to him was called self-defense. He probably could avoided death if he just surrendered. It may be a harsh sentence but he'd get out...eventually. What I'm saying is that this kid was too dumb to stop fighting and just give up. And it killed him.

Nah, I'm sticking with murder.

I have to agree with the grand jury. If they say he's innocent, then I believe that they looked at the case with a neutral eye and came to a fair conclusion. I am frankly disgusted with the protesters and the looting. I think they should disband, and remove the excuse for the looters to loot.

Kidd said
I think I'm young (20) but Michael Brown was younger than me and was unarmed when he was gunned down. The fact that he was unarmed when Wilson murdered him is reason enough for people to be angry. There was literally no reason for him to die. None. So I'm angry. Especially since this is not an isolated incident.

Unarmed or not if the facts are correct and Mr Brown chose to assault a police office, reaching for his firearm. And after rounds were discharged in the vehicle, where Mr. Brown suffered an injury as as a round grazed on his hand, when told to stop, he chose to charge the officer. The officer had no options other than to fire.

Judging by the shot pattern, if the autopsies are accurate, the officer was firing in a state of fear because his shot pattern was scattered and not centered on the torso. Also the number of rounds discharged indicate the officer was firing in a panicked state.

It's sad that he was killed, and I wish that he wasn't. It's a shame that the situation turned out like it did. But this isn't a national issue. And it isn't a race issue.

There's a small chance that it could have been about race, sure. But to say that with any amount of certainty is ludicrous. It's just plain ignorant, really.

A man, who has a criminal history, allegedly attacked a police officer (without a gun), and the officer deemed it necessary to defend himself with his weapon. He definitely wasn't "some kid." He was a big dude. It was entirely within the officer's rights to do this*

This could have easily went down with the participants being of any other race and no one would care any more than the other times these things happen.

Good for you for caring so much about racial tension, but shitty job letting your emotions override facts and logic.

*If he's telling the truth. Which armchair detectives aren't going to be able to disprove. Meanwhile actual detectives led to jurors choosing not to indict him.

Here's a relatively objective account, I think. It just kind of sums up everything happening in Ferguson.

The court case's documents / transcripts / forensic evidence.

A compilation of eye witness accounts (though the media interviewing each one seems skewed left).

And none of it justifies the 12 rounds shot off, IMO.

And to people complaining about the riots: I'mma be a bit of an asshole, lol.

Look at the autopsy. Many shots were in nonlethal places.

So Boerd said
Look at the autopsy. Many shots were in nonlethal places.

Well when you're taught to shoot, you're taught to shoot to kill. The idea is that you shouldn't shoot people without the intention to kill. Idk if it's the same police officers, but that's what they teach citizens applying for conceal and carry and the like. I assume it is, though?

But the shots in "nonlethal places" would probably be ascribed to, as I think mentioned here, any fear Wilson was feeling. Evidence of him not shooting straight, maybe? Idk.

Kidd said
's a relatively objective account, I think. It just kind of sums up everything happening in Ferguson. A (though the media interviewing each one seems skewed left).And of it justifies the 12 rounds shot off, IMO.And to people complaining about the riots: I'mma be a bit of an , lol.

Rioting is just wrong on both sides. It's race-neutral. (not sure if that's a word or not) So don't try and say white people are worse rioters then black people. When folks riot and loot, it doesn't matter what the color of their skin is. They're still criminals.

And Brown wasn't "just a teenager". He was 6 foot four inches, 210lbs. That's a big dude. So to have him being aggressive towards you would probably (at least in my opinion) be quite unnerving. And wasn't Brown believed to have committed a crime earlier? So he's also a criminal.

Mtntopview said
So don't try and say white people are worse rioters then black people. When folks riot and loot, it doesn't matter what the color of their skin is. They're still criminals.

I think when Kidd posted that link, they were trying to dispel the on-going myth that blacks in America are the only racial group in the country that riot over stupid shit. A quick glimpse at the various Yahoo! News articles reporting on the Brown story only reinforces the severity of this misconception.

In reality, the media only reports on this stuff because it wants to keep race relations poor between blacks and whites.

But at the heart of all of this, it's only ape-dom. Tribal groups vs tribal groups; survival of the fittest. It's less about filthy racists, bonehead Tea Baggers and dirty lib-tards and more about multiple groups of primates giving in to their primal instincts and psychological drives.

I say embrace it, honestly. Give in to your inner-ape.

You can't run from it. So you might as well hone it into a weapon that you can use to forward your own group's goals and interests.