The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Go home

    There was full justification for tonight 's riots. And they shouldn 't have happened..

    We are  partly civilized human beings, most of us  .I certainly don´t include the murderous cop. Heś an ass hole.

    But our protection from   the ass holes fully taking over    is refusing to support them.

    To the question" should I throw this petrol bomb΅'., the answer is ¨go home.΅

     

    Comments

    No kidding (just heard about this on CNN and found it on twitter)!

    We're hearing unconfirmed reports that gas lines to the Third Precinct have been cut and other explosive materials are in the building.

    If you are near the building, for your safety, PLEASE RETREAT in the event the building explodes.

    — City of Minneapolis (@CityMinneapolis) May 29, 2020

    Not to mention I heard the Fire Chief blather on and on about nothing much and he didn't know much about the fire, didn't say much about sending anyone there soon.  It seems as if all law enforcement has abandoned the entire city precinct. Overall seemed to me the city government has decided to just letting them do what they are gonna do including die in conflagration..

    Also just saw a St. Paul reporter tweet that she was leaving, things were getting too anarchy for her. Said mostly very young people left in the crowd looking for something more to happen.

    Also too, a minor point in context but worth noting especially because all the news networks are covering this closely

    I know you don't want to hear it but riots help Trump

    — Nathaniel Diorio (@DIorioNathaniel) May 29, 2020

    Oh also CNN showed all the cops (many on duty reduced force due to illness) are in downtown Minneapolis protecting it from protestors moving there. They've abandoned that precinct in order to protect nearby neighborhoods and the more valuable downtown. That their presence would just cause more trouble, not less. Said the National Guard aren't there, they are protecting the Capitol in St. Paul.


    There was full justification for tonight 's riots. 

    I don't think I've ever seen a justification for a riot. This certainly wasn't one.

    [Please use quotes where appropriate - PP]


    Police caught lying again

    There has to be some penalty for all this lying - over and over and over again.


    Who is "Umbrella Man"?


    The state attorney general posted on that, too, yesterday, 6 pm, already asking for information. I put it on your old thread, third tweet here

    http://dagblog.com/comment/282196#comment-282196


    Still, I am very uncomfortable with this as an explanation. Sure the person should be found and prosecuted to find out wassup with that. But it's ye olde "outside agitators" thing used from the early 20th century in NYC through to Vietnam protests about rioting. As if one or two people can force rioting. It basically presumes democratic government can't work because so many citizens are so stupid that one person can turn them into a rioting mob. That they have no agency, that they are like children, it's not their fault that they rioted.


    A murder was captured on video. There are still no arrests. The DA is still thinking about charges. The assholes are already in control.

    "Riots help Trump"

    Assholes elected Trump.

    The riots have no effect on assholes.


    So should Keith Ellison & crew go ahead and charge the officers super quick so they can fuck it up like the Zimmerman trial? You seem to like things both ways.


    It took six weeks for charges in the Zimmerman case.

    The murder was in February 2012

    The trial began in June 2013

    Edit to add:

    Even Napolitano says they can be arrested 

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/media/judge-napolitano-george-floyd-death-why-havent-officers-been-arrested.amp


    Meaning what? They couldn't make 2nd degree murder stick for a variety of reasons. Want a repeat? Or let them figure out the best approaches w/o just bending to the riots?


    Video vs. no video


    "Laura Coates is an excellent lawyer & former Federal Counsel. She explained the death of George Floyd and limits of Police Officers and the law."

    And then new video (other officers to be charged how?)

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-video-of-george-floyds-arrest-shows-3-...


    Accessories 


    Want faces and names to go with the epithets you are using?

    The Minneapolis Police Command Staff

     


    They all turned a blind eye


    The state of Minnesota has a Democratic governor and a black Democrat as Attorney General. The city of Minneapolis has a young lefty mayor who campaigned on a platform of increasing support for affordable housing and improving police-community relations.

    You're the one who keeps saying on Dagblog that electing Democrats is the solution to the racism of Trump and his supporters. I don't see it happening here.

    I don't think Dems can solve the problem. They won't solve the problem because people like you ignore what the problem really is: class, not race. Cops profile for lower class including blacks that affect inner city tribe tribal culture as a signifier. That includes black cops who profile for that signifier as much as white ones do

    Bad Policing, Bad Law, not 'Bad Apples,' Behind Disproportionate Killing of Black Men by Police

    Officers of all races disproportionately kill African-American suspects, pointing to need for policing and legal reforms, Rutgers-Newark study finds

    You instead blame it on Karen's, not on policing, and when you do you're talking white privilege and when you do that you are targeting liberal white Dems, 

    Y’all — Van Jones just said on CNN that it’s the White, liberal HRC supporters we have to look out for, and I-

    pic.twitter.com/py3QPnzHXY

    — Jackson (@Jacksonlzz) May 29, 2020

    Can't have your cake and eat it too. You want to feed racial differences instead of class differences (where people with money or wasp heritage feel entitled to special treatment), then make a separate party of "black skin only". Or you go with Democrats who have people with white skin too.

     


    You seem to assume that middle and upper income black people don't fear the police. In his book "Between the World" and me, Coates talks about the death of his friend, the son of a radiologist, at the hands of police. Trayvon Martin was killed in a "safe" neighborhood. The complaints about existing while black police encounters are coming from middle or upper income blacks.


    dirty little secret: white people who do not live in affluent neighborhoods and were not born with silver spoon in mouth fear the police.

    My father, the first one in his family to go to college, taught all of his five children to fear the police, that they are not your friend. He actually worked negotiating labor contracts with their unions, so he was not ignorant about what goes on. But it was in his blood, he was raised that way, urban working class immigrant background. My mother had to be taught that by him too. Although she was also from poor immigrants, she was raised on a farm, so she didn't see police much, so naive about it.

    Don't mistake "support the troops" sentiment from working class conservatives as "support the police" It is not the same thing. Most working class people fear the police or, if they are biker types, hate them.


    and dad has proven right BTW! Only a couple years ago I had the police called on me in a small town in NY state by a women who was the wife of  one of the larger business owners in the little downtown area, about an argument about a  minor parking lot damage incident. She called them and an officer came right away didn't want to hear my side of the story, very clearly just wanted my unpleasant NYC vibes and old battered car to leave, and he stood next to her the whole time watching me as I finished packing my trunk and then he said "don't come back." I knew from the moment he arrived that my role was to shut the fuck up, give in, be humble, not say anything to upset them, and shuffle outta there. Those annual donations to the police charities really pay off.

    Edit to add: I'm white, female, 125 lbs., dress fashionably. Doesn't matter, I was a "foreigner".


    Imagine being 6'5" and a black male. They would pull up with guns drawn.

    Edit to add:


    How many cops showed up for two guys at Starbucks?

    How many cops swarmed and threw a black woman on the NYC to the ground for not wearing a mask?


    When I saw this threw a black woman on the NYC to the ground for not wearing a mask, I thought this: better make sure to have my mask on when cops are around unless I am in a rich neighborhood like the upper east side.

    Though I must admit that the older you get, the slower you walk with age, the less threat cops are. Still there are enough cops who would just like to harass an older white woman with their power trip, especially latino ones.

    Cops are the problem, rmrd. Not racism. Cops. They have authoritarian power to exercise their prejudices in profiling, whatever those might be. Just so happens "large young black male who talks black" is the most common prejudicial profile practiced by police of all colors, but it's far from the only one.


    You tend to do your own kabuki when it comes to race. You bring up a Ziad to warn us about black on black crime. Thomas Chatterton Williams reminds us that whites face more police abuse compared to blacks. He sneaks in that blacks disproportionately face abuse. The higher frequency means that individual blacks are more likely to know someone who has been abused. The fear of abuse is a statistical reality. You dismiss that fact. Then you tell your personal story of fear of the police, suggesting blacks are overreacting. 
     

    I really have not paid much attention to Van Jones since he said Trump was "Presidential" after reading a speech from a teleprompter. I watched Jones' snippet. I suggest that if you want to see what Van was talking about, you should simply look in the mirror.

    The protest crowds are multiracial. While you dismiss the racial aspect of things, others understand. 
     

    You worry that the protests will energize Trump voters. I think the energy demonstrated by the protestors will be maintained at the voting booth. The people I talk to realize that the Democrats are the best option. Obviously, they are far from perfect, but the Democrats had a program in place to review systemic abuse by police departments. Republicans halted that program. Democrats were trying to get more money to people hurt by pandemic layoffs. Republicans blocked those efforts

    It will take decades to undo the damage done by Trump.


    A side note. I've noticed more than a few people on Twitter pointing out that Julian Castro was the only candidate for president that was making police reform a serious issue, and that he couldn't get any traction on that, and wasn't addressed in debates. (And he's not I.D.'d as "black" though other candidates were!)


    So you're praising a Democratic Party member?


    No just Julian Castro on this one issue which the rest of his party basically ignored.


    As things stand now. Democrats are the best option. Third parties are not viable. Republicans are very upfront about their hatred of black people. 


    SCARED POLICE ARE BAD POLICE: WHY AREN'T THE POLICE MORE BRAVE?

    By erica20 on Wed, 11/26/2014 - 3:34pm  @ dagblog.com


    Yeah, that was a good piece.

    The police seem to be working with the Powell Doctrine, overwhelming force, 0 risk, no de-escalation, only raw confrontation and subdue the target. Shoot to kill, chokehold to kill, always treat the prey suspect as a deadly threat, no matter how young/old or enfeebled.


    Last night I heard the (white) mayor say he publicly asked for this to happen quite some time ago. Where was the (black) Attorney General of Minnesota on the question at the same time--I honestly don't know, haven't bothered to read about it, but I wonder.

    Again, a reminder: black officers can be as abusive as white officers.


    The state AG could not comment legally. This was a decision for the local DA. If Ellison commented early, defense lawyers would argue that he biased the case.

    Black officers can be brutal. Today is Friday.


    So now the one officer has been charged. And like over 100 businesses in the "inner city" of the precinct have been destroyed while there's a pandemic going on and they were already hurting.

    So what's next?

    There's some hope, some people willing to clean up the mess that those with no self-control of emotions made


    A tear appears in Trump's bronze eye, as it ended without shooting or bloodshed.


    Oh you know he was playing this one every which way. Until last night he was talking about what a terrible thing appeared to happen in the video, I could see his mind clicking away: corrupt Democratic state not prosecuting bad cops, I'm gonna pick me up some black support! Then he flipped on a dime as soon as he got him some rioting, that brought back all the Roy Cohn training, he's all of a sudden quoting a 1967 Miami police chief, it rhymed that's why he remembered it.


    Then finally, a voice of competent governance broke into the news to address the unfurling crisis. But the words about justice and healing weren’t coming from the capital.

    “One of the things every human being must be able to do: Breathe. So simple. So basic. So brutal,” said former Vice President Joe Biden, who was livestreaming from his home studio in Delaware. “(The) same thing happened with (Ahmaud) Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. … It’s a list that dates back 400 years,” he said.

    “The original sin of this country still stains our nation today,” Biden said of slavery‘s lasting, brutal legacy on the lives of black Americans. “If we stand by and remain silent, we are complicit.”

    The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who appeared to be holding back anger as he read prepared remarks, was brief and clear: The country needs to fix and heal an “open wound” of systemic racism, and seek justice for Floyd and his family. And Biden will do everything in his power to make sure that happens.

    Biden’s direct appeal was in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s comments Friday, which arrived via Twitter in the wee hours. Referring to the Minnesota protesters as “thugs,” he wrote, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/commentary-a-nation-rages-over-the-death-of-george-floyd-as-trump-tweets-biden-leads/ar-BB14MCBv

     


    Tonight it's all victimhood kabuki all the time against the terrorists:


    Victimhood kabuki?

    Freedom to protest 


    The White House is going to play this as victimhood of rule of law against rioters.


    Wow. That is a surprise 

    Twitter took his words down for violating their policy regarding speech encouraging violence.


    The stable genius is on it, NCD, I dunno how successfully though:

    :

     


    Ann Coulter, for one, is not buying:


    They were hurting because no one cared.

    A man was murdered by police.

    No immediate charges, so there was a riot

    Now people are paying attention 

    Local police are being kept out of sight, because the citizens don't trust them.

    State police and National Guard are in charge.


    No one in the Minnesota legal system cared to act quickly enough.  Nearly everyone else that saw the video was signaling this was homicide. Even Trump signaled sympathy at first. Everyone needs to live with that the buck stops on this with Minnesota's Attorney General, and he's black. The white mayor wanted action ASAP; he ran on police reform. Not everything about police brutality is about race, it's about protecting "police privilege" without reform. Again, police of all colors have a problem.


    The crime happened in Minneapolis. The charges were filed by the local DA. 
    My understanding is that the state AG cannot make the first move in a local murder case. Lawyers chime in.


    Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that he had charged former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin with murder and manslaughter.

    Freeman is white, in his 6th term.



    Protestors tonight are attacking CNN central offices in Atlanta. Broke windows, did other damage. CNN asked officers inside the building for protection. Those officers in the lobby got kind of trapped. Chris Cuomo was taking live reporting a few minutes ago when some protestors threw a big firecracker at the camera crew. They went off live camera, Cuomo explained the situation from NY, and then they switched to Minneapolis.

    Gosh, won't this help the cause a lot! NOT.


    CNN just played a clip of the Mayor of Atlanta very angry that protestors are attacking CNN. She spoke of a CNN reporter being arrested this morning and of the important role that Ted Turner's innovation meant to Atlanta and how they are allies of minority voices being heard.


    Remarkable to see Atlanta's elected officials and senior statesmen -- many drawn from the civil rights movement -- move swiftly to keep protests peaceful and condemn minority of individuals who would exploit them for violence. The legacy of the CRM.

    — Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 30, 2020


    A different view from Charles Blow on Twitter 

    What American calls racial progress is black people coming to quietly endure their oppression and white people not being blamed for it.


    Is that a "different" view?


    Meanwhile in NY.

    Corey Johnson is the speaker of the NYC council




    Siegel is Senior editor @thedailybeast + columnist @NYDailyNews, host @FAQNYC, fellow @NYUMcSilver & teaching @JournoDesign @TheNewSchool.


    A murder was televised. The murder was done a police officer. No immediate charges. This occurs in the context of no charges in a chokehold murder of Eric Garner. No charges. Tamir Rice. No charges. Donald Trump is President. The anger is there because communities were neglected. The DOJ office dedicated to reviewing police abuse was disbanded. In Minneapolis, the officer who had his knee on George Floyd had mulitiple abuse allegations but was still on the force.

    One CNN reporter is with a group of 1000 that is peacefully marching near a freeway. When someone attempts to do damage, the crowd stops them.

    The protests are nationwide. George Floyd's murder has painted multiple police departments with sma broad brush of being untrustworthy. The belief is that good cops cover for bad cops. There is even a protest in Des Moines.


    Careful, Wolraich covers Des Moines - I made the mistake thinking Des Moines small potatoes (or corn) backwater - he set me straight.


    The point was that the protests are nationwide. 

    Iowa was the first state to allow black men to vote and the first or one of the first to desegregate schools.

    Heck, one of the Wayans Brothers has a sitcom "My Wife & Kids" based in Iowa as a nod to the history.



    Barack Obama:


    Washington Post national correspondent:

    I've lived in DC for 20 years, covered many protests, and have never have seen protestors so forcefully and aggressively challenging Secret Secret protection of the White House, especially at midnight.

    — Tim Craig (@timcraigpost) May 30, 2020

     



    Finally got our Compton - I feel proud.


    alec is  @ProPublica, ex-BaltSun, WaPo, TNR. Author of The Cynic. "Like Lead Belly says, no use for the bourgeois towns." [email protected]


    Mayor of Denver

    What we are seeing tonight is needless, senseless and destructive. Once again, the violent actions of a few are drowning out legitimate calls for justice. Twice today, we had peaceful, successful demonstration where people expressed their outrage over the death of #GeorgeFloyd.

    — Michael B. Hancock (@MayorHancock) May 30, 2020

    (...He is Denver's second African American mayor...re-elected in 2019, to a third term....)



    Just saw Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms'  full speech replayed on CNN, it was extremely impressive and impassioned, she exhibited some anger,  yelling at the protestors that they were going about things the wrong way, supportive of the Atlanta police, and included her yelling at them to "GO HOME!"

    (just like our Flavius, but she did it at least four times.)

    This is one impressive leader, whatever your opinion of what she said, very confident and brave. Highly recommended, one for the history books.

    Watch Atlanta mayor's full address to protesters

    Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms begs protesters to go home after protests turned violent over the death of George Floyd. 

    4:50 min. Video @ CNN.com, Source WGCL​

    (can't find the code to embed, but it's right there at link)


    part transcription of above, after she expresses her deep feelings about the death of Floyd and her fears for her children:

    ....what I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest! This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.! This is chaos!. A protest has purpose.When Dr. King was assassinated we didn't do this to our city. So if you love this city, this city that has had a legacy of black mayors, and black police chiefs, and people who care about this city, where more than 50% of the business owners of metro Atlanta are minority business owners, if you care about this city, then go home,

    and pray that somebody like Reverend Beasley, (she points to him off camera) will come and talk to you, and give you some instructions on how a protest should look like, and how you effectuate change in America.

    This police chief (she points to the woman standing behind her) made a video yesterday. Pull it up on YouTube! Where she said she was appalled to watch the murder of George Floyd.This woman did that! You're not honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Junior, and the civil rights movement! (she's yelling now) You're not protesting anything running out with brown liquor in your hands and breaking windows in this city!  TI killing my own half the west side! So when you burn down this city, you're burning down our community! If you want change in America, go and register to vote! Show up at the polls on June 9! Do it in November! That is the change we need in this country!

    You are disgracing this city! You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country! We are better than this! We are better than this as a city! We are better than this as a country! Go home! Go home!...


    and here is the related segment by invited activist "Killer Mike" who also wants them to go home but he wants them to very specific things there:


    Killer Mike argued against Hillary Clinton’s candidacy in part by quoting the activist Jane Elliott as having told him: “Michael, a uterus doesn’t qualify you to be president of the United States.”

    [toned down, believe it or not... PP]  Fuck him. ...he helped elect Trump (and trash women). Killer Mike is dead to me, ... - as useless and enabling as Diamond and Silk.  And that asshat Cornell West. Time for the pasture, you whinny old mule. "Neoliberal" "both sides do it"? Eat my shit. You had a place at the table - you blew it, just walked away. New time, new solutions. Just say no to out-to-lunch, last year's activists. How's Shaun King doing, by the way - raising money on destruction & fake street cred I hope.


    What the hell is Killer Mike wearing?

    Still, a good speech - "Let's get ahead of it" - absolutely the most important thing.
    Enough reacting over and over and over again - own it, direct it, head the problems off.

    Power of the purse like with Coke? Fine. Might differ on some priorities, but it's in their hands, their spending power.
    Want to do business in Atlanta? here's how it's gonna be....
    But then that power has to extend to other cities - easier said than done.
    Needs to be smarter, upgraded from Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton 1980's.
    This isn't race extortion - it's sticking up for rights, holding people accountable.
    Re: marijuana, I don't really care except the sole issue of how many blacks it puts under the heel of the law.
    Legalize, enough.

    Not sure what he was saying about CNN - they report the news - how are they "feeding the fire"?
    Our voters - largely white - are feeding that fire. We've burned responsible government to the ground.
    CNN just reports the atrocities every day - it doesn't make the news, it doesn't much spin the news. Or at least I think I see worse "Whataboutism" from NYTimes & WaPo than CNN, strangely enough. CNN's done enough to be the President's stated enemy - probably a sign of doing something right.


    Trump quoted a segregationist and wants more police violence

    Trump remains in office

    The Republicans have no moral authority on issues of race

    Joe Biden, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and now Killer Mike have all given excellent speeches

    Trump is incapable of healing the nation 

    Trump said that black people should be willing to die to save the economy 

    The major plot and plan is to vote in November.

    That will be the first step to end mourning in America 


     We will not get perfection, but we can wake up from this particular nightmare

     

     

     

     

     


    Not sure what you're doing wrong, but I can never make out the images you try embedding.
    You just click the picture icon & paste the image's URL, right?


    That is what I do. I use Safari on an iPhone or iPad


    Your timeouts/multiple postings are probably poor signal.

    Missing content, dunno - you could see if Firefox works better. I looked at the image src and it said blob:src=http... and pointed back to Dagblog. You can hit text editor and look to see if the right info address is posting.


    BuzzFeed doing hoax checking:

    Enough with the violence.
    It's time to fix our problems, not make them worse.https://t.co/kcWYdBuxKW

    — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) May 31, 2020

    City Council Members knew about racial profiling by police. They knew they had an obligation to ask questions and get answers but they did not. After Philando Castile was murdered they blamed their own “white privilege.” And that was four years ago.
    Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/yviACatkNm

    — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) May 30, 2020

    Mayors, city council members, prosecutors. People in positions of influence in Minneapolis, Falcon Heights and elsewhere knew about racial profiling by police, didn’t ask questions and demand answers.
    Revolting.
    Silence kills.
    https://t.co/5wnSK0rlEi

    — Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) May 30, 2020

    (Minnesota is his home state and he knows the politics there well)


    from legit local reporter


    I don't know Flav, the more curfews are set, the more it seems lots of people out on the streets around the country don't want to go home.