Open Carry? Open Season? Strange Fruit, indeed.

[johnny9fingers]

I'm so glad I'm not a black chap in the USA.

On August 5th this year a chap called John Crawford walked into a Wal-Mart while talking on his cellphone, took down an air rifle on display, and wandered around looking at other stuff, maybe to purchase, whilst still talking on his cellphone, before being gunned down by the local policeforce. This in

Comments

[policraticus]

I'm so glad I'm not a adolescent girl in Rotherham, Sheffield, Oxford, Derby, Telford...

[telemann]

[policraticus]

I'm making a point about glass houses, which is, I think, legitimate given the OP's morally superior tone.

[telemann]

Oh ok. We have tone argument.

[mahnmut]

Could you use lj-cut please? Thanks.

[johnny9fingers]

Will do.

[telemann]

The case of the 51 year old woman who was brutally beaten by a cop in LA was settled out of court this week (for 1.5 million and the cop will be fired). The beating is so graphic, it shocked even those in a car who videoed it.
Personally I believe if this video didn't exist, the cop would still be on duty and the woman's claims would have been discounted.

[ Extremely graphic video]

http://youtu.be/DcCN5C7UBx0


Also today, the South Carolina police officer who shot a man at a routine traffic stop, has been charged and has been fired from his police dept.

[South Carolina shooting]



What's remarkable to me about that South Carolina incident, even after the man is shot, he apologizes to the cop.

[novapsyche]

That's not unheard of. Dick Cheney's friend apologized after being shot in the face.

[peamasii]

In conclusion air rifles should be banned.

[johnny9fingers]

Well...obviously not for upstanding white folk...but maybe black folk should be wary of any toys that could be assumed to be dangerous to policemen. Maybe we should advise them not to buy baseball bats, car jacks, or even balloons...for their own safety, you understand.

[peamasii]

It's a police state and there are wars on crime, drugs, terror, etc.

[moonshaz]

The so-called war on drugs is stupid, and so is the war on terror. I could write all day about the problems with both. However, it's a rather huge jump from that to "The US is a police state," especially since you don't live here (I looked at your profile) and therefore don't have any personal experience with any of this.

[sandwichwarrior]

Trigger happy cop is trigger happy.

ETA:
I just can't seem to get my head around how this can have happened without any of the officers involved being disciplined in any way.

Its the people who buy into the whole "cops are the only ones trained / morally qualified enough to exercise violence" nonsense that write the rules. Because, lets face it, the rules are written by the bureaucrats at the DoJ, District Attorney's Office etc...

In the words of Heath Ledger's Joker, when a cop shoots somebody it's all part of the plan. By contrast when a random citizen shoots somebody everybody everybody looses their freaking minds.

Such is life.

[johnny9fingers]

We have a mainly unarmed police force. Such wouldn't do for the U.S. however. But gun control ain't the same as banning.

[sandwichwarrior]

I really don't see what this case has to do with gun control or open carry.

Like I said, Trigger happy cop was trigger happy. In a just world he'd be fired and possibly charged. But that's not the world we live in.

See my reply to muscadinegirl as well.