It’s freezing in London but people are still shutting shit down. Regent Street has been completely blocked off by protesters that are marching from the US Embassy to Buckingham Palace.
ferguson
rosethomass:
if you, like me, get so angry when discussing or debating current issues with ignorant/bigoted people that you can’t articulate your thoughts, here is a list of arguments i’ve seen so far defending darren wilson or going against the ferguson protests, with suggestions as to how to counter and links to helpful posts to support your argument:
1. “It’s not a race issue!”
- Actual KKK waving a Confederate flag as they walk the streets of Ferguson, celebrating.
- Darren Wilson might even be affiliated with the KKK
- White Man waves a gun at children in a park, is taken into custody alive
- More examples of double standards in favor of white people: James Eagan Holmes, various other (unnamed but fairly well-known) cases
2. “The officer feared for his life. It was self defense.”
- Pictures of Darren Wilson’s oh-so-life-threatening injuries + full-body shot
- Darren Wilson says he would do it again
- Darren Wilson is 6’4” and 215lbs (needs source), in a vehicle with a loaded weapon. Mike Brown was an unarmed teenager walking down the street.
- (Speculative) He got married while on leave, possibly so his wife wouldn’t have to testify if she knew something.
- Wilson did not complete an incident report, which is a violation of protocol
- Article about why Darren Wilson shooting Mike Brown was illegal no matter how you look at it
3. “Michael Brown stole from a convenience store. He was a thug and a thief.”
- Statement from the store owner saying that no one called the police and nothing was taken
- This is disputable and the time stamps on the video don’t sync up with the story.
- The cigarettes he allegedly stole were paid for and there’s proof
- Remind them that even if Mike Brown had done some petty shoplifting, that’s no reason for him to be shot six times in the middle of a street.
4. “The jury saw all the evidence, they know better.”/Something about insufficient/unreliable evidence.
- “It’s Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson’s Just Did” + only .0004% of grand juries fail to indict
- All 4 eyewitness accounts of the murder in chronological order
- Every piece of evidence in the case against officer wilson
- Prosecutor supported Wilson, and other problems with the case
- Remind them that even “people get charged with manslaughter when someone dies in a car accident” and Darren Wilson wasn’t even charged that
- The National Bar Association and its president know the jury’s decision was bullshit
5. “The riots and protests are out of hand and unnecessary. It’s just an excuse to be violent and steal things.”
- Video of protesters getting shot with (I think) flare bombs and tear gas by police. (warning: flashing lights and loud sounds)
- Video of protesters quietly sitting down
- Video of protesters peacefully but firmly chanting outside the supreme court
- Video of the National Guard arriving with automatic weapons
- Crips and Blood gang members preventing looters at the riots (from the first riots back in august)
- Community working together to clean up the aftermath of the riots
6. “You can’t fight violence with violence, what would Martin Luther King say?”
- “It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots…..” -MLK
- Remind them that as pro-peaceful protests as MLK was, he still got shot in the head.
If after all this, they’re still arguing in defense of Darren Wilson or the jury, just give up because there’s no way you can change the mind of such a complete fucking bigot.
Some masterposts I used that also have more information: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
If there’s anything I should add or fix, please let me know
Annnnd another one.
Now can you tell me how anything they said last night should be seen as credible? Why should I trust any “Evidence” or “Facts” they presented again?? And how is it you don’t know about the history the United States of America has with falsifying narratives to (character) assassinate Black people and their movements??
#ferguson
BOOST
I thought this might be an urban legend, but no. It’s true. Here are The BackStoppers Inc. officers and directors for 2014.
And here’s something from AddictingInfo.org:
In addition to his duties as the county prosecutor, Robert McCulloch is also the president of The Backstoppers, Inc., an organization used to fundraise for the men and women in uniform in both Missouri and Illinois. And, in August, his organization was affiliated with a t-shirt drive featuring a picture of Missouri and the statement “I SUPPORT OFFICER D. WILSON” which was set up to raise money for the Darren Wilson Defense Fund as well as The Backstoppers.
Police in Ferguson committed human rights abuses: Amnesty report
By Carey Gillam
(Reuters) – Police in Ferguson, Missouri, committed human rights abuses as they sought to quell mostly peaceful protests that erupted after an officer killed an unarmed black teenager, an international human rights organization said in a report released on Friday.
The Amnesty International report said law enforcement officers should be investigated by U.S. authorities for the abuses, which occurred during weeks of racially charged protests that erupted after white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9.
The use by law enforcement of rubber bullets, tear gas and heavy military equipment and restrictions placed on peaceful protesters all violated international standards, the group said.
Amnesty said it sent a delegation to Ferguson from Aug. 14-22 to monitor the situation.
When asked about the allegations, Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department, which helped oversee law enforcement operations in Ferguson, said police “had one mission, and that was the preservation of life.”
The report also criticizes a Missouri law that the group said may be unconstitutional because it allows police to use deadly force against someone even if there is no imminent threat of harm.
The report calls on state lawmakers to make Missouri law comply with international standards making lethal force by police a last resort, said Rachel Ward, director of research at Amnesty International.
“Lethal force is only to be used to protect life when there is an immediate threat,” Ward said. “The Missouri statute goes far beyond that. It is of grave concern.”
Amnesty cited a Missouri statute that says a police officer may use deadly force “in effecting an arrest or in preventing an escape from custody” when that officer “reasonably believes that such use of deadly force is immediately necessary to effect the arrest and also reasonably believes that the person to be arrested … has committed or attempted to commit a felony.”
A grand jury in St. Louis County is weighing whether or not Wilson should be charged in Brown’s death. Wilson has not spoken publicly about the incident.
The Justice Department is investigating Brown’s killing and the Ferguson Police Department.
Witnesses and law enforcement officials have said Brown and Wilson got into an altercation after Wilson told Brown to stop walking down the middle of a street. Wilson shot Brown six times. Some witnesses have said Brown had his hands up in surrender when the last shots were fired.
“Michael Brown was unarmed and thus unlikely to have presented a serious threat to the life of the police officer,” the report said.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Mo.; Editing by Eric Beech)
Full Amnesty Report #staywoke #farfromover
HAPPENING NOW (10.9.14): Another young black man, 18-year old Vonderrick Myers, has been killed by a police officer, miles away from Ferguson. St Louis (STL) is turnt the fuck up right now. They literally ran the police out of the neighborhood, and are currently marching around the city. Details are still emerging, but from eye witness accounts, the young man was shot 16 times after the cop mistook a sandwich for a gun. My heart and soul are with the people of STL tonight. See you on Friday for #FergusonOctober. #staywoke #blacklivesmatter
Follow #shawshooting on Twitter for updates.
Follow the Argus Livestream as events unfold tonight.
Check out Bella Eiko’s UStream.
RIP Vonderrick Myer, the victim of tonight’s police shooting. We fighting for you now too.
