OT: Twitter comments by athletes about the Ferguson case

TigerTony

Twitter comments by famous athletes about the Ferguson case.

Interesting.  Not surprising. Racist, maybe?

Funny how they are all "African American" . I guess this makes me a racist for posting these but not them for tweeting the comments.

Seems like they all know better then the jury. Next time why have a trial?  Just ask our superstar athletes what they think.

"The system enables young black men to be killed behind the mask of law #Ferguson #tippingpoint #change"— Kobe Bryant

"I am very disappointed with decision in the Mike Brown case in Ferguson, MO. My thoughts & prayers are with the Brown family and the people of Ferguson."— Magic Johnson

"Wow. Just wow. Shameful. What will it take???"— Serena Williams

"The Wade family hearts and prayers go out (to) the Brown family. #RIPMikeBrown"— Dwyane Wade

"Sending my thoughts and prayers to the Brown Family.... My heart is so heavy.... #ourkidsmatter #RIPMikeBrown"— Swin Cash

"No matter who you are, what color skin you have, where you live, we are all in this together! This isn't a Ferguson problem it's a Global Problem! We need change NOW! What happened to humanity? #JusticeForMikeBrown"— Reggie Bush

.....and there's more of the same type comments.

SkinnyV

NT

NervousDad

This entire incident was built up by 24 hr news networks taking interviews from people that weren't even there, showing pictures of Brown looking so innocent. They took something and made it worse for ratings. It was made worse by "celebrities" and other idiots chiming in as if they have a clue about anything that was going on. 

Ferguson did mess up handling the case, they could have done a few things better, but it was totally blown out of proportion.

Tspud1

I think it's kind of ironic that it's blacks now calling for a lynch mob. Just saying
No way this would have gone anywhere in a court even if there was an indictment. No jury hearing what the Grand Jury heard could convict. Remember when everyone rioted when OJ got off?

TigerTony

The GRAND JURY DECIDED NOT TO INDICT ME TOO! But that changed a week LATER! MAYBE,BUT NOT LIKELY N THIS CASE - Adrian Peterson

lkapigian

None of these people mention Michael Brown. Strong arm robbery or him attacking a police officer....what do they expect , why aren't they talking about the cop that was a person of color shooting a 12 year old person of color , tired of all of it and shame on Kobe and the rest.....oh wait, didn't Kobe get off on a Rape charge

DaveRichardson

This was posted on a FB page of a long-standing Atlanta Con-gressman:

It's crap like this that drives me nuts!!!

And yes, I said CON-gressman!!!

Fouker187

So being young and stupid is a reason to be shot by the police?  The issue isn't what this young man was involved in, it is the police's use of deadly force on an unarmed citizen.  I don't think they had enough to send this officer to jail but doesn't excuse his behavior. 

What I am most ashamed of is the people destroying their own neigborhoods because these events.  What does that prove?

Spaightlabs

Mr. Brown was not shot because he was young and stupid.  He was shot because he chose to attack a police officer.

My parents taught me not to do stuff like that.  His probably did too - he just didn't take the lesson to heart.

I am sad that Mr. Brown was shot.  I would be more upset if an unjust indictment were passed down just to appease a community and to try to keep a tenuous peace.

I am even more upset that this community is now engaging in acts that will only intensify racist feelings and racial division.

I am astonished that so many celebrities and others that were not involved feel that they 'know' that there should have been an indictment.

I pray that this doesn't get so far out of hand that deadly force is necessary.  I suspect that it will and that this will get worse before it gets better.  I truly hope that I am wrong.

BuckeyeBob

Yes, read through some of the stories who's livelihoods have been ruined by the senseless rioting and looting in Ferguson under the guise of "protest." Like the lady who had worked her way up selling cakes at flea markets and farmers markets and had opened up her own store to make something of herself. Of course they burned her store to show how unjust this decision was. Makes no sense and just hurts their own community.

Fred19Flintstone

I was reared in metro Detroit.  There were terrible riots in Detroit in 1967.  Ever since then, people in the city have complained about the lack of grocery stores in the city bigger than a liquor store or convenience market.  That phenomanon is known as a "food desert".  The same phenomenon is happening in Flint.

stlcharcoal

Fouker187 said:

So being young and stupid is a reason to be shot by the police?  The issue isn't what this young man was involved in, it is the police's use of deadly force on an unarmed citizen.  I don't think they had enough to send this officer to jail but doesn't excuse his behavior. 

So the officer was supposed to get the snot beat out of him by this thug since he was "unarmed"?  Are they just supposed to duke it out to level the playing field?  Or should he just have let him go after he committed robbery, assault on the store owner, and assault on a police officer?

lkapigian

Fouker187 said:

So being young and stupid is a reason to be shot by the police?  The issue isn't what this young man was involved in, it is the police's use of deadly force on an unarmed citizen.  I don't think they had enough to send this officer to jail but doesn't excuse his behavior. 

What I am most ashamed of is the people destroying their own neigborhoods because these events.  What does that prove?

Just curious and that's it....but if the facts as presented are true, and someone assaults an office, attempts to disarm that officer, does not obey the officers commands , turns and charges the officer...what is the officer supposed to do? Again just curious and assuming all the facts presented are true, I can't imagine any other outcome This wast not a random act michael brown did put him self in a position that the odds of this outcome increase ....I smoke I get lung cancer, why is this a surprise Now post some cooks >-

NPHuskerFL

:-@ yakety yak. They all have an opinion. Apparently robbery, assault on a private citizen and assault with intent to kill on a law enforcement officer it's nothing to them. I guess the officer should have waited till he was done beating him to death shook hands and sang Kumbaya with him on the street corner. SMH. Welcome back to reality that dog don't hunt.

KennyLee

Didn't know the grand jury that heard all the evidence was so chocked full of famous peeps.  Oh, wait.....they no-billed.  Never mind.....guess they're all talking out of their ass about stuff they have no knowledge of as usual. 

Stick to sports, acting or whatever.  And masses, don't think because someone can shoot hoops or makes $20M a film makes them some kind of expert on social ills. 

Jeremiah

Meagan Kelly is hot.

Sardonicus

KennyLee said:

. . . . Never mind.....guess they're all talking out of their ass about stuff they have no knowledge of as usual. 

Stick to sports, acting or whatever.  And masses, don't think because someone can shoot hoops or makes $20M a film makes them some kind of expert on social ills. 

I'm wondering about the 'outrage' expressed here.  How are these athletes' expression of opinion on Twitter any different than your and my expressions of same on the BGE site's forum?

Does owning an Egg make one "some kind of expert on social ills"?

:-?

JRWhitee

If you attack someone with a gun you should expect to get shot.

Sardonicus

Fouker187 said:

So being young and stupid is a reason to be shot by the police?  The issue isn't what this young man was involved in, it is the police's use of deadly force on an unarmed citizen.  I don't think they had enough to send this officer to jail but doesn't excuse his behavior. 

. . .

To my knowledge, no one has proven that this officer behaved in a manner that needed excusing.

And presenting Brown's death as a result of being "young and stupid" seems - to me - to be an over-simplification of the situation. 

JMO, of course.

(If I was famous and if I did Twitter, I would've tweeted the above.

I'm not and I don't, so here I am.)

B-)

dldawes1

I was born and raised in Marshall County Kentucky...all white, no blacks. 

After high school, I moved to Dallas, then Houston, Atlanta, Louisville, and Orlando. I was a drug addict and ran the streets with every type and color of person imaginable. 

My point..... I'm not black, but I garuantee when I messed with a LEO, and became resistive/violent I got my butt kicked and thrown in the jail. If I had done what Brown did, I would have expected to have been shot too.

It ain't got nothin to do with color.....that came after the event !!!!!!

johnkitchens

@dldawes1 I didn't you had such a wild past! I am glad you straightened yourself out. 

Fouker187

Because this guy has a badge it isn't murder?  Hiding behind a badge is one of the reasons these areas are so racially charged in the first place. 

Just presenting another side here.  There are so many forces at work there is no way to tell what motivated this killing.  Things are not always as they seem on the surface. 

KennyLee

Sardonicus said:

KennyLee said:

. . . . Never mind.....guess they're all talking out of their ass about stuff they have no knowledge of as usual. 

Stick to sports, acting or whatever.  And masses, don't think because someone can shoot hoops or makes $20M a film makes them some kind of expert on social ills. 

I'm wondering about the 'outrage' expressed here.  How are these athletes' expression of opinion on Twitter any different than your and my expressions of same on the BGE site's forum?

Does owning an Egg make one "some kind of expert on social ills"?

:-?

Hard to say and is probably more on a case by case basis.  However I'd defer to your run of the mill Egg owner over some actor or sports star in general.  But let me know when one of us gets millions of followers, is seen by millions making our views known while being interviewed by Oprah, makes our political points while hosting the Grammys, or even gets to speak in front of the UN about some issue of concern, all because he/she owns an Egg. 

johnkitchens

@Fouker187 What should the cop have done? 

If you were the cop what would you have done? 

nolaegghead

Lets look at this from the perspective of: your son is Michael Brown.  Are you still ok with the grand jury, based on what you know, not prosecuting him?

KennyLee

nolaegghead said:

Lets look at this from the perspective of: your son is Michael Brown.  Are you still ok with the grand jury, based on what you know, not prosecuting him?

It's indicting him. But Yes

Fred19Flintstone

Why are people still hashing this out? The grand jury has reached its conclusion and looting and lawlessness has begun!

GATraveller

Yes I'd be OK that he wasn't charged if it was my son.  He already tried to take the officers gun then tried to charge him.  Who's to say he wouldn't have gotten control of the gun the second time and killed the cop??  He was twice his size.

DieselkW

Facts we know, not Internet Bull:

Officer Wilson was treated in the hospital and released for a "minor abrasion". I've seen the pictures.

Officer Wilson testified that he is 6'4" and 220 lbs.

Officer Wilson testified that Mike Brown was 35 feet from his vehicle when he died.

Chief of Police reported that Ofc. Wilson had no knowledge of the Swisher theft at the time.

Mike Brown was initially shot in the right hand. 

Mike Brown died when he was shot in the top of his head.

Mike Brown died 148 feet from Darren Wilson's vehicle.

Grand Juries fail to indict, nationwide, 0.01% of cases.

Grand Jury is not a trial, and a prosecutor that wants an indictment will get one. Prosecutors do not present exonerating evidence to a Grand Jury unless they do not want an indictment.

Conjecture on my part:

Mike Brown would have had to reach across Darren Wilson, practically kissing him, with his left hand extended between the officer and the steering wheel, to reach his service revolver holstered on his right hip with the butt up against the back of the seat. Good way to get your arm broken.

Therefore, I believe Darren Wilson had his gun unholstered and was pointing it at Mike Brown when he attempted to exit the vehicle. Mike used his size to keep the officer in the car, and grabbed for the gun that was pointed at him. Big mistake. Got him shot in the hand. 

Mike then ran for it, losing a flip flop and his hat, and was fired upon as he fled. (Witness testimony, don't know if it's correct, but we do know that Mike ran away from Ofc Wilson.)

Again - witnesses say Mike gave up running. I have no idea how much space there was between Ofc Wilson and Mike at the time of the fatal shot, but we know the fatal shot was the one to the top of his head. Seems to me the only way to shoot the kid, at 6'4" tall, in the top of the head is if he was charging with his head down, or falling from having been shot a half dozen times. 

We might never know, because there won't be a state trial where all the evidence would be collected. 

I think there should be a trial - that's how you separate the innocent from the guilty in our system of justice. I do not think a trial will convict Ofc. Wilson - he is allowed by state law to use deadly force on a felon.  But I think a trial is necessary to determine if the use of deadly force was justified, necessary, and in the line of duty.

What I'm worried about is the conversation between the two before things got out of control. "Get on the sidewalk" "**** you Mr. Cracker Po-Leese Man" 

If Mike Brown was executed by a pissed off cop because he was "talked back to" by an "uppity N**R" that didn't respect having a weapon pointed at him ... that's what trials are for....

I don't want to think Officer Wilson is dead inside and is not sorry for what he did, and would do it again like he said he would. But a kid with a toy gun, a young man in Walmart with a BB gun, a cigar stealing "felon" ($10??), all get shot dead by police, all young African Americans. Ohio is an "open carry" state!! Why did these two get shot to death where it's legal to open carry?

Compare that to Jarod Lee Loughner, injured and killed 19, arrested without being shot.

James Holmes in Aurora CO, arrested without being shot after injuring and killing 70.

Nidal Hasan (A Friggin' Psychiatrist) was not fatally shot, arrested after killing and injuring 43 people

One Goh was arrested without being shot after killing and injuring 10 people.

Scott Dekrai was arrested after killing and injuring 9 people.

I could go on - and yes, police have killed many other shooters, but normally those shooters are shooting at police when they're killed. 

If it is true that Mike Brown had his hands up over his head, in the act of surrendering, and was shot anyway... then Darren Wilson is guilty of executing a prisoner. Doesn't matter what was said, doesn't matter what was stolen an hour before, doesn't matter - innocent until proven guilty, it is not the officer's job to execute unarmed civilians no matter what. He may protect himself, he may protect others with deadly force, but he MAY NOT execute a prisoner under any statute.

The officer's job is to make an arrest and let the courts decide guilt.

Sardonicus

nolaegghead said:

Lets look at this from the perspective of: your son is Michael Brown.  Are you still ok with the grand jury, based on what you know, not prosecuting him?

Not sure who you're addressing . . .

I've said before that I'd have preferred an indictment - a public trial.  Until that happens, there is neither murder nor acquittal.  

(To be sure, "no bill" is effectively "not guilty".)

This is one big ol' Rorschach test, pretty much.  As @TheYolksOnYou tried to intimate on the now-deleted thread, interpretation depends on perspective and life experience.  In a situation like that, facts have to win out.

Fact is, there is no indictment.  I wish that was not the case because the transparency of a trial is preferable, but that is the fact of the matter.

Unless the feds act, it's pretty much over except for the larger issue of the inequities of policing in too many parts of the nation.  The specifics of the Brown/Wilson matter - however settled - don't dictate that we should ignore that open sore. 

Too often, some cops do bad things (An understatement, sure.).  There's no denying that.  That truth does not necessarily translate to this case.

Little Steven

Sardonicus said:

nolaegghead said:

Lets look at this from the perspective of: your son is Michael Brown.  Are you still ok with the grand jury, based on what you know, not prosecuting him?

Not sure who you're addressing . . .

I've said before that I'd have preferred an indictment - a public trial.  Until that happens, there is neither murder nor acquittal.  

(To be sure, "no bill" is pretty much "not guilty".)

This is one big ol' Rorschach test, pretty much.  As TheYolksOnYou tried to intimate on the now-deleted thread, interpretation depends on perspective and life experience.  In a situation like that, facts have to win out.

Fact is, there is no indictment.  I wish that were not the case because the transparency of a trial is preferable, but that is the fact of the matter.

Unless the feds act, it's pretty much over except for the larger issue of the inequities of policing in too many parts of the nation.  The specifics of the Brown/Wilson matter - however settled - don't dictate that we should ignore that open sore. 

Too often, some cops do bad things (An understatement, sure.).  There's no denying that.  That truth does not necessarily translate to this case.

Just wondering if there was a trial and the verdict was NG would the results be the same?