On Ferguson

103 Responses to On Ferguson

1. 101

   Myca says:

   December 5, 2014 at 8:15 am

   Yeah, I’d like to see the stats for Missouri, but I’d not be surprised if fivethirtyeight used the federal stats because the Missouri ones are unavailable.

   My assumption (which may well be wrong) is that more liberal states (like New York, say), will return fewer indictments than more conservative ones.

   —Myca
2. 102

   Myca says:

   December 5, 2014 at 10:10 am

   Myca: “Do you crash strangers’ funerals …?”

   That video isn’t a funeral. It’s someone attempting to make a political point based on false premises.

   I’m addressing specifically responding to “black lives matter” with “Well, yeah, but all lives matter…” The context this exists in is, as I posted earlier, young black men are killed by the police at a rate 21 times that of young white men, and often with less reason.

   This is a specific thing that you are misinformed about. There’s a reason “black lives matter” is used as a political statement, and that’s because “white lives” don’t face the same kind of opposition.

   Regardless of the factors leading up to Brown’s action, Wilson’s life was in danger and he had to act.

   We don’t know if that’s true. The inaccuracies in Wilson’s account have not been given a thorough airing or investigation, and, thanks to the actions of the prosecutor, they may never be.

   —Myca
3. 103

   closetpuritan says:

   December 5, 2014 at 5:21 pm

   Thinking some more about the issue of rioting, I’m reminded of the famous Audre Lorde quote

   Audre Lorde
   “For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.”

   Relevant history: Tulsa race riot, Red Summer.

   Caveat: I do think the impulse to riot is understandable. But it’s also sad that it’s happening.