NovU wrote:Deleted
Cpt(K) wrote:Prepare yourselves, because I may be going against the grain with these statements. I didn't think I'd encounter a thread such as this with the NLSC community, but its always intriguing to learn each others thoughts on matters like these.
Well I don't really feel anything significant should be derived from any of the recent media fueled firestorms. People die all the time, and the only time news networks care to report is if it fits a certain narrative - stirring the pot. Emotionally driven distress appears to be very profitable for certain organizations and individuals, whether ratings or extortion - the incentive to incite strife is ever growing. Fellow citizens of the United States may be familiar with the names of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and maybe even Louis Farrakhan - who have their own well established notoriety.
I can't take anything reported as a "controversy" seriously anymore, because of the blatant disregard for proper reporting. I don't call any single news source completely factual as all of them are susceptible to spinning something in circles. You can't name a single news source that maintains a constant level of consistently accurate reporting without their own edge inserted.
The United States news media likes to frenzy over just about anything, but what really gets dicey is the politics. I personally didn't much care for the "news" until about four or five years ago, especially now because of experiences I've seen my relatives and friends alike endure.
Racism among other highly sensitive topics has a tendency to be unnecessarily thrown into places where it doesn't belong - or otherwise didn't exist in to begin with. An example would be an ordinary individual asking the First Lady of the United States to retrieve something off of a shelf: one can obviously surmise that the woman who asked for assistance must've been short, and therefor opted to ask a stranger who is considerably more capable of performing the task.
There isn't a single person on the planet that will tell you racism is extinct, but there are people who will say that its definitely less prevalent in the United States and other similarly more developed countries than others. There are also individuals who will say that the United States is no better off, or in fact is a cesspool of bigoted racists, which I find to be quite false. On the contrary as NovU stated earlier: western civilization has made as many leaps if not more than the other civilizations across the globe. We're by no means perfect, but I'm confident were not absolutely horrible.
Percentages of our unique citizenship have contributed to the familiar "melting pot" metaphor cast upon our nation's history. Throughout our history as well as others I'm sure, we've had our own blunders that have stained an otherwise great nation's legacy. Nonetheless there is no reason to demonize our society. My much older stepbrother lives in Australia and has had many things to say in comparison between his new home and old. Overall he couldn't notice a significant difference, though, his opinion is subject to change like any other.
Politics play a rather impressionable role in the news networks in the United States. Political correctness also negatively impacts the way reports are delivered. I won't get into anything too in depth because I am just not interested. My incomplete synopsis of recent events are these:
Michael Brown: Has a criminal record (look it up), and assaulted a man in a store - then proceeded to walk in the street, and defied the Officer's authority - Brown allegedly initiated a scuffle of sorts, and was promptly shot. Main stream media conjures up rhetoric pertaining to a narrative about racist white cops mercilessly killing unarmed blacks. Some sources tried to declare it an epidemic of sorts, or "open season" on blacks. Evidence suggests that early witness accounts of "hands up don't shoot" were false, as the wounds were created from the front not the back and further examination revealed a struggle within the policeman's vehicle, and Brown's own blood on the firearm. Nonetheless, his death isn't something to gleefully celebrate or riot about - I'm certain he had special people in his life. Compassion folks. Unfortunately this didn't stop some people from taking advantage of the situation for their own ends. I'm certain this shouldn't have been a national story.
Eric Garner: Has a criminal record (look it up), allegedly the NYPD has a history with Garner and made multiple arrests, however, he was allegedly harassed by the police after being confronted about a crime. Video footage explicitly shows Garner being surrounded, but exercising a refusal to comply - so force was applied to subdue him - unfortunately a policeman used a certain technique, which was frowned upon (policy) that contributed to Garner's death - Garner had an upper respiratory health condition, which only worsened with policemen upon him. Originally it was widely recognized as a definite misuse of force, but further evidence suggests that Garner did indeed resist being restrained prior to being forcefully subdued. Again, he must've left some close individuals behind when he passed, which is all the more unfortunate, however, I do not blame the police for his death. I'm also certain that this shouldn't have national attention.
12-year-old boy: Well, allegedly playing with a modified toy gun that frightened some residents - which resulted in a policeman arriving to the scene, and unfortunately killing the child after seeing the weapon pointed his direction. Another tragedy that didn't have to happen, but I still will not blame the police for the child's death. I believe the blame rests upon the parents or guardians of that child, who were not paying enough attention to confront their child about a toy that looked real.
All of these cases are similar, given that the media's chosen victim was a deceased black citizen. The villain was obviously portrayed to be the white man, or white Hispanic (if you recall the Trayvon Martin debacle). The media also deliberately injects race, even without input from the affected party. Media coverage encourages individuals and organizations to appear and "demonstrate." Not to say their aren't good demonstrations, but lately all the bad ones have received the most coverage - contributing to the pot being stirred even further.
I don't even think it's necessary for me to say this, but I'm "black." My ethnicity doesn't earn anymore merits than it loses with regards to my statements. Perhaps it will provide some reassurance that careful thought and consideration is still present within the United States citizenry. I regularly watch news stations such as Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC - I also visit internet news sites like, PJ Media, Media Matters, and other sites which intentionally identify themselves as conservative, liberal, or libertarian and so on. Knowing what each side has to say is important when joining a discussion.
I've learned that a more accurate way of finding facts may be to look at many different sources, though, I do identify myself as a conservative - I don't necessarily hold all conservative values or principles. A grave mistake I've seen many people make is associating everything with anything. In other words", you're liberal so you must support abortion or big government." The reverse statement applies as well. Many ideals which a person may hold in contempt are then plastered upon individuals who think differently, which is wrong. Regardless of what someone believes to be true or applicable the discussion or conversation must be conducted in an orderly civilized manner, which is difficult of course but not impossible. My immediately previous statement strongly exhibits why I do not care much for modern "journalism" anymore, because many journalists who receive a significant amount of attention can't help but skewer one another.
Brawn Shadley wrote:Martin Luther King didn't die for this.
benji wrote:Who cares about MLK, the philander communist stooge? Why don't we have Malcom X Day? "The Ballot or the Bullet" is like ten times better than anything MLK wrote.
Plus he took care of his own protection:
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Though it admittingly didn't go very well.
benji wrote:Who cares about MLK, the philander communist stooge? Why don't we have Malcom X Day? "The Ballot or the Bullet" is like ten times better than anything MLK wrote.
Plus he took care of his own protection:
[ Image ]
Though it admittingly didn't go very well.
NovU wrote:Sometimes you wonder end game to all this madness.
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Cpt(K) wrote:I'm curious as to what you "think" he died for though.
Brawn Shadley wrote:Cpt(K) wrote:I'm curious as to what you "think" he died for though.
He died for Jimmy Carter.
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