Zimmerman Martin Case

I'll ignore your personal attack and just stick to your posting history. How you find posting a picture of an African-American man dancing appropriate in the midst of a thread dealing with racism and a murder is beyond me. That and some of the other remarks you have made do show some issues in judgement.

As a white policeman dealing with minorities on a regular basis, one would think that you perhaps would have a bit more of a balanced outlook and could add much of value to the conversation. Sadly, you think defending people who make racist comments or posting pictures of African-Americans dancing or pictures of Mr. T helps us tackle the issue.

It is such a relief that people like you are patrolling our streets. NOT!



I'm not sure what context you are thinking about, but in the context of this heated discussion, posting images of minorities that some would find inappropriate or derogatory isn't going to further the conversation. You obviously think dancing African-Americans and Mr. T are funny, but many do not. You should at least have more sensitivity and a sense of professionalism considering what your job is.
 
Leathers and cammo? Man,you're being stopped by the fashion police, Streetfighter from 1985 called and they want their outfit back

Mitch
 
I think this has gone beyond any useful purpose and descended into name calling. It may be re-opened once people have cooled off but for now I suggest we all do something a bit less odd or inflaofftopictory, like dressing up in pyjamas and hitting each other.

Mitch
 
OK, I've taken the decision to re-open this thread because a number of people have been in touch with me with very reasonable requests to do so. They feel that there is useful exploration of issues and attitudes to be done here and I have to say that I agree.

But let's be really clear.

Really, really clear.

Debate attitudes and ideas.

Don't attack individuals. Don't trade insults. Don't post condescending quips.

In short, obey the ToS and behave like grown ups or it gets closed again.

*Takes Mod hat off*

Look guys, it's easy. We're all sitting round a bar table, kicking back and enjoying a chat. Nobody wants to get riled or start a fight, we all just want to enjoy our drink of choice and discuss an important issue of the day. Let's just work really hard to do that, please?

*Puts Mod hat back on*

Or the mankini pics come out again, and you don't want that.

Mitch
 
I wasn't one who asked for this to be reopened, but I'm glad it is, because I felt we were just starting to make headway, and I'm very much in agreement with Ero's sentiment:
 
OK, I hope this isn't just opening up old wounds but there have now been some vids running about on YouTube, LiveLeak etc that provide a different perspective that what we have often seen/heard in the media.

Trayvon Martin- An American Tragedy? - YouTube

It was more revealing than I expected so I am posting this so people can see what has been said rather than trying to quote out of context.

Hope this is ok

LFD
 
I'm glad this thread was reopened. I was a couple of days late getting caught up on reading it, and by then it was closed. I wanted to state that I feel it is quite unfair to Kuma to call his professionalism into consideration. Kuma has been one of the few people here who has repeatedly posted facts about the case to educate everyone and elevate the discussion. He seems more factually informed about the case than most of the media reporting on it. And I feel that calling him racist was incredibly inappropriate and out-of-line. I didn't take any of Kuma's statements to be racist what-so-ever, and I don't feel that him being a police officer should prevent him from expressing his opinion on a topic like this. The .gif posted was obviously in response to someone antagonistic leaving the thread, nothing more. I feel calling anyone unprofessional or racist are very serious accusations and you should really get to know that person fairly well before you ever consider doing it. [Not my intention to reopen that portion of the conversation, just adding my support to a long-term member who shouldn't have to defend himself from those sort of accusations.]
 
Anyone who posts images of questionable appropriateness that might be considered offensive to others due to the race and depiction of those in the image should be called on it, regardless of their profession. In a thread dealing with an issue as sensitive as race in America, it boggles the mind that images depicting African-Americans in a frivolous or derogatory light should be stomached. If one doesn't understand why it is inappropriate to show an African-American male dancing or posting images showing an African-American male using incorrect English, then perhaps that is the first problem. It should be obvious, even if one isn't a minority. Having shown and discussed the thread with several minority friends, I was not surprised that they were less than pleased with the images and agreed that they were not appropriate in a thread like this(as a response to someone leaving a different thread not related to racism, it might indeed have a different effect).

Someone who is tasked with being an impartial arbiter of the law should be held to a higher standard, and if something appears that makes one question their impartiality, it shouldn't be ignored.






Expressing opinions is anyone's right. However, depending on one's opinions and whether they offend or not, that right to express them could have consequences. You don't need to know someone to call something they say or do inappropriate. Something is either acceptable or not. If one had any background in the negative and racist iconography associated with African-Americans in our countries past, one would be familiar with the overly happy, singing or dancing imagery used to depict them as childish or unintelligent. Does an image have to be blackface or show smiling children eating watermelon to be considered racist or inappropriate? Scholars and people who deal with this issue on a day to day basis would argue that it does not.

Unless one has some deeper understanding of the issues involved in the portrayal of African-Americans or is a minority themselves, one cannot just decide an image isn't racist because it doesn't personally bother oneself. In a discussion about race, posting images of people of a race different from oneself for humor isn't funny. If anyone wants to discuss this issue further, please use PM as I am not going to respond on this thread again.
 
If you object to a silly gif, even in a racism thread, just because the person involved happens to be black then you're so far behind the racism blinders that having a neutral conversation is going to be impossible.
 
You can't opt out of this thread since you're one of the people with the strongest opinions! Not only that, you are extremely long winded. PM only allows what . . . 200 characters or something? A conversation would take weeks!

Why the decision to opt out?
 
the amazing things to me in this discussion is the flat-out racism in many of the posts, the stunning lack of empathy that just maybe african-americans and americans in general might have issues with this case (regardless of the verdict), and the disingenuous and wholly inaccurate attacks on anyone that dares point out that lack of empathy and racial/racism elements to the case.

frankly, many, many of the posts in this thread are extremely offensive. so much so that i've turned off automatic renewal for site supporter payments.

i'm ashamed that any money of mine is helping "keep the lights on" for people to write some of the things they've written.
 
Bit of an overreaction don't you think? One thread causes you to stop supporting the whole forum? Why not just stop posting here if the site offends you so much?

Its a discussion board and things will occasionally drift into "heated" - that's no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater
 
AGREE.

If Thy Eye Offends Thee...Pluck It Out

It is like those who find out I listen to a certain radio station, they turn it on and decide to call up the radio host stating they don't like the station.

I tell them, if they do not like the station, do not tune it in

Apply this to any thread




In this case, the dicussion is about the race or ethnicity of that baby

What more can be said in a thread about the case which hasn't been discussed so far?

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/joe-newby/2013/07/27/abc-news-accused-dishonestly-editing-zimmerman-juror-take-got-away-murder
 
I don't think he is removing his support because the discussion was heated. But because he believes there has been an explicitly insensitive handling of this subject by many posters and that this particular behavior was not something he expected from MAP.

One may disagree with his assessment but I wouldn't class it as an over-reaction.
 
How can one expect any other outcome?

What is explicitly insensitive to one, may not be to another
 
It always feels a bit weird to me when US jurors are interviewed and quoted, because in the UK jurors are anonymous and are not allowed to discuss their case with anyone. (Which is probably just as well, or they'd end up as contestants on Big Brother and the like. )
 
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