Iris lilies, how are things in your hood?

[gimmethesimplelife]

On Meet the Press this morning, Andrea Mitchell interviewed the governor of MO. I can't believe how he dodged her questions about why certain things were happening the way they were. Oh wait a minute.......yes I can. It's a prerequisite for public office, right?

I am not very familiar with Missouri or that area of the country so I can't generalize here. It does seem to me that the officials in the limelight in Missouri thus far have a real knack for dodging questions, evading issues, and doing things on their own schedule. If peace is truly desired, this is going to have to be toned down a bit on their part. This is not a one way street and I get the definite impression that these officials don't understand this. I think this is where both the media and also social media come in handy - spreading this perception via the body language, words, and actions of these officials for the world to see - especially when words don't match actions as in the case of Ron Johnson pledging just a few days ago not to use tear gas on protestors and last night it was used. And of course it's all over the net for the world to see. On the one hand, I remember the governor of Missouri stating just a day or two ago that the eyes of the world are on Ferguson - some glances are on him for dodging questions, too - does he really think that that is going to help his side of the equation at this point to behave in such a way? Rob

[Yossarian]

I find this part frustrating:

the cop said he didn't know the kid had just robed the store, but the kid did.

Everybody recognizes that, but the officials won't buck up and state the obvious.

This cop is very angry and running on adrenalin (he just got shot after all, or shot at) and he keeps shooting at the kid until he drops dead.

This of course is the key issue. The officer supposedly says Brown advanced toward him. There is a lot of conflicting testimony but there is some that corroborate the officer's description. Tough job for a jury.

[CathyA]

Did the cop actually get shot inside his car? I thought they just struggled for the gun. I didn't know the cop got shot.
I'm sure there are people who are "witnesses" (supposedly) to this event, who just want to stand up for their fellow black person. Like you said Peggy, I'm not sure we'll ever know the complete truth.
But people need to understand that these situations are extremely emotionally high-powered and happen incredibly fast. Many times, it's "them or me" as far as the police go. You can die in an instant. Not everyone has the same emotional timing, as far as waiting a few seconds more to shoot....until you're sure you aren't the one who's going to die.

[CathyA]

I just hope they don't make the policeman who shot him, a scapegoat, to avoid riots.

[bae]

In the Travon Martin case, sure the kid might have been a punk, but he WASN'T being a punk when he was executed by George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman claimed that the kid attacked him, presented evidence at the trial, and the jury seems to have believed it. So it was perhaps not so simple as "an execution". I was not there, neither were you, and none of us were sitting in that jury box listing to the testimony and sifting through the evidence.

The cop, truly angered now, shoots at the kid, twice I think. The kid then stops, turns and puts his hands up. This cop is very angry and running on adrenalin (he just got shot after all, or shot at) and he keeps shooting at the kid until he drops dead.

The officer wouldn't even have to be angered. I've done a lot of police training. And weapons-retention training. When you get an officer in a fight-for-his-life situation, as a gun grab is, you can easily push him into a mental state where time is altered, vision and sound altered, fine muscle control lost, and a dozen other things happen due to the increased heart rate/bp and dump of the cascade of hormones. Cognition and emotional response are altered.

You, or anyone, can't stop this process on a dime once it gets started. (There are a few superhuman sorts out there who can, but they are incredibly rare.) You don't get to grab for a cop's gun, then throw your hands up and say "I surrender" and expect it to turn out well, even though movies may have established this cultural expectation.

If a trial results from this incident, and the claim is made that there was some sort of struggle, expect to see lots of medical types testifying about the human reaction to this sort of stress.

[bae]

I just hope they don't make the policeman who shot him, a scapegoat, to avoid riots.

I think they already did.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I think they already did.

I don't know that the cop involved is a scrapegoat as you say just yet but.....I would agree that his life going forward is never going to be quite the same regardless of how this plays out. I understand from reading online that he cleared out from his house and his current location is a big secret, and now that his photo has been released, yes I can see some security concerns. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

Something I really believe that is missing from this thread if I may? Put in my two cents worth? Or maybe with all my posts on this thread so far it's more like my seven cents worth? There's a problem here that I encountered all my years as a server that used to drive me nuts and so so so often made me feel no hope for the future of the human race. The problem is that of perception. I very quickly realized that as a waiter, if I wanted to stay employed, my take on any issue that arose meant nothing and it was all about the perception of the guest, unless the guest really did something crazy I could have them ejected for. This carries over into Ferguson as one problem facing law enforcement there now is one of perception, coupled with racial tension. Arresting those two journalists earlier in the week and teargasing in general, whether called for or not - not going to help with the overall public perception of Ferguson law enforcement and now of the Governor or the State Highway Patrol. They really need to get a check on their behavior as public perception is not very high of them overall right now.....whether or not this is right could be disputed for days and days. My point here is this perception issue? Whether it's valid or not is besides the point - the reality is that it exists and needs to be catered to. Like it or not. Rob

[bae]

I understand from reading online that he cleared out from his house and his current location is a big secret, and now that his photo has been released, yes I can see some security concerns. Rob

Any bets on how long before The New Black Panther Party issues a $10,000 reward for his head, like they did for Zimmerman?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...orge-zimmerman

[bae]

My point here is this perception issue? Whether it's valid or not is besides the point - the reality is that it exists and needs to be catered to.

Ask yourself, when looking at the social media frenzy and "perception" - cui bono....