Rioting Breaks out in Minneapolis Again Over False Report

I don’t know how we recover as a nation. Lest I be falsely labeled as a right wing Trumpanzee like in another thread, here’s my take.

Police brutality was swept under the rug far too long, dating back (beyond) but still atleast in the beginning of my life time to the acquittal of the cops who beat Rodney King. Present day: George Floyd, Trayvon Martin (defendant acting like a cop) Breanna Taylor, etc. I take no issue with the protesting and I gave a thumbs up to protestors I saw the other day in my hometown.

While Rayshard Brooks and Jacob Blake are drawing expected ire from the public, these are not the same. The subject of this thread is a false report causing riots. If we can’t distinguish legitimate police brutality from close-call situations, the MAGA folks win. Like it or not, there are thousands of cops who arrest wife beaters, child molesters, murderers, home invaders every single day in this country and it ends with no death.

I’m hoping money is poured into better training because right now that’s the only solution I’m seeing. As long as humans are tasked to arrest other humans, these situations will continue in perpetuity. I don’t know how this calms down and would love to hear what actions need to be taken. I’m at a loss

 

First of all, "we" haven't supported the MPD's practices for some time. Thanks to a long series of changes over time, the MPD and the Republicans have basically defanged what little oversight existed.

In the late 90s, the Republicans removed laws that required that MPD and the St Paul PD hire local officers. We used to have officers from our community policing our community. Today 7 percent of Minneapolis officers are from the city of Minneapolis. We're policed by a bunch of cops who live an hour away in suburbs and exurbs. Mind you, this is a state law and Democrats have only had two years of total control of government in the last twenty years so there hasn't really been a way to fix this.

When the Republicans regained control of the legislature in 2010, they basically destroyed what little civilian oversight existed. Cities used to be able to establish oversight boards that could publicly release findings and disciplinary actions against officers. All of that is now hidden thanks to another law pushed through by the Republicans.

The whole defunding the police movement here is an act of desperation by our city because we literally have no recourse to fix the police. The Union has basically put a stop to any oversight and stands in the way of any local reform. The only way to reform is to modify state law but Democrats don't have full control of government. If Democrats flip two Senate seats, then they gain full control of government and only then we'll see change.

But until then, you can't point the finger at residents. The MPD isn't popular at all here. Even in my part of the city which is upper income and mostly white, you'll find no love for the police here. But rationalizing this rioting doesn't help. You just give ammunition to Republicans to rationalize the awful behavior of cops, especially when this time the rioting happened because of false rumors on social media.

Lastly, you don't live here so I'll forgive you but you didn't experience the fear that residents felt when the riots happened last time. I'm not mad because Chipotle lost some windows. Chipotle probably has insurance for this (as do most businesses in downtown). I'm mad because this is senseless and has much larger implications beyond some vandalism. We're two effing Senate seats away from having a chance to pass police reform and instead we get this stuff that only serves as a lightning rod to scare people who don't even live in Minneapolis into voting for Republicans. From a practical standpoint, this stuff sets us backwards not forwards. And while people lecture us on the need to somehow rationalize all of this, we're the ones that bear the brunt of this because the reality is that voters who don't even live in Minneapolis will end up deciding whether we get to reform our own police department.

 

Yes well as we in progressive circles know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In case you missed it, the police were given a whole damn week before finally being interviewed by investigators. What do you think happened in that week?

I just said I didn't justify the looting but I definitely value lives over burritos.

You didn't find that quote under my name but you attributed it to me anyway so you could make a non-existent point about using MLK to rationalize looting. I guarantee you it's not the last riot we're going to have unless something dramatic changes.

Here is an MLK quote you can attribute to me because it's no less true today than it was when he wrote it. You're a well meaning person I gather, seem nice enough, but I give this quote to you because although you're not white (allegedly), the spirit of this quote applies to people like yourself. Namaste.

First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

 

Thanks for the thoughtful post. I don't think these problems are endemic to Minneapolis. It's a nationwide issue but we all have played our roles in getting here. Who we vote for, who we support financially, where we shop, etc. Politics is money so where you spend your money matters. Unfortunately there's no infrastructure that I know of that tells you what companies and wealthy individuals support x, y, and z and even if you knew would it be possible to avoid these companies/people when spending your money? It's an easy problem to identify, difficult to solve when you can't get everyone to agree on basic facts.

 

Your story is confirmed
I trusted you of course

 

Honestly, I'm so sick and tired of people like you telling me that accurately explaining our current situation and valuing life over property is "making it harder to defeat Trump". That's just bullshit dude. A third of the country being awful, terrible people who troll society in general, who are poorly educated, willfully ignorant, and lie regularly are the people making it harder to defeat Trump. It's not me pointing it out. Same stupid ass Republican talking point whether it's police brutality or class warfare or identity politics. They create the conflict, then complain about the inevitable result. Everything happening today is because of Trump, not in spite of him.

Nowhere did I justify anything, my point is that what is happening today is the result of the decisions that led us here. You make unreasonable decisions as a society you get unreasonable results as a society. It's the same right now as it's been for a hundred years. What do you think makes us any different than our history? This is not an outlier, not a bug but a feature.

More feature.

 

And now you're just lying, shame on you for such a dopey tactic.

 

I watched that video several times and it looks like he was fiddling with his weapon and it went off. What is difficult to determine is whether it was suicide or his gun was jammed and he accidentally shot himself.
The cops were emphatic that they did not shot him and from their actions it is believable.
The other side of the argument is what was he doing drawing a gun in a crowded area?
What are the cops supposed to do - wait until he turns it on the people close by?
From the way he rocked back it seems the shot was self inflicted.
The ballistics report will tell all.

 

I stand with @rocketsjudoka

@Os Trigonum
@RayRay10
@Reeko
@Space Ghost
@Ziggy

 

@rocketsjudoka
lives in Minnesota so he knows more about it than people who don't

 

People need to fight for the neighborhood and property against deranged white people
like this Black man did here
@Os Trigonum

 

Tend to agree.
Ballistics will tell the story.

 

I'm "basically saying" Minnesota is suffering because of the cause, not the result. Whether it's a burned down chipotle or a person shot in the back 7 times, these are the results and not the cause but I'm not going to continue going round and round about this with you. You continue to mischaracterize my quote. Anyway, I hope things continue to move forward to smarter and more effective policing.