Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

I don't think the police are responsible for "us against them" kind of thinking. I would rather say media is playing a major role to create the tensions between the police and the public and the media is also blowing incidents out of proportion.

Isn't that the standard "right wing" response to blame the media?
The media doesn't make police officers kill people and it doesn't make people protest the killings to date I have yet to see anything blatantly wrong or incorrect reported in the mainstream media (blogs of course are a different story).

So if the media is reporting incidents and it is not making up the stories then the media is just doing its job no matter how the parties involved react.

Originally Posted by MontyB

Isn't that the standard "right wing" response to blame the media?
The media doesn't make police officers kill people and it doesn't make people protest the killings to date I have yet to see anything blatantly wrong or incorrect reported in the mainstream media (blogs of course are a different story).

So if the media is reporting incidents and it is not making up the stories then the media is just doing its job no matter how the parties involved react.

While it is a multi-faceted thing, the Media is certainly playing a role, if not participating in a plot. In the Treyvon Martin case the Media even today persist in using a totally out of date photo of an angelic 12 year old instead of "current" photos showing an hulking, tatted up, rough looking football player who looked nothing like he did when 12. I can understand the Parents wanting the old pic used, but it should have been dropped by the Media if the Media was playing honest broker in the situation. Instead they continue to this day using the old photo because they know it creates sympathy. If the current photo was the one commonly used there's no way Obama would have said his imaginary son would look like Trayvon. In the Ferguson thing we have a photo of a smiling kid, there is a photo of the guy pointing a pistol @ the camera with cash in mouth surrounded by symbols of the drug culture around him. No sign of it in the Media that's trying to build/maintain sympathy for the guy

There is rumored that the NYPD and other Police Dept. are slowing down on responses to calls on petty crimes .

Originally Posted by George

While it is a multi-faceted thing, the Media is certainly playing a role, if not participating in a plot. In the Treyvon Martin case the Media even today persist in using a totally out of date photo of an angelic 12 year old instead of "current" photos showing an hulking, tatted up, rough looking football player who looked nothing like he did when 12. I can understand the Parents wanting the old pic used, but it should have been dropped by the Media if the Media was playing honest broker in the situation. Instead they continue to this day using the old photo because they know it creates sympathy. If the current photo was the one commonly used there's no way Obama would have said his imaginary son would look like Trayvon. In the Ferguson thing we have a photo of a smiling kid, there is a photo of the guy pointing a pistol @ the camera with cash in mouth surrounded by symbols of the drug culture around him. No sign of it in the Media that's trying to build/maintain sympathy for the guy

So you believe how you look in a photo is justification for being shot?

In the Treyvon Martin case I see a lot of diversionary tactics going on here so I will try and revert to the very basics of what our (aka western) society is supposed to be about.

We are supposed to be able to walk down the street in relative safety no matter how we are dressed, how we look, how big or small we are and what we say.

You are allowed to be the biggest a-hole on the planet and still not get shot.

All of these things are granted to us by law and no matter how bad you look or act as long as you stay within those laws you should be safe from it and yet you do not seem to believe they are worth enforcing.

It amazes me that if I mention gun control you will sit there screaming at me about your rights and the constitution yet here we sit discussing the freedom to walk through a neighbourhood without being shot and you claim a dodgy photograph on the internet that 99% of the teenage population relates to is enough to be justifiably killed.

I would also point out that unless Zimmerman had any knowledge of Martins photo pointing a pistol, cash in mouth and surrounded by symbols of the drug culture he can not use it as a defense for shooting him and if he did have knowledge of it then he is guilty of a premeditated act.

The Martin verdict is exactly why you are having these issues now, your justice system failed and continues to fail.

The Killing of Travon by Zimm was between two private citizens the Police had nothing to do with it except in the aftermath and in the end the grand jury . The media couldn't find a white participant so they created one , they created a white Hispanic and that's just what was needed to get Rev. Al's ball rolling .

Originally Posted by tetvet

The Killing of Travon by Zimm was between two private citizens the Police had nothing to do with it except in the aftermath and in the end the grand jury . The media couldn't find a white participant so they created one , they created a white Hispanic and that's just what was needed to get Rev. Al's ball rolling .

Which is exactly what you are doing as well, no one had mentioned his race, colour or anything else yet still you raised it.

Martins killing was a crime that was never punished as such people see a justice system that is failing them and then when the police start killing citizens and getting away with it as well the view becomes the prevailing one.

It is simple cause and effect.

Rev Al would not have showed up if race wasn't a factor the Black Panthers all 8 of them wouldn't have showed up and offered a $10000 bounty on Zimm's ass if race wasn't a factor , so maybe race was a factor, just who was the racist is the question .

Originally Posted by MontyB

So you believe how you look in a photo is justification for being shot?

In the Treyvon Martin case I see a lot of diversionary tactics going on here so I will try and revert to the very basics of what our (aka western) society is supposed to be about.

We are supposed to be able to walk down the street in relative safety no matter how we are dressed, how we look, how big or small we are and what we say.

You are allowed to be the biggest a-hole on the planet and still not get shot.

All of these things are granted to us by law and no matter how bad you look or act as long as you stay within those laws you should be safe from it and yet you do not seem to believe they are worth enforcing.

It amazes me that if I mention gun control you will sit there screaming at me about your rights and the constitution yet here we sit discussing the freedom to walk through a neighbourhood without being shot and you claim a dodgy photograph on the internet that 99% of the teenage population relates to is enough to be justifiably killed.

I would also point out that unless Zimmerman had any knowledge of Martins photo pointing a pistol, cash in mouth and surrounded by symbols of the drug culture he can not use it as a defense for shooting him and if he did have knowledge of it then he is guilty of a premeditated act.

The Martin verdict is exactly why you are having these issues now, your justice system failed and continues to fail.

You entirely missed my point. The subject was Media involvement in the case. They purposely continued to use an out of date photo to create sympathy for Treyvon that wouldn't have happened if they had used the accurate photo.

"I would also point out that unless Zimmerman had any knowledge of Martins photo pointing a pistol, cash in mouth and surrounded by symbols of the drug culture he can not use it as a defense for shooting him and if he did have knowledge of it then he is guilty of a premeditated act." This comment wasn't about Martin/George Z. but the shooting in Ferguson, and once again was about Media coverage, not the shooting itself.

Originally Posted by MontyB

Which is exactly what you are doing as well, no one had mentioned his race, colour or anything else yet still you raised it.

Martins killing was a crime that was never punished as such people see a justice system that is failing them and then when the police start killing citizens and getting away with it as well the view becomes the prevailing one.

It is simple cause and effect.

I can see where you would have this view if just listening to most Media coverage...but..in reality the only crime committed was Treyvon attacking George Z. who then legally defended himself from Treyvon who was on top of him smacking his head on the ground.

Both initial stories, that Trayvon was going to the store & got shot down, and, in Ferguson, that the so called "Gentile Giant" was surrendering turned out to be wrong.

Police arrests are down 65% in NYC just as I predicted or stated earlier in this thread , can anyone guess where this might be going .

Originally Posted by George

You entirely missed my point. The subject was Media involvement in the case. They purposely continued to use an out of date photo to create sympathy for Treyvon that wouldn't have happened if they had used the accurate photo.

I guess I will be blunt, the photograph aspect is a red herring and little more.

Justice only works if you have the capacity to focus on the issue at hand and not trivial nonsense like photographs of unrelated incidents.

So far your justification for the shooting of Martin is that he had a dodgy photograph taken of him, good thing the rest of the world does not share that idea of a defense or many of us would be in trouble.

Originally Posted by tetvet

Police arrests are down 65% in NYC just as I predicted or stated earlier in this thread , can anyone guess where this might be going .

Lower crime rates?