I Want Your Opinion

SpiritualONE · (#1 (**permalink**))

Black Man Shot 8 Times In The Back by Cops!

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/policeshootingarchive/

It's to the left of center.

SpiritualONE · (#2 (**permalink**))

Black Beauty,

The drunk driver had a phone; no weapon of any kind! There are two more police videos available. You can check all three (especially Car 185).

Some police cars have video cameras mounted on the dash in this country and that is where the film came from. There are some audiotapes at this site too.

native_son · (#3 (**permalink**))

@spiritualone

First of all I'd like to give my condolences to the family of the manwho was shot and apologise for the rather underwhelming response you have had so far,to yet another outrage perpetrated againstan African American.

I would like to offer my support, and the support, (if only by proxy)of the Brothers and Sisters in the UK who no doubt would do so themselves if they were aware of this incident.

Watching this video has had a serious impact on me. Seeing the stark reality of a Black Man holding nothing more thana moblie phonegunned down, scared the hell out of me.

In the video I watched, there was only the sound of the police cars' engine. This,to me, gave the final outcome a much more ominous meaning. It's almost as though he was blindfolded and executed,the inhuman implementation of some grisly policy.

Is this the fate that awaitsall Blacks?

I wish I could be there in person to lend my support tothe quest for justice. This happens time and time again.What can thoseof us who arewilling to confront theseoutrages head on do, apart from what we have always done?

It happens here too and we try to find answers, get justice, go through the whole cycle of tears and outrage once more.

I guess all we can do iskeep fighting, and never give up hope.

Peace!

SpiritualONE · (#4 (**permalink**))

Thanks for responding to my post Native_son. It is true that this kind of stuff happens everyday all over the world to our people. We had an immigrant Afrikan gunned down in a hail of 41 bullets. Nineteen bullets hit him and there were bullet wounds in the bottom of his feet. These cops were found to be justified for shooting this brother because he had a wallet in his hand. His name was Amadou Diallo and he was law-abiding in every respect of the word. The only thing Afrikans could do was protest but it produced nothing.

The problem most corrupt cops have is rooted in a mindset that stereotypes black people as criminals. It doesn't matter what your education, income, or your position in life. In America, if you are black, many white minds
have been trained to fear you and not trust you as a human being. In some cases, a black person's presence reminds some people of the slavery that built this nation. Many of us still act like slaves and some of us have taken cowardice to new level. No ethnic group in recorded history has been through what we've been through, and are still going through, so many of us are brain-contaminated by white supremacy.

Many people don't respond to these situations because they think that it can't happen to them, but they are wrong.

We have to form an active alliance around the world and boycott cities that allow these injustices to go unpunished.

SpiritualONE · (#5 (**permalink**))

We must use economic boycotts of cities, states, and countries who shoot us down like dogs on impulse. The only way to hurt these servants of EVIL is to hit them in their pocketbooks!

native_son · (#6 (**permalink**))

@Spiritualone

The news of the killing of Amadoy Diallo did reach us here, just as many incidents like this do. Those of us over here who take an interest in these matters are always prepared to give any support we can.

You made some interesting points about the brain washing effect of white supremacy on many Blacks, I'm arfaid to say it all too eveident here on this website.

As I get older I become more and more convinced that right thinking Blacks shoulder a solitary and terrible burden of repsonsibilty to inspire and mobilise all Blacks.

Why should a man sacrifice the comforts that he hasfought hardto accrue, to fight an enemy who appears to have unlimited power in the hope that it might lead to a better day.

For many it is better to compromise idealism for a quiet life. Better to preach than to fight, to deter than encourage. There are alsosome who are just too tiredfromthe dailygrind of simplytrying to make ends meet.

So somehow people must be inspired and mobilised en masse. I believethat those who take on this responsibilty must be able to speak in a langauge every one understands. Malcom X prided himself on being able to communicate to the masses of deprived Blacks in their language, this is part of the reason, he was able to inspire. A man like this could have unified the many diverse voicesof the Movement in the 60s.

Our problem today is a lack of leadership that is able to inspire and unite the many voices that rage against white supremacy. What we have instead are ElectedRepresentatives or self appointed spokesmen for this or that organisation,who are nothing more than opportunists who exploit Black suffering to further their own careers or agendas. We also have the"wise men" who always give counsel about what not to do, but are never clear about what to do.

It is always the grass roots who demand change, with so called leadership latching on after the revolt has begun, usually only to sell us out again. This was true in Haiti where the slaves revolted and which became the first Black Republic.

Malcom X and others like him would never sell us out, he'd rather die first, and he did. To my mind we need more people like this. When we have them, I believe we will shout as one against white supremacy.

*CUTIE* · (#7 (**permalink**))

The family have my condolences as well. It's a sad situation but one that is becoming more common and rife in our every day lives. We had a similar story here in London where a carpenter was shot dead by police whilst carrying home a chair leg (which they mistook for a rifle!?!?). It seems the police believe in a shoot first ask questions later rule and thats disgusting. Then on the other hand we have white people who still claim not to understand the ill feeling and antagonism between us and them.

One Love

SpiritualONE · (#8 (**permalink**))

Native_son,

Your points are well taken.

[align=justify]We have to support TRUE leadership and NOT let the media tell us who our leaders are in this nation. Many people will ask: "What is true leadership?" I feel that true leadership will come from someone who can't be bought and sold like a slave. Malcolm X was an excellent example of that. A true leader won't be controlled by donations from the so-called elite. A true leader will not identify with the oppressors of our people. Finally, a true leader will know most of the tricks used by white supremacy because it always boil down to *DIVIDE, DECEIVE, DISTORT, DENY, AND CONQUER.*[/align]
[align=justify]A STRATEGY WE MUST THINK ABOUT[/align]
[align=justify]The strategy that I was thinking of needs to be addressed on several different levels. Those levels are the psychological, sociological, philosophical, political, spiritual, educational, and economical.[/align]
[align=justify]Psychologically, we must began to restore pride in our children and young adults by disseminating the truth about western culture and its deceptive practices. That includes full exposure of all the tricks that they have used on us in the past. I believe that in order to have a stable mind young people must have a firm grip on reality. They should not be dumbstruck by propaganda, superstition, and myths.[/align]
[align=justify]Sociologically, we must foster a blossoming pride in our young people that will carry them on into the future. We can do that by instilling a spirit of love and trust in themselves. A real look at OURstory can enhance their understanding of what we are up against and what we must do. [/align]
[align=justify]We must develop our own sense of what is right within our culture. If anything is done that is destructive or harmful to another (within the ranks of our allies), it should be considered as a serious violation of our moral philosophy, and we must act swiftly to correct it.[/align]
[align=justify]Philosophically, we must teach our young people to think for themselves. Our main problem is that we allow too many Caucasians and sellouts to think for us. This mental lethargy has caused us to be adiaspora of confused zombies that can't organize a meaningful movement. We MUST get past this mental BLOCK.[/align]
[align=justify]Politically, we must use all of our voting power to REMOVE the greater of two evils. Even Malcolm X began to utilize the phrase "ACTION ON ALL FRONTS!" Hopefully, we can put someone into a position of real authority by dividing and conquering thisworld-wide economicsystem. This world, at the present time, is RIPE for such a move. I say that because we have world-wide partisan politics among elected representatives that has gone beyond decency. They are showing us the height of their hypocrisy. Our children need to see this so they can see the REAL hypocrites in action. We must teach them to NEVER be like THEM![/align]
[align=justify]Spiritually, I feel that we must teach our children that A DIVINE FORCE flows through all of them. That divine force let us all know that we have talents that must be used to advance the cause of our world-wide struggle. The force is WITHIN THEM and it can only be tapped into by using a spiritual purification process. That process includes the elimination of most (if not all) junk foods from their diet because they cause diseases and memory loss. I have found out through my loss of 40 lbs that you actually think better at a lighter weight. What I mean by that is rooted in the fact that you have less waste accumulating within your intestines. I have been transformed in a very powerful way. FASTING is what really help in this process.[/align]
[align=justify]Educationally, we must build and control all of our learning institutions. It doesn't matter how large the building is; what matters is how thoroughly analytical our thought process become. Great thinkers are always searching for new ideas and that is what we must teach our young people to do: THINK!!! It's NOT illegal yet.[/align]
[align=justify]Economically, we must began to UNITE with the people from the Afrikan Continent. They have an immense amount of natural resources that can be used to develop their nation on ALL LEVELS. Some of us can establish DUAL citizenship and even become future leaders or teachers within Afrikan countries. We are at a PERFECT time to start doing some of these things on a larger scale.[/align]
[align=justify]In conclusion, the TRUE leadership that we choose (operative word is WE) must have our overwhelming support. This will encourage others to feel that Afrikan leadership will have support from its own people.[/align]

SpiritualONE · (#9 (**permalink**))

*CUTIE* wrote:

Quote:

The family have my condolences as well. It's a sad situation but one that is becoming more common and rife in our every day lives. We had a similar story here in London where a carpenter was shot dead by police whilst carrying home a chair leg (which they mistook for a rifle!?!?). It seems the police believe in a shoot first ask questions later rule and thats disgusting. Then on the other hand we have white people who still claim not to understand the ill feeling and antagonism between us and them.

One Love

Quote:

Cutie,

Quote:

[align=justify]There was a poll conducted nationwide among Caucasian-Americans several years ago, according to Legrand Clegg II, and that poll revealed that 70% of them believed African Americans to be less patriotic, approximately 56% of them believed African Americans to be less hardworking, 51% believed African Americans to be violence prone (many white supremacist geneticist even proposed a theory for a ethnic-related violence gene among the African Americans). Sixty percent of the Caucasians (also known as Europeans) believed that African Americans are less intelligent. Of course, all the above data doesn't suprise me in the least; in fact I conclude that the estimates are probably much higher and many caucasians need to delude themselves into thinking that they are not suffering from this mental deficiency known as WHITE SUPREMACY.[/align]
[align=justify]In the final analysis, we are in a cultural/spiritual/socioeconomic and psychological war. I wouldn't worry about people who wear white sheets, I would be concerned about WHITE SUPREMACIST IN POWER which authorize(s):[/align]
[align=justify]COINTELPRO
FBI Domestic Intelligence Activities[/align]
[align=justify]A History To Learn From-[/align]
[align=justify]What Was Cointelpro?

"COINTELPRO" was the FBI's secret program to undermine the popular upsurge which swept the country during the 1960s. Though the name stands for "Counterintelligence Program," the targets were not enemy spies. The FBI set out to eliminate "radical" political opposition inside the US. When traditional modes of repression (exposure, blatant harassment, and prosecution for political crimes) failed to counter the growing insurgency, and even helped to fuel it, the Bureau took the law into its own hands and secretly used fraud and force to sabotage constitutionally-protected political activity. Its methods ranged far beyond surveillance, and amounted to a domestic version of
the covert action for which the CIA has become infamous throughout the world.

How Do We Know About It?[/align]
[align=justify]COINTELPRO was discovered in March, 1971, when secret files were removed from an FBI office and released to news media. Freedom of Information requests, lawsuits, and former agents' public confessions deepened the exposure until a major scandal loomed. To control the damage and re-establish government legitimacy in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate, Congress and the courts compelled the FBI to reveal part of what it had done and to promise it would not do it again . . .

How Did It Work?[/align]
[align=justify]The FBI secretly instructed its field offices to propose schemes to "misdirect, discredit, disrupt and otherwise neutralize "specific
individuals and groups. Close coordination with local police and
prosecutors was encouraged. Final authority rested with top FBI
officials in Washington, who demanded assurance that "there is no possibility of embarrassment to the Bureau." More than 2000 individual actions were officially approved. The documents reveal three types of methods:

1. Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main function was to discredit and disrupt. Various means to this end are analyzed below.

2. Other forms of deception: The FBI and police also waged
psychological warfare from the outside -- through bogus publications, forged correspondence, anonymous letters and telephone calls, and similar forms of deceit.

3. Harassment, intimidation and violence: Eviction, job loss,
break-ins, vandalism, grand jury subpoenas, false arrests, frame-ups, and physical violence were threatened, instigated or directly
employed, in an effort to frighten activists and disrupt their
movements. Government agents either concealed their involvement or fabricated a legal pretext. In the case of the Black and Native American movements, these assaults -- including outright political assassinations -- were so extensive and vicious that they amounted to terrorism on the part of the government.

Who Were The Main Targets?[/align]
[align=justify]The most intense operations were directed against the Black movement, particularly the Black Panther Party. This resulted from FBI and police racism, the Black community's lack of material resources for fighting back, and the tendency of the media -- and whites in general -- to ignore or tolerate attacks on Black groups. It also reflected government and corporate fear of the Black movement because of its militance, its broad domestic base and international support, and its historic role in galvanizing the entire Sixties' upsurge. Many other activists who organized against US intervention abroad or for racial, gender or class justice at home also came under covert attack. The
targets were in no way limited to those who used physical force or took up arms. Martin Luther King, David Dellinger, Phillip Berrigan and other leading pacifists were high on the list, as were projects directly protected by the Bill of Rights, such as alternative newspapers.

Quote:

I'm sure England uses a similar plan.[/align]

SpiritualONE · (#10 (**permalink**))

[align=justify]When it comes to confidence in the police, Blacks feel that their rights aren't equally protected and this is verified by a 1997 and 1999 Gallup Poll. In the 1997 poll, only 39% of Blacks had a high level of confidence in police. There is some confidence in most police, it just isn't strong enough to qualify as being equaled to the feelings among White citizens. Source: "(Crime, A Serious American Problem"), Editors; Jacquelyn F. Quinn, B.A., Mark A. Siegel, Ph.D., and Nancy R. Jacobs, M.A. page 161.

The reason confidence in the police is even lower today is because of police brutality. As an example, please consider the following evidence: [/align]
[align=justify]Consider the case of Amadou Diallo. Here was model Black immigrant reaching for his keys, and 4 cops shot 41 rounds, hitting Mr. Diallo 19 times. Was that kind of force necessary? This occurred in New York City. The cops were found to be innocent of the charges. The Diallo family was denied justice. [/align]
[align=justify]Consider the case of Tyisha Miller. Here was a Black woman sleeping in her car when she was awakened by a cop breaking her window. The cops alleged that she reached for a gun. Nineteen shots were fired and Tyisha Miller was killed . This occurred in Riverside CA. The Miller family was denied justice.

Consider the case of Johnnie Gammage. Here is a model Black citizen driving an expensive jaguar when he is stopped, and killed for an alleged traffic violation. No weapon was found. This occurred in a suburb of Pittsburgh. The shock of it all is the fact that the cop responsible for Johnnie Gammage death was promoted. The Gammage family was denied justice.

Consider the case of Malice Green. Here is a black citizen being stopped for an alleged traffic violation, and is killed when cops stop him. Mr. Green was beaten to death with a flashlight. This occurred in Detroit Michigan. With public support behind the green family, two cops went to prison.

Consider the case of LaTanya Haggerty. A passenger who is shot and killed by cops who allegedly mistakes her cellular phone for a weapon. This occurred in Chicago.

Lastly, a young football star for Northwestern University, named Robert Anthony Russ is shot and killed during a traffic stop. The officers allege that he was driving erratic. This occurred in Chicago.

I could go on endlessly naming Blacks who are victims of excessive force. The fact of the matter is that *they were guilty of "Driving while Black"!*

Driving while Black is a term that many Afrikans have become accustomed to because the designation DWB implies that you don't have to be doing anything wrong when you're stopped by the cops. All you have to be is "Black" and driving an expensive car. You can be "Black" and driving through a White neighborhood. You can be "young and Black" and be stopped for nothing. You can just be driving at a late hour and be guilty of Driving while "Black". Being Black means that you will be stopped and harassed simply because you are targeted by cops across this nation as being crime proned.

[/align]

SpiritualONE · (#11 (**permalink**))

Fernando,

Thanks for your feedback. I don't criticize the person who disagrees with me; however,I do point out certain flaws in their logic.

I just watched the videotape again andMarquisedid use two hands to point the phone like it was a gun, but the other officer had his arm and was standing right next to him, while he jerked away and walked off. The officer who grabbed Marquise knew it wasn't a gun. The officer was ducking as Marquise walked away (with his back to him). He was crouching when he shot him! The second time Marquise turned he pointed with one hand and I didn't see a phone in that hand at that time. That's when it appeared that he was pointing while talking.

Bottomline question: Would you shoot someone who is drunk with a cell phone, and walking away from you? If the answer is yes, then I can't understand that type of logic. It was dark; true enough, but the man was walking away from the cops. Shooting him in the back 8 times was cold blooded MURDER!

If you can't support a boycott of Louisiana, that is your right as an individual, but the fact remains that things won't get better until we stand up against this sort of evil. Al Sharpton knows more facts than any of us and he supports a boycott.