Family of man killed by Phoenix police: Don't focus on race
Source: USA Today
Two days after an unarmed Black man was killed by a White police officer in Phoenix at the height of national unrest over racially charged incidents, a grieving family wants to redirect the dialogue.
Rumain Brisbon's mother and girlfriend don't want the conversation about his death to center on race. Nora Brisbon, who is black, and Dana Klinger, who is white, want the conversation to be about the son, boyfriend and father they loved.
"This had nothing to do with race," Nora Brisbon said. "This is about Rumain and the wrong that was done to him, and I want people to focus on that. If they want to rally, let's support him positively."
Approximately 150 people gathered downtown at Phoenix Civic Space Park on Thursday night to "begin an active campaign of direct action and civil disobedience over the police-brutality-related death of Rumain Brisbon," said the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a civil-rights advocate. Maupin, who organized the event, led demonstrators in practicing their protest chants before marching more than a mile to Phoenix police headquarters. That's not what Nora Brisbon was asking for. She said she would rather that the focus be on the positive aspects of her son's life.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/05/family-of-man-killed-by-police-dont-focus-on-race/19935523/
Also here, although I'm not familiar with this news source: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/12/05/family-man-killed-phoenix-police-focus-race/19934383/. Just a headsup, both sites have automatically loading videos.
No real comment to add except to note that it's always interesting to see how the family views an incident vs. what it becomes when the media and others get ahold of it. Educational in light of a lot of the conversation here, the #blacklivesmatter campaign, and how this latest killing might be treated in the nationwide protests already underway.
The picture of Rumain and 2 of his daughters wearing Santa hats is heartbreaking.
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cosmicone
(11,014 posts)We need a serious dialog about retraining all police officers and create more diversity in the force. Also, some of the excessive powers given to the cops under the patriot act need to be curtailed.
MadDAsHell
(2,067 posts)Not sure how much workforce diversity is going to accomplish though. It doesn't appear that diversity helped at all in Eric Garner's situation. Wasn't the supervising officer in the arrest an African-American woman? It's not like her race caused her to do anything different. She didn't commit the murder but she said nothing, did nothing, and as the senior officer actually approved it.
Mosby
(16,395 posts)Nothing in there showing conflict resolutions, mediations, helping people it's all just quasi military shit.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)951-Riverside
(7,234 posts)This isn't just about Eric Garner and Mike Brown, its also about Kelly Thomas, John Crawford, Jason Conoscenti, Jose de la Trinidad, Brian Beaird, Frank Mendoza, John Winkler, Douglas Zerby, Manuel Longoria, Michael Nida, Robert Cameron Redus and Hans Kevin Arellano ALL of these souls were unarmed and most were shot in the back or snuck up on and shot without warning.
You can read more about them here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025908048
You've got ted bundy types, rapists, racists and gang types in every level of law enforcement MURDERING unarmed people left and right with impunity.
This has to stop NOW!
still_one
(92,488 posts)Though all forms need to be addressed, the fact of a disporportiainate against African Americans cannot be avoided that there is a racial aspect to it
dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)Hippies, to name one group, who have pretty much no national voice or advocates whatsoever, are also a favorite target of the police. And the mentally ill.
We need cops who respect the people they serve, public servants.
To the extent that fousing on race mobilizes an uprising to bring about change, focusing on race is useful, and I am all for it, the African American community certainly knows about police abuse. But I see it as a larger issue, unfortunately, than just race.
The entire system has lost its legitimacy. Economic progress now largely goes to the already wealthy. A recent massive study of policy initiatives showed that what the general people want has little to nothing to do with legislative change, whereas what the wealthy want has everything to do with it. In short, we are no longer living in a functional democracy. Illegitimate regimes need to be propped up by police states.
still_one
(92,488 posts)bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)Not about race YEAH OK
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)Family of man killed by Phoenix police: Don't focus on race
That's a very constructive comment, and it's all the more exceptional it's made amid her grief.
Ban Ki Moon commented that the excessive use of force and insufficient accountability of the police officers displaying it was the problem needed to be put right first. Regardless of race.
SpankMe
(2,972 posts)Denying the possibility of a race component when a white cop kills and unarmed black man/youth is like studying aerodynamics while ignoring the density of air. I'm sure that many - if not most of - police killings of minorities have nothing to do with race and are legitimate police actions one way or another. Focusing on your son's life rather than his death is all well and good; I can't imagine the pain after the violent death of a son (I have two sons).
But the death of your son may have a race component to it (we don't know) and may be a symptom of a wider problem in our society. You certainly don't have an obligation to become an activist in this cause. You have every right to grieve quietly and privately and move on without making a big deal of this.
But I respectfully submit that by going the other way and declaring that your son's death is not about race, and stating public disapproval of protests based of death, your are subtracting from the legitimacy of the argument that people are trying to make that we have a race problem here. You're unwittingly giving some leeway to those who don't see a problem with what happened to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown. Any rope we give the racists is what they'll use to hang us some day - figuratively speaking.
Please don't take any wind out of the sails of those who know that race is a likely factor in recent black killings
