General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama is making some profound comments re Baltimore and elsewhere right now
GEM$NBComcast
Holy Shite! GObama!
malaise
(268,931 posts)Tell them
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)He reads DU?
justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)A lot is also on Facebook. That's where I saw that the police forced the students off the buses. Luckily, the internet is still open.
Cha
(297,154 posts)feels about this.
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)about it. I think some of the folks who overthink this stuff are their own worst enemy. Or maybe they just don't know much of the President's history. Straight out of law school, He turned down high-paying New York job offers to move to Chicago to be a community organizer. That's major commitment to people on real streets, not Wall Street. Good point my friend.
Cha
(297,154 posts)Thank you for the reminder, lovemydog!
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)I'm delighted so many in Baltimore helped restore peaceful protests. It's a great city. Freddie Gray's family deserves justice.
Cha
(297,154 posts)Andrew Kirell ?@AndrewKirell
#BaltimoreNYC #UnionSquare protesters leaving flyers on cop cars in memory of Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham, etc.
2:03 PM - 29 Apr 2015
Freddie Gray and too many more..
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/04/29/quack-away/
He cares just like you and I do. The only difference between he and I is he is a little darker than I am although I'm pretty dark and in about 3 months I'll be damn near black too.
Today we're all Black. We being those of us who really care, who really gives a shit
Cha
(297,154 posts)TDale313
(7,820 posts)Stinky The Clown
(67,790 posts)A felony for having a single joint is an economic death sentence for anyone who gets such a conviction.
tridim
(45,358 posts)It's one reason why I worry about Holder leaving... Hoping AG Lynch is at least equally engaged.
madokie
(51,076 posts)and thats largely why she was chosen by the President
Cha
(297,154 posts)Eric Holder seeks to cut mandatory minimum drug sentences
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/12/politics/holder-mandatory-minimums/
Rex
(65,616 posts)Stop the bullshit of throwing people into prison for smoking a joint! There are EASY fixes to this! Also, maybe the economic disparity we ALL feel now hits home in all parts of America?
Why is it people pay more attention to a looted store, than DECADES of racial disenfranchisement?
I will look for the transcript later, I bet he is knocking it out of the ball park!
We need more from Obama than just words on this one. He and his administration can and should DO SOMETHING but instead his power goes to TPP. I'm sorry, but Obama has not focused on the Black Community beyond his initiative. Where is building up economically hard-hit areas of the country? Why are we bailing out bankers but leaving cities and states to fend for themselves (under Republican assholes)? Where are the jobs? Where is the de-militarization of the police instead of an increase? Where are the ideas, the solutions, the comfortable shoes??? Can you imagine if the first Black President marched with peaceful protestors against police violence?? Can you imagine?
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Perhaps you missed his Jobs Plans, etc.
I sense your frustration; but, demands for presidential action are more born of frustration than thought.
Yes ... I can imagine the liberals howls when the couple of 1,000s of troops required to keep him safe in such a march, appear.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)I understood as I wrote it. And it is impractical I know. But I want to see some action from the President my community elected. This is a crisis and measured words is not going to do it any more. DOJ making a report on Ferguson got people fired, but we have a general rot in police forces. If the most powerful African American in this country can't do anything, then who? He's not running again, he doesn't have to be safe anymore which is the excuse for the hands off approach. I want extraordinary action because that is what is needed.
pnwmom
(108,976 posts)So, no, I don't want President Obama trying to march with peaceful protesters. He can find much better ways of offering support.
Rex
(65,616 posts)Although I complain about it a lot, he takes billions from investment bankers in fines. I KNOW you are going to say not enough...but just think about the last time ANY POTUS has done that?
Never.
None.
Also peace with Cuba, Iran and keeping from starting WWIII with Russia...along with domestic issues I am going to cut him some slack.
No Congress or SCOTUS to work with, every white politician in the GOP hates your guts...blunt truth here.
FEDERALIZE all the police forces and force them to stay to standard. That he even said that is huge and probably will get him in hot water...he told POLICE UNIONS to shape up.
When does that happen?
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Since they're being killed every day, maybe it's important enough. You can hit me over the head with "the list" as much as you want. But come to my neighborhood and sit around our dinner tables and you'll hear plenty of disappointment that Obama's approach has been very hands off. There's so much to be done, and I don't want to wait until a white president gets into to office for it to happen.
babylonsister
(171,056 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)That was what I was looking for! TYTY!
malaise
(268,931 posts)Thanks sis
cwydro
(51,308 posts)should be treated as criminals.
I agree with him.
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)is not the only one.
lamp_shade
(14,828 posts)Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)gollygee
(22,336 posts)cyberswede
(26,117 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)He would be the number one offender.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)Same with Joe S in the early morning . But then you have liberals who cross lines against conservatives and they either resign, are fired and made to apologize?
The system is not balanced. Democracy can not work.
underpants
(182,772 posts)until you typed out something on your phone.
I understand self promotion but good lord Donald. Get a grip.
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)Cha
(297,154 posts)Joe Chi Minh
(15,229 posts)of this violence demands a far deeper analysis than that. Who exercises the greater violence, the rioters, some of whom diversified into theft and arson of commercial property, or Mr Big? Mr Big, comprising for the purposes of this situation, all those who, at different levels of officialdom, are complicit in protecting the daily murder of innocent African Americans by police. Murder, by the way is a capital offence.
For just one murder to be swept under the rug bespeaks a barbarous society, particularly when it is an 'open and shut case', and, as if that were not enough, by the very people who should have been serving and protecting the African American community just as respectfully as they generally do middle-class, monied white folk. (I'm not talking about employed and unemployed working-class folk, who like to think they are a cut above the African and Americans, and so call themselves middle class. They can be electrocuted and/or shot dead by the police, too, if they're a little unlucky.)
On a more normal, political level, in the UK, the PM, Ted Heath, was able to pick up the phone and put the country on a 3-day week. That is power, and, in a sense, 'violence', albeit in a relatively anodyne sense. In fact, someone in an earlier post put the matter very succinctly, when he compared the looting of several commercial stores with the looting of the country by the Banksters, the financial movers and shakers at the top.
The complacency of racist white people is astonishing. Already they can be 'disappeared' without being allowed recourse to a lawyer or the family's being informed. It puts me in mind of the saying of Pastor Martin Niemoller: First they came for the Socialists...
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)he had to sparse and placate, but no more
good
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)will lead to more of this. Does not look to me that Obama has been doing much to reduce income inequality. But he talked a lot about it. Kinda.
Cha
(297,154 posts)cheap ignorant pot shots.
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)Cha
(297,154 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)And not just as Congress is in 2015, that is just an excuse. Look at the last 6+ years.
Cha
(297,154 posts)Admin has actually accomplished a lot in helping the poor, too, without the repub congress' help, lovemydog.
Cha
(297,154 posts)Second, my thoughts are with the police officers who were injured in last nights disturbances. It underscores that thats a tough job and we have to keep that in mind, and my hope is that they can heal and get back to work as soon as possible.
Point number three, theres no excuse for the kind of violence that we saw yesterday. It is counterproductive. When individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, theyre not protesting, theyre not making a statement theyre stealing. When they burn down a building, theyre committing arson. And theyre destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities that rob jobs and opportunity from people in that area.
So it is entirely appropriate that the mayor of Baltimore, who I spoke to yesterday, and the governor, who I spoke to yesterday, work to stop that kind of senseless violence and destruction. That is not a protest. That is not a statement. Its people a handful of people taking advantage of a situation for their own purposes, and they need to be treated as criminals.
Point number four, the violence that happened yesterday distracted from the fact that you had seen multiple days of peaceful protests that were focused on entirely legitimate concerns of these communities in Baltimore, led by clergy and community leaders. And they were constructive and they were thoughtful, and frankly, didnt get that much attention. And one burning building will be looped on television over and over and over again, and the thousands of demonstrators who did it the right way I think have been lost in the discussion.
The overwhelming majority of the community in Baltimore I think have handled this appropriately, expressing real concern and outrage over the possibility that our laws were not applied evenly in the case of Mr. Gray, and that accountability needs to exist. And I think we have to give them credit. My understanding is, is youve got some of the same organizers now going back into these communities to try to clean up in the aftermath of a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place. What they were doing, what those community leaders and clergy and others were doing, that is a statement. Thats the kind of organizing that needs to take place if were going to tackle this problem. And they deserve credit for it, and we should be lifting them up.
Point number five and Ive got six, because this is important. Since Ferguson, and the task force that we put together, we have seen too many instances of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals primarily African American, often poor in ways that have raised troubling questions. And it comes up, it seems like, once a week now, or once every couple of weeks. And so I think its pretty understandable why the leaders of civil rights organizations but, more importantly, moms and dads across the country, might start saying this is a crisis. What Id say is this has been a slow-rolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new, and we shouldnt pretend that its new.
The good news is, is that perhaps theres some newfound awareness because of social media and video cameras and so forth that there are problems and challenges when it comes to how policing and our laws are applied in certain communities, and we have to pay attention to it and respond.
Whats also good news is the task force that was made up of law enforcement and community activists that we brought together here in the White House have come up with very constructive concrete proposals that, if adopted by local communities and by states and by counties, by law enforcement generally, would make a difference. It wouldnt solve every problem, but would make a concrete difference in rebuilding trust and making sure that the overwhelming majority of effective, honest and fair law enforcement officers, that theyre able to do their job better because it will weed out or retrain or put a stop to those handful who may be not doing what theyre supposed to be doing.
Now, the challenge for us as the federal government is, is that we dont run these police forces. I cant federalize every police force in the country and force them to retrain. But what I can do is to start working with them collaboratively so that they can begin this process of change themselves.
And coming out of the task force that we put together, were now working with local communities. The Department of Justice has just announced a grant program for those jurisdictions that want to purchase body cameras. We are going to be issuing grants for those jurisdictions that are prepared to start trying to implement some of the new training and data collection and other things that can make a difference. And were going to keep on working with those local jurisdictions so that they can begin to make the changes that are necessary.
I think its going to be important for organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police and other police unions and organization to acknowledge that this is not good for police. We have to own up to the fact that occasionally there are going to be problems here, just as there are in every other occupation. There are some bad politicians who are corrupt. There are folks in the business community or on Wall Street who dont do the right thing. Well, theres some police who arent doing the right thing. And rather than close ranks, what weve seen is a number of thoughtful police chiefs and commissioners and others recognize they got to get their arms around this thing and work together with the community to solve the problem. And were committed to facilitating that process.
So the heads of our COPS agency that helps with community policing, theyre already out in Baltimore. Our Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division is already out in Baltimore. But were going to be working systematically with every city and jurisdiction around the country to try to help them implement some solutions that we know work.
And Ill make my final point Im sorry, Mr. Prime Minister, but this is a pretty important issue for us.
We cant just leave this to the police. I think there are police departments that have to do some soul searching. I think there are some communities that have to do some soul searching. But I think we, as a country, have to do some soul searching. This is not new. Its been going on for decades.
And without making any excuses for criminal activities that take place in these communities, what we also know is that if you have impoverished communities that have been stripped away of opportunity, where children are born into abject poverty; theyve got parents often because of substance-abuse problems or incarceration or lack of education themselves cant do right by their kids; if its more likely that those kids end up in jail or dead, than they go to college. In communities where there are no fathers who can provide guidance to young men; communities where theres no investment, and manufacturing has been stripped away; and drugs have flooded the community, and the drug industry ends up being the primary employer for a whole lot of folks in those environments, if we think that were just going to send the police to do the dirty work of containing the problems that arise there without as a nation and as a society saying what can we do to change those communities, to help lift up those communities and give those kids opportunity, then were not going to solve this problem. And well go through the same cycles of periodic conflicts between the police and communities and the occasional riots in the streets, and everybody will feign concern until it goes away, and then we go about our business as usual.
If we are serious about solving this problem, then were going to not only have to help the police, were going to have to think about what can we do the rest of us to make sure that were providing early education to these kids; to make sure that were reforming our criminal justice system so its not just a pipeline from schools to prisons; so that were not rendering men in these communities unemployable because of a felony record for a nonviolent drug offense; that were making investments so that they can get the training they need to find jobs. Thats hard. That requires more than just the occasional news report or task force. And theres a bunch of my agenda that would make a difference right now in that.
Now, Im under no illusion that out of this Congress were going to get massive investments in urban communities, and so well try to find areas where we can make a difference around school reform and around job training, and around some investments in infrastructure in these communities trying to attract new businesses in.
But if we really want to solve the problem, if our society really wanted to solve the problem, we could. Its just it would require everybody saying this is important, this is significant and that we dont just pay attention to these communities when a CVS burns, and we dont just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped. Were paying attention all the time because we consider those kids our kids, and we think theyre important. And they shouldnt be living in poverty and violence.
Thats how I feel. I think there are a lot of good-meaning people around the country that feel that way. But that kind of political mobilization I think we havent seen in quite some time. And what Ive tried to do is to promote those ideas that would make a difference. But I think we all understand that the politics of that are tough because its easy to ignore those problems or to treat them just as a law and order issue, as opposed to a broader social issue.
That was a really long answer, but I felt pretty strongly about it.
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/04/28/the-presidents-remarks-on-baltimore/
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Cha
(297,154 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Saved me the trouble of trying to find & read it all.
Wow. Remarkably heartfelt and sober.
Cha
(297,154 posts)Bookmarking this
Cha
(297,154 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention.
No one in the country spoke to Baltimore as well as President Obama, imho.
And what do we get on most major new media? More endless loops of a burning building. More hyper-sensationalism. And what do we get from most everywhere else? Commentary completely lacking perspective, cynicism, full of mischaracterizations borne of profound ignorance. And worse, many people gullibly swallowing all that swill and repeating it ad nauseum.
malaise
(268,931 posts)they don't know if it was connected to the riots M#Greedia is part of the problem
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Cleaning things up, continuing peaceful protests demanding justice for Freddie Gray. They're really telling off the media for failing to report the positive stories in Baltimore, too!