It’s 2:00pm PST right now and all that’s known is that The Grand Jury in the killing Michael Brown by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson has reached a decision. The decision will be announced later today, there’s no specified time yet on when that will be.
The indications along the way haven’t been very encouraging with regards to the outcome and government response to potential protests, the state and local governments have all taken steps to respond to protests as if they will be violent (it certainly brings up racial bias to assume that peaceful black protesters need to be guarded against and warned against violence but white police officers who were unjustifiably violent in the previous protests, don’t).
We shall see what decision was reached and what the reaction is. Your thoughts and comments are invited and welcome here, before, during and after the decision is announced.
Unorthodox Police Procedures Emerge In Grand Jury Documents
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/seemingly-unorthodox-police-procedures-emerge-in-grand-jury-documents/2014/11/25/48152574-74e0-11e4-bd1b-03009bd3e984_story.html?wpisrc=nl-most&wpmm=1
I saw this and thought that it was so apropos.
I don’t really have words for any of this.
The DA insulted all of us by holding a secret trial, rather than let the evidence be presented in open court.
He was disingenous when he talked about sciende trumping the testimony of the witnesses.
And I am still trying to determine how a 6’4″ man with a loaded gun would be “afraid” of anyone.
I am also afraid that the violence will be all people will talk about, giving them an excuse to ignore this isuue once more. Allowing the bad guys to win the day.
Already there are people trying to paint the 12-year-old shooting victim in Cleveland as a bad kid, destined to be a thug (new code for that other word…).
Very discouraging…
Annonymous is looking better and better to me, all the time:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/anonymous-video-warns-kkk_n_6198810.html
Now, this is an effort I can happily contribute to!
Ad, my simple – and perhaps naive – question here is: why did African Americans accepted (yesterday), after the verdict was aired, to take part in the vandalism that ensued? It’s like bible belt voters ever voting for the factual enemies? If anyone is interested:
like bible belt the final verdict? BTW this officer issues are far from over. The ACLU will be suing, the DOJ will probably get involved – IF I still have any faith on Holder,there will be a civil suit too…..
The ACLU has actually a brand new petition for #justiceforblacks…
ExFan, I can only guess who the people were who rioted but as Murph witnessed and the news networks covered, there were not many of them when compared to the genuine protests that went on earlier in the year and since.
The locals see the majority of those people as probably gang members and lowlifes, some who came from out of town, who had planned to loot and vandalize whenever the decision was made. Not that there couldn’t have been truly angry young people upset by the decision who vandalized last night but the description of the majority of them was almost uniformly young so that at least suggests that the majority of residents had nothing to do with the violence.
The Ferguson Prosecutor McCulloch and the Ferguson PD sure seem to have teed this up to bring out these violent types who could hide in the night so that the decision, their racism and the anger towards them could be turned against the black community and any overreaction or oppression that followed could be justified.
I am a child of the 60’s and 70’s. My reaction would also be rather “occhio per occhio”…Bringing back memories, I am sure you remember a few groups back on those days taking matters into their hands? Cannot express any further insight here. They were European groups…..
BTW #blacklivesmatter.
http://shpg.org/166/10708?action_id=4459030&akid=1155.381000.qlH_c-&ar=1&form_name=act&rd=1
Thanks for your patience.
I came across this video just now:
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fmr-nypd-commish-cant-let-people-act-like-savages-and-animals/
So we all agree on the very bad time, right? Despite this *hole…
A CONVICTED criminal….
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/report-ferguson-grand-jury-witness-racist-views-journal
I was going to post this on Thursday’s MB, but think it’s better here where everyone will see it. Great article about some important black history and where the real anger lies.
“Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ferguson-wasnt-black-rage-against-copsit-was-white-rage-against-progress/2014/08/29/3055e3f4-2d75-11e4-bb9b-997ae96fad33_story.html?wpisrc=nl-most&wpmm=1
Kalima, excellent article to share and right on the money. The headline really tells so much of the story and explains that this is going to be a long and torturous evolution, especially in the Southern and racially divided states.
Though police brutality and militarization is only increasing throughout the nation, that’s a powerful 1-2 punch!
Glad to hear you liked it AdLib, it really hits a nerve and explains the roots of the situation so well.
Kalima, I cannot thank you enough for this. It captures in ways I could only hope to do so the feelings and the challenges we are facing as a nation.
It made me think about my time in college at the University of Colorado. It was 1976 and the school named Mary Frances Berry as our chancellor — the first, and only, Black person to occupy that position, and the first Black woman to head a major research university.
Within weeks of Berry taking the job, there was a move by the university to eliminate any programs, student groups and other supports for students of color on the campus. The back and forth culminated in our taking over a building in 1977 and holding it for 17 hours.
Ms. Berry, who was in DC meeting with President Carter, flew back to Boulder, negotiated a settlement, and then stepped down to become assistant secretary for education in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Today’s America has not chnaged much from 1970s Boulder…
Hello J.M. Brodie. So glad that you found it and had the chance to read it. I thought that the author did a brilliant job of condensing that pertinent history in her article. She left no doubt about the treatment of black people then and now.
No, unfortunately, not much has changed.
I just posted this in my MB updates, and the writer’s words are what so many of us are now thinking about the farce in Ferguson and beyond
.
Michael Brown was not a boy, he was a ‘demon’
There’s a reason that Ferguson looks like a horror movie – the main character was a monster.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/11/michael-brown-demon-ferguson-2014112672358760344.html
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How Ferguson showed us the truth about police
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-ixRx4kOBPU
WHY DID THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY CHOOSE TO RELEASE THE GRAND JURY FINDING AT 8 PM? WHY DID OTHER OFFICIALS COOPERATE IN THIS? WHAT DID THEY EXPECT WOULD HAPPEN GIVEN THE EVENT OF THE SUMMER AND THE GROWING ANGER IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS? WHO WERE THE PROTESTORS? WHO WERE THE RIOTERS?
[img]http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/yolB5k0xXhvV9RLwKq9oZg–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9Mjg1Nztjcj0xO2N3PTQwNTM7ZHg9MjtkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTcwMDtxPTc1O3c9OTkz/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2014-11-25/b2a6c0c0-7461-11e4-93d8-b77a2c90da6c_h_51676749.jpg[/img]
8:30 AM CST Tuesday November 25.
It was a long night…..a long, sad night with scary moments. At a neighborhood church we were never in danger. We ended up with 100 or so who stayed the night. 100 others left after midnight. Those who had cars drove home. Those without were taken home by a church van. My friends and I stayed. We were too tired not to and while we did very little, just being there seemed to be a value.
An hour ago we went for a walk.
We saw several looted stores, smouldering buildings, a dozen or so. There were shell casings on the ground. The owners of several looted, wrecked, burned out businesses stood outside of them crying. The common opinion is that those who did that were “trouble makers, gang members, stupid kids.” It was pretty clear last night that while the crowd at the police station was mixed by age, by race, by sex; the marauding rioters were almost entirely young, black and male.
At one point last night, we saw (on TV) protestors/rioters hurling bottle, batteries, rocks at police while they moved in large groups accompanied by security vehicles shot off smoke and tear gas grenade and fired bean bag rounds at clusters of individuals. The noise of sirens, and gun fire was constant.
As protesters hurled bottles, batteries and rocks at police, officers in riot gear responded by shooting bean bags and tear gas. It appears that no one suffered a significant injury. The police were generally restrained. The media was relatively balanced.
In “our” church, which had been designated as a “refuge” many had gathered before the announcement to watch it on TV. There were women, children, some men, very few young people. As the night went on we were joined by some who had been on the street, all adult men and women, mostly at the police station, and had gotten frightened. A few came from neighboring homes and apartment buildings afraid of the crowds.
My friends and I are not from the area. So we mostly watched and listened. We served a lot of cocoa and cookies; gave out blankets and pillows; and this morning we got up a bit earlier and helped to serve a meager breakfast. Most left by 6:00 AM. We are hanging around to help clean up and then we will go.
==============================================
Let me be clear. I deplore the actions of those who engaged in acts of violence last night.
But it is my opinion (and the opinion of others) that the events last night were entirely predictable by authorities and may be precisely what prosecuting attorney, Robert P. McCulloch, and other officials wanted. The mayhem has provided cover for the finding of the Grand Jury. It has provided a backdrop for the finding that seems to say “See- this is what “those people” do.”
For months now there has been planning by various community groups for peaceful and well orchestrated protests with extensive training of leaders. BUT, the decision to announce the finding at night made all of that futile. The night is a mask that promotes disorder. It hides the actions of those who are opportunists, and provocateurs. Those who want to loot, to pillage, to destroy, to destabilize love the night. The police have said that for months. Civil Rights leaders have said that. Community leaders have said that. SO, why wait 12 hours to announce the finding?
Why didn’t McCulloch (backed up by Governor Jay Nixon, and county and city leadership) make his announcement in the light of day? Why not wait until 9 AM this morning. Permit marches and rallies with an announced curfew of 6 PM? Why not give time for those who had not boarded up their businesses to do so? Why not position more police, national guard in the light of day? Why not? Today’s narrative is all about the rioters….and that may be why 8 PM was the perfect time to announce the finding.
Well Murph the way it looks to me is that Ferguson was set up. Everything from the late release of the information to law enforcement standing by while fires were set and businesses burned. This situation has been mishandled from beginning till now….
I have to agree with you.
Murph, what about looking at the choice of announcing the decision from the other direction? Why would it have been a good idea?
That’s so hard to answer and has so many negatives attached to any positive (“Responsible people will stay home and/or off the streets…er…so irresponsible people will be in stronger numbers and have the cover of night”).
So, if we stipulate that the choice to release the Grand Jury decision was one that was arrived at for a tactical reason and that police and the white power establishment knew very well that night time was the most likely for violent activity, it is hard to come to a conclusion that they were unaware that releasing the decision at night would be most likely to result in a night of violence.
This was and is about as blatant, cynical and vicious an expression of institutional racism as has been seen in recent times, trying to disqualify and undermine the legitimacy of an entire black community and their protests of the “legal” police killing of an unarmed child.
STATE OF MISSOURI V. DARREN WILSON (you will have to download the pdf)
Full Transcript Of The Ferguson Case Including Darren Wilson’s Testimony
http://digg.com/2014/darren-wilson-testimony-transcript
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Justifying Homicide
Why Darren Wilson was never going to be indicted for killing Michael Brown.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/11/darren_wilson_was_never_going_to_be_indicted_for_killing_michael_brown_our.html
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Michael Brown shooting
Michael Brown killing: mass protests after grand jury decision – live
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2014/nov/25/michael-brown-darren-wilson-ferguson-protests
Thanks Kalima for posting this.
Happy you found it, funk. My pleasure.
Thanks for the link to the transcript, Kalima. I want to make time to read through this and decide for myself. There’s so much anger and emotion involved at this point, I really don’t feel like any media sources are particularly reliable.
Hi GreenChica.
Good idea, I think that everyone should take the time to go through it. Looking at the stills from the rioting, you would think it was all of Ferguson setting fire to police cars and trashing businesses. The majority went home after the police started to use excessive tear gas, and those looting were mostly from out of town. If I see one more picture of a burning car I’ll scratch my eyes out. So much for the media. Where were the interviews with the majority of peaceful protestors? It’s all bs. So was the Grand Jury fiasco, it was tainted and biased from the start. The press would better serve the public if they actually did some investigative reporting to uncover the coverup that began the minute Wilson shot an unarmed black teenager to death. This is not justice. This is revenge.
Kalima, thank you so much for posting the link to the Ferguson transcript. I’ve been reading it on and off all day.
There seem to be lots and lots of holes in Wilson’s testimony, and I’m not even finished with it yet. The more I read, the worse this smells.
Hello Kes.
This DA saying that Wilson was saving the life of a baby when he heard about the robbery at the convenience store is the total opposite to a police statement that he hadn’t heard about it when he shot Michael Brown, I remember this clearly because I posted the link here. As far as I’m concerned, this DA is a conniving, lying pos, who conspired with the police department and town officials not to arrest or charge Wison with a bloody thing. In fact he tried to paint Wilson as the victim. Nothing about this sits well with me, and it stinks of corruption to high heaven. He should be investigated and disbarred. Heads should roll in the police department and local government who took part or encouraged the disgraceful coverup should be removed. They are not fit to govern anywhere.
Btw, the DA’s father was a policeman who was shot and killed by a black man and should never have been allowed to destroy justice in Ferguson.
Kalima, I did not know that — about the DA’s father having been a policeman who had been shot by a black man! That should have raised red flags right off the bat.
When Wilson describes the struggle in the police car, he initially says that Brown was holding cigarillos in his right hand. Then — mysteriously — the cigarillos are in Brown’s left hand as he is allegedly pummeling Wilson with his right. Then — next thing we know — Brown has handed off the cigarillos to his friend and isn’t holding them at all. And that’s just one of many inconsistencies.
Yet he dismisses all the witness accounts that didn’t fit his agenda, blames the media and social media, and only accepts those that clear Wilson of wrongdoing. This excuse from Wilson of being afraid and the victim trying to grab for his gun, is exactly what Zimmerman said during his farce of a trial.
Wilson’s testimony is here say, and Michael Brown can no longer defend himself.
Well, while it doesn’t disqualify him, it does make it that much more suspicious and questions his motives and integrity for how he handled the GJ. After all, George Bush invaded a country that cost hundreds of thousands of lives because Saddam Hussein tried to assassinate his father. Right?
“Bob McCulloch’s pathetic prosecution of Darren Wilson”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-bob-mccullochs-pathetic-prosecution-of-darren-wilson/2014/11/25/a8459e16-74d5-11e4-a755-e32227229e7b_story.html?wpisrc=nl-pmopns&wpmm=1
This is what hopelessness looks like.
S-Man, this is what a propagandized police state looks like.
More complete report…
We are watching the news coverage. We are also getting reports from the streets.
There are a couple of hundred people on the streets. Not much more than that.
Most of them are wandering around shouting. Most are young. I have been told that there are a number of gang members present.
Some of them are acting provocatively.
A few of them are engaging in acts of violence: setting fires (3 of them), a bit of looting, breaking windows.
Most people are home or in places like this one, a church.
It is just the image that I think the Prosecuting Attorney and those in charge here wanted. The Grand Jury Deliberations were done at midday and his office says they needed several hours to do a summary. Fine. Why not wait until tomorrow morning? Why not wait to the daylight? Why not have a curfew at dark for a week after this? Why not?
I can tell you this, we are close to 300 people at a church in Florissant and the anger here (which includes anger at those doing the damage) is palpable.
A prayer service has started to pull more people into it the prayers and the hymns.
We are probably here for the night.
Murph, how insidious is this plot by the Ferguson police and the white power structure in Ferguson? To release this information intentionally at the time that the most destructive actions could be committed by those who want to hide in the dark of night?
Then tomorrow comes the oppressive police/military force to smother the protests of peaceful people.
I am so disgusted.
Stay safe and inside, Murph!
10:30 PM….
There are a couple of hundred people on the streets. Not much more than that.
Most of them are wandering around.
Some of them are acting provocatively.
A few of them are engaging in acts of violence: setting fires, looting, breaking windows.
Most people are home or in places like this one.
It is just the image that I think the Prosecuting Attorney and those in charge here wanted.
The Grand Jury Deliberations were done at midday and his office says they needed several hours to do a summary. Fine.
Why not wait until tomorrow morning? Why not wait to the daylight?
I can tell you this, we are close to 300 people at a church in Florissant and the anger here (which includes anger at those doing the damage) is palpable.
A prayer service has started to pull more people into it the prayers and the hymns.
We are probably here for the night.
This song may be getting a lot of play tonight:
So the reason that the whites in power released the decision at night? Perhaps to goad the violent types who show up at night to set fires and commit acts of vandalism…to cement the image of all black protesters as dangerous, justifying the killing of them as Wilson did and to justify an oppressive force out tomorrow to smother the 99% of protesters who are peaceful.
The racism continues, it is defiant.
People need to get out and peacefully protest tomorrow all across America.
Exactly Ad, exactly. Carefully orchestrated to cause this reaction.
S-Man, good to see you!
Yes, this is all so transparent and I worry about how violent the “justified” cops are going to be tomorrow and onward in Ferguson.
This way they can point their collective fingers and say “See!”
Disgusting, Ferguson cops suck.
I wonder how many looters and vandals are local folks? My bet is zero. People come to raise hell and cause damage. Local folks are probably hunkered down or at a church like Murph is.
None of this should have happened! If the prosecuter had skipped the Grand Jury and just indicted him. Then we would have had a real and fair trial.
I am disgusted with the whole thing. Much of this mess could have been avoided if all cops wore personal camras that they could not turn off.
It appears as if they orchestrated this announcement to cause as much chaos as possible. It worked.
You beat me to it, S-Man, you’re absolutely right!
Shorter McCulloch: “I don’t want this to go trial, so it won’t”.
THAT’S how a f’ing prosecutor doesn’t get an indictment from a grand jury.