Displaying 121 To 150 Of 762 Comments Okay, see what happened here? {chuckle} Here at PlanetPOV we have a very good illustration of the differences in perception of America, divided by race. Everything I stated, from the perspective of a half-Black, half-Japanese lesbian living in a man’s body (wait until we hit our stride in sexual politics), was factual and true, backed up by more studies than all of us can shake a stick at. But let’s take the big one, the most contentious assertion I made: Silence gives consent. Here’s the ugly truth about this country we live in (you foreigners are exempted for now), whites and non-whites have completely different experiences in the United States, regardless of where they live. Because of this vastly different experience, events that take place in this country are judged differently depending on one’s skin color. Since most whites will NEVER, get that, NEVER experience the slights, the insults and the violence that are the everyday occurrence, nay, the expectation of non-whites…well, except for Asians, perhaps, how the hell will they ever see what non-whites see. Please reread that statement again, what whites believe about this country is a fantasy to non-whites, a wish upon a star, a beautiful acid trip, an unending orgasm compared to the life of an average Black man, for instance. There are exceptions. For example, when white folks follow Michael Jordon around a store, they’re looking for that fat commission. For Oprah, except in high-end Swiss purse stores, the experience is a glorious shopping excursion that I can only imagine. But we all see EVERYTHING differently, f-ing get over it. Instead of getting your nose out of joint, try to understand why I say what I do. I’ve been forced to understand whites and their perspective ALL MY LIFE in order to get along in this society; walk a few yards in my shoes for a change. To me police brutality, as an extension of a racist America, is a matter of same shit, different day. To a white man it’s “well he must have had it coming.” Do you get it? There’s never a reason for killing an unarmed man, especially one so easily subdued, except when he’s Black in America. So you don’t like me saying that wearing blinders about systematic, racist police brutality gives consent, well it does. That would be like me assuming that with EVERY rape of a woman or a man that “they must have had it coming, look how they were dressed” or something equally heinous. Do you get now why to even suggest that the killing of an unarmed Black man could have been justified is as angering and ugly as it is to other Blacks, or in this case, me? WTF? Does anyone here really believe that their world view is perfect? Hell, I don’t believe that of myself, I will be the first to admit that I know absolutely NOTHING about the Polka, Country Western music, polyester, mayonnaise or boiled ribs. Miles “Argue The Issue, Not The Symptoms” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 7:10 pm You mistake my question, KT. For anyone who reserves judgement on whether or not that police officer was justified in killing an unarmed man, I’m quite curios to hear from anyone who imagines any circumstance where it would be necessary to do so. My guess (hope) is that no one here can come up with such reasoning for the act, but as I have said in a number of posts, we’re all different. So my asking everyone the question is a fact-finding tour for my own edification, and possible education, not an implication that the whole membership here disagrees with me. Miles “In Search Of” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 6:35 pm I agree, and for the record, I did NOT call you a racist as someone has already intimated. But my problem comes with any of us having any notion that the police officer had any justification whatsoever in killing an unarmed man. To believe that such exists is to anger and sadden me that reasonable people would believe that killing was the only response that the officer had at his disposal. And, as a Black man, well half, I see this kind of killing ALL THE TIME, so I ask some indulgence for my completely different perspective of the events than many here. Miles “Bottom Line” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 6:28 pm KT, I didn’t do that. I stated that I believe the majority of people here on The Planet are NOT non-white. If you will notice, Monicaangela appears to embrace the things I’m saying…what does that suggest to you? Miles “We ARE Different, How Cool Is That?” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 4:58 pm Then in order to make things clear I will state unequivocally that the majority of people here at PlanetPOV have a very different perspective on law and order, racism and the differences whites and non-whites than I do, as evidenced by the replies to my post(s). I don’t call anyone out as a racist, although in all honesty we ALL have our biases; to deny that is to be delusional. Nirek and I are entirely different people, I can observe that his view differs from mine without killing the messenger. I have no heat toward his observation, just the factual statement that blinders hinder observation and therefore result in a different perspective than someone who see things in a directly involved context. Now if you want to accuse me of anything other than expressing my studied belief that to believe that a “finding” of justification for the officer killing an unarmed Black man is a foregone conclusion, and that by and large whites in this country, more often than not, just accept that which non-whites know to be untrue, you’re absolutely right. Where the rubber meets the road, here and now on PlanetPOV, is am I entitled to my studied opinion about traditional, historical not-so-benign neglect of whites in this very real criminal context or even their simple ignorance, or are we going to blow up the Planet because someone got their feeling hurt over entirely factual statements about whites and non-whites America? There’s no shame in ignorance, unless it is willful. Miles “This Is Where I Live” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 4:53 pm Nirek, I was speaking to the fact that all too often non-whites see this “incident” in a completely different perspective than whites. “I” see it in a completely different perspective than most of those here at PlanetPOV, judging from the comments swirling around the article and my response. My intent was not to insult, but to point out the critical divergence of perspective as a result of skin color. Let me be frank with you for a moment: Whenever this kind of incident occurs I automatically assume that the police officer is the criminal and the dead man (see what I did there?) was an innocent victim of more racist police brutality. I do this for several reasons that are as unshakably real for me: 1. This happens ALL THE TIME to non-whites in America, but for the most part, whites have no idea it’s going on. 2. Waiting until some internal investigation expecting a fair and accurate rendering of the matter is a fantasy to non-whites. 3. For white America, out of sight, out of mind. Since whites are almost never brutalized in the same manner or numbers as non-whites, they simply don’t believe that such behavior exists. Everyone here on PlanetPOV, with few exceptions, is of above average intelligence and awareness of current events, but I would hazard that very few are aware of the shockingly depressing statistics of police brutality visited on non-whites all across this country. To be fair all I know at this point is another police officer killed another non-white in New York City. It stretches my belief to think that there was NO other means of subduing the dead man, and because of my research, my thesis-level study of police brutality in this country and the experiences of the hundreds of brutality victims in this country I’ve interviewed, America is a whole different country to me than it is to white people. Miles “Mea Culpa, If It Helps” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 4:05 pm I was speaking in the broader context, however I will further elaborate for those who tend to take singular statements somewhat out of context. The America that whites live in is NOT available to non-whites, therefore our perspective is “colored” by historical experiences that whites don’t experience, let alone realize. When I see the video, and recall countless other identical incidents both recorded and not, my perspective is quite different than a white person’s, unless they have led an extraordinary life. To have a body of evidence of police brutality by the NYPD, and to see a Black man essentially murdered to me is business as usual. To a white person who has never experienced systemic brutality that Blacks are visited with far too often, and for little or no provocation, they simply cannot help believing that “there must have been some kind of mitigating circumstance that ‘forced’ that officer to respond accordingly.” Blacks do not have the luxury of living in white people’s America, or even vacationing in white America even for the briefest time. What we have here on PlanetPOV are good people, but if you cannot imagine the difference in perspective that skin color demands, then this is not the kind of community I thought it was. There is a profound difference in perspective between whites and Blacks, I taught these issues as far back as 1975 in the University of Wisconsin system, even going so far as to bring students to Chicago to observe many of the differences first hand. I have the body of knowledge and the experience to talk knowledgeably about historical context, sociology, and culture as well as crime and punishment. White America is not my America, get used to it. I will see things entirely differently than most here on PlanetPOV do. Lets’ take the exact example that has caused so much consternation here. When anyone is content to wait for an in-house investigation of the conduct of an NYPD officer, is there really an expectation that a fair and accurate hearing will occur? Really, is that what you all think? That alone merits skepticism of any findings. From a non-white perspective we have seen countless “investigations” exonerate heinous conduct and families who suffer grievous losses are left with no recourse. This is such a familiar response to these kinds of investigations non-whites are left to conclude that justice is such a remote occurrence that it is as elusive as that winning PowerBall ticket. So, get pissed off at my characterization of silence gives consent, but to a growing percentage of Americans, a benign belief of equal protection under the law is a fantasy that no non-white can afford to embrace. That is a luxury that is out of our grasp. My question to PlanetPOV is this: Just what could the dead man have done to deserve to be killed? And furthermore, if he was murdered without cause, what do YOU believe is going to happen to the officer who killed him. In my America, all I see is business as usual…and that’s the problem. Miles “This Ain’t John Edward’s Two Americas” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 3:44 pm Just a short comment here from a multi-hued, non-white man. Anytime a white person sees a filmed incident like this, where a colored person is handed a beat-down that could ONLY be justified by some kind of threat of life, and automatically says, “Well, I don’t know. I need more evidence before I condemn the police,” they give cover to a crime being committed by the authorities. Merely by statistics alone there is overwhelming proof that non-whites suffer disproportionately from police brutality all across this nation, and around the world by our international policies; it’s in our country’s DNA. So white silence gives consent, pure and simple. Those whites who would argue against my thesis must ask themselves something Monicaangela mentioned, would whites tolerate the same kind of behavior, with the same frequency if they were subjected to the same level of violence; they would not. Ethnic blinders have given cover to the resurgence of violence perpetuated against non-whites in the wake of President Obama’s election and re-election. Ethnic blinders have given cover to Stand Your Ground laws passed that give whites the right to kill non-whites with impunity. Would those laws still be on the books if a rash of whites were killed by terrified blacks, who have centuries of evidence proving that whites pose an ongoing threat to the lives of non-whites on a daily basis? In California under Gov. Reagan laws were passed permitting open carry of weapons, that is until the Black Panther Party began to openly carry as well. Those laws were repealed immediately. To look at the incident in New York as anything BUT unmitigated violence against Blacks is foolish in the extreme and says more about the delusions suffered by those who ignore history, statistics and a proven hostility the NYPD has always had toward people of color. Miles “View From The Other Side” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 23, 2014 @ 7:08 am Should pot be legal or not? The short, complete answer is: Yes. The ONLY people against legalization of recreational Marijuana are: 1. The ignorant, Miles “Cut To The Chase” Long » Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 7:48 am The Weekend Music Thread-Summer Fun Here’s another Comedy Break to try to take your minds off of James Garner:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 6:18 pm
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 8:30 am
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 8:21 am
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 8:18 am Rest in Peace:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 8:16 am
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 8:14 am
» Posted By Miles Long On July 20, 2014 @ 7:59 am Damn skippy:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:55 pm FYI: This is how smooth I roll, all the time:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:53 pm And for you early risers:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:46 pm Eternal, that’s through ALL seasons:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:45 pm
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» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:37 pm
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» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:32 pm Still a great cover:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:28 pm Another fella gone too soon:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:27 pm Hard to stop with these guys:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:22 pm A Commodores Two-Fer:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:20 pm I was easy, too:
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:18 pm Keep an eye out for my chronicle of Tina and Ike entitled: “Ike & Tina: A Hands-On Love Affair:”
» Posted By Miles Long On July 19, 2014 @ 9:15 pmComments Posted By Miles Long
2. Big Pharma,
3. The Alcohol Lobby,
4. The Private prison industry.
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