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Ferguson protesters spend night trying to block a highway; police spend night trying to stop them
By adamg on Tue, 11/25/2014 - 8:45pm
Some cops make arrest while others block protesters in Dewey Sq. Photo by Conqy.
A Ferguson protest in Dudley Square turned into a march of people that kept getting thwarted by Boston and State Police to shut one of the highways running through Boston.
The action started at the Southeast Expressway southbound at the Mass. Ave. connector, where protesters were mostly blocked - although they shut down the connector, police kept them off the Expressway.
The march then headed back into Roxbury, paused in front of Boston Police headquarters, then went up Mass. Ave. into the Back Bay, where police first formed a cordon around the westbound turnpike ramp at Mass. Ave. and Newbury. Next up was a walk to the turnpike ramp off Clarendon Street, to which BPD quickly rushed reinforcements, then up Clarendon to Boylston, into Chinatown and attempts to get into the O'Neill Tunnel from Essex Street up each ramp up to Seaport Boulevard.
At least 18 protesters were arrested - 8 at the Mass. Ave. Connnector, 10 in Dewey Square.
City Councilors Tito Jackson and Charles Yancey marched with protesters in the beginning, as did state Rep. Byron Rushing.
The view from high atop One Financial - those are a lot of blue lights::
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Comments
Some photos and video
Wow. This is going to get bigger before it dies down.
This is about so much more than Michael Brown.
Really?
What else is this about?
Happy now, Adam?
Happy now, Adam?
Oh?
No rioting, no property damage, people exercised their First Amendment rights, the cops respected that, what's not to like? Oh, yeah, some traffic disruptions, which I'm sure affected you personally.
Uh Adam I think you need to
Uh Adam I think you need to turn on a scanner. A lot more than traffic disruptions is now going on.
I'm listening to the scanner
And, yes, roads are being shut as protesters march and stop in intersections. But, unlike in other cities, they did not shut down a major highway (they got on the ramps to 93, but not the highway itself, I think, except for maybe a few of those 8 or so people put into wagons), and they're not staying in any one place for long now.
Put into wagons ? A-Man , was
Put into wagons ? A-Man , was that a Freudian slip? You really wanted to say Paddy Wagons , admit it , fess up .
Behold the Amazing Kvn!
His mind-reading feats will astound you! Watch as he divines the true thoughts of people he's never seen! See him explain the psychology behind everyday speech! He's incredible!
Hokay, Mass. Ave ...
Is basically at gridlock now as several hundred protesters march north towards the Back Bay (at 10:05, they were at Washington).
And so what?
This happens twice a week during the warm months for the March for Left-Handed Emus or whatever the flavor du jour is. If a traffic disruption for a cause is intolerable to you, you need to find somewhere else to live.
What about throwing a
What about throwing a hospital into code black? That is intolerable.
Mass. Ave. around 10 p.m.
How do you figure there is a
How do you figure there is a 1st Amendment right to try to block traffic on the Expressway. Is there a 1st Amendment right to block entrance to T stations. Which is to say how is it that you have a 1st Amendment right to block me from trying to get to my job or wherever else I'm going.
BTW, our 1st Amendment rights have been set by numerous decisions of our court system; that's the same system of justice that, via grand juries, can prevent prosecutors from bringing people to trial absent probable cause of a crime. Yet someone pictured above wants Wilson arrested nonetheless; I guess in some extra-judicial process.
Would you deprive Wilson of a jury trial also; or do you only want to deprive him of the part of the judicial process represented by grand juries.
part of the judicial process
A "judicial" process meant to favor cops over the people.
Bullshit.
Reasonable doubt is a very high standard to meet, as it should be. The "system" weighs heavily in favor of not convicting innocent people.
I don't think a grand jury is
I don't think a grand jury is charged with determining reasonable doubt-- only to determine if there is reason enough to bring an indictment and allow the accused to make his defense arguments at trial. I think, but am not sure, that bringing the accused in to testify at a grand jury, where he is not cross examined, is rare.
I'm not a lawyer, though, and will defer to the UHub legal team.
They're not blocking traffic.
They are traffic.
Any jumping on hoods of cars like Lucas Brunelle?
Reminds me of the idiots who rolled over cars because the Sox won the World Series. Any excuse for these kind of people.
No... The peaceful protests
No... The peaceful protests right now are very different than the World Series riots.
And before you cry that the protests tonight were not peaceful, the BPD has been calling them peaceful all night.
"these kind of people"
I think I know what you mean. You mean, "people who aren't just like me, who care about things I don't care about." The protesters have got your attention, which is their goal. That you refuse to get the point of the exercise is not their failure; it's yours.
Getting people's attention:
Yup. They've got people's attention all right-by pissing people off more, and more than likely putting off or alienating people who might otherwise support them by engaging in stupid, asinine tactics.
out of touch...
"kids get off my darn grass!!!"
If you are going on 93 right
If you are going on 93 right now you should probably stop posting and texting. Unless you're a cop- then you can do whatever you want.
Arrest the retards
If they want to march in the street, get a parade permit and pay for police details. Otherwise, stay on the sidewalks and obey the pedestrian crossing signals.
When a punk kid rips off a store, punches its owner, walks down the middle of the street, disobeys a police officer, grabs for his gun, and gets shot, he owned the outcome, no matter the colors. When people disrespect their fellow citizens by blocking transportation and costing us all with police overtime, all over a punk kid, they too ought to get arrested and fined. Some people seem to want an opportunity to commit crime, burn, and loot. The Boston ones are little different, just doing it in a limp way while also pretending they are morally entitled to it.
Wow!
Its that simple huh? From what I learned of the"punk kid" he was no angel. But did he deserve for lethal force to be used against him? Do you know how many punk kids would die on the T/metro transit across the nation for being rude, aggressive,threatening etc? Sorry the good populace was inconvenienced briefly as others attempt to affect change!
Your use of the "r" word,
Your use of the "r" word, makes you look like a real ignorant asshole.
Blocking highways/freeways, etc, isn't how to affect change.
It's a stupid way to go about it, and it just makes many people more angry and more upset. Frankly, I feel alienated from. put off by, and disgusted with the people who engage in such stupidity. When people have had a stressful day at work or school, or whatever, they've got the right NOT to be subjected to the extra stress of non-moving traffic when they're trying to get home to their families, to an important appointment, or wherever.
Imho, as another poster succinctly pointed out, there are other ways of affecting change, and irritating the general population by stupid tactics that alienate people and put them off.
Did you ever notice?
Did you ever notice that the people who have no interest in doing something are always so helpful, telling you that there are other ways of doing the thing, and that those ways are superior to the way you're trying to do it? Never mind that those other ways have been tried, and have not worked, even if the helpful critic actually suggests some other way, which they almost never do. Here we have Mr. alienated, put off, & disgusted, who thinks his "right" to not encounter traffic jams supersedes anyone else's right to freedom of speech. Classic.
Here's a question, perruptor and lbb:
How would you feel if a loved one, friend or acquaintance was the victim of a stroke, heart attack or any other life-threatening illness or injury died en route to a hospital due to the fact that you and your friends insisted on purposely shutting off access to hospitals out of frustration due to not being allowed to shut down a major highway, not to mention dramatizing your point over a cause by engaging in such arrogant stupidity? That's something, imho, that you might want to think long and hard about!
How would you like it if a pit bull tore into a family member?
Nobody died because of what happened at the Mass. Ave. Connector. And I'm assuming you have never actually been attacked by a pit bull.
At this point, however, I'm going into friendly neighborhood censor mode. The three of you up to your rooms, please. No more comments about this, because minds will not be changed.
Dearest mplo
When I say I'm going into "friendly neighborhood censor mode," what that means is that I will be deleting further comments from people not logged into the system. You can rant at me all you like, but nobody else will see it.
Not cool
Your use of a slur is not okay.
Why the protests spilled onto highways:
http://streetsblog.net/2014/11/26/why-ferguson-protests-spilled-onto-hig...
No it hasn't impacted me at
No it hasn't impacted me at all. God you suck
How ironic
That he is giving you the forum to tell him he sucks.
Upvoted more than once
I'd like to upvote you more than once. The lack of self-awareness is strong in this person.
As opposed to ...
The damage that recently happened in Keene, NH because of a pumpkin festival and Morgantown, WV due to a football game.
Oh, did anyone hear about that? Probably not - it was drunken people "celebrating" by destroying things rather than folks with an actual grievance to air mobilizing around a tragedy and peacefully marching. The nerve!
Actually everyone heard about
Actually everyone heard about it and made a huge deal about hurrrrrrr durrrr when white people riot cops don't even come!!!! Even though there were cops in riot gear like there are at every other riot. Also no one burned down buildings and looted and blocked highways but cool false equivalence, swirly.
The traffic disruptions are disgusting and should be stopped.
What the cops should do is to set up a certain marching route, where certain streets are closed off to vehicular traffic, under normal channels, with the protestors having obtained a permit for marching, instead of being so anarchic.
That's how I feel about it, and I stand by my position.
Or they could have a lovely free-speech zone
Maybe they could tell the protesters that they can only protest in the MBTA rail yard next to the Expressway. Sure, that's what the First Amendment's all about!
Ha ha ha ha!
Well, perruptor! People like YOU have helped get more repressive right-wing regimes elected into power here in the United States. Classic on YOUR part, too!
Another entertaining message
from Planet Mplo. Predictably, not even remotely associated with reality.
Nice job shutting down BMC
Nice job shutting down BMC jerks!
how does blocking people from
how does blocking people from reaching Boston medical Center do anything? Pathetic
Brings attention...
...to police brutality, inequality and racism.
Sure, you can protest peacefully in the Common but what is that going to do? It won't be as impactful as shutting down a road.
Can you picture a bunch of cops, government officials and people in positions of authority saying "hey, look they are protesting peacefully. Since they are peaceful let's stop the gerrymandering, let's try to give people access to quality education and healthcare, let's stop with the racist voter ID laws, let's make sure when a rich white person and a poor black person commit the same exact crime they get the same exact punishment.......etc, etc.
Hokay...
Gerrymandering? You have no friggin clue what that means. Quick, no intanets...in which state did that start? Clue, it was named after a salamander, sorta. I say let's stop with the racist 'card me at Star Market for buying beer' laws. Let's make sure that when a rich white person, like OJ Simpson , oh, never mind. Good legal rep takes money.
The color line is green.
No one has the 'Constitutional right' to block a common thoroughfare. Ambulances need to get through. What if one of the bunch of UHub reported stabbings or shootings cannot get to BMC? They die in the middle of a packed street?
Bad news, that victim was probably black. Face reality. This is a good city, folks in charge generally are decent. These little darlings that are marching are in it for the disruption. They won't change shit, just get someone dead that had a shot at life.
Oh, your favorite amendment, in it's entirety:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Damn apostrophe...
Damn apostrophe...
Angry much?
You are one angry person. Just imagine how much more angrier you'd be if you had to deal with institutionalized racism.
So...
I guess when someone calls you on your cut-and-paste BS rant, the only answer is 'woh, angry'.
I have no idea wether you're black or white and I don't care. As far as institutional racism, I'm not a sobo yuppie(not verified). I was born here, watched this city for a long time.
Oh, the Supreme Court has dealt with gerrymandering, repeatedly. See this page from 1996: "SUPREME COUNT CONTINUES TO STRIKE DOWN MAJORITY MINORITY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS "
http://www.civilrights.org/monitor/vol8_no5_6/art5.html
And, a happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Not as angry
as you get when the cleaner can't get the stains out of your yoga pants.
I caught that too
The dude has no idea what gerrymandering means.
Huh?
From that you can tell whether the writer understands the concept of gerrymandering?
That's perceptive.
Not extremely perceptive.
He probably has no idea that gerrymandering has been dealt with, repeatedly, and with limited success, by various courts and legislatures.
Search the interwebs using www.duckduckgo.com the search engine that doesn't track you.
In all fairness,
I would protest the practice of gerrymandering. It's a stain, albeit a long-accepted norm, on the democratic process. Suffrage is about as basic a right as one can possess, so cutting up districts to produce a desired result is a reprehensible practice in a democratic state. As for the Ferguson protests - it's a moment, probably not a movement. I wouldn't normally complain about blocking traffic, but yeah tying up the quickest route to BMC is a poor choice. There were better ways, better streets to protest in.
Also Marblehead's own Elbridge Gerry, everyone knows that.
HAH!
An oldie, "Light dawns on Marblehead." Some gerrymandering references I found had to do with majority being gerried (if that's a word) into minority districts in Texas at the behest of the DOJ in the nineties.
Oh, protesters cut off 95 in Providence last night.
Gerrymandering
Cuts both ways, I think it was a This American Life episode that talked about the role of African-Americans in politics in Alabama - the gist was that there was internal dissension in the black political organization where one group wanted to create solidly minority districts to preserve representation while another didn't want to for fear of a "separate-but-equal" political system. Those in favor of gerrymandering won out, but the upshot is that now African-Americans have lost major political clout in Alabama because they no longer function as a 'swing'-vote, that they used to, and can be summarily ignored by the legislature without fear of political repercussion. As for etymology - it's 100% Elbridge Gerry-inspired, didn't want those dirty Federalists grabbing power from his Democratic-Republicans.
As for roads, I think we can both agree that there is no constitutional right to block them, but no constitutional right of drivers to drive on them. Right to assemble is another good example of right designed for a time with drastically different circumstances - in this case where streets were public property, and hosted a variety of different uses and where and assembly wouldn't snarl necessary functions of the city. Protesters wanted to be an inconvenience - I'd say this outcome was about the best we could've hoped for. We don't need anymore protest tent cities, that's for sure. BPD did great keeping it contained and by-and-large peaceful.
It's common for people to
It's common for people to speak about "the right to do X" etc but there is no constitutional right to drive on a road without traffic (oh but if there were!), no right to get to work on time, no right to block traffic, etc. There are laws about some of these things but that's not the same. And it's well-established that the right to speak and the right to assemble usually trump said laws because of their important to our system, with the appropriate caveat that officials and police have the ability to maintain order and so on.
You have no friggin clue...
...what the pseudo-word "friggin" means, or you wouldn't toss it around so much. And if your mother wasn't so damn ignorant she'd smack you for it.
Couch-sitters and pretend Constitutional scholars like you don't get to judge the motives or the effects of those who are actually trying to get something done. No one can stop you from blowing hot air, but disabuse yourself of the notion that your judgment is in any way qualified.
Of course.
The ad-hominem attack, first stating I have no idea what a word means (I do and I used it correctly), then the insult against my mother. Maybe I'm the way I am because I wasn't abused as a kid. Kid is a slang term for child.
Unlike our sitting president, I don't claim to be a constitutional scholar. I do, however claim to be a citizen, with as much right to judge the system and criticize it as any citizen.
So, what is it that you are trying to get done? Burn a few cars because you are a social justice warrior? Knock over a mickeydees?
Not blowing hot air, just wondering why you are such a rude and ignorant (hey, ad-hominem attack!!!) asshole. Harvey Silverglate you are not.
Go frig yourself. Frig is a slang term for fuck.
Peaceful protests are one thing, but
I agree that they've got no constitutional right to block highways and roadways, or to prevent people from going to work, or whatever. When an emergency vehicle, such as a fire engine, ambulance or police car needs to get through to the scene of a crime, to get a seriously injured or ill person to the hospital, or to the scene of a fire, time really IS of the essence; every second of every minute of every hour really does count here? Before people resort to shutting down roadways and highways and prevent ordinary people from leading their ordinary lives (i. e. work, or whatever.), they might want to consider the possibility that maybe a friend, loved one, or neighbor/acquaintenance might be in that ambulance en route to the hospital, or might be a crime victim, or, be trapped in a burning building.
Also, shutting down/blocking highways and roadways doesn't bring attention to the racism that incidents like the Ferguson, MO shooting of Michael Brown by a white police officer...in fact, tactics like that all too often alienate people who might enlist in such causes otherwise.
The revolutionary socialist
The revolutionary socialist group at the verdict protest was shouting for people to halt business as usual and the revolutionary socialists here probably took that as a call to action.
Oh, really?
...because you say so? What's your evidence in support of this assertion?
You know, as I imagine the kind of person who would be "alienated: by being inconvenienced by a protest, I picture a rather shallow and selfish individual who can't think beyond ME ME ME ME enough to wonder what these people are going on about, and/or is too lazy to find out, or too complacent to question the sound-bite dog-whistle "analysis" they're spoon-fed by "news" outlets like Faux News. The odds that such a person would "enlist in such causes otherwise" is remote, to say the least, so there really isn't anything to be lost, is there? Your argument basically is that by having a cause, and acting on its behalf, you drive away people who might "enlist", and that's just the purest distilled nonsense.
The people who come out for
The people who come out for this that aren't directly effected are into what should be called "fashionable radicalism." The social media generation sees it as a big party and a chance to be involved in the Civil Rights Event of the Year. Reactions like this shield them from criticism when they're just there for the party and "mayhem" (in the loosest sense of the word). If you honestly think chants of "fuck the police" and blocking traffic in Boston are causing positive change, you're dead wrong.
There's still a lot to be said about raising awareness and protest but there's a lot of misplaced effort going into this event in particular that's not helping and generating a negative image towards protest and by proxy the cause itself.
So...you believe that shutting down access to a hospital
So....You really believe that shutting down access to a hospital (BMC) is a smart way to bring attention to what is a deeply-rooted societal problem that has been entrenched into the very fabric of our society and culture since day one (inotherwords since the U. S.'s founding)? I sure as hell don't.
What I see is that people don't care who dies en route to a hospital as long as they can dramatize their point by violating everybody else's right's in the process. People like YOU are who've helped get more right-wing regimes get elected into power here in the United States!
And did, in fact, anybody die?
Let's not get too overwrought here.
You're right: Access to BMC should not have been blocked. I really doubt the protesters set out to do that.
But, Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick, this is not some little town in North Dakota with the only hospital around for 500 miles. Boston has several fine, dare I say world-class, hospitals with not just emergency rooms, but trauma centers. You might recall what happened after the Marathon bombings. Hospitals go on "Code Black" all the time and the local EMTs and paramedics have these things called radios by which they can be informed to go to another hospital.
So what?
Stupid tactics like blocking access to hospitals is not the way to go, and neither is blocking freeways, etc. Going to another hospital isn't necessarily and always the answer, especially if someone's having a heart attack, a stroke, or any other really life-threatening illness or injury. Bringing people to the closest hospital is the way to go, and when access to the closest hospital(s) is/are blocked off, that puts the patient in danger.
Blocking off access to hospitals just for a cause is beyond stupid...it's totally irresponsible. Next thing people know, these protestors will be blocking ambulances. They've proved, by such tactics, that they're not to be trusted to be responsible when they protest. That's my position.
Even if nobody died, there's always the potential for someone to die because they can't get to the hospital in time.
Wow
Thankfully this did not significantly impact patient care (that we know of).
But are you really going to justify rolling the dice?
95 S shut in Providence
95 S shut in Providence:
https://twitter.com/JayWBZ/status/537432067228065792
All hospitals off I95
All hospitals off I95 Providence are now shut down.
https://www.facebook.com/NEALERTS/posts/408745605941091?fref=nf
Protest all you want, but
Protest all you want, but taking it to this level isn't right.
Agree
They've made their point and raised awareness. Time to go home. The chances of some knucklehead among the 1000+ doing something stupid only get higher the later it gets. It just takes 1 idiot to ruin an otherwise positive message. They should quit while they're ahead. halloweencostumes
Not only is taking protests to that sort of level wrong, but
it's downright dangerous, to boot. The people whose protesting resulted in the shutting down access to hospitals, or caused the hospitals to go into code black remind me of that stupid-assed Catherine Power, who, back in the winter of 1970, decided, along with a cadre of her friends (she was in college back then), thought that it would be plumb swell to hold up a bank to show their opposition to our involvement with Indo-China and provide funding for their cause.
One of her pals, who was an escaped convict, shot and killed Walter Schroeder, the Boston Patrolman who responded to the hold-up, leaving a family (9 kids and a wife) without a husband and father. Not only was that a stupid thing for Catherine Power and her friends to do, but it did almost immeasurable harm to the cause that she and her friends believed in for many years to come.
Pit bulls are dangerous, too
But they have as much to do with the protest last night as Kathy Ann Power.
But maybe I missed the part where people protesting against what happened in Ferguson hooked up with a convicted thug and his pals and went out and shot a cop in Brighton and went on the lam. Could you provide a cite? Thx.
You're missing my point, Adam:
First of all, pitbulls have nothing to do with this subject.
Secondly, in both the protests of last night, and of the protests that Catherine Power was involved in, people acted totally irresponsible. Blocking access to a hospital, even if it's only for a cause, endangers people's lives, especially if and when they've got a really life-threatening illness/injury such as a heart attack, stroke, or drug overdose, for example.
People don't have to hook up with convicted killer thugs to do dangerous, irresponsible and illegal things. Blocking access to a hospital or hospitals is illegal..and dangerous, in that it does endanger people's lives.
Yes, pitbulls are dangerous, and I have little or no respect for people who own such dogs.
I have no respect for people who block access to hospitals, or block freeways, etc., for a cause, no matter how desperate or legitimate it is.
I'm not missing your point
I just think your point is wrong, in the sense that thugs and naive college students deliberately going out and murdering people has absolutely nothing to do with people who held a protest march 45 years later.
I still disagree with you, Adam.
I think, in a way, they are comparable, because, in either case, lives were involved, due to the irresponsible actions of protestors.
The actions of the demonstrators last night who deliberately and knowingly shut down access to a hospital, due to their anger and frustrations over having been prevented from shutting down the Southeast Expressway by the cops, endangered the lives of people.
The actions of Catherine Power and her friends (i. e. holding up and robbing a bank to fund their opposition to our involvement in Indo-China) resulted in the loss of a life.
Even though endangering a life and causing the loss of a life aren't the same, the endangering of human lives by deliberately shutting down access to a hospital had the potential for causing the loss of lives, which, imho, is not really that much different.
But now, naive college students are
going out and endangering people's lives by shutting access to hospitals not only here in Boston, but in Providence, as well.
indict naivety
CJ problem or cultural problem?
Sounds like the World Series....
Near Symphony Hall it sounds like The Red Sox won the World Series. Helicopters are the worst noise offenders.
10 in 2014 (Thus Far), 12 in 2013, 12 in 2012.
That is the number of murders in Charles Yancey's District 4.
Tito Jackson's 7th District fares a little worse - 9 in 2014 (Thus Far), 15 in 2013, 13 in 2012.
These are based on the maps on this site. I may be off on one or two numbers but then again, it doesn't seem like those lives are worth to get people to block a street, save for the Mother's Day March in Four Corners.
Glad to see it took some idiot cop and some idiot teenager 1,200 miles away for Charles and Tito to make sure we all know that they are with Ferguson, Minority Men being killed here in Boston? Eh? Not so much.
The hypocrisy is mind blowing.
Anxiously awaiting followup post
...to see how many of those murderers go to jail, how many get killed themselves in retaliatory violence, and how many get an hour on ABC to explain themselves a night after the DA goes on national TV to explain why there's no point even putting them on trial.
I'll give you one number.....
Zero of them stuck around to claim self defense. So that changes things.
How about a march against Bill Cosby?
Also seems more worthy for a call to justice.
And Markkkk blows the dog-whistle
As long as there are idiots who can't focus on more than one thing at a time, this stupid tactic of "Yeah, but THAT PERSON OVER THERE DID A WRONG THING so we gotta stop paying attention to THIS wrong thing and go OVER THERE" will work great up to a point. But people with two brain cells to rub together will wise up eventually, at which point anything you have to say gets the automatic bullshit tag. Think about it, Markkkk.
Researching stats is one thing
Assuming you know what goes on in a community is another. The people in these communities always speak out against the violence. They protest, they march, they gather and plan. They form groups and events to stem the violence.
Do you desire for them to block streets for every killing? If not, what is your point?
Yes
For a worthy cause, that is - I'm all for shutting the whole damn city down if it was about an innocent victim of senseless violence, someone like Dawn Jaffier. It's a whole different story when it's over a violent thug whose behavior got him on the business end of a cop's gun. For some reason, all the well-educated, well-moneyed (courtesy of rich daddy,) highly bored social justice crusaders always tend to pick wrong martyrs. It would be much more helpful if all those clowns would go to the ghetto and mentor a kid so he ends up in college instead of jail, but they prefer to hang around on street corners with clipboards, wearing funny-colored vests and annoying the daylights out of everybody.
You are not paying attention
You are not paying attention if you think the Boston black community and its elected officials are silent when it comes to the murder of individuals in Mattapan, Roxbury, etc.
Perhaps Not Silent
Perhaps Not Loud Enough.
Some how it is ok for there to be a an acceptable level of minority on minority, oops, majority on majority violence in Boston. A white cop killing a up and coming miscreant while not good, seems to be have become the most evil thing ever.
Just remember, the most infamous killing by a Boston cop in the past 15 years was the killing of a white girl by a black cop. I didn't see too many people trying to shut down infrastructure over that.
It's almost as if we're
It's almost as if we're supposed to hold cops to a higher standard or something
That's because cops are there to uphold the law,
and they're held to a higher standard, because they have to realize that going overboard is putting themselves down to the level of the miscreant, which, in turn, causes the public to lose respect for them. As I posted in another thread, cops are needed around, but, at the same time, they've got to go by the oath that they took to uphold the laws they promised to uphold, and not put themselves down to the level of miscreants by violating them.
Earth calling Planet Mplo
I guess you haven't noticed that people are protesting over the fact that none of those things are true, and they want them to be.
Cops are not held to a higher standard; they routinely get away with crimes that would land civilians in jail. They do not realize that they're going overboard, because they believe they are a privileged special class. Even if they did realize they were going overboard, they don't care if the public respects them, so long as it respects their authority. The cops have decided that fear and force are the tools for gaining that respect.
Keep giving us updates from your fantasy planet; it's just like watching TV.
Little goody two-shoes perruptor who's willing to protest
at every chance he gets. You're not getting MY support, buster! NO way.
Thank God
If I ever did get your support, I'd know I screwed up somehow. You disagreeing with me is a validation. Name-calling is always classy, and mind-reading never fails to impress.
First off, using the term
First off, using the term "miscreant" about Brown is pretty revealing. Second, you're creating strawmen left and right to make your point. Who has said the level of crime in majority-minority neighborhoods is at "an acceptable level?" No one has said or insinuated that. If anything, it's the exact opposite. If you don't see that, I don't know what to tell you.
don't oversimplify
" A white cop killing a up and coming miscreant while not good, seems to be have become the most evil thing ever. "
The protests have become less about the killing, and more about the power structure's total lack of interest in doing anything about the killing, which is also shorthand for the way the power structure has treated poor and minority people for...well, ever. Some people even who aren't directly affected by that want that to change.
Ah, the power of oversimplification
At the start of all of this, there was a narrative that this was some kid shot for walking down the middle of the street while standing there with his hands up, looking to surrender. As things rolled out, the facts got a bit less clear, yet for many the narrative remained. By Monday night, people were upset that a police officer who shot someone who attacked him was not indicted for murder.
The overall problem we are facing in this nation is that with incidents like this, two distinct realities arise that are in stark contrast with each other. The reality is that until the believers in these two realities can have a rational discussion, we will never go forward.
If one wants to find a clearer view of the power structure treating minorities poorly, perhaps people should be making a bigger deal about the death of Eric Garner. Heck, if one really wants to see how poor people are screwed locally, just look at Madison Park High School.
I don't entirely agree with you, John Costello.
Plenty of people in the black and other non-white communities do speak up about and against crime in their communities, which is a huge problem. They speak up about it in their communities, among themselves, in their churches, the radio and TV stations, and the newspapers. That being said, the claim that non-whites don't speak loudly enough about the crime in their communities isn't really accurate.
Very impressed with BPD messaging
I've been very impressed with the tone the BPD has taken tonight on Twitter. They have never lost sight of their duty to protect the right to peacefully protest, even while dealing with major traffic disruptions:
The use of the words "safety & well-being" really is commendable.
I got out of work in DTX at
I got out of work in DTX at 11:40pm -- 93 north entrance is blocked off. I've never seen so many police assembled. Got yelled by a cop for asking what roads are open still. Whatever. Beacon Street was clear and Cambridge is quiet.
Thank you for reporting on this as always Adam!!!
Since the Mass Av Connector*
Since the Mass Av Connector* connects to Frontage Rd, not I-93, maybe they weren't actually protesters.
Maybe they were a group of walk/bike advocates determined to find the South Bay Harbor Trail.
Maybe they were a group of futbol fans headed for the proposed soccer stadium site - determined to prove how easy it will be to get around town when Boston hosts the Olympics and the World Cup.
They certainly weren't doing anything unsafe or disruptive, like causing police cars to blow through Neponset Circle to respond to their activities - making them unavailable for potential emergencies like the fire burning behind Staples.
* Thank you for using the proper name, by the way. It drives me nuts when the traffic report on WBZ talks about traffic on the Expressway using "Mass Av" as a landmark.
Oh no they've blocked traffic
Oh no they've blocked traffic! To hell with their cause then. Give me convenience or give me death!
Some workers need to get home
Some workers need to get home to their kids. That's called parenting, not convenience. Grow up and maybe you'll understand adult responsibilities.
Traffic happens every day,
Traffic happens every day, maybe you're not cut out for city life
The Police have been professional
The Protestors have been professional
The media have been amateurs and have taken the mantra if it bleeds it leads to an all time low
A March???
People will follow a strong lead even if it is in the wrong direction..... Property damage and lawlessness is never excusable!
There were probably many
There were probably many times in history when property damage and lawlessness were justified. Good thing none of that happened last night though!
The protests in Boston last
The protests in Boston last night were overwhelmingly orderly and focused. The police also handled them perfectly. A credit to both sides. And they clearly got people's attention, even those who think free speech rights should contained solely to one corner of a park on a particular day with week's planning beforehand and no disruption to anyone anywhere. That's not how democracy works.
Yeah, like tea
I mean really, destruction of private property? Getting likkered up and storming a ship and tossing the contents overboard? All for your stupid CAUSE? We can't be having that!
Adam
How many American Flags did you burn last night?
The same as ...
The number of times you read the First Amendment.
Lumpy
its not 1968.
Why are
People still chanting "hands up, don't shoot?" He never had his hands up, maybe his fists!
You know this, how, Anon?
1. You were there
2. You picked up your hood long enough to see better than through the little eye holes?
Come on, you know better than
Come on, you know better than to accuse those of the opposite opinion (that may coincide with the evidence, haven't had time to read the 210 pages of findings) of being white supremacists. That's intellectually dishonest.
Anons
Anons are fair game.
Attacking anons just being
Attacking anons just being anons is not an argument. I will keep posting this every time you make this argument.
So because he's anon makes it
So because he's anon makes it ok for you to call someone a racist because they disagree with you? Did he/she say anything that was racist? Don't you think that detracts from your argument?
You, swrrlygrrl, are an anon.
You, swrrlygrrl, are an anon. Unless of course that is your legal name.
But she's not
Even pseudo anons like sonny or So-Bo Yuppie get a pass, since at least the give a nom-de-plume. For all we know, all you "anon (not verified)" are the same guy.
There are multiple eyewitness
There are multiple eyewitness accounts that he did have his hands up. There are also some that say he did not. Not unusual to have widely different eyewitness accounts of the same event. That might not fit into your narrative, though, I realize.