“Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop”:
“Objectively reasonable”—what could be wrong with that? But in actual courtroom practice, “objective reasonableness” has become nearly impossible to tell apart from the subjective snap judgments of panic-fueled police officers. American courts universally defer to the law enforcement officer’s own personal assessment of the threat at the time.
The Graham analysis essentially prohibits any second-guessing of the officer’s decision to use deadly force: no hindsight is permitted, and wide latitude is granted to the officer’s account of the situation, even if scientific evidence proves it to be mistaken. Such was the case of Berkeley, Missouri, police officers Robert Piekutowski and Keith Kierzkowski, who in 2000 fatally shot Earl Murray and Ronald Beasley out of fear that the victims’ car was rolling towards them. Forensic investigations established that the car had not in fact lurched towards the officers at the time of the shooting—but this was still not enough for the St. Louis County grand jury to indict the two cops of anything.
“I’m Sorry About Your Thanksgiving”:
I’m sorry about your Thanksgiving! I’m sorry you’re going to have to have tense conversations about politics and race when you see your family. I’m sorry that you need to make the choice between two paths of mild discomfort: engaging or not. I’m sorry that nobody can stop this, but I’m glad that when you tweet that you are “preparing yourself for battle” with your family, whom you love but apparently do not respect, your sentiments are quickly mirrored, and empathy seems to find you instantly.
We should have a trial to figure it out. Wait. RT @kod478: @elonjames so you don’t think he tried to grab the gun? It’s possible, isn’t it?
— Elon James White (@elonjames) November 25, 2014
Public Enemy, a retrospective:
The strife that birthed Nation of Millions and Black Planet is mirrored in some of the upheaval of 2014. The business of hip-hop has changed, as free mixtapes have supplanted retail albums as the chief method of kicking off a rap career. Artistic freedom can evaporate at the drop of a gavel. (see: Lord Finesse’s pursuit of Mac Miller for borrowing a beat on a free release.) Hip-hop has again had its political mettle tested by social injustices too systemic to deny. Returning to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet for these just-released reissues is an encouraging reminder of what a hip-hop album can be to the world, a peek back at that one time a rap act pissed square into the mouth of adversity and came away unscathed. Hear the drummer get wicked.
Ghomeshi withdrew his stupid lawsuit.
reading Darren Wilson’s testimony of how he shot some animal that kept charging at him while he shot it. — Mychal Denzel Smith (@mychalsmith) November 25, 2014
Rudy Giuliani is a racist idiot, and TNC took some time out of his day to troll him, and it was time well-spent:
Why are our politicians ignoring this plague of American-on-American crime? Why are American leaders not protesting the cult of death that fills the graveyards of America? Who will bravely challenge the culture of failure that says that Americans should only be outraged when Muslims kill Americans? Who will challenge the American pathology that says that a boy who walks unarmed is acting French? I demand a TSA checkpoint at every shopping mall to shield Americans against Americans. I demand drones to kill Americans before they kill other Americans. I demand that American leaders stop pretending that American morgues and American cemeteries are full of young men because of jihadis. The evidence is clear—American-on-American violence is a silent killer that only Americans can stop. American criminality is now so rampant that it must always be the only topic of any conversation. Let us not speak of any act of international terrorism until American terrorism has been wholly vanquished.
“It looks like a demon.” This is how Wilson saw an 18yr old he SHOT. “It” and “demon.” When I say dehumanization, it’s not hyperbole.
— Trudy (@thetrudz) November 25, 2014
An interview with Jacqueline Woodson.
The only people questioning the grand jury process are crazy radicals. Oh, and the National Bar Association pic.twitter.com/0wgC1LtbDF
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 25, 2014
We ran this lovely piece yesterday about being sad at Disney World, and I hope you get a chance to read it.
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
