General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFatalEncounters.org: Info Law Enforcement Doesn't Want You to Have
Journalists, protesters, activists and even historians attempting to summarize factual information on the number of people killed by law enforcement officers in the course of their duties have all encountered it: The brick wall of "No Information."
No one in America-- Not the FBI, not the Justice Department, not even (so far as we know) the NSA, the ultimate Agency that Sees All and Knows All, collects this data and/or is willing to share it.
When we ask "how bad is the problem?" we must accept the answer "we don't know."
Knowledge is of course power. And no law enforcement agency in America apparently wants the citizens it works for to have that power.
So we have to do it on our own.
And we ARE doing it on our own, via crowdsourcing, with FatalEncounters.org, a website created by D. Brian Burghart to compile this information from citizen sources.
Go look, it's worth seeing. Fifty-seven in New Mexico so far, the oldest going back to 2000.
It's even more worth donating.
Because who actually HAS this information? We do. We whose family members, neighbors, fellow-citizens have been killed, who read the newspapers, listen to the radio, monitor what's happening in our communities. We HAVE the information.
Let's put it together, so we can USE the information.
Thanks, Mr. Burghart. I WILL be donating.
determinedly,
Bright
kentuck
(111,052 posts)It's sort of like "Jesus, the Missing Years"....Nobody knew what he did from the time he was twelve until he was in his thirties. Nobody.
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]
TygrBright
(20,755 posts)No, no... looks like GD to me.
Not getting the Jesus connection, kentuck. The historicity of Jesus is slippery at best, even among the most meticulous scholars and historians of that time and place.
The historicity of people gunned down by police in contemporary America is only slippery because law enforcement seems to want it that way, and there are a large number of contemporary primary sources that can be tapped to record verifiable evidence.
bewilderedly,
Bright
kentuck
(111,052 posts)just to make the point that if there is information out there, nobody knows about it...just like Jesus. Not made in a religious connection.
TygrBright
(20,755 posts)But there's still a big difference: Lots and lots of people THINK they know what was going on with Jesus.
Most of us know damn' well we're being kept ignorant of LEO fatalities.
And yeah, I'm just keeping the thread kicked, thanks.
appreciatively,
Bright
uppityperson
(115,677 posts)stevenleser
(32,886 posts)A very necessary service, but I think the stats will be hurl-worthy/vomit inducing.
TygrBright
(20,755 posts)Nevertheless, it's important to know.
determinedly,
Bright