18 shot this weekend in Baltimore

[Rosa Luxemburg]

Source: Baltimore Sun

A pair of gray-and-white New Balance tennis shoes lay next to a pool of blood on a street in East Baltimore Sunday afternoon, remnants of a double shooting in the same block where a 21-year-old was shot in the shoulder Friday.

It was the first of two double shootings in the city Sunday.

Another two people were shot, one of them fatally, in separate incidents on Sunday among at least 18 shootings over Memorial Day weekend, during a particularly alarming spate of gun violence.

Thirty-three people have been killed so far in May, the first time the city has had 30 homicides in a month since June 2007. No month in the last 15 years has had more than 33 killings.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-shootings-20150524-story.html

[FrodosPet]

1. Were they shot by police?

I am pretty sure it only matters to the world at large when people are shot by police.

When they are shot by other civilians, it is not as important. Indeed, bringing it up is racist.

[7962]

3. Ouch.

That'll bite a few folks around here......

[NuclearDem]

8. No.

It's racist bullshit when people bring it up to deflect from how law enforcement has turned into an institutional abattoir of black men.

Hey, if some want to hold the law enforcement agencies in this country to the standards of gangs and criminals, I won't argue with them.

[tabasco]

11. Yes, cops are just plain old criminals like the civilians

Good point.

[BrotherIvan]

22. Your dog whistle is loud enough that we can all hear it

But then we flipped you off and went back to our day.

BECAUSE THIS FUCKING NEVER HAPPENED

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/05/the-texas-biker-gang-massacre/393500/

[7962]

62. So whats your point?

Bunch of biker thugs started trouble and a bunch got killed.

[LanternWaste]

55. Creative, though unsupported allegation.

Creative, though unsupported allegation. But, as we all advertise our biases in one way or another...

(insert rationalization below)

[7962]

2. Cops seem to be pulling out completely. The Mayor better get a handle on it.

Otherwise sections of Baltimore will degrade even further.

[ananda]

4. Ohhh. That's terrible!

They better figure out something soon!

[NaturalHigh]

5. Probably because they're afraid to be indicted.

[NuclearDem]

9. Easy way to avoid that is to not snap an unarmed, cuffed man's spine.

[tabasco]

12. Or help cover it up when your partner does it. n/t

[NaturalHigh]

13. Putting aside the Baltimore case...

every time a police officer is forced to defend himself (say against someone coming at him with a knife) we have people falling over themselves to demand they be thrown in prison.

[NuclearDem]

15. Yeah, no.

That's utter bullshit and you know it.

Alright, fine let's put aside the Baltimore case. How many cops have been indicted for killings, never mind convicted for them?

I can think of one.

[NaturalHigh]

18. Oh, I'm pretty sure it's true.

I've seen plenty of posts like that from the "fuck tha police" crowd. There were some just a few days ago when a St. Louis police officer wasn't indicted after he shot the guy who attacked him.

[NuclearDem]

19. Sorry, but I could give less a fuck about hurt feelings.

You act like this animosity against the police came out of fucking nowhere, and they're just helpless victims.

[NaturalHigh]

20. That's fine. My feelings aren't hurt.

We're just on the opposite side of this issue. I'm all for punishing bad cops, but police officers should be judged by the same standard as everybody else: innocent until proven guilty. They also have the same basic rights to defend themselves when attacked.

[libdem4life]

21. I'm afraid that it's more like "Innocent until a video emerges" Then, the coverup. Then the line

of accomplices that get in line to prevent investigation, let along conviction. If a bad cop does a bad thing and another cop doesn't say anything...under the rule of law, an accomplice is an accessory. So, this good cop, bad cop thing falls apart. Not all may have killed people under the color of authority, but the rest of them have had knowledge, been at the scene, etc.

The videos we're seeing now...defend themselves? armed to the teeth with armed buddies around? almost always unarmed Black citizens?

The word I'd use is nonchalant.

[LanternWaste]

56. When has that not happened?

" but police officers should be judged by the same standard as everybody else: innocent until proven guilty."

When has that not happened? Or are you conflating the mere opinions of people with actual legal pronouncements of guilt or innocence and sentencing to better dramatize a position lacking any real evidence?

[GGJohn]

23. Here's another.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Rogue-cop-gets-20-years-in-killing-2064331.php

Here's another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_Frank

And another.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/26/okla-cop-convicted-in-death-unarmed-teen/

I could keep going, but you get the drift.

[NuclearDem]

31. Two from 20+ years ago.

Fantastic.

How many have gotten away with it?

[GGJohn]

32. Hey, I'm not arguing that cops get away with murder,

I'm just pointing out that sometimes, cops do pay the price for their criminality.

[awoke_in_2003]

46. You're naturally high

from sniffing too much of your shit.

[FrodosPet]

6. Life is better and safer without police!

The people in Baltimore are much better off without the oppression of the police.

When people no longer feel the police's heavy hand of oppression, they calm down. Love and joy and service to their community fills their hearts, replacing any greed and anti-social impulses

[yeoman6987]

24. We'll see. This weekend does not prove your theory

But it's early and maybe long term you are right.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

29. You make a good point. Been saying this for years.

[FrodosPet]

36. Really?

For Sale: Slightly used

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

42. So, how much?

[FrodosPet]

43. Two cases of Bell's Oberon

And a pair of tickets to a Jack White concert.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

44. lol, that's a lil steep...but, okay, you gotta deal.

[FrodosPet]

45. If need be, I will take a case of Bell's Saturn

In lieu of one of the cases of Oberon.

http://bellsbeer.com/planets/saturn/

TASTING NOTES: The fifth release in the Bell’s Planets Series is strong, robust and complex. Saturn is a bourbon barrel aged barleywine loaded with notes of toffee, caramel, oak and vanilla that finishes with a warming touch. The first beer brewed for this series, Saturn has been aging in casks since July 2014. True to its name, this beer is well suited for vintage aging.

[greytdemocrat]

30. Wow.

I bet you really believe that too.

[FrodosPet]

35. That is what I keep reading

So it MUST be true.

And if someone DOES step out of line, the neighborhood residents can judge the situation and dole out the punishment MUCH more fairly than the police and the courts.

(the preceding opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its owners, or sponsors)

[7962]

37. You DO realize the "sarcasm" thingy is always required, dont you?

Then again, you're having a pretty good time.

[sarisataka]

33. Because humans were so

peaceful and altruistic before police were created

[LanternWaste]

57. Many dullards are compelled to see merely two, extreme options

Many dullards are compelled to see merely two, extreme options. Either a well-deserved anarchy (with its concomitant peevish editorial), or the totality of police authority.

Bless their half-witted, dull little minds... not that you're a dullard by any stretch of the imagination-- even though you're compelled to entertain simply two options. No doubt, there's mental convenience in that bit of bumper-sticker wisdom.

[FrodosPet]

59. Trust - I am a man of nuance

Two of my earliest memories are A. a police officer helping me get home to my parents as a 6 year old, and B. a police officer pointing a gun at my head when I was 7 years old.

Alas, our species needs people who enforce a basic set of standards of behavior. We need them to be brave and forceful when acting in the positive pursuit of their duties. Some people must be controlled, or they will kill, assault, and or steal from others.

At the same time, we need them to NOT oppress people who are not violating the law. We need them to be proportional when they ARE dealing with lawbreakers.

[Historic NY]

39. Can't have it both ways....

I don't blame the police either. Locally here a gang set themselves upon an officer that responded to a call beating him severely...asshats forget there were cameras. One female was arrested so far.

[Historic NY]

41. Where are all those activists when you need them?????

.

[Oktober]

51. Not a lot of incentive to put themselves out there...

[onehandle]

7. Gun culture trickle down.

Second Amendment Remedy-ee.

[hack89]

25. Drug gang criminal culture trickle down - there fixed it for you. Nt

[NaturalHigh]

26. You know I thought about that too.

Then I realized that those evil guns forced people to go out and shoot someone. The sooner the Second Amendment is repealed and those evil guns (did I mention that guns are evil?) are banned the sooner we'll all be walking on sunshine. We'll lose weight too!

[hack89]

27. But will my lawn be free of crabgrass? Nt

[NaturalHigh]

28. Why hell yes!

[cheapdate]

34. Bullshit! We'll never have peace and safety

until handguns are as cheap and plentiful as the pre-paid cell phones you get at the corner market. Gun control is tyranny.

[DreamSmoker]

10. Blame the Community Leadership

I have to say from experience that this issue goes to the Leadership of Baltimore..
I say this because my City was under siege from Murdering Gang Bangers last year..
Finally the County, State and Federal Law Enforcers came into town...
Within months all the Murders stopped...
During that time close to 1,000 Bangers were arrested and Jailed..
A No tolerance for Bangers message was clear...
You bang here??? You go to jail..
You look like a Banger and you get stopped...
You are not in school??? You get stopped and questioned..
You own a Liquor Store in the Hood??? You get watched for under age sales..

I say to you all..
Its up to the residence to make a stand and put the pressure on their Community Leaders to get that extra help needed..
You can do this..
The results here are very clear..
It starts with you the Community..
So Get Involved... Take your Neighborhoods back..

[qwlauren35]

16. Rock and a Hard Place

Baltimore's history of violence tends to keep me out of the city, despite the fact that many parts are nice. (I also like to go places where there are free parking lots!) What you are talking about sounds like profiling. And it sounds like you're saying it was working. So, what to do? Continue the profiling, but respect the rights of those who are arrested? Urge the communities to identify the criminals (that's going to take YEARS of de-programming). You say that the city's leadership is to blame. I think Rawlings-Blake is caught between a rock and a hard place. For example, the curfew that she enacted cost millions in business by shutting down Baltimore's night life for a week. But it, and the presence of the National Guard calmed the city down.

And then. There is the question - who looted, vs. who murdered? Did you notice that there were no murders when the riots happened? It was KIDS. Stupid kids. The murders are not kids. They are adults who have no respect for human life. The police have to be able to tell the difference, and treat accordingly. Another vote for community policing.

This weekend's spree in Baltimore sickens and saddens me. I have a sorority sister in Baltimore who prayed so hard for the madness to end when the riots happened, got out into the streets to encourage, to rally, to make a difference. But it broke her, and she is ready to move.

Pray for Baltimore.

[cigsandcoffee]

50. So the answer is stopping and incarcerating more young black men?

I thought that's what led us to where we are now, no?

[tabasco]

14. Amazing. Some people on this thread seem to be downright offended

that police were held accountable for crimes.

Newsflash, geniuses, when cops are unaccountable, it's the GESTAPO.

[qwlauren35]

17. However...

this story is not about the police.

It's sad that it got brought up in the first place.

[7962]

38. There you have it. The cops arent at fault with these numbers.

Did the killing of Freddie Gray cause all these people to start shooting each other? No. They were doing it before that crime happened.

[romanic]

40. I've said this so many times and I'll say it again

We need to protest, NOT just for police brutality, but for the high amounts of crime that plague mostly black cities and destroy many black families and livelihoods. How the fuck can anyone say black people matter when they ignore all of this gang banging, multiple homicides, and massive poverty in black neighborhoods? I want the #BLM and other movements to focus on the economic inequality that impact black people more than any other group of race in the country; we NEED to encourage better schools for mostly black student bodies, blight busting to clean up the hoods, less public housing projects own by slumlords in favor of better homes for familiy, sex education to discourage teen pregnancy in our communities, and more outreach programs for college and trades that will uplift black boys and black girls from the cycle of poverty.

It can be done, I know it can. The protestors just need to focus on the bigger picture for the black community if they truly care at all. /rant over

[7962]

47. It CAN be done, yes. But it wont be.

Because half of what you say takes personal responsibility and effort. Blaming everyone and everything else is standard operating procedure. That and demanding more and more money with no strings attached. Instead, its time for another "white privilege" thread; ignoring the fact that there are plenty of equally poor white areas too.
Certainly the police issue HAS to be dealt with. Qualified immunity NEEDS to be done away with. I think that would be a huge step forward.

[bigworld]

48. ^^^THIS.

Protesting conditions and oppression is great, and the people in control sometimes need to see it before anything gets done. But protesting alone shouldn't be the end game. It doesn't solve anything in and of itself.

The community needs to lift _itself_ out of ignorance, out of violence.

This applies to black inner city neighborhoods as well as lily white towns in Appalachia.

[metalbot]

49. Why not act rather than protest?

I don't envision thousands of people protesting for better schools or sex education or cleaning up neighborhoods having much impact. But I could envision thousands of people actually volunteering in schools, cleaning up neighborhoods, or teaching sex education having real impacts.

[JustAnotherGen]

52. Can I ask

What are you actively engaged in - in the inner cities?

I.E. What kind of hands on solutions are you working towards in your own community?

Thanks

[NOLALady]

53. +100,000

I can't believe this thread. SMDH

[JustAnotherGen]

54. I'm serious NOLA

I'm thinking - could I be doing more than what I am?

Like - as passionate as that post was - I'm thinking the poster is probably hip deep in the black community engaged at an activist level.

Like - are you and me not doing enough? Are we like - ignoring our own?

[NOLALady]

60. I agree 100%.

Obviously black folk have no clue how to focus on the "big picture" that affects their communities.

Thank Heavens that we have these engaged activists to "educate" the communities.

[LanternWaste]

58. In a nation that boasts the largest gun ownership

In a nation that boasts the largest gun ownership (both per capita and absolute) in the world, this seems little more than one of many like outcomes.

[GreatGazoo]

61. A little context: Chicago -- 56 shot, 12 dead this weekend

http://www.chicagotribune.com/

New Orleans: 6 shot, 2 dead
Los Angeles: 10 shot, 3 dead
Waco: 30 shot, 9 dead*

[Rosa Luxemburg]

63. OMG