We may not be a big city, like Philly, Houston, Chicago, or DC, but, for our size, Ypsilanti had one hell of a turnout today in support of Black Lives Matter. I’m incredibly proud of my home town right now, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Terril Cotton and the other organizers who made today’s protest happen. While it’s absolutely inexcusable that more progress hasn’t been made over the past eight years — since we gathered on the Michigan Avenue sidewalk to mark the murder of Trayvon Martin — I take some comfort in seeing how much the movement has grown from that point. Of course, I wish we didn’t live in a world where opportunities for protest weren’t so commonplace, and men like George Floyd weren’t constantly being murdered in front of us, but it’s heartening to see so many people — especially young people — turning out, and speaking up. And it makes me think that maybe, this time, things really will change.
[The above photos, from top to bottom, were taken by Brad Perkins, Stewart Beal, and myself.]
Getting ready for today’s protest, I started going back through the archive here, trying to refresh my memory on the various discussions we’ve had over the years about our local police forces and how they interact with the community. And it’s amazing to me just how much our community has changed since the police killing of David Ware in 2007 — a killing which didn’t get the kind of large, coordinated reaction that it deserved. It’s been a slow process, but I suppose that’s the way change happens. Again, it’s disheartening, in that we’re still having to have these conversations, but I can’t help but think how fortunate we are to be living in a community that isn’t new to these discussions, a community where, over the past decade, our residents haven’t been shy about confronting those in power and demanding more of them.
74 Comments
There’s a sort of critical mass factor for social reforms, I’m not sure how to describe it, but for this example, the percentage of anti-racists has to exceed the percentage of racists by some critical threshold number, and then suddenly things are very different politically than they were when it was 5% lower. The demographics and views change very slowly, a few percent a year, but when it crosses the threshold, society changes very suddenly. Perhaps we have crossed a threshold for this? Maybe?
Oh, and almost everyone out for the protest yesterday was wearing a mask, which was also awesome to see.
Thanks for the photos. I hadn’t a clue as to how large a turnout there was. Let’s keep at it.
Pretty fuckin’ wild George Floyd did time for holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint in her own home to ransack the house for money and drugs!
FF thinks my point about you guys helping shift public opinion in favor of Dems is really weak.
Did the protesters in Ypsi burn down the city, HW?
“George Floyd did time for holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint in her own home to ransack the house for money and drugs.”
What’s your point? Are you suggesting that he deserved to be murdered?
Point is you don’t hear about that. What a piece of shit. Did they gang rape her as I have heard? Still trying to get a handle on this.
Was antifa represented, iRob?
Why would we want to defund police? How will this eliminate racism? It would give criminals free reign to rob, rape, murder, etc. It would result in communities paying armed militia to protect their lives and property. Low income neighborhoods couldn’t afford to pay for protection and would be preyed upon. Why would rational persons want to reduce or eliminate police protection?
EOS, the idea is to provide alternative services by unarmed people. I have witnessed first hand how public mental health services were cut and then how it fell on the police to deal with mentally ill citizens. That isn’t even fair to the police although I am worried less about them than about the safety of the community at large. The police are never going to have the training that someone with a masters of social work would have. It would be much better to have social workers as first responders in situations involving the mentally ill. It isn’t really about eliminating the police but about reducing police and providing alternate services where possible.
if stewart beal truly believed black lives matter maybe he should stop being such a predatory, selfish slumlord
A person with a masters in social work is extremely unprepared to disarm a mentally ill person who is threatening the lives of others. Do you actually think sending unarmed social workers into a situation with an active shooter will result in anything but dead social workers in addition to the other carnage? Social work has a role to play, and this should occur early and needs greater funding, but we need more police and more police funding for better training for the protection of everyone.
https://www.versobooks.com/books/2426-the-end-of-policing
here is a book anyone can read to learn about police abolition. it is free to download. i’m sure the right wingers here will give it an honest effort
Maybe the calls for defunding the police really mean that significant reform in law enforcement is desired, such that the existing police structure is remodeled into another structure that would also be called the police. When you negotiate between two separate parties, the starting points are never the ending points. When was the last time you bought a house?
I think Sheriff Clayton has been a great leader for the county department and is very effective in spite of not having enough funding. I don’t think he needs unqualified persons telling him how to do his job. We need more police and better trained police.
https://www.democracynow.org/
On the broadcast from today there are several interviews around the idea of ‘defund the police,’ even one with the author of the free book linked above.
I think police should stop killing black people and beating protestors. We need less of them and more people to continue being critical of them however they see fit. We need more protests and people standing in solidarity against the police.
I think we need enough police to deter violent protests that kill and injure police and destroy property and facilitate widespread theft. Good police protect Black lives and all other lives as well. If you think privatization of prisons is bad, wait and see what privatization of police brings.
The protests in Washtenaw county have been peaceful, not because the police stayed away, but because they were very much involved.
“The protests in Washtenaw county have been peaceful, not because the police stayed away, but because they were very much involved.”
Are you saying that my friends and I would have rioted in Ypsilanti if not for our fear of the police?
I’m saying a well educated, pro-active police force keeps us all safe.
Has there ever been a BLM protest of a black civilian killing other blacks? There were nine unarmed black people killed by police last year but that is easily eclipsed in one day of Chicago black on black murders.
Yes, indeed. Social workers would not necessarily be the best choice in the case of someone who is armed and an imminent threat to others however, that isn’t the usual situation. It is the earlier interventions that are valuable though in terms of preventing those situations where police are required. We can reduce the police force and use the money to pay for the social workers.
One thing we know doesn’t work for many is our current system. We are going to need radical changes. We give way too much power to police officers. I think it would be best to disarm most police officers. They don’t really need guns most of the time. We need to get rid of no-knock warrants entirely. We need methods to hold police officers accountable such as body cameras and the ability to fire officers who turn theirs off. I think there should be something in their contacts where a citizen panel reviews officers every year and has the authority to get rid of any who aren’t treating all citizens with respect. etc etc. Maybe putting the power to fire officers into the hand of everyday citizens would balance the power out so the police were treating people fairly. If the committee could be made up of people who have been arrested, even better!
HW, That is quite the racist statement but not surprising coming from you. Has there ever been an All Lives Matter protest about all the white civilians who kill other white civilians?
The issue that Black Lives Matter is meant to address is about a system that allows white people but especially law enforcement to kill black people without consequences. Most of the time when a black person hurts another black person, if the perpetrator is caught, there is no issue that they will escape the consequences because of the color of their skin.
I think it is racist to pretend the number one cause of death for young black men is not being shot by another black man. It’s a cover-up of a much much greater problem than police shootings and all it does is foment hatred of white people. It doesn’t help save black lives. If BLM wants to stop black people being murdered they need to hold their own community to some kind of standard.
Tulsi Gabbard
June 6 at 10:37 PM · Shared with Public
Black lives that have been snuffed out by police brutality matter; black lives snuffed out by COVID-19 also matter. We need to stop both. Protest responsibly. Wear a mask. Social distance. Live aloha.
I really like Tulsi. Too bad she is a Russian asset right guys?
#NEWKNOWLEDGE
Is that new knowledge? I think she clued everyone in with that trip to Syria and that was 3, maybe 4 years ago.
We’re all still anxiously waiting for Tulsi to jump into the race an a third party candidate as her slanderers promised.
https://twitter.com/LeonydusJohnson/status/1267466345844740098
Leonydus Johnson
@LeonydusJohnson
For every 10,000 black people arrested for violent crime, 3 are killed
For every 10,000 white people arrested for violent crime, 4 are killed
I’m going to keep tweeting this until someone can explain to me how this is possible if there is truly pervasive racial bias in policing
10:41 AM · Jun 1, 2020
Aloha, HW as your guru says, just keep repeating the lie, if you say it often enough you will believe it.
For those interested in accurate statistics
Victims were predominantly male (96.1%) with a mean age of 36.7 years. Although a majority were white, black victims were over-represented (32.4%) relative to the U.S. population.f36 Blacks had 2.8 times the rate of legal intervention death compared with whites; rates among whites and Hispanics were similar. Most victims were U.S. born (92.1%).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6080222/
How is that a lie? He gives all his sources. Blacks are overrepresented in murder victims because they are overrepresented in committing murder and most of their victims are black.
I don’t have a guru, you no-substance troll. Look how weak your position is. The best you can do is try to annoy me.
For every 10,000 black people arrested for nonviolent crime, X are killed
For every 10,000 white people arrested for nonviolent crime, Y are killed
Is X = Y?
Aloha, it turns out one of the guys who burned down the police station in Minneapolis is a white Republican from Florida. Another one of those “fine” people the Leader likes. He is Likely going to get know some folks from the Aryan nation very well over the next 20 years.
https://voterrecords.com/voter/18151264/branden-wolfe
Voter status inactive. Probably one of the people who finds it more effective to try to undermine the opposing party’s vote.
“Is X = Y?”
Is about as close as can get.
HW didn’t read the question properly. We can try with something simpler, as he is still actively using a Schedule I substance, and certainly in one of the categories below.
For every 10,000 black people committing a crime, X are arrested.
For every 10,000 white people committing a crime, Y are arrested.
Is X = Y?
Pretty sure I read what you said correctly. You wrote:
“For every 10,000 black people arrested for nonviolent crime, X are killed
For every 10,000 white people arrested for nonviolent crime, Y are killed
Is X = Y?”
4 is as close to 3 as possible in this case so maybe it’s you on drugs.
Okay, for nonviolent crime then. I don’t have that information handy. Do you or are you just desperately trying to throw a monkey wrench to slow me down?
Are you trying to say as a group blacks don’t commit more crime per capita than whites? That’s not real and it doesn’t help black people to coddle them with lies.
Why do black people kill more than twice the white people than white killings of blacks? You have got to be kidding me. They are just about overrepresented to the MAX. That’s real.
HW, we can break it down to make it personally relevant. I’ll even make the numbers smaller for you
For every 1000 black people using marijuana, X are arrested.
For every 1000 white people using marijuana, Y are arrested.
Is X = Y?
Are there not differences in behavior between the two groups? A lot of people smoke while driving around but black people seem to do it more from what I’ve seen. Poorer people tend to get pulled over for expired tags, equipment, etc. If they pull you over you are fucked. You have to recognize that and act accordingly. At least you did. Now we have changed that in Michigan for possession of Cannabis.
How many growers have been terrorized by cops coming into their home with weapons drawn and what do you think the demographics are of growers over the decades?
So the original statements stands. When it comes to violent crime arrests blacks and whites are killed by cops at an equivalent pace. It’s amazing how close it is.
HW, you just keep digging in with the racism don’t you? SMDH
FWIW, there are many theories about why there is a statistic that black people commit more murders than white people including that it is more related to income than skin color. So if we are talking about black on black crime rather than police on black crime, there is a lot of room for discussions of overdue reparations. I think we need to really heavily increase taxes on the wealthy (like up to 90% marginal rates) and then use that money to fund some kind of reparations. I would hope that a UBI could be *part* of that.
Regardless, it isn’t relevant to a discussion about how the Police are brutalizing people based on their skin color. They are and it is not ok. It also isn’t a bit misleading (and faulty logic for anyone who cares about such things) to say that a group must fix an unrelated social ill before working to fix this one. Both can be accomplished at the same time and there is no logical reason for one thing to be a higher priority than the other unless you are a white person who wants the police to keep on unfairly brutalizing people of color.
How is stating facts racist? If you don’t want to be arrested at a higher clip then don’t do crimes at that same higher clip. Don’t want to be shot by police don’t be gangbanging.
Imagine if George Floyd came to your door dressed as a city water employee and before you realized something was wrong he forced their way in and pulled a gun on you? You are a pregnant black woman by the way. As soon as George is inside a truck pulls up with five other men who enter your home. They beat you in the head and sides while George ransacks your home for valuables and drugs. A neighbor gets the license plate and notifies police. George pleads guilty and spends five years in prison.
Guess what? That happened. I do not know if the victim was raped. Imagine the terror and lasting psychological wounds either way. For sure I do not ever want to hear any of that gentle giant shit ever again.
George forced *his* way in.
When they beat your head and sides it is with with a pistol by way.
“George Floyd came to your door dressed as a city water employee and before you realized something was wrong he forced their way in and pulled a gun on you? You are a pregnant black woman by the way.”
George Floyd was not murdered for the crime HW refers to here.
It shows what kind of monster he was.
I think it’s terrible Chauvin killed him. He shouldn’t have even put his knee on his neck. I agree with that. Seems likely being on meth and fentanyl might have had a little something to do with not being able to breathe though. Opiods depress the pulmonary system for one thing.
Was he gangbanging do you think or no? The male passenger is obviously wearing a certain gangs colors, correct? Like if he wasn’t a Blood he could get in trouble with the Bloods for wearing what he was wearing. Make sense? What does YRT stand for? Did Floyd wear their t-shirt? Affiliated with Bloods or no?
Oh yeah, George was out there without even a mask with COVID being an IDIOT as you say. That might have had a little to do with not being able to BREATHE.
Oh by the way the WHO poured cold water on asymptomatic carriers spreading the disease to other people.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html
“From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said at a news briefing from the United Nations agency’s Geneva headquarters. “It’s very rare.”
Aloha, HW get with the program. The WHO is evil they have conspired with the commies to sabotage the greatest American who ever lived.
WHO Walks Back Comments On Asymptomatic Transmission Of Coronavirus
Source: Axios
‘WHO Walks Back Comments On Asymptomatic Transmission Of Coronavirus,’ By Marisa Fernandez, June 9, 2020.
(4 hrs. ago). The World Health Organization clarified comments an official made on Monday that called asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus “very rare,” saying in a press conference that these carriers do take part in spreading the virus but that more information is needed to know by how much.
What they’re saying: WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove clarified Tuesday that patients sometimes confuse not having any symptoms with only exhibiting mild symptoms. In addition, some patients transmit the virus before developing symptoms. Contact tracers classify this group as “presymptomatic,” rather than asymptomatic.
Van Kerkhov said the WHO estimates 16% of people are asymptomatic and can transmit the virus. Some models suggest up to 40% of coronavirus transmission might be due to asymptomatic spread, she added, but much more information is needed. Van Kerkhove stressed that her comments on Monday were specific to particular studies and did not represent a new policy or direction. The WHO said it regrets saying that asymptomatic spread is “very rare.”
Why it matters: The WHO’s comments about asymptomatic transmission caused mass public confusion, as experts online pointed to several studies and modeling that have shown asymptomatic spread occurs. Van Kerkhove did say Monday that preliminary evidence from the earliest outbreaks showed people who don’t show symptoms aren’t the “main driver” of new infections. But the entire transcript from Monday shows she was stressing that governments should focus on detecting and isolating those with symptoms because asymptomatic people can be difficult to trace..
Aloha, this picture pretty much sums up the Leaders position on race.
https://twitter.com/AmandiOnAir/status/1270361553968205827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1270361553968205827&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F100213569832
One thing that people but especially white men seem to do when a white man is in danger of facing consequences for his crime, is to start to paint the victim in ways that suggest that they think the victim deserved it. The woman was wearing the wrong clothes or was drinking or was walking in the wrong part of town or whatever so had that rape coming. The black man was not perfect. He had committed crimes in past which he paid the price for but surely that means he deserves to be murdered by a white man if the white man wants to do it.
*rolls eyes*
by your logic, HW, people have the right to spit in your face because you say horrible racist and sexist things online.
You claim I say things of that nature but you can’t prove it. I can show lots of posts by you that fit that and I have many times.
I said he shouldn’t have been murdered so you lie about me again. That’s all you have. Just make up the worst lies about people you can every day. Somehow you can’t imagine simultaneously thinking two different things that are not contradictory in any way. He was a scumbag but shouldn’t have been treated like that. No one should. Total piece of shit though. That is some hardcore scumbaggery you don’t hear of every day.
Do you ever get tired HW?
You are insatiable.
I’m going to again violate Jean Henry’s blackout order.
From NTD:
Indianapolis Woman Shot and Killed After Black Lives Matter Argument
https://mb.ntd.com/indianapolis-woman-shot-and-killed-after-blm-argument_484098.html
Aloha iRobert, not far from where my cousin lives. The article mentions 3 shootings within a week. The earlier killing was a 14 yo gunned down while allegedly committing a robbery.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wthr.com/amp/article/news/crime/person-in-critical-condition-after-shooting-near-the-canal/531-5d5c48e9-6359-4ad1-b999-d779461d6926
We all know this is simply the price of freedom.
Still, I’m hoping I can trigger Jean.
After being away for weeks, I drove through the area known as downtown Ypsilanti yesterday. I was devastated to see the city had been burned to the ground, as HW had warned was happening.
Why do you lie? It’s so dumb. If you want to see burned buildings just go to the cities where the peaceful protestors BURNED THEM DOWN like I actually said. You have a glimmer of intelligence once in a while, iRobert. What happens the rest of the time?
I was just joking around trying to see if you were still reading the blog.
It looks like we may have lost Jean.
Well don’t become her. There is enough of that kind of thing around here. I’d say it’s characteristic of this tiny segment of the population: habitually smearing people who threaten the narrative, outright lying about them and actually spending time trying to come up with ways to degrade them personally.
Lynne
Posted June 9, 2020 at 6:29 pm | Permalink
One thing that people but especially white men seem to do when….
LOLynne
Did someone say something? I thought I heard my name?
Nope. No one said anything.
Detroit is very fortunate to have police chief James Craig.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CClCBkagFqS/?igshid=18y45x2hmbq59
I’m just glad that All Cops Are Bastards is not a prejudicial statement.
And thank god we have council people like Morgan who do not have an obligation to explain their deeply held Fuck The Police belief.
Maybe Councilman Morgan wanted to say something more meaningful but doesn’t know that many words.
Wait for it….
If people were just a little courageous and little more honest we could really improve things. I guess that is too much to ask. Lack Wise Matter.
https://gothamist.com/news/cops-punch-homeless-man-subway-then-charge-him-assault
I think people ARE getting more courageous and have been mostly honest all along and are doing things to improve things. For instance, my city councilperson is displaying a very honest Fuck the Police sign in Zoom meetings. Women have made huge strides with things like #metoo. Now more and more white people are learning about how they are racist and they don’t want to be. We are also becoming more aware of police abuses and how maybe they are not the best solution to things like homelessness.