Rand Paul Op-Ed: The Politicians Are To Blame in Ferguson

[tsai3904]

The Politicians Are To Blame in Ferguson

The failure of the War on Poverty has created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation.

We are witnessing a tragedy in Ferguson. This city in Missouri has become a focal point for so much. The President and the late Michael Brown’s family have called for peace. I join their calls for peaceful protest, but also reiterate their call to action — “channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change.”

In the search for culpability for the tragedy in Ferguson, I mostly blame politicians. Michael Brown’s death and the suffocation of Eric Garner in New York for selling untaxed cigarettes indicate something is wrong with criminal justice in America. The War on Drugs has created a culture of violence and put police in a nearly impossible situation.

In Ferguson, the precipitating crime was not drugs, but theft. But the War on Drugs has created a tension in some communities that too often results in tragedy. One need only witness the baby in Georgia, who had a concussive grenade explode in her face during a late-night, no-knock drug raid (in which no drugs were found) to understand the feelings of many minorities — the feeling that they are being unfairly targeted.

...

More:
http://time.com/3605426/rand-paul-th...e-in-ferguson/

[cajuncocoa]

I just wish Rand wasn't feeding into the black vs. white paradigm. This is a police vs. citizen story....white people face the risk of being killed or severely beaten by militarized police officers as well. We read stories about tragedies every day on this message board.

[Brett85]

I just wish Rand wasn't feeding into the black vs. white paradigm. This is a police vs. citizen story....white people face the risk of being killed or severely beaten by militarized police officers as well. We read stories about tragedies every day on this message board.

Yeah, I don't really know why Rand is doing this. Rand seems to be sabotaging himself, rather than the 2016 Rand Paul Facebook page somehow hurting his chances.

[jmdrake]

I just wish Rand wasn't feeding into the black vs. white paradigm. This is a police vs. citizen story....white people face the risk of being killed or severely beaten by militarized police officers as well. We read stories about tragedies every day on this message board.

Yeah, I don't really know why Rand is doing this. Rand seems to be sabotaging himself, rather than the 2016 Rand Paul Facebook page somehow hurting his chances.

Rand's just taking a play from Ron's playbook.







The best way to mute the "we know it's coming" criticism of Rand WRT the CRA is to get out in front on issues disproportionately affecting minorities.

[specsaregood]

I just wish Rand wasn't feeding into the black vs. white paradigm. This is a police vs. citizen story....white people face the risk of being killed or severely beaten by militarized police officers as well. We read stories about tragedies every day on this message board.

Did you read the article? I thought he did a pretty good job of talking about how it affects ALL communities, not just black; but rather the culture of violence created by these laws.

[Brett85]

The best way to mute the "we know it's coming" criticism of Rand WRT the CRA is to get out in front on issues disproportionately affecting minorities.

I guess, but it just seems like by doing that, he's alienating a lot of tea party types.

[orenbus]

Rand continues to impress, I for one am happy to see him weighing in.

[acptulsa]

I think the message was crafted pretty well, except for this glaring error:

In Ferguson, the precipitating crime was not drugs, but theft.

Actually, it was jaywalking.

[twomp]

I guess, but it just seems like by doing that, he's alienating a lot of tea party types.

LOL @ "tea party types", whatever do you mean by that? Hmmm....

[cajuncocoa]

Rand's just taking a play from Ron's playbook.

videos snipped for brevity


The best way to mute the "we know it's coming" criticism of Rand WRT the CRA is to get out in front on issues disproportionately affecting minorities.

I know, I understand, and that's all good. BUT....it suggests that police brutality is only a problem in the African-American community. And I do understand that it's been an issue in the AA community for a much longer time and no one seemed to care. @specs ... I did not go to the Time.com article, but the title and the timing suggests Rand would not be speaking out on this if not for the events in Ferguson.

[thoughtomator]

Interesting that TIME chose to substitute "War on Drugs" with "War on Poverty" in the subheadline.

[jmdrake]

I think the message was crafted pretty well, except for this glaring error:



Actually, it was jaywalking.

It was both. The testimony of the officer was that he say the box of Swisher Sweets. He had heard the alert on the radio. I know there were conflicting reports about that initially, but the good money is that he (correctly) pegged Brown and his friend as robbery suspects. That alone doesn't justify the killing but facts are facts.

[jmdrake]

I guess, but it just seems like by doing that, he's alienating a lot of tea party types.

Yeah? Well wait until he comes out hard against the GWOD. That will really spook some of them.

I know, I understand, and that's all good. BUT....it suggests that police brutality is only a problem in the African-American community. And I do understand that it's been an issue in the AA community for a much longer time and no one seemed to care. @specs ... I did not go to the Time.com article, but the title and the timing suggests Rand would not be speaking out on this if not for the events in Ferguson.

Sure it's a problem across the board but most white people don't recognize this. Anyway, I hope moving forward he brings up Kelly Thomas.

[specsaregood]

@specs ... I did not go to the Time.com article, but the title and the timing suggests Rand would not be speaking out on this if not for the events in Ferguson.

That maybe, but this is also from the article:

As I’ve visited our nation’s urban centers and predominantly white, impoverished rural areas, I sense an undercurrent of unease. It’s not just lack of justice, but also a cycle of poverty, to crime, and back to poverty again. There is a sense of helplessness. To be sure, we all hold a certain degree of responsibility for our lives and it’s a mistake to simply blame others for our problems.

Reforming criminal justice to make it racially blind is imperative, but that won’t lift up these young men from poverty. In fact, I don’t believe any law will. For too long, we’ve attached some mythic notion to government solutions and yet, 40 years after we began the War on Poverty, poverty still abounds.

When you look at statistics for the white community alone, you see that we’ve become two separate worlds in which the successful are educated and wait to have children until they are married, and those in poverty are primarily those without higher education and with children outside of marriage.

This message is not a racial one. The link between poverty, lack of education, and children outside of marriage is staggering and cuts across all racial groups. Statistics uniformly show that waiting to have children in marriage and obtaining an education are an invaluable part of escaping poverty.

[cajuncocoa]

Sure it's a problem across the board but most white people don't recognize this. Anyway, I hope moving forward he brings up Kelly Thomas.

I agree with you on both points here. Too many white people, especially white Republicans, kiss cop ass.

[jmdrake]

That maybe, but this is also from the article:

As I’ve visited our nation’s urban centers and predominantly white, impoverished rural areas, I sense an undercurrent of unease. It’s not just lack of justice, but also a cycle of poverty, to crime, and back to poverty again. There is a sense of helplessness. To be sure, we all hold a certain degree of responsibility for our lives and it’s a mistake to simply blame others for our problems.

Reforming criminal justice to make it racially blind is imperative, but that won’t lift up these young men from poverty. In fact, I don’t believe any law will. For too long, we’ve attached some mythic notion to government solutions and yet, 40 years after we began the War on Poverty, poverty still abounds.

When you look at statistics for the white community alone, you see that we’ve become two separate worlds in which the successful are educated and wait to have children until they are married, and those in poverty are primarily those without higher education and with children outside of marriage.

This message is not a racial one. The link between poverty, lack of education, and children outside of marriage is staggering and cuts across all racial groups. Statistics uniformly show that waiting to have children in marriage and obtaining an education are an invaluable part of escaping poverty.

Yeah....he's doing it right.

[cajuncocoa]

That maybe, but this is also from the article:

This message is not a racial one.

I wish he would have put that line first instead of burying it down near the end. Whites and Blacks alike need to know that this is an issue for people of all races.

[cajuncocoa]

We can always count on the folks in the media to be helpful when it comes to race-baiting.

[Working Poor]

I guess, but it just seems like by doing that, he's alienating a lot of tea party types.

Screw the tea party if they are not on board with doing something about police violence on the citizenry more and more I distance myself from them.

[Natural Citizen]

We can always count on the folks in the media to be helpful when it comes to race-baiting.

This is relevant to what you are saying... 'F**k CNN!" - Angry protesters disrupt Ferguson live coverage

[Brett85]

LOL @ "tea party types", whatever do you mean by that? Hmmm....

More or less rank and file Republicans.

[Brett85]

Screw the tea party if they are not on board with doing something about police violence on the citizenry more and more I distance myself from them.

But the issue here is that Rand is kind of making it sound like police brutality affects blacks more than whites, and that isn't necessarily the case. You see stories every day of the cops abusing white people as well as black people. I just don't believe in dividing people like this. It's the Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's of the world who wish to divide people.

[twomp]

Screw the tea party if they are not on board with doing something about police violence on the citizenry more and more I distance myself from them.

"Tea Party types" just like the "evangelical types" only care about big government when it comes to them. If the government puts their boots on the necks of "other types" of people, they will gladly cheer them on. As witnessed throughout RPF in the past 24 hours.

[Natural Citizen]

Listen to what Ben says from at the 3:15-4:30 mark. I think junior is maybe grandstanding a bit here in order to have his war on drugs meme heard above the intricates but that is expected, I suppose. Ben explains what is happening there in Ferguson a bit differently. Perhaps a little more realistically.

"Police State" Brewing in Ferguson...

[NewRightLibertarian]

I guess, but it just seems like by doing that, he's alienating a lot of tea party types.

I think Rand is trying to build the narrative that he's the most electable Republican in 2016 with a lot of his behavior.

[Occam's Banana]

But the issue here is that Rand is kind of making it sound like police brutality affects blacks more than whites, and that isn't necessarily the case.

Rand isn't "making it sound" that way. He is flat-out saying it. And he's right.

FTA (emphasis added):

African Americans perceive as true that their kids are more likely to be killed. ProPublica examined 33 years of FBI data on police shootings, accounted for the racial make-up of the country, and determined that: “Young black males in recent years were at a far greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts – 21 times greater.”

Can some of the disparity be blamed on a higher rate of crime in the black community? Yes, but there is a gnawing feeling that simply being black in a high-crime area increases your risk for a deadly altercation with police.

Does bad behavior account for some of the interactions with law enforcement? Yes, but surely there must be ways that we can work to prevent the violence from escalating.

I just don't believe in dividing people like this. It's the Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's of the world who wish to divide people.

Rand isn't dividing anyone. Unaccountable police are out of control. Everyone - black or white - is affected by this and should be united in opposing the problem. The black community, however, bears the brunt of the problem. There is nothing wrong or "divisive" about acknowledging that fact.

Those who say that race has NOTHING to do with any of this are every bit as wrong as those who say that race has EVERYTHING to do with this (to the exclusion of all else). The "racism deniers" are just as bad as the "race hucksters" - and they are every bit as responsible for keeping people divided as the Sharpton and Jackson types are ...

[Occam's Banana]

I think the message was crafted pretty well, except for this glaring error:

In Ferguson, the precipitating crime was not drugs, but theft.

Actually, it was jaywalking.

Another (minor) error:

One need only witness the baby in Georgia, who had a concussive grenade explode in her face [...]

Bounkham Phonesavanh (aka "Baby Bou Bou") is a boy.

/quibble

[jjdoyle]

It was both. The testimony of the officer was that he say the box of Swisher Sweets. He had heard the alert on the radio. I know there were conflicting reports about that initially, but the good money is that he (correctly) pegged Brown and his friend as robbery suspects. That alone doesn't justify the killing but facts are facts.

Except, the box of Swisher Sweets wasn't recovered at the scene were they? None were recovered from the police car either, right? Or, was that information incorrect? And, we apparently have another citizen recording Darren Wilson arresting him when video taping Wilson arriving for something, then Wilson LYING about the reason for arrest on the police report:
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/20...darren-wilson/

Once a liar, always a liar? Or, maybe that's just being a corrupt cop?

Apparent video of Officer Wilson making arrest, after threatening the citizen with arrest if he didn't stop recording/photographing:

[XNavyNuke]

I agree with you on both points here. Too many white people, especially white Republicans, kiss cop ass.

And too many white urban leaders keep sucking up to their police unions.

XNN

[XNavyNuke]

Rand isn't dividing anyone. Unaccountable police are out of control. Everyone - black or white - is affected by this and should be united in opposing the problem. The black community, however, bears the brunt of the problem. There is nothing wrong or "divisive" about acknowledging that fact.

+1

The system is operating as designed.
. The Militarization of American Police Has Long Historical Roots

And their is yet the desire to change it even if the tools to do so were in place.
. Why It's Impossible to Indict a Cop

I have no delusions that even Rand could devolve the police state overnight. Way too many people vested in it.

XNN