METAPHORS AND FACTS: Simplified stories and Michael Brown’s death!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014

Part 3—What Joe Klein wrote:
Full disclosure. We used to do a comedy bit on the subject of “simple solutions.”

(One such “simple solution:” “We’re going to send it all back to the states! We’ll let the states run the government, those magnificent states!” That was one premise in that bit. You can fashion the punch-lines.)

We used to try to make people laugh at the existence of “simple solutions.” Perhaps for the reason, we were drawn to Joe Klein’s essay concerning Michael Brown’s death.

Klein’s brief essay appeared at Time. These are the headlines on the piece, headlines he may not have written:
Beyond a Simple Solution for Ferguson
Why we need to address race relations in a thoughtful, provocative way
We’re opposed to simple solutions! Beyond that, we support “thoughtful” analyses!
Those headlines drew us to Klein’s essay, large chunks of which we wouldn’t have written. The essay started like this:
KLEIN (8/21/14): At first, it seemed a perfect metaphor for 400 years of oppression: a white police officer shoots an unarmed black teenager multiple times. He is shot with his hands up, it is reported, at least once in the back. The young man is a “gentle giant” with no adult criminal record. He seems guilty of nothing more than walking while black, albeit down the middle of the street. This takes place in a town that appears to have been cryogenically preserved from the 1960s, before the Voting Rights Act was passed. An estimated 67% of its citizens are African American; its government is melanin-deprived. The mayor of Ferguson, Mo., is white; 50 of the 53 police officers are white. Demonstrators come out to protest the atrocity–nobody is calling it an “apparent” atrocity yet–and the police respond in gear that makes a St. Louis suburb look like Kandahar.
Can we talk? As best we can tell, no one is calling Michael Brown’s death an “apparent atrocity” even now!

We ran the phrase through Nexis; we got zero hits in the past month. Google also provides no hits, aside from Klein’s own usage.

If we had edited Klein’s piece, we would have suggested that he state that point a different way. That said, it isn’t hard to discern Klein’s larger point as he starts his piece.

As originally reported, Michael Brown’s death seemed to involve an especially heinous crime—a heinous crime straight from a Hollywood script.

In the original narration, Brown had literally been “shot in the back,” a traditional symbol of heinous conduct. He had also been shot “with his hands up,” the traditional sign of surrender.

As initially described, the shooting death of Michael Brown seemed remarkably heinous. (It may yet turn out that this was the case.) That said, does anyone really not understand what Klein meant by this statement?

“At first, it seemed a perfect metaphor for 400 years of oppression.”

In that passage, Klein seems to be saying that African-Americans have in fact experienced “400 years of oppression” in this country. (That statement is true, though not all-inclusive.) He seems to be saying that the heinous nature of the initial description made the shooting a perfect distillation of all those previous heinous acts.

It’s hard to see how anyone of the “left” could find that statement offensive. But uh-oh!

As Klein continued, he said the actual facts in this case may not be quite so clear-cut, or quite so perfectly heinous. He said the actual story isn't as simple as that initial report.

For ourselves, we wouldn’t have written most of the following passage. Still, we’d say that Klein’s point concerning “metaphoric truths” remains abundantly clear:
KLEIN (continuing directly): But the perfection of the metaphor is soon blurred by facts. The gentle giant, Michael Brown Jr.–nicknamed Bodyguard by his friends–seems pretty intimidating in a surveillance video, in which he is seen taking cigarillos from a convenience store, tossing the diminutive clerk into a snack display as if he were a bag of Doritos. The alleged robbery occurs 10 minutes before the confrontation with the cop. The inevitable Rev. Al Sharpton says the video is an attempt to “smear” the young man. Then more facts emerge, and other eyewitnesses allegedly describe a more aggressive Michael Brown–more like the fellow in the video. An autopsy, requested by Brown’s parents, shows six bullet wounds; the kill shot is into the top of the victim’s head–which raises another possibility, that the officer, Darren Wilson, fired in self-defense. And now we have a metaphor of a different, far more difficult sort: about the uncanny ability of Americans to talk past each other when it comes to race relations, and also about the struggle between facts and metaphoric truths.
We’re puzzled by much of that paragraph. Personally, we wouldn’t have made the inevitable snide reference to Reverend Sharpton, especially since a lot of people have made the claim that Michael Brown was “smeared.” Nor do we understand the logic of this sentence:

“An autopsy...shows six bullet wounds; the kill shot is into the top of the victim’s head–which raises another possibility, that the officer, Darren Wilson, fired in self-defense.”

At this point, we’d say it’s still possible that Wilson fired in some form of self-defense, at least in his final shots. That said, we don’t understand how a kill shot into the top of Michael Brown’s head “raises [that] possibility,” absent some further explanation which Klein does not provide.

Given the “perfect metaphor” framework, we’re also struck by an omission. By the time Klein wrote his essay, the world had learned that Michael Brown wasn’t “shot in the back.”

As Klein noted in paragraph one, the claim that Brown was “shot in the back” helped make this a “perfect metaphor.” The perfection of the story erodes a bit when this claim turns out to be false.

Michael Brown wasn’t “shot in the back.” Still, it seems likely that Wilson shot at Brown as he fled, a form of policing we would regard as extremely shaky (and possibly illegal), absent some unusual justification. If we understand what Michael Baden has said, it may even be the case that Brown was winged in the arm by one shot as he fled, although that remains to be determined.

We’re puzzled by some of that second paragraph. That said, we agree with something else Klein says. We agree that the surveillance video from the convenience store “blurs the perfection of the metaphor.”

We know what we're supposed to say. Here's why we say that instead:

As Klein said, the metaphor was made more perfect when Brown was described as a “gentle giant.” That is to say, the story was simplified—made less complex—by the idea that Brown hadn’t done anything wrong, perhaps in his whole life.

Pleasing stories—metaphorical tales—are fashioned in such ways. That said, the surveillance tape suggests the possibility that Brown may have behaved inappropriately, even perhaps aggressively, in his initial encounter with Officer Wilson.

This makes the story less simple-minded. It complicates the original perfect tale.

Can we talk? Every good pseudo-liberal knows what to say at this point! Every well-scripted pseudo-progressive—each ditto-head of the so-called left—will rise in exquisite indignation to recite a well-rehearsed point:

Stealing from a convenience store does not involve a death penalty!

The analysts always start to cry when liberals recite this point. When they see this occur, it makes them think there is no hope for our struggling, script-ridden species.

It’s certainly true! Stealing from a convenience store is not a capital crime! It couldn’t explain, or justify, Wilson’s conduct in firing at Brown as he ran down the street, if that’s what he actually did.

It certainly couldn’t justify shooting at Brown as he tried to surrender, if that’s what Wilson did.

(Just for the record, liberals are also expected to say that Wilson didn’t know about the convenience store theft. Some liberals are still saying the theft didn’t occur, long after Brown’s friend, Dorian Johnson, has apparently said that it did.)

Stealing from a convenience store shouldn’t get somebody killed! But the aggressive conduct seen on that tape does undermine the moral perfection of the original story.

It makes it less a fairy tale and more a story drawn from real life. It suggests the possibility of aggressive conduct by Brown when he encountered Officer Wilson—a possibility that didn’t exist in the original “perfect metaphor.”

This doesn’t mean that Wilson was justified in shooting at Brown as he ran down the street, if that’s what he did. But it raises the possibility that the story will be more complex than the initial telling.

Did Brown behave aggressively at the police car? We have no way of knowing. Moments later, is it possible that Brown behaved in some aggressive way which may have led Wilson to fire those final shots, perhaps unwisely or even illegally? That possibility didn’t exist in the tale originally told, in the tale where a “gentle giant” had been “shot in the back,” full stop.

For ourselves, we don’t know why Wilson would have fired at Brown as he fled. That strikes us as reckless policing.

(Unless Wilson was firing warning shots, it means that he was trying to shoot Brown “in the back.”)

But yes—that convenience store tape introduces possibilities which were absent from the original tale. The original story featured a gentle giant. In the revised tale, that same individual seems to have menaced a much smaller person just ten minutes before.

At this point, we can’t tell you what happened when Brown encountered Wilson. Let’s return to Klein’s basic point concerning “metaphor.”

As Klein continues, he wails away at Sharpton, just as Maureen Dowd does today in her latest clown-cry column. Quite often, major pundits use Sharpton to create simplified tales of their own.

For ourselves, we would have left Sharpton out of this piece. But it’s fairly clear what Klein has in mind as he continues to talk about “metaphoric truths:”
KLEIN (continuing directly): Sharpton has made a living off metaphoric truths since the late 1980s, when he promoted a terrified young woman named Tawana Brawley, who claimed that she had been raped by six white men, including the local prosecutor. Her story was later shown in court to be false, but the metaphoric truth was undeniable: black women have been casually violated by white men in America for 400 years. The undercurrent was strong enough that few black leaders rose up to take on Sharpton. The fetishizing of black sexuality by white men (and women) was too close to the bone, an infuriating historic truth.
Brawley’s original story was a “perfect metaphor” too. Isn’t it fairly clear what Klein means by that?

What does Klein mean when he says that Brawley’s story was a “metaphoric truth?” Among other things, he means that it was a thoroughly simplified story, with clear-cut heroes and clear-cut villains straight out of B-grade westerns or Hansel and Gretel.

He means that the story didn’t contain a hint of ambiguity, whether moral or factual. He means that the story was a cartoon—a story so simple that any child would read its moral dimension.

In our view, Klein’s column is somewhat clumsily written. We don’t understand a few of things he says as he continues on from this point. But he clearly makes a statement with which many current progressives will disagree:

Rather clearly, Klein says there are cultural problems in the black community—problems in the “the culture that emerged from slavery and segregation.” He says that those cultural problems won’t be solved by falling back on simple-minded stories which feature perfect villains and perfectly innocent victims.

That doesn’t tell us what the truth will turn out to be concerning the conduct of Wilson. It doesn’t tell us the truth about policing nationwide.

It says that the society’s larger problems are more complex than a simplified tale in which a gentle giant is shot in the back. It says we can’t address our problems by selling each other cartoons.

For ourselves, we wouldn’t have written large parts of Klein’s column, but we’re somehow able to grasp the gist of what’s being said. But all over Corporate Liberal Land, silly people are coming forward to sell us simplified, stupenagel stories—stories which are “perfect metaphors,” of the kind Rush Limbaugh has always sold.

Some of these simplified, stupid stories involve particular events. Some of these simplified, stupid stories involve the shape of the culture.

That said, the people who sell these simplified stories are peddling product. You shouldn’t be fooled by the lofty titles which sometimes precede their names.

They parade about on your TV screen, pretending they don’t understand Joe Klein’s horrific column. They sell our tribe barrels of indignation, just as Hannity does.

Tomorrow, we’ll review one televised reaction to Klein’s horrific column. We wouldn’t have written Klein’s column ourselves, but we’re able to read what he wrote without turning into a clown.

People, Hansel and Gretel are dead! Citizens of all descriptions ought to start spreading the word.

Tomorrow: Truly, horrible work

147 comments:

  1. How have white women fetishized black sexuality?

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    Replies
    1. Bob would have left Sharpton out. But the sexual fetish angle of the perfect metaphor made it necessary for Bob to reprint Klein's comments about Sharpton and the Brawley case in full.

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    2. They call it a "fetish" as a way to slime whites; i.e. the white person's desire to have sex with something they view as less than human. This angle plays well to the ivory tower crowd, like how they casually refer to riot gear as "militarization" of police (YT fault!).

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    3. I think the protests in Ferguson have been hijacked to launch a campaign against use of more sophisticated equipment by police, whether military or not. I have had a hard time understanding what military equipment was used by Wilson to shoot Brown. I've also heard of no one injured by military equipment in the rioting in Ferguson. Yes, the gear looks scary and it does intimidate people, but how much extra intimidation factor is there beyond what is already inherent in police uniform and gun? Maybe Brown needed to be a little more intimidated than he was (assuming Wilson's account of things)?

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    4. The equipment is a problem because if they have it, they'll find an excuse to use it.
      But let's not let the equipment blind us to the problem of having former occupying soldiers improperly trained in community policing.

      Berto

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    5. Forest camouflage in an urban area is stupenagel.

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    6. The forest camouflage may have been worn by the National Guard. For them, that is their uniform. I don't think they have special urban riot camouflage clothing because that isn't the role they usually play in their training or deployment.

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    7. The pictures are iconic. That was local cops in full battle regalia, including camo battle fatigues and bullet proof vests, pointing automatic weapons at citizens.

      This was before the National Guard arrived.

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    8. I didn't see camo under the vests and masks, the shirts were dark. Did you notice that no one was shot and no one was seriously injured? Guns were fired but not by officers.

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  2. Why interject yourself and your past history as a comedian at the start of a post about a topic which you know full well does not involve humor nor a need for personal anecdotes?

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    1. To show understanding and establish commonality Klein with respect to the point about to be made about simple solutions. To demonstrate that an admonishment of simple solutions has been a concern in his writing for decades. That Somerby expressed this idea in the context of humor is accidental because that was his profession -- it is the focus on simple solutions that is important. Did you hear Somerby make any jokes about simple solutions and the current situation? I didn't.

      Whether there is a need for "personal anecdotes" on a personal, vanity blog is arguable. Why aren't such anecdotes allowed? People understand ideas and make contact with abstracts via concrete examples and personal experience. It is part of the way our minds work. Anecdotes are used for that purpose, so outlawing them in any writing makes no sense. They are only wrong when someone uses them as proof or tries to make a statistical generalization on the basis of an anecdote.

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    2. Some of my best friends are comedic intellectuals. Some of the internets best pseudo intellectuals and ex comedians.

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    3. Intellectualism is a thought crime.

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  3. Gee, isn't it a shame this story doesn't contain the perfect methaphor. Instead it is just a real young man shot really dead.

    Watch Bob become the imperfect metaphor for what John Stewart talked about last night.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jon-stewart-ferguson

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    1. You seem unable to separate the event itself from how people talk about it (which is a reflection of how they think about it). Do you not understand that the two are distinct (separate)?

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    2. You seem unable to understand my comment. And you are mistaken about what I understand.

      Watch the clip.

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    3. You don't seem to realize that you and Somerby are saying the same thing. Somerby is saying that events like Brown's death shouldn't be used as metaphors because they involve real people and complex circumstances. Do you disagree with that? It doesn't seem like it.

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    4. Seems to you, does it? Watch the clip.

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    5. The clip clarifies nothing about your comment.

      As Stewart described the indignities experienced by black men, I was struck by how similar they are to women's daily lives. I guess it is OK to treat women that way but very wrong for men -- so protests.

      When women are shot by white cops it is called domestic violence and no one cares, least of all black men.

      I suck it up. Just like African Americans do. I'll care about them when they care about me.

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  4. I presume the statistics are referring to *prosecution* for rape and not instances of rape itself. Rape occurs frequently in the Armed Forces, but it is rarely prosecuted.

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  5. "Rather clearly, Klein says there are cultural problems in the black community."

    Rather clearly there are cultural problems in the white community.

    Rather clearly there are cultural problems in law enforcement organizations.

    Rather clearly some would rather talk about the imperfect metaphors and imperfect politicians and imperfect media coverage.

    Rather clearly, nearly half a century after many of our nation's inner cities exploded in riots caused by the intersections of these three problem plagued cultures we still have need of the perfect metaphor.

    Rather clearly we need, in Joe Klein's words, "a truly candid conversation about the culture that emerged from slavery and segregation," to solve the problems, because we know it can't be any fault of the white culture or police culture.

    Right Bob?

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    1. Whose fault was it that Michael Brown pushed around a store clerk? Was it the white police force, the white community, the clerk, the manufacturer of the cigarillos, white society for oppressing everybody, the white people of Ferguson for not providing free cigarillos to 18 year olds at graduation? Whose fault?

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    2. "The policy of America has been, for most of its history, white supremacy. The high rates of violence in black neighborhoods do not exist outside of these facts—they evidence them."
      Ta Nehisi Coates

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    3. Whose fault is it you are foolishly commenting about an event which has nothing to do with my comment or point.

      I wouldn't blame white culture for this instance of foolishness any more than I blame any culture for an eighteen year old's behavior on one occasion.

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    4. Coates is wrong. The policy of America was white supremacy for 92 years. It has been 142 years since it was abolished. That means the policy has NOT been white supremacy for most of America's history. Further, there are millions of people in America who have never participated in nor condoned white supremacy, including those who worked to end slavery and change the policy of America.

      High rates of violence in black neighborhoods do not exist because of white supremacy or because of history. They exist because black and white people have tolerated them. We need to work together to end this violence -- not assign full responsibility to police officers (black or white) who are then vilified every time a black teen is shot.

      Coates' statement is offensive to the allies of black people and it does nothing to change the problem because it appears he wishes to blame history instead of examing what can be done to change violence in black neighborhoods as it exists today.

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    5. Jim Crow, lynching, and redlining (to name just 3 de facto policies of white supremacy) were MUCH more recent than you are letting on (i.e. your math is off, and your millions of people certainly did--at minimum, tacitly---condone it).

      If you think white supremacy ended in this country with the end of slavery, you need to learn.

      Berto

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    6. "...it appears he wishes to blame history instead of examing what can be done to change violence in black neighborhoods as it exists today."

      Coates suggested reparations, what's your suggestion?

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    7. You mean if I had given him money that guy wouldn't have shot Suge? I feel so responsible.

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    8. And, of course, you skirt the question.
      When shown you have no idea what you're talking about, you double down on nonsense.
      Tribal? You're soaking in it.

      Berto

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    9. Jim Crow, lynching, etc. were never the official policy of America. They were local policies abhorred by people in other areas of the country and ultimately eliminated, either by national legislation or by supreme court decision. Congress and the Supreme Court represent the official policy of America, not what is done in Mississippi.

      I don't think that Somerby raised the question of tribal thinking in order to have you call the people you disagree with "tribal."

      America includes the people who did racist things, the people who were victims of racism, and a whole bunch of people who were not involved one way or the other (e.g., people who arrived in the 20th century, people who live in CA where racism is about Hispanics not African Americans and where black people moved to find less segregation and more opportunity). You can pretend that everyone is alike, equally guilty, equally racist, equally discriminated against -- it isn't true. When you make claims that are readily contradicted by people's own experiences, you make yourself appear foolish, Berto.

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    10. I think our friend at 8:32 should have a talk with U.S. Rep. John Lewis that Jim Crow was never an official policy.

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    11. Not an official policy of America, the political entity you mentioned yourself. U.S. Rep Lewis is good evidence it no longer exists. Early racial policies were bad enough without exaggerating them.

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    12. @2:31 My suggestion is end poverty and support public education.

      I think the difficulty with male teens emulating gangster culture and seeking jail and violence to prove manhood is very similar to the problem in Islamic culture with the appeal if jihadi activism to prove manhood. Both subcultures are struggling with similar risks to young men. Poverty exacerbates this but the solution is not to back off law enforcement because the affected young men are genuinely dangerous.

      You can't solve a problem without admitting it exists.

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  6. The relevant stats are hard to find because interracial rape today has been reversed in terms of perpetrator/victim race. Were it the other way around those stats would be easily available.

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  7. "Can we talk? Every good pseudo-liberal knows what to say at this point!"

    I know what every good REAL liberal should be saying!

    Klein is a little less blatant than Hannity. And Somerby is a little less blatant than Klein. When a black man is shot by police, we need a serious conversation about black culture and why THOSE people get SO angry when this kind of thing happens.

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    1. Real liberals are upset that Michael Brown was characterized as "not an angel" in the NY Times. How dare anyone say he was less than perfect on the day of his funeral?

      From what I've been hearing on black radio call-in shows, there is an ongoing discussion about how to keep black kids from behaving violently. It isn't racist to suggest that such a discussion is needed -- with the gang shootings that occur nightly in places like Chicago. Hannity doesn't have a show on those channels, nor does Somerby. I heard Armstrong Williams tell a black caller that he was talking nonsense by claiming that Wilson shot Brown because he was angry that a black man was president. Black talk show hosts aren't afraid to call out nonsense when they hear it. Why are liberals not allowed to do the same?

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    2. Have you considered that no one would shoot an unarmed black kid without a good reason?

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    3. If making sure blacks know their place is a good reason, yes.

      Berto

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    4. Darren Wilson has not been turned into a victim. He's on paid administrative leave in an unknown location.

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    5. There are investigations after shootings, usually by bodies separate from the police form (internal affairs, a civilian review, the FBI). These are the people tending to find officers justified more often than not. No one is saying the cops are automatically assumed to be justified. Someone asked why the cops are exonerated so often. I think it is because much of the time the shooting is justified.

      Why are unarmed African American kids being shot? On Armstrong Williams' call in show today, an African American guest suggested it was because kids are emulating the rappers who are admired in youth culture and trying to gain "street cred" by confronting cops, being arrested, serving time and gaining a record. That is status for them. I am not saying this myself -- I am repeating the gist of the discussion, to which several callers contributed, all African American.

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    6. I don't know why Wilson shot Brown, but he might have had a bad reason. Namely, if it's true that Brown had previously bashed Wilson in the face and broken his optic bone, Wilson might have shot Brown our=t of vengeance when Brown wasn't close enough to be truly threatening. Of course, all this is hypothetical built on unconfirmed reports.

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    7. Why is telling the truth about a black teen shot by police considered a "smear." Even "not an angel" is being called a smear when it is obviously true.

      I think it is a tactic. By insisting that the deceased be treated as a murder victim (where the character of the victim is irrelevant) instead of as a perpetrator of wrongdoing, they hope to engineer a desired outcome should there be a trial. That is unfair because it doesn't allow due process.

      People who object to this are then called racist.

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    8. "I don't know why Wilson shot Brown..."

      Maybe when he gets around to filling out an incident report he'll tell us why.

      Berto

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    9. Whatever detailed accounts have been written will be presented to the grand jury. They stand in proxy for the public now. You cannot assume he has written nothing. He has been interviewed at length by both police and FBI, so stop pretending he hasn't told what happened.

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  8. David, even though the webpage cited lists sources, the text itself comes without an author's name or date. It isn't itself an academic source. People would have to go to the articles cited to verify that they actually say what this person claims. You need to be more careful about accepting this kind of internet posting as factual.

    As others note, the problem with evaluating the frequency of rape is whether it is reported or not, and if you are only counting convictions or prosecutions, you lose many more cases along the way.

    I do think your point that things may have changed is valid, but difficult to measure statistically. DNA is the primary evidence for past exploitation of black women by white men, but that tells nothing about whether any sex was consensual and there is a tendency to assume that all sex where there is such a power differential (as still exists between men and women generally) can be characterized as coerced (rape) by some definitions.

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  9. Did Sally Hemmings love Thomas Jefferson? Who can say, absent anything they have written about their relationship? Such exceptions change nothing about the overall exploitation of black women by white men -- and black men.

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  10. Brace yourself, folks. After this somewhat mild analysis of Klein's piece, free of Somerby's customary venom, he will now turn full force of his wrath on Melissa Harris-Perry.

    Prepare to read the vilest personal insults in Somerby's bag of tricks.

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    Replies
    1. How did you get an advance copy of Somerby's next post?

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    2. He left it in the foyer of Meredith Viera's vacation home?

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    3. Harris-Perry lost all credibility with me the first time I saw her on television, it might have been her first MSNBC appearance. She was brought on as an "expert" on the so-called "Bradley Effect". She proved right off the bat that she didn't have the slightest clue regarding the '82 CA Governor's race, falsely stating that Bradley had a supposed sizable lead in the polls on election day, then suggesting that Obama, despite his lead in the polls late in the campaign was in danger of losing due to the racism of his white supporters ... wrong again Melissa. What was the basis for her "expertise"? Apparently because she's black. What a hustler.

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    4. He doesn't need an advance copy of TDH's next entry. In fact, he doesn't even have to read TDH's next entry.

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  11. Oh, good. Joe Klein, aka "Joke Line" always ready to punch the hippies to keep his serious person status alive with the morning joe crew.

    He's also very upset with "democrats" for preventing so many poor inner city children from going to charter schools.

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  12. By looking at the Y chromosome and at the mitochondria, a researcher could figure out what percentage of African Americans have white male ancestors and what percentage have white female ancestors. I don't know if any researcher has done this.

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  13. I believe this is the same Joe Klein who wrote that to show Spike Lee's movie "Do the Right Thing" would spark race riots. Or am I remembering metaphorically?
    Any cop who shoots/kills a black person can surely come up with a rationale which will be given credence by many among us.
    I'm looking at you, Bob.

    LG

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    1. How could a police officer who was legitimately defending himself on the job ever come up with an explanation of his actions that would satisfy someone who thinks cops always have a rationale? Prejudging that way epitomizes bias in my opinion.

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    2. Speaking of prejudging, isn't instantly
      saying that the cop was "legitimately defending himself of the job" a bit premature? Not only in this case, but in a whole lot more?

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    3. I'm not talking about Wilson. I'm saying that if someone were innocent they would be prejudged guilty by your approach.

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  14. Interestingly, no one describing Producer Belk's arrest as an example of police abuse is mentioning that not only did he match the description physically and in clothing, and was he in the vicinity of the bank, but an eye witness identified him. The witness ID is left out to make the arrest seem more unjustified and arbitrary -- more racist. LA Times mentions the basis for holding Belk.

    I get sick of this manipulative BS

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  15. Did you have a point?

    I mean a relevant point.

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  16. It's another example of media whipping up tribal fear and hatred, by means of false or unsupported allegations and spin. In particular, it shows what one segment of the public is being told about events in Ferguson.

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  23. مقاولات عامه بالرياض
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    حمامات سباحه
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    تنظيف بالرياض
    نظافه بالرياض
    نظافه فلل
    تنظي ففلل
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    تسليك

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  24. http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Cleaning-swimming-pools-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تنظيف مسابح بالرياض تنظيف مسابح تنظيف مسابح غسيل مسابح بالرياض تنظيف مسابح شركة تنظيف مسابح شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Detection-water-leaks-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة كشف تسربات المياه بالرياض كشف تسربات كشف التسربات بالرياض شركة كشف التسربات كشف كشف تسربات كشف تسربات بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Spray-pesticides-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة رش مبيدات 100%بالرياض رش مبيدات رش مبيدات شركة رش مبيدات بالرياض رش مبيدات رش مبيدات بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Moving-Furniture-in-Riyadh.html شركة نقل اثاث مع الفك والتركيب نقل اثاث بالرياض نقا اثاث مع الفك والتركيب بالرياض نقل عفش مع الفك والتركيب بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Combating-insects-in-Riyadh.html شركة مكافحة حشرات بالرياض مكافحة مكافحة مكافحة حشؤات بالرياض شركة مكافحة حشرات نكافحة حشرات بالرياض مكفحة جميع الحشرات بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Cleaning-sewage-in-Riyadh.htmlتسليك مجاري بالرياض شركة تسليك مجاري تسليك مجالري بالرياض شركة تسليك مجاري بالرياض تسليك تسليك بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Combating-bed-bugs-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة مكافحة بق الفراش مكافحة البق مكافحة بق الفراش بق بالرياض مكافحة مكافحة البق شركة مكافحة البق بالرياض مكافحة بق الفراش شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Combating-cockroaches-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة مكافحة الصراصير بالرياض مكافحة الصراصير شركة مكافحة بالرياض الصراصير مكافحة صراصير بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Combating-Souss-wood-Riyadh.htmlشركة مكافحة سوس الخشب مكافحة السوس السوس مكافحة بالرياض شركة مكافحة سوس الخشب بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Plain-tiles-in-Riyadh.html شركة جلي بلا بالرياض جلي بلاط شركة جلي بالرياض جلي رخام افضل جلي بالرياض شركة جلي بلا بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Combating-the-fleas-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة مكافحة البراغيث بالرياض مكافحة البراغيث مكافحة بالرياض شركة مكافحة شركة مكافحة بالرياض مكافحة بق الفراش شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Control-of-ants-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة مكافحة النمل الابيض بالرياض مكافحة النمل الابيض شركة مكافحة بالرياض مكافحة النمل الابيض بالرياض شركة مكافحة النمل شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Teslic-Piyarat-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تسليك بيارات بالرياض تسليك تنظيف بيارات بالرياض شركة تسليك بيارات بالرياض تسليك بيارات شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Cleaning-councils-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تنظيف مجالس بالرياض تنظيف مجالس بالرياض شكة تنظيف مجالس تنظيف مجالس بالرياض تنظيف مجالس شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

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  25. نحن افضل شركة سعودية تقدم اسعارفي متناول الجميع شركة الاجنحة الذهبية [ تنظيف منازل-رش مبيدات -مكافحة حشرات -نقل اثاث-تنظيف خزانات-تنظيف فلل-تنظيف شقق -تسليك مجاري-تنظيف سجاد وموكيت-تنظيف واجهات ]

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.comشركة الاجنحة الذهبية
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    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.comشركة الاجنحة الذهبية
    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.comشركة الاجنحة الذهبية



    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Cleaning-homes-in-Riyadh.htmlتنظيف منازل بالرياض تنظيف منازل تنظيف تنظيف منازل تنظيف تنظيف تنظيف بالرياض شركة تنظيف منازل بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/12/Insulate-roofs-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة عزل اسطح بالرياض عزل عزل عزل اسطح بالرياض عزل اسطح عزل اسطح عزل شركة عزل اسطح بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية


    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/10/Spraying-pesticides-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة رش مبيدات رش رش رش مبيدات رش مبيدات رش مبيدات بالرياض رش مبيدات رش مبيدات رش مبيدات بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية


    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Cleaning-apartments-in-Riyadh.html شركة تنظيف منازل وشقق تنظيف تنظيف شقق تنظيف منازل تنظيف فلل تنظيف بالرياض تنظيف منازل تنظيف منازل بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية


    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/10/Cleaning-facades-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تنظيف واجهات تنظيف واجهات تنظيف واجهات بالرياض تنظيف بالرياض تنظيف واجهات تنظيف واجهات بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية


    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Moving-furniture-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة نقل اثاث بالرياض نقل عفش نقل اثاث نقل نقل اثاث نقل عفش بالرياض شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Cleaning-reservoirs-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تنظيف خزانات بالرياض تنظيف خزانات تنظيف بالرياض غسيل خزانات تنظيف خزانات بالرياض تنظيف غسيل خزانات شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

    http://alagneha-alzhbih.blogspot.com.eg/2015/09/Cleaning-councils-in-Riyadh.htmlشركة تنظيف سجاد وموكيت بالرياض تنظيف سجاد تنظيف موكيت تنظيف بالرياض تنظيف سجاد تنظيف موكيت بالرياض شركة تنظيف سجاد وموكيت شركة الاجنحة الذهبية

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  26. If making sure blacks know their place is a good reason, yes. buy facebook 5 star rating

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  27. شركة مكافحة حشرات بحائل
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