chrysostom

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
please give us those reasons
I said there's more reason to believe it. But to break that into a few parts, the first is the existence of a video tape where one of the officers can be heard using the sort of language Bennett attested to. The second is a video showing an officer with a drawn gun close to the head of Bennett as he lay on the ground. The fact that the officers directly involved had body cameras turned off in violation of dept. policy while other officers on the scene were compliant is troubling. The attempt by the police union to muddy waters and put Bennett on the defensive by asking the NFL commissioner to investigate Bennett and doing so while wrapping it in the politics of the flag issue is as well.

Edit: An addition. Listening to the spokesman for the LVPD, he had to trot out that both the officers involved were Hispanic. :plain: Oh, well then, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with race. :rolleyes:
 
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chrysostom

Well-known member
Hall of Fame
I said there's more reason to believe it.

that doesn't do it for me -
we may never know what transpired -
the fact that bennett was on the ground means he did not cooperate -
he aggravated the incident by turning it into a racial situation -
he is now the poster child for black lives matter -
all 274 pounds
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
that doesn't do it for me -
How could it when you had your mind made up at the outset? When you mix in activist like it's a dirty word, when you dismiss his charitable works, when you declare him arrested when he wasn't and impute resistance to cuffing, etc. When it's important for you to mention his wealth and to attribute an ignorance to the man you can't sustain rationally?

Who could reach through that, chrys? I didn't expect to.

we may never know what transpired -
We'd know exactly what happened if the two officers had followed procedure and turned on the cameras they wore. What we do know lines up with Bennett's accounting.

the fact that bennett was on the ground means he did not cooperate -
I already noted that it's fairly standard in a stressed situation, to cuff and ascertain. So you're being lazy or dishonest. That part is neither an indictment of Bennet or the officers.

he aggravated the incident by turning it into a racial situation -
The incident was over when he aired his opinion on the motivation for chasing down one large black man among a lot of fleeing people.

he is now the poster child for black lives matter -
He already had credibility in his community rooted in his commitment to making it better.

all 274 pounds
What does that mean, 274 lbs. Why is that important for you to note, chrys?
 

chrysostom

Well-known member
Hall of Fame
What does that mean, 274 lbs. Why is that important for you to note, chrys?

it is hard to imagine a 274 lb poster child -
so what does that mean -
you too can be a victim -
it doesn't matter how big or strong you are -
it doesn't matter what you do -
there is always something you have no control over
-and-
you can blame it for your particular situation -
that is what victims do -
they can get help -
there is always a lawyer who can defend them -
that is what lawyers do
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
it is hard to imagine a 274 lb poster child -
It was silly to call him a poster child, except in relation to your imagination.

so what does that mean -
It means you have at least a few prejudices that overwhelm your rationality.
One is against athletes who make millions, apparently. Or maybe just those who aren't...Republicans.

you too can be a victim -
it doesn't matter how big or strong you are -
it doesn't matter what you do -
there is always something you have no control over
Or, if someone with authority and an obligation to protect your life and rights draws a gun and threatens your life instead, when you're innocent of wrongdoing, you've been victimized. Even if you're tall, rich, and otherwise powerful.

-and-you can blame it for your particular situation -
that is what victims do -
That's not an honest statement. He believes his race played a role in their decision to single him out. That's blaming their actions on their ignorance and assumption. Whether he's right or wrong is a matter for investigation.

they can get help -
there is always a lawyer who can defend them -
that is what lawyers do
Defend the innocent against misconduct? It's one of the things we do, sure.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
does he believe he was the only black around?
You think that racism is only in play if they abuse every black in the vicinity? :plain: Or if they were racially motivated they'd have rushed about cuffing every black person within reach?

Of course you don't. And that's why it's a silly question.

I think that without Bennett's narrative of the gun near his head and the threat my impression would be that the police were being hyper vigilant, as you might expect them to be entering into an area with a suspected shooter. That a really large guy stands out in a crowd. That seeing one run away as you rush in might lead to an instinctual supposition regardless of race, though it might work the margin of the impulse and it might have impacted subsequent conduct. That is, I'm not sure a five foot two blond would have been chased down, handcuffed and threatened, assuming the latter happened. I'm not sure she would have been pursued in the first place.

Our expectations can provide a filtering bias and I know from my friends who work in law enforcement what expectations are often there for them and from understanding the statistics that black males are disproportionately involved in violent incidents.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
I don't doubt those statistics
-nor-
do I doubt they are more likely to resist
-do you?
According to police Bennett was handcuffed because the officers had found his behavior on the scene "suspicious".

Or, as I told you a few times by now, when police believe you might be involved in a criminal act they're going to put you in cuffs until they ascertain the truth. No one on scene has suggested resistance played any role in the Bennett case. The only person doing that is you.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
so you believe the police has no reason to do what they did?
I can believe that Bennett did not resist detainment without believing the police had no reason (good or poor) to detain him.

They aren't dependent answers, your best effort notwithstanding.
 

Town Heretic

Out of Order
Hall of Fame
why would you believe bennett
On the point? Because his narrative on that point is uncontested, but I don't have to believe him. What I have to do is understand the police have not accused him of any misconduct in the incident. Your suggestion was predicated on his being handcuffed, which I noted was a mistake on your part.

when he was the first to play the race card?
Non sequitur. It doesn't follow that his belief that race influenced the sequence of events has any bearing on the question of whether or not anyone who was in a position to know has suggested Bennett resisted the detainment. They haven't.
 

chrysostom

Well-known member
Hall of Fame
On the point? Because his narrative on that point is uncontested,

it is contested, his claim that he was singled out because of race -
how do you prove that if he was not the only black around?
the police have denied this
-but-
you believe bennett and not the police -
why?
 
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