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-the-politicians-are-to-blame-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