“I Don’t Know.” #BlackLivesMatter

*sigh*

So in North Miami, FL, cops shot Charles Kinsey, a black man who was attempting to calm down an autistic patient who had wandered away from his assisted living facility.

Thankfully, Charles lived; he did not become a hashtag. And when he asked the cop why he shot, the cop responded “I don’t know”.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I. DON’T. KNOW.

I

.

DON’T

.

KNOW

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The Police Lied: #AltonSterling Never Pulled His Gun

Thank you to Keith over at Pharyngula for highlighting this.

(Warning: the following link contains another graphic video of Alton Sterling’s murder. So I’m putting the link below the fold. The video is not embedded in this post, however.)

I’m just going to quote Keith’s comment (though I’ll be making a couple edits… sorry, Keith… I’m obsessive about spelling, grammar, etc… it’s not you, it’s me):

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10 Cops Wounded and 3 Dead at BLM Dallas, TX Protest Sniper Attack

Two snipers have shot 10 cops, 3 of whom have died, at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, TX. I’m doing my best to keep up with updates, but I have work early and have to go to bed, although I am utterly terrified right now.

It was only a matter of time before people snapped, and we’ve been well passed the breaking point for a long time.

That is not to excuse what has happened. Even if the two snipers turn out to be white, right-wing militants, this will be blamed on Black Lives Matter. This has shifted the narrative in a horrible way.

This is not good. If you are a person of color, especially if you are black, for the love of everything please please please stay safe. Please stay safe. This is not good.

Also, please use this thread to curate updates to the story. Through comments at the TWiBNation and TBGWT Facebook groups (who are reporting through Twitter), it’s become obvious that the story the media is reporting is not accurate to what eyewitnesses are reporting. So please post all updates here.

Thank you.

And again… please… stay safe.

(Oh… and note that I’m turning off first-time moderation for the sake of this post. It will be off until I put up my next post, unless that post is also time-sensitive. Be aware that any posts that are racist, that blame BLM, that blame black people, that critique this move [unless it’s framed within a critique of the police who started this], etc, will be deleted and the commenter banned. But also be aware that I need to go to bed [it’s 12:48am for me and I have work in the morning], so I won’t be back to this post for a while).

Oh You Poor Baby!

So I saw this over on the TWiBNation Facebook group. This is a photo and facebook post from cop Ted Lane. While he did post it back on May 18… just…

Warning… this will piss you off to no end… so go ahead and pull out your microscopic violins… if you can find them…

White cop showing off a bite on his arm.

White cop showing off a bite on his arm.

So I seriously hesitated posting this picture. I am not looking for sympathy. I finally decided to post it so people can understand what police officers have to deal with. I was bit in the arm by an 18 year old female who is an admitted IV drug user. So not only do I have to worry about infection from a human bite, but all the possible diseases she could have.

I’m tired of hearing all the negative things people say about cops. So the next time an officer is not overly nice or doesn’t act like your issue is the worst thing in the world, just think about the stuff we deal with.

I know my friends on Facebook support me and my profession, other wise I probably would have deleted you. But my friends, please pass this along to your friends the next time you hear someone say or post negative things about cops. We are all just people doing our job and hope to go home to our families at the end of the shift.

My response?

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#BlackLivesMatter #SayTheirNames #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile #DiamondReynolds #DelrawnSmall #DylanNoble

Stop Killing Black People

Stop Killing Black People

I don’t know what to say anymore. All I can do is say their names. (All links go to their Twitter hashtags. Watch out for videos.)

Alton Sterling

Philando Castile

Also, the women who risked her life to record the murder of Philando Castile, Diamond Reynolds, is, while in police custody, missing. She and their child are in danger. Please work to get her out.

#WhereIsLavishReynolds

ETA: see the title. I’m adding two more names.

Delrawn Small

Dylan Noble