Make your monsters unique: Lizzie Borden vs. Lovecraftian horrors » « Is the Ark Encounter economically viable?

Happy Juneteenth!

Y’all know it’s Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of slavery.

Here in Minnesota, we had a little warm-up party by releasing the cop who murdered Philando Castile, and we continue to celebrate by arresting people who protest that outrageous verdict.

Juneteenth dates back to 1865. It might have been a little premature.

Make your monsters unique: Lizzie Borden vs. Lovecraftian horrors » « Is the Ark Encounter economically viable?

Comments

  1. What a Maroon, living up to the 'nym says

    (Cross-posted from the political madness thread.)

    In light of the acquittal of Jeronimo Yanez in the murder of Philando Castile, this article, while not exactly news, is relevant.

    Fittingly, the most chilling scene in the movie doesn’t take place on a city street, or at a protest, or during a drug raid. It takes place in a conference room. It’s from a police training conference with Dave Grossman, one of the most prolific police trainers in the country. Grossman’s classes teach officers to be less hesitant to use lethal force, urge them to be willing to do it more quickly and teach them how to adopt the mentality of a warrior. Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile in July, had attended one of Grossman’s classes called “The Bulletproof Warrior” (though that particular class was taught by Grossman’s business partner, Jim Glennon).

    In the class recorded for “Do Not Resist,” Grossman at one point tells his students that the sex they have after they kill another human being will be the best sex of their lives. The room chuckles. But he’s clearly serious. “Both partners are very invested in some very intense sex,” he says. “There’s not a whole lot of perks that come with this job. You find one, relax and enjoy it.”

    Grossman closes the class with a (literal) chest-pounding motivational speech that climaxes with Grossman telling the officers to find an overpass overlooking the city they serve. He urges them to look down on their city and know that they’ve made the world a better place. He then urges them to grip the overpass railing, lean forward and “let your cape blow in the wind.” The room gives him a standing ovation.

    There are even more disturbing details in the linked article.

    The trailer for the documentary is here; worth watching especially if you were starting to get warm fuzzies for Jim Comey.

  2. says

    Castile would be a cause celbre for the NRA – he had a licensed weapon in the glove box, which he appropriately disclosed. There’s just one small reason why they haven’t taken it up. Can you guess it?

  4. What a Maroon, living up to the 'nym says

    Tabby Lavalamp,

    Yep, if you’re looking for fascism, that’s where you’ll find it.

    The attitude of the police and the courts ought to be that the worst outcome of any police encounter is the killing of a citizen who doesn’t present a lethal threat. Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude is that the worst outcome is the death of a cop. I’m not advocating cop killing, but they ought to understand that when they sign up, they’re agreeing to forfeit their lives if necessary.

    Instead you get this toxic brew of machismo, fear, and racism.

  5. slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says

    re Castile:
    The “incident” was damn awful disgusting. No debate.
    Worse, was that a jury acquitted the killer. Training of cops can be modified to handle such encounters more reasonably.
    To have 12 ordinary citizens, unanimously agree to acquit the cop for the “misdeed” is more pukeworthy.

  6. microraptor says

    What a Maroon @4:

    I’m not advocating cop killing, but they ought to understand that when they sign up, they’re agreeing to forfeit their lives if necessary.

    The expectation is that cops agreed to risk their lives in order to defend civilians, but we’re increasingly seeing an attitude that it’s acceptable to sacrifice a few civilians to protect cops.

  7. What a Maroon, living up to the 'nym says

    microraptor,

    Of course, the acceptability of the sacrifice is proportional to the darkness of the victim’s skin.

  8. EigenSprocketUK says

    #6 microraptor

    we’re increasingly seeing an attitude that it’s acceptable to sacrifice a few civilians to protect cops.

    …to protect cops from the risk of becoming fearful, when their training tells them to be fearful.