Following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the world of social justice erupted yet again in an American city. As he’s being hailed as the latest innocent victim of systemic police brutality, let’s start with who Blake really was at the time of his encounter with local law enforcement.
In September 2015, police arrested Blake after he pulled a gun at a bar in Racine, Wis. He was charged with one felony count of resisting arrest and “one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety-use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct,” according to the Racine County Eye.
A warrant was issued July 7 in Kenosha. According to Wisconsin’s circuit court records database, Blake has been charged with one felony count of third-degree sexual assault and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing. According to Wisconsin law, third-degree sexual assault can include nonconsensual sexual intercourse or other sexual contact.
— Politifact, 8/26/20
And what tripped the whole incident off?
The Kenosha News reported that a woman living in the 2800 block of 40th Street told police in May that Blake, her ex-boyfriend, had come into her home and taken her car keys and vehicle. She also said he had touched her sexually without consent. It’s not clear if the officers who arrived at an address in the same block shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday were aware of those charges.
— Newsweek, 8/26/20
While this is not to imply he deserved to be shot, Jacob Blake is hardly worthy of civil rights icon status.
Blake’s shooting tripped off a collective major league sports kneejerk. Baseball, basketball, hockey and football franchises nationwide staged boycotts of games, practices and left sports fans on the lurch. Speeches and social media posts from players and coaches flooded the Internet and those who disagreed were shunned into pitiful little children, begging for forgiveness.
One impassioned speech illustrated why some should speak about that which they either know or can relate to.
Let’s look at some of what Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
What stands out to me is just watching the Republican convention and viewing this fear, right?
It’s not clear how much of the Republican convention Rivers actually watched, but it was a celebration of the United States of America, all we can be, and the ramifications of the civil unrest that’s occurred with select pushback in many American cities. The result is billions of dollars of public and private property damage, disruption of public movement, dozens (if not hundreds) of police and civilian injury and death.
The convention also gave voice to some directly and adversely affected by the “mostly peaceful” violence. If the truth is what Rivers considers “fear”, he has a right to his opinion.
All you hear is Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that are denied to live in certain communities.
President Trump talked about the need to restore law and order back onto our streets so people feel safe in their communities. Yes, “we’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot” but I can’t remember when Doc Rivers last gave an impassioned plea for black people to stop doing the killing and shooting in Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New Orleans, Baltimore, etc.
We’ve been hung, we’ve been shot.
Mostly, by Democrats.
All you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.
Going into the 2019-20 National Basketball Association season, the Los Angeles Clippers paid their players a combined “guaranteed” $132 million, not including coaches and staff. Their highest paid player, Paul George, will receive over $33 million just this season alone. Doc Rivers is the second highest paid coach in the NBA with an annual salary of $10 million. Seems to me this country could “not love” those people for a whole lot less.
Rivers made this partisan so if he’s talking about black people not being loved back as a whole, he should take an honest look at the communities where they live and who’s been running them for more than half a century. Can’t blame the lack of opportunity, decent schools, high crime, poverty-level housing and more honestly on Republicans.
Under President Trump economic policies, black unemployment hit historic record lows and it didn’t even require knowing how to rap or shoot a basketball. If that’s not love, what is?
It’s really so sad. I should just be a coach and it’s so haunting, reminded of my color. It’s just really sad. We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to demand better.
Democrats have consistently taken the black vote for granted, reigned on election promises made, leaving signature misery in their wake. In 2016, Donald Trump asked for black support, got some, and made good. Maybe Doc Rivers is making a “demand” to the wrong people and is too political to acknowledge the one man who actually kept his word to all Americans.
It’s funny, we protest and they send riot guards. They send people in riot outfits.
Maybe “we” should stop burning, looting, and assaulting. Then there would be no need for “riot guards”.
They go to Michigan with guns and they’re spitting on cops and nothing happens. The training has to change in the police force.
That made no sense.
The unions have to be taken down in the police force. My dad was a cop. I believe in good cops. We’re not trying to defund the police and take all their money away. We’re trying to get them to protect us, just like they protect everybody else.
If you watch that video, you don’t need to be black to be outraged. You need to be American and outraged. How dare the Republicans talk about fear? We’re the ones that need to be scared. We’re the ones having to talk to every Black child. What white father has to give his son a talk about being careful if you get pulled over? It’s just ridiculous.
Most people, when being pulled over for anything, are respectful and obey the police officer’s requests. It’s only when some decide it’s okay to mouth off, and/or take things to a physical level with law enforcement that bad things happen. White fathers have no problem conveying such logic to a son. Then again, maybe too many black sons (including many players on Rivers’ team and around the NBA) don’t have a father in the home to deliver structure and common sense discussion.
Then again, given the makeup of recent “mostly peaceful” protests, conversations with white daughters are long overdue.
Breonna Taylor, no charges, nothing. All we’re asking is you live up to the constitution. That’s all we’re asking, for everybody.
Taylor was killed amidst a shootout in the apartment where she lived. Drugs may have been involved. Again, another innocent black person being killed by police but with shady shit clouding it all. Law-abiding black people, for the most part, live higher than the national mortality rate for the demographic. That is, unless they get assaulted and robbed by a young blacks in the neighborhood.
Until people like Rivers denounce the rampant crime we see video clips of almost every day in the black community, it’s an invitation for law enforcement intervention. What happens after that becomes fodder for the opportunist and there sure are a lot of them.