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.

Liberals always claim the need to “educate” people who don’t do what they want and have no problem disenfranchising voters to get their way. Cruzers are clearly displaying the very same authoritarian tactics so-called conservatives bitch about constantly.

While Thompson claims Trump only earned 40% of the Republican primary votes, he did so against a field of 16 other candidates (not one or two, or even four…) which makes that victory percentage all the more impressive.

All of the candidates were asked to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. To date, only Ben Carson and Chris Christie have honored their signatures and one would think “keeping your word” would be one of those hallowed “conservative principles”.

Thompson is claiming being bound to vote to reflect the voters’ state preference is unconstitutional. However, a popular vote was quite binding when she and other delegates ran for their seats. Conveniently, things are suddenly different now.

Hypocrites like those in the #NeverTrump column would be the first to cite “conservative principles” had Ted Cruz won the primary contest and another candidate’s supporters would attempt to do the very thing Thomson and Kendal Unruh are seeking to do now, and should they be successful and replace Trump with Ted Cruz (who is clearly their pick), they’ll be the first to demand everyone in the Republican Party rally around their choice because staying home and not voting (which they’ve promised to do if Trump is the nominee) would put Hillary in the White House and we all know who they’ll blame.

There’s a very good chance they’ll make things interesting in Cleveland and if they do wrest the nomination away from Donald Trump and hand it to Ted Cruz, let’s hope the Cruzers are ready for the very public shaming they will deservedly earn. They should NEVER seek the votes of those they’ll happily disenfranchise now as they’ll have a “conscience” as well.

“Conservative principles” will become the joke Cruzers have made it.

7/11/16 UPDATE

The #NeverTrumpers have apparently cleared one hurdle to creating chaos in Cleveland in pursuit of their so-called “conservative principles” that they believe should overrule the will of the people in their states.

A GOP delegate has won his lawsuit challenging a Virginia law that would have forced him to vote for Donald Trump on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention next week. The case was brought by Virginia delegate Carroll Boston Correll, who “pleads under oath that he ‘believes that Donald Trump is unfit to serve as President of the United States and that voting for Donald Trump’ on the first ballot at the 2016 Republican National Convention, as required by Section 545(D), ‘would therefore violate Correll’s conscience.’”

The federal court’s ruling arrived on the heels of anti-Trump delegate Kendal Unruh’s announcement that there are enough delegates on the RNC’s Rules Committee to force the entire convention to vote on whether or not delegates should be free to vote their conscience on the first ballot in the GOP nomination.

Then again, it all depends on who you listen to because another aspect of the suit addressed a different perceived result.

Senior United States District Judge Robert E. Payne today ruled in favor of Trump campaign delegates who had argued – in line with overwhelming public opinion – that RNC delegates must follow election results and that delegates cannot be stolen at the national convention. Delegate Beau Correll, Jr., had brought the suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia hoping to reject the will of the voters, but was soundly defeated.

Specifically, the Court found that RNC Rule 16, which binds delegates based on their election results, “is in effect presently and that it controls the allocation and binding of delegates as to their voting at convention.” (p. 6) The Court held that the Plaintiff’s “expert testimony” from Erling ‘Curly’ Haugland was not credible, lacked “textual support,” (p.6) and that “delegates are bound by RNC Rule 16.” (p. 7)

Further, the Court found that by signing the “Declaration and Statement of Qualification,” RNC delegates are bound by RNC Rule 16(c)(2) (p. 10), and that this Declaration obligated Correll to vote in accordance with Republican Party rules and Virginia’s election results. (p. 46)
— Donald Trump Facebook post, 7/11/16

Curiously, neither side cites the same part of the judge’s ruling, thus the whole two-sides-to-every-story thing muddies up the works.

Either way, should these people succeed in nullifying the millions of people who voted for Donald Trump, they will be very publicly shunned.