Quote :

" but if you don’t break the law, there is nothing they can do to you"

7/9/2015 4:54:39 PM

For p17 - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/09/magazine/the-souths-heritage-is-so-much-more-than-a-flag.html

Quote :

"First off, I love the Southland. I was born and raised in Florence, Ala., a small town on the northern banks of the Tennessee River in a region known locally as the Shoals. It’s a Bible Belt community; my hometown was “dry” until I was nearly 20 years old. It was also the birthplace of some of the most beloved and important music of the 20th century. W.C. Handy, sometimes known as the father of the blues and an important early jazz figure — the author of “Beale Street Blues” and “St. Louis Blues,” among other early standards — was born in Florence in 1873. The radical and ingenious producer Sam Phillips was born half a century later in McGee Town, a small farming community about eight miles to the northwest, two farms over from my family’s homestead. He nurtured the invention of rock ’n’ roll, discovering Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf, Charlie Rich, Ike Turner, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, among many others. On the south side of the river, the neighboring towns of Muscle Shoals and Sheffield hosted recording studios — FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, respectively — that along with Stax Records’ studio in Memphis became the epicenter of the soul and R&B explosion of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, the Staple Singers, Bobby Womack and many other African-American artists crossed racial barriers and recorded classic music with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, who happened to be white. Together, they recorded landmark hits that were the soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement. The four towns that make up the Shoals are deeply religious and politically conservative, but they also hosted a bubbling underground of progressive thought, home to a vibrant minority of freethinkers and idealists. In our own mythology, we weren’t caught up in the bloody violence that will forever haunt the reputations of Birmingham, Memphis and Selma — we were too busy making joyous music. The elementary school I attended had already been integrated (peacefully, as far as I know) by 1970, when I started first grade. I never saw a burning cross or a burning church. That said, I’m sure there has been plenty of frothing at the mouth there recently over last month’s Supreme Court decisions, President Obama’s eulogy for Clementa Pinckney at Charleston’s Emanuel A.M.E. Church, the rainbow lights at the White House — and of course, the Confederate flag. When I was growing up, I never thought much about the flag. My father, David Hood, was and still is a session bass player with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. His views on the Civil Rights era were shaped by the time he spent playing with Aretha and the Staple Singers. He looked at George Wallace and Bull Connor with great disdain, and was mortified to think that people around the world believed all Southerners were like that. My father worked long hours at the studio, and I spent a large part of my childhood with my grandparents and great-uncle. Raised during the Great Depression, they were progressive by the standards of their generation and told me stories about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who the old folks said had saved Florence and the surrounding towns; and Wilson Dam, a World War I-era structure that crossed the Tennessee River just east of Florence, made the river navigable and provided the impetus for Roosevelt’s Tennessee Valley Authority, which electrified the region and brought it — sometimes kicking and screaming — into the 20th century. They also told stories about my great-great-grandfather, who fought for the Confederacy at Shiloh during the Civil War. They were always quick to say that he had been poor and never owned slaves, and had simply fought against a conquering army invading his home. Such is the storytelling that pervades the Southern character. The South loves myths and legends, and while they may have roots in the truth, they often overlook certain complexities. We raise our children steeped in “Gone With the Wind” folklore and pretend that all the things we saw in “12 Years a Slave” didn’t happen. As a songwriter, I’ve spent the better part of my career trying to capture both the Southern storytelling tradition and the details the tall tales left out, putting this dialectical narrative into the context of rock songs. My band’s best-known work, an album we recorded a decade and a half ago called “Southern Rock Opera,” is an examination of life in the South after the Civil Rights era, in the form of a coming-of-age tale of a Southern boy about my age who grows up to become a famous musician before dying in a plane crash while on tour. The album wrestled with how to be proud of where we came from while acknowledging and condemning the worst parts of our region’s history. When Drive-By Truckers were recording “Southern Rock Opera,” we were very concerned about how the record would be received. We wanted to back up everything we said with documented facts, lest we be construed as apologists — lest someone not notice that a sympathetic song about George Wallace was written from the Devil’s point of view. And we made a conscious decision not to discuss the so-called rebel flag. We didn’t want our narrative getting bogged down in a debate about an antiquated symbol, one we considered a moot point in any case. My own coming-of-age story revolved around much more important things like going to rock concerts and trying to get a date or hanging out with friends on weekends. The flag might have been a backdrop at Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts, but beyond that it wasn’t really anything any of us thought much about at the time. It was only later, when we started playing songs from the album at shows, that we noticed that fans were bringing rebel flags and waving them during a song called “The Southern Thing.” The song was written to express the contradictions of Southern identity: Ain’t about no foolish pride, ain’t about no flag Hate’s the only thing that my truck would want to drag You think I’m dumb, maybe not too bright You wonder how I sleep at night Proud of the glory, stare down the shame Duality of the Southern Thing. Instead, people were treating it as a rallying cry. I’m still grappling with how easily it was misinterpreted — and we rarely play it today for that reason. It was around that time that I began paying attention to the flag flying at courthouses and state capitals. I started hearing things like “heritage, not hate” from people who were perhaps well-meaning, but were nevertheless ignoring the fact that their beloved Southern Cross flew at Klan rallies — that it was a symbol for a war fought on the principle of one man owning another. Let’s pause to think about that one for a moment: one man owning another. When our kindly Grandpa says “states’ rights,” that’s the “right” he’s talking about. Unfair tariffs? Many of the soldiers in the Civil War probably couldn’t spell “tariff.” But they certainly knew that the South’s economy and very way of life was built upon the backs of men, women and children of color. Last month, a terrorist with a gun killed nine unarmed men and women in a church in Charleston and woke the people in our country up from sweet dreams of a postracial America, driving home just how far we still have to go. As the city mourned and tried to make sense of its grief, the State House of South Carolina still flew the rebel flag at full staff. Now the tide is turning; the state’s legislature voted to take it down from the Capitol grounds early Thursday morning, and it’s not impossible to think that other Southern states might do the same before long. It’s high time that a symbol so divisive be removed. The flags coming down symbolize the extent to which those who cry “heritage, not hate” have already lost their argument. Why would we want to fly a symbol that has been used by the K.K.K. and terrorists like Dylann Roof? Why would a people steeped in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible want to rally around a flag that so many associate with hatred and violence? Why fly a flag that stands for the very things we as Southerners have worked so hard to move beyond? If we want to truly honor our Southern forefathers, we should do it by moving on from the symbols and prejudices of their time and building on the diversity, the art and the literary traditions we’ve inherited from them. It’s time to study and learn about who we are and where we came from while finding a way forward without the baggage of our ancestors’ fears and superstitions. It’s time to quit rallying around a flag that divides. And it is time for the South to — dare I say it? — rise up and show our nation what a beautiful place our region is, and what more it could become. Patterson Hood is a writer and musician. His band, Drive-By Truckers, has a new live album recorded at the Fillmore in San Francisco set to be released this fall."

7/9/2015 4:56:50 PM

Quote :

"I stated that law abiding citizens in Ferguson are not going to have to worry about the racist cops."

So you didnt read, or even hear about, the Ferguson report from the DOJ? That's fine that you are misinformed but I would suggest you do some discovery before making blanket statements like this.

Let me point out some findings:

67% of African Americans in Ferguson account for 93% of arrests made from 2012-2014.

The disproportionate number of arrests, tickets and use of force stemmed from “unlawful bias,” rather than black people committing more crime.

Officers used a dog to attack an unarmed 14-year-old black boy and then struck him while he was lying on the ground, all while he was waiting for his friends in an abandoned house. The report concludes that in every dog bite incident reported, the person bitten was black.

From October 2012 to October 2014, every time a person was arrested because he or she was “resisting arrest,” that person was black.

And here's a great example about a black man resting in his car after playing basketball:

"Without any cause, the officer accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the man was armed."

One more:

Quote :

"At times, the constitutional violations are even more blatant. An African-American man recounted to us an experience he had while sitting at a bus stop near Canfield Drive. According to the man, an FPD patrol car abruptly pulled up in front of him. The officer inside, a patrol lieutenant, rolled down his window and addressed the man: Lieutenant: Get over here. Bus Patron: Me? Lieutenant: Get the f*** over here. Yeah, you. Bus Patron: Why? What did I do? Lieutenant: Give me your ID. Bus Patron: Why? Lieutenant: Stop being a smart ass and give me your ID. The lieutenant ran the man’s name for warrants. Finding none, he returned the ID and said, “get the hell out of my face.” These allegations are consistent with other, independent allegations of misconduct that we heard about this particular lieutenant, and reflect the routinely disrespectful treatment many African Americans say they have come to expect from Ferguson police. "

In fact, here is the link so you can read more for yourself:
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/national/department-of-justice-report-on-the-ferguson-mo-police-department/1435/



[Edited on July 9, 2015 at 5:07 PM. Reason : a]

7/9/2015 4:57:46 PM

Quote :

"And let's take the Charleston example... they found a broken tail light and unpaid child support "

What's your point? Should cops not stop black drivers with broken tail lights because it could be racist?

Quote :

" and shortly after the cop executed the guy. "

And that cop will spend the rest of his life in jail for murder

Quote :

"But I know that's just a strawman"

No, a straw man is when you quote me talking about cops, laws and minorities, and then claim I denied employers and lenders don't discriminate, then to call me ignorant and say its not worth debating me.

7/9/2015 5:03:36 PM

Quote :

"And this is precisely what occurs in Ferguson. As others have noted, the Ferguson courts appear to work as an orchestrated racket to extract money from the poor. The thousands upon thousands of warrants that are issued, according to the DOJ, are "not to protect public safety but rather to facilitate fine collection." Residents are routinely charged with minor administrative infractions. Most of the arrest warrants stem from traffic violations, but nearly every conceivable human behavior is criminalized. An offense can be found anywhere, including citations for "Manner of Walking in Roadway," "High Grass and Weeds," and 14 kinds of parking violation. The dystopian absurdity reaches its apotheosis in the deliciously Orwellian transgression "failure to obey." (Obey what? Simply to obey.) In fact, even if one does obey to the letter, solutions can be found. After Henry Davis was brutally beaten by four Ferguson officers, he found himself charged with "destruction of official property" for bleeding on their uniforms."

Quote :

" In 2013, 92 percent of Ferguson's arrest warrants were issued against African Americans, and black Fergusonians were 68 percent less likely than others to have their court cases dismissed. The racism is so blatant and comprehensive that the DOJ concluded that "Ferguson law enforcement practices are directly shaped and perpetuated by racial bias." Considering the qualified and colorless language typically deployed in government documents, this is an astonishingly forceful statement."

Quote :

"And that cop will spend the rest of his life in jail for murder"

Maybe? I mean he'll serve some time, but I'd bet $texas he ain't getting sentenced to fucking life. Show me some precedent and maybe...


[Edited on July 9, 2015 at 5:15 PM. Reason : ]

7/9/2015 5:04:35 PM

Quote :

"but if you don’t break the law, there is nothing they can do to you"

I'm sure the family of Tamir Rice would love to hear that from you

7/9/2015 5:20:37 PM

7/9/2015 5:28:57 PM

7/9/2015 5:36:30 PM

It's pretty much the dumbest fucking argument ever

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/us/alabama-police-beating/index.html

7/9/2015 5:39:58 PM

7/9/2015 5:45:35 PM

This is what a slave revolt must of looked like

7/9/2015 5:47:28 PM

i wanna hear what she was saying at the end

7/9/2015 6:21:01 PM

lol, he shaking hard hahahaha

7/9/2015 6:37:39 PM

WSHH is certainly helping race relations...

7/9/2015 6:43:38 PM

lol, dude flew like 10 feet.

7/9/2015 6:51:31 PM

Quote :

"What's your point? Should cops not stop black drivers with broken tail lights because it could be racist?"

LOL good call. Maybe every white cop should be teamed up with a black cop. This would kinda be like the male and female TSA agent. That way whenever they need to stop/question/arrest an African American the black cop can take the lead so no one thinks the white cop was being racist.

Let's not forget that if you take "bias" out of the equation when a cop elects to pull someone blacks are still more likely to get pulled over for this petty crap since cops typically have to patrol more in higher crime areas. Typically (ZOMG RACIST COMMENT) black people live in higher crime areas (sure it’s largely due to socio-economics.





How is this relevant at all??????????????????????????????????????????????



Zimmerman was an over-zealous trigger happy latino American who take his community watch way to seriously and apparently has violence issues with other people.

Oh I get it you are providing supporting evidence to my argument that SOME in the African-American community is very trigger-happy to pull the race card in situations before the facts are known.
In this instead of realizing “hey this Hispanic guy is an idiot” the masses came out of the woodwork to protest an alleged white shooting a black kid walking down the street with skittles.





[Edited on July 9, 2015 at 7:20 PM. Reason : A]

[Edited on July 9, 2015 at 7:21 PM. Reason : a]

7/9/2015 7:17:20 PM

7/9/2015 10:15:14 PM

Man if more of my brothers would stand up for their rights like this, racism would die real fast.

7/9/2015 10:19:05 PM

Down goes whitey

7/9/2015 10:24:15 PM

7/9/2015 10:30:12 PM

sticks and stones can break my bones, but blackjesus can never troll me

7/9/2015 10:31:03 PM

Looks like a bunch of thugs in the videos

7/9/2015 11:16:09 PM

Quote :

"Down goes whitey"

careful, synapse will quote 500 of your posts in a row

7/9/2015 11:18:22 PM

Racism is dead. Said no one who looked at Nikki Haley's @ mentions this morning.

7/10/2015 8:33:54 AM

good job south carolina

7/10/2015 10:15:59 AM

Quote :

"@nikkihaley I’ma let you finish but @BreeNewsome had the best Confederate Flag takedown of all-time. "

7/10/2015 11:44:58 AM

So from the videos from BlackJesus and Synapse posting the woman scaling the pole, the take-away is that breaking the law (i.e. assaulting someone by knocking them out or defacing government property) is OK as long as I can claim that I was offended by the victim/object in question.

7/10/2015 12:49:38 PM

You don't break any laws?

7/10/2015 12:57:39 PM

Night night

7/10/2015 1:01:07 PM

I don't.

I don't speed.
I pay for all my downloaded movies.
I never claim anything untruthful on my taxes.
I've never eaten a grape while in the produce section.
I never once gutted the catalytic converter on any automobile.

I'm squeaky clean.

In all honesty this would've happened exactly the same without that attention whore gearing up like she was climbing Everest and going up there like a stripper with a 20 taped to the tip.

7/10/2015 1:02:17 PM

BlackJesus brings up a great topic. So how are your feelings about Zimbabwe where the populist government decided that the white minorities there had to turnover their personal property and surrender their businesses to new black owners.

Are you upset about this blantant racism, discrimination, and human rights abuses or is it OK since blacks faced historical discrimination by whites during prior to their 1980’s independence.

[Edited on July 10, 2015 at 1:15 PM. Reason : a]

7/10/2015 1:12:48 PM

Dylann Roof also has a strong interest in Zimbabwe.

Perhaps you two should talk shop.

[Edited on July 10, 2015 at 1:38 PM. Reason : V thx B ]

7/10/2015 1:18:57 PM

It's Dylann.

Take note, parents. He was fucked from day one with that second n.

7/10/2015 1:30:48 PM

damn

he really went there

7/10/2015 1:31:40 PM

video: http://jezebel.com/watch-south-carolinas-confederate-flag-get-taken-down-1717014949

7/10/2015 1:50:02 PM

7/10/2015 1:51:52 PM

^

Quote :

"27:46"

7/10/2015 1:53:36 PM

7/10/2015 1:57:41 PM

7/10/2015 2:01:01 PM

7/10/2015 2:03:13 PM

Whats he got right there in front of him? The flag of heritage.

The US south is a prime example of what happens when liberals win a war. Any other country would have eradicated those inbred fuckups.

7/10/2015 2:06:24 PM

Ahhh so generalizing all white people in the south as not only racist and inbred isn't stereotyping and in itself being racist....

Eradication part of your statement is interesting too. Should they be eradicated like how the Nazis eradicated the Jews or the Serbia's "ethnic cleansing" of Bosnians.
If we are going to eradicate "fuck-ups" besides the inbred ignorant whites can we purge black gangsters? Any crypt/blood/etc member will be shot in sight.

[Edited on July 10, 2015 at 2:21 PM. Reason : A]

7/10/2015 2:18:50 PM

Proposed designs for the new Confederate Flag:

7/10/2015 2:22:02 PM

I can't fathom another country on earth at that time that wouldn't have executed their leaders at the very least.

7/10/2015 2:23:38 PM

^Exactly, you cut the head off the snake.

7/10/2015 2:27:24 PM

man, I hope some of this vile bullshit that HUR is spewing makes it to whoever he works for

like, I'm almost embarrassed to click this thread after his last couple of posts

7/10/2015 2:30:41 PM

"My momma was a white woman, but she was a nigger lover" lol

7/10/2015 2:33:21 PM

Possibly the greatest thing since 1961

Down goes the Dixie Swastika.

7/10/2015 2:52:06 PM

eh, it's a free country. the driver (or the company) should be able to fly whatever flag they choose without fear of vandalism.... flying it on state property is a different story.

what's with the barrage of videos?

7/10/2015 2:55:41 PM

^^Why? That's just straight up vandalism, and - if anything - counterproductive to the cause.

I 100% agree that there's no room for that flag to be flown/endorsed by any government body, but we're a country built on the principal of free speech. If that trucker wanted to slap that on his truck and make himself look like a jackass, that's his right.

[Edited on July 10, 2015 at 2:58 PM. Reason : sloooow]

7/10/2015 2:58:14 PM