Ketanji Brown Jackson's Historic Confirmation
For the first time in American history, today the Senate confirmed a Black woman to become a justice on the United States Supreme Court. Since its formation in 1789, the Supreme Court has only had two previous Black justices (Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas), both of whom were male. Out of 115 justices who have ever sat on the highest court in the land, 108 of them have been White men. Only seven have either been women or non-White. And when the court convenes next fall, for the first time White men will actually become a minority on the court. Or, to put this a much better way: for the first time, the highest court in the land will actually be a lot more representative of the makeup of the citizens of the United States of America. This is a historic occasion, and a very hard-fought victory for all who aren't White men.
The court which convenes in October will have only four White men on it -- Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh. It will have one Black man (Clarence Thomas) and one Black woman (Ketanji Brown Jackson). Sonia Sotomayor is a Hispanic woman, and the other two seats are held by White women (Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett). This is not perfectly representational of America's demographic makeup, but it is a lot closer to it than at any time in history.
Today's confirmation was a bit unusual because Jackson won't take her seat immediately (as is the norm). Justice Stephen Breyer will not step down until the end of the Supreme Court's term this year (including end-of-year housekeeping), expected to be in either late June or early July. Jackson will be sworn in immediately thereafter, and should have enough time to get up and running for the start of the court's new term in October.
Of course, this isn't the biggest reason why Jackson's confirmation was unusual or historic. That distinction would probably have to go to the fact that while she did get a bipartisan confirmation vote of 53-47 (with three Republican senators voting for her), just in case the vote had been tied, the presiding officer of the Senate was Vice President Kamala Harris -- who is also a Black woman, and also the first of her kind to hold this position in all of American history.
Ketanji Brown Jackson's ascension to the high court is cause for celebration for all Americans -- of all races, ethnicities, and genders. It is the shattering of a glass ceiling that should have been broken long ago. But the good news is that once the pioneering "firsts" have made their mark, often these issues fade into irrelevancy in American politics relatively quickly.
While the first Catholic was appointed to the court in 1836 (Roger Taney), the first Jewish justice wasn't appointed until 1916. From the Wikipedia entry on Louis Brandeis:
The controversy surrounding Brandeis's nomination was so great that the Senate Judiciary Committee, for the first time in its history, held a public hearing on the nomination, allowing witnesses to appear before the committee and offer testimony both in support of and in opposition to Brandeis's confirmation. While previous nominees to the Supreme Court had been confirmed or rejected by a simple up-or-down vote on the Senate floor, often on the same day on which the President had sent the nomination to the Senate, a then-unprecedented four months lapsed between Wilson's nomination of Brandeis and the Senate's final confirmation vote.
These hearings were contentious. Brandeis was accused of being a social justice reformer, and a lot of the opposition was couched in the fears of the establishment of what would happen if such a "radical" were to be seated on the court. But there was a heavy undertone of anti-Semitism to the opposition as well.
Once the barrier was broken, other Catholic and Jewish justices followed -- but there was a feeling that their representation should be limited to one (or at most two) seats. Up until the 1980s, no more than two Jews or two Catholics ever sat on the same court, and such overlaps were rare -- most years saw only one in the "Jewish seat" and one in the "Catholic seat." More recently, religion has not played much of an issue at all among justices or nominees, and America has now actually seen a Supreme Court made up of nothing but Catholics and Jews -- a situation that would have been downright inconceivable a century ago.
In a similar vein, after the first Black justice was seated in 1967, the court had a "Black seat" that George H.W. Bush continued when he nominated Clarence Thomas (after Thurgood Marshall resigned). For the first time since 1967, however, there will be two Black justices in the court's next term. From this point on, being Black might not be all that notable for future nominees and nobody will think that "they're only entitled to one seat" anymore (hopefully, at any rate). There are plenty of other minorities that have never been represented on the highest court in the land, so we may see a Native American or a Pacific Islander justice before we see the next Black justice nominated, but when the next Black is named, it will likely be nowhere near as big an issue as it has been for Jackson (and Thomas, and Marshall before her).
Women have been making strides even faster, in the demographics of the court. Sandra Day O'Connor, named by Ronald Reagan, became the first female justice in 1981. Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined her on the court in 1993. By 2010, there were three women on the court (Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan). Next year, there will be four (Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson). As the number of women justices increased, the issue of gender became more and more minor. Of course, women are still not fully represented on the court in proportion to their makeup of the population at large, and won't be until there are five women justices, but they've gotten awfully close in a very short historical timeframe. Although it might have been inconceivable to someone in the early 1900s to imagine a court made up solely of Catholics and Jews, it's pretty easy these days to imagine a court with a strong majority of women -- even seven or eight of them one day, perhaps. Being female is no bar to having a sharp legal mind or even judicial temperament, and today virtually nobody would argue otherwise. That is progress.
There are plenty of demographic groups that have never been represented on the high court though, which makes me anticipate seeing the first gay or lesbian or bisexual justice nominated before we see another Black woman. Or perhaps seeing someone from an ethnicity or race that has never held a seat before. But no matter when the next Black woman is nominated, my guess is that by that point it really won't even be an issue, except perhaps with the oldest senators who are so stuck in their ways they haven't quite caught up to present sensibilities.
The most interesting thing about watching the demographic shifts on the court is that minority or gender status has in no way dictated ideological leanings. The first woman was a conservative, after all. Of the two Black justices who have served to date, one was liberal and one is conservative. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see a Republican president nominate a Hispanic conservative to the court in the near future, either. Skin color or ethnic upbringing is no guarantee of any particular judicial viewpoint -- nor should it be. The willingness of Republicans to seek out minorities to name to the high bench is evidence of this, and should in fact be applauded.
The Supreme Court will never be perfectly representational of American society. It can't, at least not with only nine members. Nine means each justice represents 11.1 percent of the country. And even with combining several different demographic checkboxes (a gay Native American, for instance), nine is just too few to adequately represent each and every group that exists in our multicultural society.
Still, it is indeed worth celebrating that beginning next October the country and the whole world will see a Supreme Court unlike any seen in history -- one that contains only a minority of White males upon it for the first time. A court full of faces that would have absolutely shocked and stunned anyone from 100 years ago. This is what will be remembered long after the contentious confirmation hearings have been largely forgotten -- the first court in American history that shows the country has now fully embraced equality for all in a way it never has previously. Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history, and opened the door for others to follow in her footsteps. It is a proud day for her, for her family, for Black women, and for America as a whole.
[Correction: Earlier iterations of this article mistakenly reversed the order of the name to "Ketanji Jackson Brown." We apologize for the error, it has been corrected throughout.]
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
After all, believing in something without any evidence to support that belief (the definition of having faith) doesn't really seem like a good quality for a Supreme Court Justice to begin with.
But it's just fine for One Demand?
This is completely unrelated to CW's column but it's important to realize that solar and wind cannot save the climate and are meanwhile destroying our environment.
This 2019 TEDx (17:33, and worth it) is presented by a Liberal Environmental Warrior so he not only has street cred but it sends that his message is compelling. I agree with him that nuclear power is the answer, Three Mile Island and Chernoble be damned.
This is a historic occasion, and a very hard-fought victory for all who aren't White men.
Naw, it's a hard-fought victory for us white
men, too. Because I'd much rather be a white male living in a more perfect union America than live in the Republican dystopian be-afraid-be-very-afraid-of-fill-in-the-blank that they offer. Oh, and Trump won.
So is there some reason that Democrats can't openly celebrate the fact that Kamala is VP and that Ketanji is about to be a Supreme? In contrast to white nationalism, tax cuts for rich folks, book banning and Putin-lovers?
Gotta admit, I was hooked when I heard that Joe was nominating someone who's first name is KETANJI.
I mean, how cool is it to live in a country that would entrust such a position to a Ketanji?
Whatever problems we have in Murica we remain the global leader in excellence in human rights.
[3]
You have not. You and OD absolutely suck and you have ducked every criticism of OD, Fredo.
It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says... like dumb... I'm smart and I want respect!
Fredo
GODFATHER PART II
Oh, CW. Could you amend the title of this column to include the "i" at the end of "Ketanj?"
Hooray, there's now one less 'blank spot' on the history of the SCOTUS, but there are still plenty of others.
I predict the next Dem pres will commit to nominating a gay trans-gender Native American women to the court. That would fill in a helluve lot of 'blank spots' in one fell swoop!
CW, the title still needs name order fixing, too.
MyVoice,
Obviously, Chris can't get enough of Michale's comments.
:-)
Stucki-
Better than Republicans. I'm guessing the next republican nominee will be a right wing Christian white guy 'cause they did a right wing Christian white woman last time...
MtnCaddy [9] -
Fixed it, thanks. I wrote the damn thing and used both versions, then I realized it, corrected them all so they agreed with each other... the wrong way... then realized it and had to go back and re-correct them all... (sigh)... and then just now I realized I hadn't fixed the title on my final re-correction.
It's been one of those days...
(implied joke ahead! warning!) ...where I feel like I'm running on empty.
Heh.
-CW
Forgot to include this link, too:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/04/04/louis-brandeis-jewish-confirmation-hearings/
about Brandeis confirmation hearings (historical).
-CW
Heh.
Running on Empty ...
I'll be playing that one in your honour Sunday Night.
LizM -
Well, at least now I have an easy way to remember it!
:-)
-CW
Indeed, you do.
[18]
If you're going to spell it honour shouldn't you likewise spell it Running oun Empty in order to be consistent?
Consistent.
Precise.
You know, like metric.
[15]
C'mon, Bashi!
Aren't you supposed to first post something like **spoiler alert** before you let the cat out of the bag?
For the first time in American history, today the Senate confirmed a Black woman to become a justice on the United States Supreme Court.
Yea?? So??
^^^ THAT is how someone who doesn't care about race responds.. :^/
Yunno.. The kind of society that Democrats *CLAIM* they want?? :^/
Grrrrrr... Too early...
Reposted for clarity...
For the first time in American history, today the Senate confirmed a Black woman to become a justice on the United States Supreme Court.
Yea?? So??
^^^ THAT is how someone who doesn't care about race responds.. :^/
Yunno.. The kind of society that Democrats *CLAIM* they want?? :^/
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
-Dr Martin Luther King
I only mention it because those who insist on honoring Jackson Brown for just being black have forgotten Dr King's wisdom...
Everyone who honors Jackson Brown just for being black is spitting on Dr Kings wisdom.. :^/
But hay.. That's today's Democrat Party...
Hypocrisy It's not a bug in Democrat Programming. It's a feature.
MC,
This is completely unrelated to CW's column but it's important to realize that solar and wind cannot save the climate and are meanwhile destroying our environment.
This 2019 TEDx (17:33, and worth it) is presented by a Liberal Environmental Warrior so he not only has street cred but it sends that his message is compelling. I agree with him that nuclear power is the answer, Three Mile Island and Chernoble be damned.
Well said, MC....
It's ironic that it was Margaret Thatcher who originally started the global warming con.. She pushed nuclear power to solve the "global warming" crisis of burning coal..
She figured that NO ONE with more than 2 brain cells to rub together would be able to deny the logic of nuclear power if it was a choice between THAT or the end of civilization..
Little did Maggie know that environmentalists don't HAVE more than 2 brain cells to rub together.. :^/
And once again, Odumbo's big (and lying) mouth steps in it again.. :^/
Obama blasted for ‘self-serving’ ‘revisionist’ Russia comments during conference on disinformation
The former president said he wouldn't have predicted Russia to invade Ukraine 5 years ago.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/barack-obama-blasted-self-serving-revisionist-russia-comments
Odumbo.. A legend in his own mind.. :^/
Oh NO!!!!
RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!
COVID cases rise again in half the states
Change in reported COVID-19 cases per 100k people in the last two weeks
https://www.axios.com/covid-cases-rise-again-in-half-the-states-43180a96-9339-450d-966a-0631d04d9490.html
It's going to be HILARIOUS to see Democrats try and impose severe restrictions on our freedoms again!!
Go for it, Democrats!! I double-dog dare you!! :D
Russ,
No where in the CDC’s report does it ever suggest that the shutdowns or requiring masks were the wrong moves for school systems to take given the threat the pandemic posed.
Of course the CDC won't admit it..
But the facts are that school closures and school masks did MORE HARM than good..
GOOGLE School masks closures more harm than good and you'll see the FACTS.
Yer Democrats frak'ed up Russ.. That is all their is to it..
And a whole buttload of kids are going to pay the price..
Only a parent could understand how badly Democrats frak'ed our kids over..
Russ,
Please tell me how easy it is for you to verify a person carrying a photo ID is using a fake ID.
Yer kidding, right??
With today's technology it's rather easy to verify that an ID is valid..
Even in the old days it was rather easy..
Take a look at this ID..
http://mfccfl.us/WestenID.jpg
What shows that this is a fake ID??
The 3rd set of numbers in the DL # denotes the bearer's birth year..
According to the DL, the bearer was born in 69. But the DL number says 65..
This is a fake ID...
When you know what to look for, it's EASY to spot a fake ID..
Of course, that's above and beyond today's technology that has holograms and water marks and invisible marks seen under UV...
Yes, it's still possible to fake IDs..
But the expense to make one pass even a rudimentary inspection?? And to do so on a scale that will make a difference in an election..
Not easily done.. And DEFINITELY nearly impossible to do undetected on a scale that would swing an election..
In the context of THIS discussion (Canadian Elections) the only way to have even a CHANCE at a fair election is photo ID...
The facts are conclusive..
It should also be noted that in the above ID...
Duane Winger has 1 DUI... :D
MC
Besides, the {Michale} thinks Trump was a good President(!) and that Joe Biden is racist(!) for nominating an unrepresented America to SCOTUS.
And yet, the *FACTS* prove beyond ANY doubt that President Trump WAS (and will be again) a good President..
And that Joe Biden is, indeed, a racist.. He made a selection SOLELY on the basis of race.. The VERY DEFITION of racist.. The REAL definition of racism. The definition that Dr Martin Luther King lived and died by..
Not the fake definition that Democrat agenda demanded..
The FACTS prove this.. Facts that *NO ONE* here has been able to refute..
Funny how that is, eh?? :D
This entire commentary celebrates one thing..
A black woman was nominated to the SCOTUS..
The Dr Martin Luther King definition of racism..
The very first sentence of the commentary?? Does it espouse Jackson Brown's intelligence?? Or Judicial Prowess?? Her Legal skills??
No...
The VERY first sentence of the commentary is about NOTHING but her race... It reduces and condenses ALL of Jackson Brown's accomplishments down to ONE THING..
And ONE THING only..
She's a black woman...
Dr King wanted to live in a world where the color of a person's skin was the LAST thing anyone talked about if it was talked about at all..
You Democrats are making sure that Dr King's dream will NEVER come to pass...
Sad..
Let's face reality, MC..
Ya stopped reading my facts because you have no factual rebuttal.. :D
But now you understand why I bother.. I bring the FACTS to the fact-less.. :D
Like the Judges who brings Law to the Lawless outside of Mega City One....
I bring Facts to the Fact-less of Weigantia..
It's a bear I must cross... Or a cross I must bear.. One of those.. :D
The fact that I have so much fun doing it is besides the point.. :D
Abbott to Biden: Don't mess with Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to bus illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., and leave them on the steps of Congress is one of those effective and amusing moves that, pointedly, is no joke.
It’s a deft political ping-pong shot returning the ball to President Joe Biden, who served the problem at Texas in the first place. As the Washington Examiner reported, Biden’s derelict immigration and border security policies hit Texas harder than anywhere. The state received more than half of the 2 million-plus illegals who crossed the southern border in 2021.
Abbott has 900 buses, capable with just one journey each of dropping some 4,500 migrants on Biden’s doorstep
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/abbott-to-biden-dont-mess-with-texas
Yea baby!!! :D
Drop a few thousand at Pelosi's front gate of her house.. :D
Democrats are going to get CREAMED in November!!!
No amount of denial (yes I am looking at you, MC :D) will change that one accepted fact...
"Your boys are going down, Danny."
-Captain 'Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN
:D
MyVoice
CW, the title still needs name order fixing, too.
Did the title really read "JACKSON BROWN"!!???
hehehehehehehe..
My influence here in Weigantia is indelible, unmistakable and incontrovertible!!! :D
Love it!!! :D
Hay Russ...
Remind me again how Democrats are not the Party of DEFUND, DEMORALIZE, DEMONIZE THE POLICE??
Soros family quietly bankrolls committees supporting 'defund the police' candidates
George Soros and his daughter are top funders of two entities that are backing the progressive politicians
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/soros-family-quietly-bankrolls-defund-the-police-candidates
I seem to have forgotten what with all the FACTS that prove otherwise..
Progressive = Cop Hate = Democrat Party
Democrats are consumed about global warming and equity...
The American people are concerned about inflation, skyrocketing crime and illegal immigrants overrunning the border..
News of the day doesn’t mean existential problems go away
The news of the day does not make existential problems go away. Two new official reports buried in the aftermath of the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine deserve serious consideration. The reports illustrate how rampant inflation devastates middle-class families and the ravages of climate change threaten the health, wealth, and wellbeing of Americans and the people of the world.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3261776-news-of-the-day-doesnt-mean-existential-problems-go-away/
This is why Democrats are going to lose and lose BIG in November...
What?? What's that you say??
The Kangaroo 6 Jan Committee will save Democrats!!??
Shirley, you jest... :D
Many of ya'all need to come to grips with reality..
Democrats are going to lose BIG in November..
And then the Kangaroo 6 Jan Committee will be thrown on the trash heap of history where it belongs..
THEN we'll get to enjoy.. REALLY enjoy.. the Hunter Biden Committee and the monthly Impeachments of Joe Biden!!
Won't that be FUN!!!??? :D
Karma's a biatch, eh Democrats?? :D
It's going to be fun watching ya'all's heads explode when President Trump is re-instated at Twitter.. :D
It's gonna be a laugh a minute!! :D
Do ya'all want to know ya'all's problem?? It's a Democrat problem..
Democrats change reality to fit their agenda.. Just like Democrats alter the data to fit their theory...
The accepted definition of racism, the definition that Dr Martin Luther King lived by and died for, shows Democrats for the racists that they are.. The definition of racism doesn't fit the Democrat agenda..
So what do Democrats do??
They change the definition of racism..
This is documented FACT..
Democrats go on and on hysterically about global warming.. But the data doesn't fit the Democrat agenda, so what do the Democrats do??
They change the data to fit the agenda..
A woman is a person born with a vagina.. A man is a person born with a penis..
But that doesn't fit the Democrat agenda.. So Democrats change the definition of what a woman is... Democrats make gender a "state of mind"..
This is documented FACT...
Over and over again, Democrats simply change the facts, change reality to fit their agenda..
It's NO WONDER they are losing all over the country..
"If it wasn't for inflation, Biden's economic performance would be unmatched."
-WaPo
"Other than that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play??"
:^/
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
-Dr Martin Luther King
Finally, a Black Woman Has a Place on Supreme Court Bench
-Los Angeles Times
[37]
Let's face reality, MC..
Ya stopped reading my facts because you have no factual rebuttal.. :D
Naw, I've no interest in plowing through acres of right-wing alternative reality. Not my job, ese, because why bother?
You think Trump was a good President! I don't doubt you thought the same of Dubya. You're way too far down the rabbit hole to bother with. No matter what, don't look up!
And the FACT that you stiffed CW out of $150 yet continue to pollute his comments section says it all about your lack of character.
Like Fredo you're just a waste of time.
There's no reason not to treat you like Joe treated Trump during his record breaking campaign:
Stand aside and let the other guy keep running his mouth. It was right out of The Art of War.
Naw, I've no interest in plowing through acres of right-wing alternative reality. Not my job, ese, because why bother?
Except what you call "acres of right-wing alternative reality" are documented FACTS.. Much of which comes from LEFT WING sources like NY TIMES, WaPo and CNN...
SO yer claim is demonstrably not factually accurate..
You think Trump was a good President! I don't doubt you thought the same of Dubya. You're way too far down the rabbit hole to bother with. No matter what, don't look up!
Says the guy who is stuck way WAY down in the Democrat rabbit hole he hasn't accepted reality in almost a decade.. :D
And the FACT that you stiffed CW out of $150 yet continue to pollute his comments section says it all about your lack of character.
My reasons were clear and acceptable.. Quit beating on that dead horse..
Once again.. I accept your concession.. :D
Maryland senior citizen assaulted by four suspects during attempted carjacking
Four suspects in Prince George's County remain at large
A Maryland women suffered two broken bones after four suspects, who were caught on camera assaulting her, attempted to steal her car in Prince George's County.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/maryland-senior-citizen-assaulted-suspects-attempted-car-jacking
America... Under Democrat Party Governance.. :^/
We can't "celebrate" Jackson Brown without "celebrating" BLM..
This is from an email, it's a bit long...
Remember how ya'all got conned by the Global Warming Con and then by the Occupy Con???
Now ya'all have the BLM Con... :D
What *IS* it about ya'all Democrats that fall for these cons??? :D
Once again.. ^^^^^^ nothing but facts..
This is what DEMOCRATS are saying about Joe Biden..
"I think the president has lost one of his key attributes, which was always likability. Whether people favored his policies or not, he did have this image of being a kind of likable Uncle Joe. You know, ice cream Joe kind of friendly. And I think he's lost that. I think it's been replaced by a kind of sterner, angrier figure who can now generate numbers like this.
Look, all pollsters agree right now the president's underwater. Inflation, crime, immigration, these are core issues handling foreign affairs. Look, I think the president took a big hit on the way he handled Afghanistan. Does he seem compassionate to people now? You look at the war crimes being committed, is he seen as the kind of president who can rally leadership around something like that? You know, those are the open questions. Those are the opportunities that he has as president. So far, he hasn't really taken them despite, I think, clear opportunities to change energy policy, to change immigration policy, to appoint a more moderate Supreme Court. He hasn't made those changes that would pivot his administration in a new direction. Time is running out for that."
-Democrat Clinton Strategist Mark Penn
Again.. JUST the facts.. From DEMOCRAT sources..
But the facts are that school closures and school masks did MORE HARM than good..
How, exactly, do you make that determination? What data are you comparing? Are you saying that school closures and requiring masks be worn caused more people to get the COVID-19 virus?
GOOGLE School masks closures more harm than good and you'll see the FACTS.
HOLY CRAP! Do you mean that Google will return articles that say exactly what I asked them to search for? That is how you determine if something is a FACT — if Google finds what you asked it to find? This explains SO MUCH!!!
But the expense to make one pass even a rudimentary inspection?? And to do so on a scale that will make a difference in an election..
Not easily done.. And DEFINITELY nearly impossible to do undetected on a scale that would swing an election..
All you had to do in your example was make sure you correctly put the birth year in the DL#. And just FYI, state ID’s are not driver licenses. Driver licenses can be used as your photo ID, but you can simply get a photo ID if you do not want a drivers license.
The only way to determine that the info in an ID is fake would be to run it through NCIC or your state’s data base.
But you are correct about one thing. The costs far exceed the benefits that you would get from the fake ID. And that is also why we have not had a real problem with voter fraud in this country: the effort needed to steal a single vote far exceeds the benefit gained.
Galston and Kamarck are breaking some necessary news to their fellow Democrats: namely, that voters who decide elections are finding GOP culture arguments more persuasive than the Democrats’ economic messages.
LBJ once said:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
So cultural and bigoted views are more popular than your own financial well-being… that’s what the GOP has convinced it’s base to believe. I did not think you’d post an article that comes right out and says that cultural fear-mongering and race-based hate messaging is what the GOP uses to appeal to their base…color me surprised!
Michale [49]
?BLM may be the biggest nonprofit scam of our generation:
Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign beats it easily. BLM raised tens of millions; Trump raised well over $100 million. No contest.
You’ve challenged me to defend BLM countless times, and I have never chosen to…because your arguments are often misguided and more rhetoric than reality in nature. But the truth is that while I support police reform where it is needed; I do not support the BLM organization for two reasons.
First, the organization has made Trayvon Martin, Eric Gardner, and Michael Brown into martyrs and heroes despite that the evidence proves that none of them should ever be held up to kids as role models. Their message that these three were innocent victims who did nothing wrong will only result in more young black men being killed.
Which leads me to the second reason I cannot support the BLM organization: they have no program that promotes “compliance” to prevent police violence. BLM tells us that the police are out there looking for a chance to kill black men. If that were true, then you would think that BLM would be in support of a sure fire way to steal the opportunity for police to use force against them — by complying with what the police instruct them to do!
Resisting arrest and refusing to obey lawful commands permits the police to use physical force to compel compliance. If you comply from the very start, there is no opportunity for the police to use physical force against you. I have only been able to locate ONE example of someone complying being shot by the police (SC state trooper shot a driver he told to reach for his wallet — driver was not killed and the former trooper is currently in prison for this shooting). Look at every major story over the last few years and almost every one of the cases started with the person refusing to comply to legal commands. Compliance saves lives.
@caddy,
what happened to peace in our time?
@russ,
every case is different.
michael brown reached for an officer's weapon. eric garner sold cigarettes on a street corner. trayvon martin, nobody will ever know what he did or didn't do, he was 17. i don't think anybody holds these people out as role models, but at least the latter two probably qualify as victims. george floyd and ahmad arbury certainly do. philando castille almost certainly.
yes, most LEO's are good people and aren't out to kill anyone. but there's a systemic problem in our country when it comes to relationships between cops and communities.
JL
Remember that cop who had someone coming at him with a knife and nobody got hurt?
I think a lot of cops are too afraid of situations, too quick to pull out their guns and shoot and don't get enough training on how to de-escalate like that cop I mentioned above did.