Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Full Article by The Independent published 11 hours ago: Elderly black librarian dragged by hair from car by white police officer (Includes Newly Released Body Cam Footage)

The original incident occurred in May 2019, but the footage has just been released.

In the lawsuit, Ms Bottoms said that she did not realise immediately that police were trying to pull her over — she said she was listening to loud music — and that she was trying to look for a safe place to stop when the police used spike strips to stop her car.

Before she could get an answer, the officers tore Ms Bottom’s rotator cuff as she lay face-down on the pavement, causing her to shriek and cry: “I am hurting really bad.”

In the footage one of the officers is heard saying to another: “That’s good police work, baby.”

[...]

She told the Charlotte Observer: “I was shaking in fear. I was getting ready to die. ... When they grabbed me and threw me to the ground, that’s when the real terror struck me that I was going to die.”

The bodycam footage also shows Officer Barkalow using several derogatory terms to refer to Ms Bottom during the encounter.

According to this article by the Charlotte Observer, Ian Mance, a lawyer with EmancipateNC who represents Bottom, said "Ms. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman. Our complaint alleges these officers had no reason to use any force, much less the level of force they employed. Ms. Bottom wasn't even arrested."


Please use this topic to share similar stories as you come across them.

[LuckyR]

Full Article by The Independent published 11 hours ago: Elderly black librarian dragged by hair from car by white police officer (Includes Newly Released Body Cam Footage)

The original incident occurred in May 2019, but the footage has just been released.

In the lawsuit, Ms Bottoms said that she did not realise immediately that police were trying to pull her over — she said she was listening to loud music — and that she was trying to look for a safe place to stop when the police used spike strips to stop her car.

Before she could get an answer, the officers tore Ms Bottom’s rotator cuff as she lay face-down on the pavement, causing her to shriek and cry: “I am hurting really bad.”

In the footage one of the officers is heard saying to another: “That’s good police work, baby.”

[...]

She told the Charlotte Observer: “I was shaking in fear. I was getting ready to die. ... When they grabbed me and threw me to the ground, that’s when the real terror struck me that I was going to die.”

The bodycam footage also shows Officer Barkalow using several derogatory terms to refer to Ms Bottom during the encounter.

According to this article by the Charlotte Observer, Ian Mance, a lawyer with EmancipateNC who represents Bottom, said "Ms. Bottom was peaceful at all times, and officers knew they were dealing with an elderly woman. Our complaint alleges these officers had no reason to use any force, much less the level of force they employed. Ms. Bottom wasn't even arrested."


Please use this topic to share similar stories as you come across them.

These white, southern sheriff deputies and police officers are, of course representatives of local government, in this case city and county government (as opposed to Big Government).

As we know from the Trayvon Martin case, worse stuff than this happens without any government representative of any kind, that is: it ain't about the government. These guys just happened to be cops.

Though I suppose she should be thankful that she survived the incident since she is Black. The fact that going 80 in a 70 zone wouldn't warrant any attention at all (similar to having air fresheners on one's rear view mirror), is only the first of numerous aspects of what is now called systemic racism.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Thousands of Kids in Cages in the USA Alone

This article about the thousands of kids in cages in the USA alone was published 9 days ago: Migrant children spend weeks in U.S. custody, even when parents here try to claim them

“How can they do this to a child?” said Andrea, 37, who goes by her middle name and did not want her last name used because she did not want to jeopardize her asylum case. “He’s never been separated from his family.”

Like most migrant children who cross the border without their parents, Juan seemed destined to spend weeks in the government’s care, as his case slowly worked its way through a bureaucratic system that has been overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of migrant children and teenagers arriving without their parents. The delay takes a deep emotional toll on them. And it exacts a steep financial cost, too: The government estimates it spends $775 per day to shelter and care for a migrant child at an emergency shelter.

The number of unaccompanied migrant children in US Border Patrol facilities, which are akin to jail cells and not intended for kids, has reached dramatic highs, according to internal agency documents.

The startling images have appeared in one news report after another: children packed into overcrowded, unsafe Border Patrol facilities because there was nowhere else to put them. As of March 30, over 5,000 children were being held in Border Patrol custody, including more than 600 in each of two units in Donna, Texas, that were supposed to hold no more than 32 apiece under COVID-19 protocols.

Full Article in Tuscon Weekly

kids-in-cages.jpg (566.78 KiB) Viewed 5049 times

View More Recent Images of Kids in Cages (from March 2021)

[Steve3007]

Today in Violent Big Government Statism

If the purpose of the topic is just to share horror stories about the behaviour of some police officers, fair enough. If the purpose is to say that the violence is somehow a product of "Big Government Statism" then obviously, given that the US isn't known for a love of big government, it's hard to see the connection.

You'd have to explore the reasons for the apparent culture of impunity in US cops, such that (I've read) it is, or was until recently, nigh on impossible to have a cop prosecuted. One possible reason is the general environment of fear they consider themselves to exist in, due to the ubiquity of weapons. If I were them, in that environment, I'd probably feel, and possibly act, the same way. I suggest one part of a possible solution would be a slow, gradual, at least partial draining of that ocean of weapons. Perhaps ultimately reaching a point where the cops don't feel that they have to routinely carry firearms themselves. In arms races, generally speaking, the main driving force is towards approximate equality of firepower. Hence reducing one side tends, over time, to reduce the other. But I've gathered that there are understandable reasons why that will never happen and the number of weapons, and the consequent climate of hair-trigger fear, will only increase. Expect more of the same.


Anyway here's my personal story: I was stopped by a copper because he said that my speedometer was broken and that the car was, consequently, not roadworthy. As it happens, it was actually broken, but how could he see that from his car travelling down the M1 at 70mph? In reality I think he was prejudiced because it was a crappy looking car. Harassment! He told me to get it fixed ASAP.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Today in Violent Big Government Statism

If the purpose of the topic is just to share horror stories about the behaviour of some police officers, fair enough. If the purpose is to say that the violence is somehow a product of "Big Government Statism" then obviously, given that the US isn't known for a love of big government, it's hard to see the connection.

It's not just for horror stories about police, but any violent actions done by a government or its agents, especially if done legally. Indeed, my post earlier today was about border agents not regular police.

It's not just for horror stories about governments and government agents in the USA, but rather all over the globe.

I personally post a lot about the USA in 2021 because I happen to live in the USA in 2021. If I was in Stalin's Russia, I'd likely be posting about Soviet gulags (perhaps with paper and thumbtacks), but I'm in the USA in 2021. If I was in Rome, I might be posting about gladiators and salves and the Spartacus rebellion, perhaps using a chisel and stone, but I'm in the the USA in 2021.

In fact, part of the reason I started this topic is so others can share stories from their own countries, with which they are surely more familiar than I am.

I've heard anecdotal stories from interactions with police or other other governments in other counties such as Mexico or Moldova that make me selfishly relieved to live here in the USA, but I'm no expert on those countries. When I visited Jamaica, I saw police and government agents standing on their streets everyday with machine guns, but I don't know often they pull those triggers.

I don't know much about places like Saudi Arabia, but based on the ridiculously lavish palaces I've seen and the typical politics that result from inequality, I find it hard to believe that wealthy oil exporters like that do not tend to be harsher in terms of government violence.

Granted, those most suffering under the thumb of government violence may for the same reason lack access to safely report it.

Nonetheless, if others use this topic as hoped then I may get a better sense of these things and where the USA stands in relation to the degree of government-committed violence.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

This article is from 18 days ago, but I just saw the article:

France’s hijab ban is a reminder Islamophobia is everywhere

The French Senate on March 30 voted in favor of legislation that, if passed, would ban Muslim girls from wearing hijabs in public. The legislation might also prohibit Muslim women from wearing burkinis, or full-coverage swimsuits, in public pools, and ban hijab-wearing mothers from going on school trips with their children. This violently targets the more than four million Muslims living in France.


[Read full article]

Yikes, and I thought the USA's violent $1 trillion War on Drugs was absurd.

Imagine getting violently attacked by a national government for disobeying a dress code.

Next up, maybe New York State's government will violently attack anyone who wears a Boston Red Socks hat.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Amid Widespread Disease, Death, and Poverty, the Major Powers Increased Their Military Spending in 2020

During 2020, world military expenditures increased to $1,981,000,000,000—or nearly $2 trillion—with the outlays of the three leading military powers playing a major part in the growth. The U.S. government increased its military spending from $732 billion in 2019 to $778 billion in 2020, thus retaining its top spot among the biggest funders of war preparations. Meanwhile, the Chinese government hiked its military spending to $252 billion, while the Russian government raised its military outlay to $61.7 billion.


[Full Article]

These are big profits for private contractors in the military industry, as well as their paid lobbyists, and anyone else they payoff one way or another.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

This is from 2019, but I just stumbled upon today:

Federal Court: Cops Accused Of Stealing Over $225,000 Have Legal Immunity

In a baffling decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, earlier this month, a panel of judges unanimously ruled that Fresno police officers accused of stealing over $225,000 were entitled to “qualified immunity” and can’t be sued. Thanks to this doctrine, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and other public functionaries are shielded from civil rights lawsuits.

While exercising a search warrant in 2013, Fresno police raided and seized $50,000 from Micah Jessop and Brittan Ashjian, two businessmen suspected of illegal gambling (neither was ever criminally charged).

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Here is an article from May 1st:

Tests from 1993 killing reveal another man's DNA other than executed Arkansas inmate

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Innocence Project released summaries of the testing of evidence from the 1993 murder of Debra Reese. Ledell Lee, who was convicted of her murder, was one of four inmates executed by Arkansas in 2017.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Here is an article from May 4th:

UK policeman on trial for ex-football player Atkinson’s murder

Former Aston Villa striker Dalian Atkinson died after being tasered three times and kicked at least twice to the head by an “angry” police officer, a jury heard on Tuesday at the start of a murder trial.

[Steve3007]

Please use this topic to share similar stories as you come across them.

So, as I understand it, the purpose of this topic is simply to sift the world's news reports looking for reports of acts of violence committed specifically by "agents of big governments", for example police officers funded by government legislated taxation. As such, I presume reports of acts of violence by other categories of people would be regarded as off-topic? I presume you'd say something along the lines of "if you want to talk about that you're free to start your own topic"?

If the purpose was to gather evidence to support the theory that big government generally promotes violence (as I think is strongly implied), do you think this filtering of individual instances of violent acts by a particular group is a good way to achieve that? If the aim of the topic was to sift through the world's news gathering reports of violent acts committed by individuals who are deemed to represent a different group or category of people, would that also be a good way to demonstrate the violent nature of that group? In other words, does this method of evidence gathering apply to any group, or just the group we could call "agents of big government"? For example, if I thought people of a particular ethnic background were more violent than the population in general, would a good way to test this theory be to sift the world's news and post topics linking only to reports of violent acts by that ethnic group?

Nonetheless, if others use this topic as hoped then I may get a better sense of these things and where the USA stands in relation to the degree of government-committed violence.

So, you think linking only to stories which support a theory is a good way to test whether the theory is true?

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

the theory that big government generally promotes violence

That is not a theory of mine.

Philosophically speaking, I define government by the commission of non-defensive violence. Strictly speaking, if an organization does not commit non-defensive violence, I wouldn't consider it to a government, as I use the word.

It's not a theory anymore than the statement that bachelors are unmarried is a theory. For the same reason, it is not something I would seek to prove.

Nonetheless, if others use this topic as hoped then I may get a better sense of these things and where the USA stands in relation to the degree of government-committed violence.

So, you think linking only to stories which support a theory is a good way to test whether the theory is true?

I am not suggesting whether or not people link to stories specifically about violence committed by governments in the USA or not.

So yes I think I may learn something based on the articles posted by others.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

As of the most recent news I saw, 17 Palestinian children and 1 Israeli child have been killed in the last couple days in the conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas.

Incidentally, this video from 2015 by bestselling author John Green explains how Britain's violent imperialism and violent colonialism was involved in the start of this ongoing conflict over 70 years ago, among other valuable background information, including how WWI and WWII factor in.

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

Here is an article by the Associated Press, published today, about the South Carolina government bringing back execution by firing squad:

Firing squad bill headed to South Carolina governor’s desk

Here is further reporting on the same bill from Mother Jones:

Once Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signs the proposed bill, if lethal injection drugs continue to be unavailable, those scheduled to die will face two grim choices: either the firing squad or the electric chair.

[...]

It’s impossible to ignore the racial disparities in who is chosen for capital punishment. Though they only make up one quarter of the state’s population, Black people make up more than half of death row inmates. The majority of the victims were white.

The state also can claim one of the most shameful episodes in the history of execution in the United States. In 1944, two white girls in Alcolu, South Carolina, Betty June Binnicker and Mary Emma Thames, went missing. Their badly beaten bodies were found on the Black side of town. George Stinney, a 14-year-old Black boy who had seen the two girls the previous day was quickly arrested, tried, and convicted by an all-white jury. There was no physical evidence tying the boy to the gruesome crime, but police claimed that he had confessed. George became the youngest person to be executed in the twentieth century. He was so small that the executioners used a Bible as a booster seat on the electric chair. George’s family has maintained his innocence for decades and 70 years later, in 2014, Judge Carmen Mullen vacated his conviction saying he didn’t receive a fair trial.

Full Article

[Steve3007]

Philosophically speaking, I define government by the commission of non-defensive violence. Strictly speaking, if an organization does not commit non-defensive violence, I wouldn't consider it to a government, as I use the word.

It's not a theory anymore than the statement that bachelors are unmarried is a theory. For the same reason, it is not something I would seek to prove.

OK. Given what you've said previously about the nature of government I can see why you define it as such.

So, I guess the purpose of this topic is a bit like a topic about unmarried bachelors in which posters are invited to cite examples of bachelors who are not married?