Bob Roll v the UCI

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  • BikingBernie
    BikingBernie Posts: 2,163
    edited March 2010
    Moray Gub wrote:
    Oh ffs you'd think we has a Rodney King or Kris Donald situation here, lets put it into some kind of perspective.........as you said yourself its a bunch of white kids stepping over the mark no need to turn into some kind of state wide protest.
    Problem is, events such as this are often escalated beyond all reason by the authorities - but showing the high level of racism that still exists in the US - in order to further persecute the targets of the racism, not the perpetrators. That's why some people in the US take such events seriously. For example, consider the case of the 'Jenna six'.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... 43,00.html

    Gary Younge in Jena
    The Guardian
    Monday September 17, 2007

    Apart from the noose, this is an everyday story of modern America

    The racial tensions which flared in a small southern town have laid bare the bias infecting the nation's justice system

    ...It was here that Kenneth Purvis asked the headmaster at Jena high school if he could sit under the "white tree" - the tree in the school courtyard where the white children used to hang out during break. The principal said he could sit where he liked. Purvis took him at his word. The next day he went with his cousin Bryant and stood under the tree. The day after that white students hung three nooses there.

    ...On December 4 a group of black students attacked a white student, Justin Barker, after they heard him bragging about a racial assault his friend had made. Barker, 17, had concussion and his eye was swollen shut. He spent a few hours in hospital and, on his release, went to a party where friends described him as "his usual smiling self".

    The six black students were then arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder. Such a charge requires use of a deadly weapon. Walters argued that the trainers used to kick Barker were indeed deadly weapons. Mychal Bell, 17, became the first of what are now known as the Jena Six to be convicted on reduced charges by an all-white jury and faced up to 22 years in jail.

    The US might have a black president but it is still the case that black people still form a disproportionately large proportion of America's huge number of people living in poverty (approaching 25% of the population). What's more black people are far more likely to join America's vast jail population (itself a sign of a broken 'society'). Many know that the US jails more people than any other country in the world, having under 5% of the world's population but almost 24% of the world's prisoners. This means that on average 1 in every 130 US citizens is in jail. However, it is also the case that approaching ten times more black US citizens are in jail, per head of the population, than white citizens.

    Anyone who knows about the history of lynching in the US, used a means of terrorising and subduing the black population and often involving extended torture, mutllation and a slow burning to death in front of thousands of men, women and children enjoying the 'show', will also be aware of the powerful symbolism of the noose...
  • BikingBernie
    BikingBernie Posts: 2,163
    johnfinch wrote:
    BB is using the 3rd conditional, referring to a situation which never happened. IF the UCI had tackled doping, it WOULDN'T have destroyed cycling.

    He is also talking about the long-term, however he may define that.
    Of course, what is mean by 'saved' is not specified either. :wink:

    Of course, Moray's understanding of grammar might not be as deficient as it seems to be, he might just be trolling...
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    BikingBernie wrote:
    Moray Gub wrote:
    Oh ffs you'd think we has a Rodney King or Kris Donald situation here, lets put it into some kind of perspective.........as you said yourself its a bunch of white kids stepping over the mark no need to turn into some kind of state wide protest.
    Problem is, events such as this are often escalated beyond all reason by the authorities .

    As i said lets get a sense of perspective on it, its not a Watts 65 situation despite some in the media and folks such as yourself longing for it to be so. Oh and the Jena 6 you speak off do seem to have a bit of a history of violence surrounding them dont they. But hey lets blame it on race thats always a good way to explain away our violent tendencies.
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • DaveyL
    DaveyL Posts: 5,167
    No-one is making out that it was - the incident is what it is, and the reaction has not been riots on the scale of any of the past events you mention. Perhaps the other side of the coin of people queuing up to pretend to be offended regardless of the severity of the incident, as you and Dennis suggest, is people queuing up to talk down whatever's happened, regardless of the severity of the incident?
    Le Blaireau (1)
  • dougzz
    dougzz Posts: 1,833
    DaveyL wrote:
    No-one is making out that it was - the incident is what it is, and the reaction has not been riots on the scale of any of the past events you mention. Perhaps the other side of the coin of people queuing up to pretend to be offended regardless of the severity of the incident, as you and Dennis suggest, is people queuing up to talk down whatever's happened, regardless of the severity of the incident?

    But this is the problem isn't it. It's about balance, and it's unlikely any two people will see something like this the same. One man's outrage .......

    But I still think that Dennis's point about the media is correct. They don't care about the incident, they want to sell papers, gain viewers or whatever, therefore they will always overstate an incident if it suits their ends, equally if it doesn't suit their political agenda they'll down play it. The outrage at this or that is always about their agenda not the incident, and often doesn't reflect public opinion, whatever that might be anyway.

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