Mika Botham Jean was not an African-American man. He was an Afro- St Lucian

[malaise]

and what's more he's well connected both in St Lucia and the US. See how quickly his murderer was charged?
Please do some homework.

[griloco]

1. Doesn't "manslaughter" seem a bit odd?

Methinks there's more to the story

[malaise]

4. Of course there is

Last edited Mon Sep 10, 2018, 08:11 AM - Edit history (1)

Nice well educated bachelor in the building - I'm betting with a Bimmer in the car park - rejected is what I'm thinking. He would not let her in?

[IronLionZion]

2. Why does that make a difference?

I'm genuinely curious. Did his family/country apply pressure through official diplomatic channels or something? International media coverage?

[malaise]

3. Let's put it this way

His mother is a former Permanent Secretary and his dad also worked in government.
He worked in an international accounting firm and has both university and church links.
This murder was never going to escape scrutiny. That 's the difference. The pressure was swift.

[IronLionZion]

5. I get what you're saying

but it plays into the other side's argument that it's not race related. When it probably is race related. For many officer shootings, they don't know who the person is. They just see dark skin and fear for their lives.

That's how an accountant from an educated Caribbean family can be chilling in his own apartment doing nothing wrong and have the same terrible ending as a lower income uneducated drug dealer.

[malaise]

6. Absolutely - it could be race and status never mattered to racists

but when the victim is connected we do see justice. That said, you're right since the victim is still dead.
I'm not sure this one is race-related. We'll see- truth will out.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

7. Video interview with his mom in Dallas...

"Botham Would Want Me to Get Justice for Him," Says His Mother
2016 Harding Grad Shot & Killed by Dallas Police Officer
Posted: Sep 07, 2018 02:51 PM CDT

Link: https://www.kark.com/news/web-extras/web-extra-botham-would-want-me-to-get-justice-for-him-says-his-mother/1425674512

(for those fearful of clicking the link, just Google KARK TV and find it there)

Very sad event that will have lasting effects on many people, just like all gun violence.

Thanks for the clarifications on this one, Malaise......

[malaise]

8. Thanks for your link KY_EnviroGuy

Let me add that his first name also makes folks in the cricket world sit up and take a look.
He was named after a famous and infamous English cricketer named Ian Botham.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. The odd thing about the racism in the U.S.

which goes along with what you are saying.... is that initially with first contact "all blacks" will "look alike". But then if that individual starts speaking with a different (non-American) "accent/dialect" (whether Caribbean, British, any indigenous African, etc), then suddenly the "rules" change.

It is truly bizarre but it's what many of us have noted. White racists brag about knowing "their n****rs" (from others). Remember Drumpf saying this -

[Johnny2X2X]

10. I take issue with the headlines around this case

Does anyone else think it odd that the narrative around this case has been controlled. The headline from the get go has been, "Off duty officer mistakenly enters the wrong apartment and shoots occupant." Since when does the state of mind of the suspect become the central item to be discussed? That's pure speculation whether it was a mistake or not, and it's what the defendant would want to put out there.

If the suspect had been a black male civilian and the victim a white female do you think think the suspect's version of why it happened would have been the first thing released and spread?

[oberliner]

11. Do you think the word Black should be used instead of African-American?

I mean that not just in this instance, but generally.

[malaise]

12. As defined by whom? N/t

[oberliner]

13. The media used to generally say Black then shifted to using the term African-American

But now it seems like there is movement away from using the term African-American.

I was just wondering what your thoughts were on that.

(This is just based on my own anecdotal information on what I've observed - I have no data to back this up and could be wrong)

[malaise]

14. In St Lucia the headline is that a StLucian was murdered

We never mention race in the Caribbean. Sadly in the US if you wrote an American was murdered the assumption is that she/he was white. It is African-Americans who chose to be so called.

That said I was wrong in my first response - why would a St Lucian want to be called American - period?

[oberliner]

15. Yes, that makes sense

I remember years ago watch a CNN broadcast and they were covering an incident going on Paris and the newscaster referred to the people involved as "African-American" even though they were French, not American - I think this was because many in the US had defaulted to substituting the phrase "African-American" for "Black" in all cases, even where it would have been nonsensical.

In this case, maybe they used American because this person was in fact living in America? Is Caribbean-American a term that anyone uses?

[malaise]

16. They used to say of West-Indian origin

But now they use the name of their country of birth.

Let me be clear - race is still an issue in our region

Botham may have US citizenship - although my guess is a green card or visa immigrant.