Bay Area protesters cool to police union call for dialogue

[Omaha Steve]

Source: SF Gate

By Bob Egelko

A day after the leaders of three Bay Area police unions denounced the “vilification” of officers in recent protests against the killings of black men, one group of protesters reacted coolly to the union leaders’ call for a “constructive dialogue.”

“Let’s get police officers’ unions and other spokespeople to acknowledge there’s a problem, and maybe we can have a constructive dialogue,” Mike Wilson, a member of Occupy Oakland’s Demilitarize the Police Working Group, said Thursday.

The problem, he said, is “a real culture of racism among police officers.” Asked for evidence, Wilson said the victims of recent, unprosecuted police shootings and other homicides — in Ferguson, Mo.; Staten Island, N.Y.; and Cleveland, as well as Oakland — “all have been people of color.”

Wednesday’s statement by Bay Area union leaders acknowledged the protesters’ right to protest, decried verbal attacks on police and called for conversation between both sides.

FULL story at link.



Photo By Leah Millis/San Francisco Chronicle
Demonstrators lie down during a Christmas Eve protest in San Francisco against police violence


Read more: http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2014/12/25/bay-area-protesters-cool-to-police-union-call-for-dialogue/

[StevePaulson]

1. Problem? No Problem Here

Move along now.

Justice in Amerika - Read Below

Selling Cigarettes = Death by choking

Jaywalking = Shot while surrendering

Selling fraudulent mortgage derivatives = Big Ass Bonuses
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

No problem here. Move along.

We gotta fill them jails with folks now don't we?

Not like any rich folks who committed felony after felony after felony will ever be prosecuted.......

Police, do your job. Go on down to Wall Street, and start arresting THE REAL CROOKS.

Assholes.

Your job is to keep us poor people subdued while the wealthy rob us. Almost all of our elected
leaders protect their right to rob, rape, and kill us, while we work our asses off for them. There
are a few good ones out there, but 50 trillion dollars is there to keep their voices from never being
heard, and their actions meaningless. How many times did you hear on the corporate media
how many tens of thousands of Americans die every year because they can't afford to see a
doctor, or pay for their pills?

Only and idiot would call America a democracy these days.

Hey police. Us poor people (working Americans) have had enough. Sorry to break it to you dumbasses.
You won't be able to murder/mace/arrest enough of us to stop what's coming. Now you gotta ask
yourself who's side will you will be on...... The people, or the .01% who run this country
for and only for their benefit.

Now pay your taxes. The Walton heirs need another 8 billion in welfare.

[rpannier]

2. Damage control

They must feel they're on the losing end of this and want to mitigate any damage and steer the ending in their favor (ie the status quo)

[PFunk]

4. Yup. Looks like it.

My late day had a saying that went "Don't piss off the person who signs your paycheck" or something like that. I think these folks are finally starting to figure that out.

[The Green Manalishi]

3. If you don't want to be "vilified"

Then break that 'thin blue line"

I understand cops not wanting to be lumped together with the most egregious assholes in their profession.

Many protesters feel the same way, too, about the scum that use a legitimate protest as an excuse to trash stuff, loot and generally be an asshole,

Cop or protesting citizen- you are GUILTY of whatever activity you observe but do not strive to prevent or report. If you don't like being painted with a 'broad brush' then do something, dammit.

[Ken Burch]

5. It would be a lot easier to have dialog

if the police union leaders, AND rank-and-file cops themselves, were to break with the toxic and ultimately soul-destroying concept of the "thin blue line".

Even the Pope only claims infallibility on matters of faith and morals...not on the question of when to use lethal force against young people who simply happen to be black.

What, exactly, do they think they would lose if they WERE to stand up to the worst among them, or to remind each other that the vast majority of people, even the vast majority of African-American males aged 17-25, are normal, harmless folks who don't deserve to be treated as if they can't, possibly, ever be innocent? What harm do they think would come of admitting that cops can, in fact, get it wrong, as anyone else can make a mistake?

[blackspade]

6. +1000

[Orsino]

7. So the police union now says they want talk *before* violence?

Wish they'd make up their minds.

[lark]

8. When police show a modicum of respect for the citizens,

when they stop killing unarmed blacks but allowing white males to walk around with semi-automatic weapons scaring everyone, when stand your ground applies to women as well as men, then there can be a conversation. The police started this problem, it's their issue, they need to own it and fix it. When police are held accountable by other police, we can talk. Otherwise, they will be rightly vilified as racist, misogyinistic killers and a threat.