Minnesota nice, ladies and gents.
Pioneer Press | 08/23/2002 | MINNEAPOLIS: Melee breaks out after police shootingAbout 75 to 100 people in the Jordan neighborhood of North Minneapolis rioted Thursday evening after police said an officer accidentally shot an 11-year-old boy in the arm while executing a search warrant. The boy did not have life-threatening injuries and was released from the hospital, Minneapolis police said.
Several vehicles were damaged and at least six people were injured, including three journalists covering the incident. A Metro Transit bus had several windows smashed and three passengers sustained scrapes, one requiring hospital treatment. A station wagon and an SUV were set on fire.
By midnight, about a dozen police cars filled with officers in riot gear were continuing to monitor the neighborhood, particularly the corner of 26th and Knox avenues. A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter flew overhead, using infrared equipment to look for lingering groups of people.
Police said the neighborhood appeared to be quieting.
I don't live anywhere near there, by the way.
Minnesota Public Radio is covering the story as well. Chalk it up to Chicago world-weariness, but I keep wondering what the big deal is.
I suppose that's a bad sign.
I was talking to Tiny last night as it was going on. It's not far from where he works. Neither of us was really able to react much to it. Whether or not that's a good or a bad thing, I don't know.
Numbness is probably bad.
Then again, spazzing about every little thing is just as bad.
Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away. That seems like the best response.
I'm not so sure I would consider it "spazzing out" - I mean, it's not like there's no history of innocent people being killed by police for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And even not-so-innocent people are killed for crimes that would never even approach being punishable by death.
So, yeah...if it takes fear of riots to make cops think before they shoot...um, it's pretty fucking sad, but maybe it's the only way?
Not that I'm saying that's my (pat) answer, but it's my kneejerk reaction.
If I had a pitbull charging me and I was licensed to carry and use a glock, you can bet that ball of teeth and repressed rage would have a face full of lead. Anyone in a similar situation would have defended themselves in such a reactionary way.
That's probably why the police cooked up this story. The kid was probably wearing a pokemon shirt with mew 2 on it. Everybody knows that thing is evil and should be put down. The cops just did what they've been trained to do. KILL EVIL POKEMON!
Mmm. Y'know, if I were a policeman trying to serve a search warrant and a pitbull was released on me?
You're damn right I would fire. You can't talk one of those animals down, or pepper spray it, or any of that business.
(Yes. I hate most dogs. One almost killed me. I admit this hatred. I embrace it. I am totally speciesist).
It's a complex situation. Not my hatred of dogs, but the origin of the riots. These things always are, but if a pitbull were charging me in that situation? I would fire, and I would consider it legitimate self-defense. Now, if some evidence comes to light later about a different sequence of events other than "police try to serve search warrant, dog is released on cops, cops try to kill dog, kid is accidentally hit"? I'll be glad to eat my words in defense of said cops. Until then, firing on a pitbull that was released on me in my line of work seems like perfectly legitimate self-defense to me.
Wasn't the kid hit with a richochet? Or has that changed since initial reports?
This instance could very well have been justified. But there have been SO MANY instance that have not been, that I can understand completely where the hair trigger comes from. I know I've heard enough stories about "accidental shootings" specifically of people of color that I am not comfortable believing the facts when it actually appears to be an accidental shooting.
And I'm really bothered by the fact that, in the Pioneer Press article at least, the race of the kid who got shot, the police, and the rioters was never directly mentioned, but the race of the witnesses who spoke on behalf of the police was.
That would be "Minnesota Nice" manifesting itself again.
A good dictionary lists several possible meanings of the word nice.
VASpider, don't let Michelle see you talking like that about dogs. I can't even ask about getting me some kimchee without static. . .
We're still getting ricochet, yes. You'd think, if the cops knew bullets bounced off Superman, that they'd realize the same thing would happen with Krypto.
And now Jason will make fun of me again.
Aaron, you know me so well.
Yeah, well. Michelle, I'm sure any dog you own is very cool, nothing to be afraid of, etc. Seriously. There are dogs I can hang out with, even though they're dogs, and the circle ever-widens.
I'd still shoot a pitbull that was charging at me. The scars on the back of my skull twinge just thinking about it. Nngh.
Is caninophobia a word, or is there another term for it?
Cynophobia, apparently.
I love Transmetropolitan. There are dog culls.
Using clubs.
Yes, my little dog is very cool.
Cynophobia. Got it. Cynophobic and arachnophiliac. Hum. I'm about opposite of your average America, I'd guess.
Michelle: yay little dogs. I highly endorse small dogs. The worst they can really do, usually, is chew up my shoes and pee on my leg.
Believe it or not, Belinda wanted me to buy a house in that neighborhood. Actully, she had seen several good houses in the Camden / North Mpls area for me. I cant really remember where at. Just watch the news for anything related to drug bust, drug shooting, drug related theft, gang shooting, gang murder, drive-bys, crackhouses, meth-labs in that area. On a funny note, all those houses were almost on the high end of the range I wanted to pay.