Spread the Word - Comments

@ essence.
Peace often times may not seem to get us very far, but violence will get us no further. At least, not at the moment. At the moment, the movement against the brutality is too weak. Too many people still have their heads stuck in the sand and pretending this isn't going on. If there's too much violence right now, the media will spin it against the protesters and it'll be even harder to get people on your side. No one will listen if there's violence. Until there are more people listening, violence will only turn them away. Peaceful actions can seem passive and counterproductive, but they are quite the opposite. No matter what route a protest chooses, police violence will happen and it will take countless months or even years to see a significant change. But, in the end, one option will lead a cause closer to achievement and one option will only hold it back.

With that master post, I'd recommend also including something on what to do if you're hit with pepper spray. Pepper spray is another favorite of the police's when it comes to protesters and it can be very damaging to the eyes if someone doesn't know how to handle it. It would be good to include something on trying to get tensions between police and protesters down as well; mainly focusing on how protesters can keep each other relatively calm in the face of police and protester violence. It'll be a good post to have and I wish you luck in making it. ^.^

@ eartha kitt
Sent it. c: If you need more links, let me know.

@ essence.
take ur time. i won't be posting it for a couple of hours.

@ eartha kitt
ON IT!

@ essence.
LORD HELP THESE IGNORANT PEOPLE. LORD HAVE MERCY ON THEM. LORD EDUCATE THEM NICELY BEFORE I START WILIN' OUT. AMEN. WE ALL IN DIS TOGETHAAAA been watching too much high school musical jesus BUT YAAASS BBYGIRL YAS. OK. WELL BASICALLY LIKE EDUCATION ABOUT RACISM AND FERGUSON (debunking all these myths girl oooh kill em)

@ eartha kitt
THAT'S REALLY MESSED UP. FOR PEOPLE TO THINK THE PROTESTORS ARE VIOLENT WHEN THE POLICE ARE LIKE THIS IS HILARIOUS. BUT YAAAS BAE. WE IN THIS TOGETHER. WHAT KIND OF MASTER POST ARE YOU MAKING SO I CAN LOOK FOR SOME LINKS?!?

@ essence.
THE POLICE ARE ARMED MORE THAN THE SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ AND EVERYBODY WANTS TO ACT LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL. MMMM NO. BUT YAAAAS BAE. THANK GOD FOR TWITTER AND TUMBLR. I'M ACTUALLY WORKING ON A MASTERPOST TO EDUCATE EVERYONE. (PM ME ANY LINKS YOU THINK MAY BE HELPFUL YO.)

@ eartha kitt
I KNOW THAT SWEETIE PIE. THE WORLD IS GOING MAD. ALSO UPDATE THAT ANONYMOUS HAS MORE INFORMATION ON THE SHOOTING OF MIKE BROWN SO I SUGGEST YOU SKIM THROUGH IT ON TWITTER IF YOU CAN.

@ Airi.
Brown isn't the only body that has died over similar situations. People have tried holding hands and calling for peace. What did we get?

Right.

I hope we're all ready to just go against the grain because we as a society can't live like this anymore. I'm thinking of making a protest masterpost or something like it, possibly. As in resources on what to do if hit with teargas or seizure aid.

oops double post yo

BAE. BABY. SUNSHINE. HONEY POT. THERE IS A NO FLY ZONE. UPDATE: KKK ARE NOW BURNING CROSSES NOT EVEN FIVE MILES AWAY FROM WHERE MICHAEL DIED. THE POLICE ARE MOCKING PROTESTERS. CHILDREN ARE BEING GASSED. THEY'RE GOING TO PROTESTER'S YARDS AND GASSING THEM.

@ nearly witches.
This may come off blunt, but, that comment wasn't needed. At all. "It's things like this that make me glad I live in the UK." Okay.

And?

It's not progressive nor helpful.

Sorry if that came off rude. Don't take it personal cause I'm just on edge and just not here for anything.

I've been watching this and it's fucking terrifying. It's just unthinkable that this is stuff that is actually happening, in the USA, in 2014. In real life.

"We are turning into the dystopian books we read and write about."

My thoughts exactly.

My husband and I stayed up til 1:30 in the morning talking about everything that's going on. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around it. When you really get into everything that's happening--the underlying causes as well as the attempts at such control--this whole thing is terrifying on a level we would never expect to experience in our society.

I generally hate Anonymous; while they've done some cool shit, they've also done some really harmful things. But it's good that they're getting important information released. That is something the public needs and deserves to see.

Watching that video brought back far too many bad memories. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop hating the sound of tear gas canisters. v.v I see so much of Oakland's police in Ferguson, and that is enough to make me worry for the peoples' safety in that area. The people living there have more to fear from the police than they do the protesters.

I honestly wish I could say that seeing that video surprised or shocked me, but it honestly didn't. As sad as it sounds, if there's a demonstration against police brutality... You are almost guaranteed that there will be some kind of police brutality. The police in America are corrupt; there's very few areas where the police force in general is not corrupt. To put it in a point blank manner: the police simply don't like people questioning them and calling them out. The police, and often times the government, don't like protesters because said protesters are going against what they say. They don't like anyone questioning their authority because we're taught that we're not supposed to ever question authority.

Seeing all of this makes me sad and infuriated. The murder of Brown was enough to infuriate me. The way people reacted to it only increased those negative feelings. The amount of people I've seen saying he "deserved it" for walking in the street or for not immediately complying with the cops terrifies me. Honestly, what sort of country do we live in these days where not complying with the police should earn you a death sentence? Seeing the way the police have reacted to the protests is only increasing the negative feelings that many of people have. But as I said, I cannot say it surprises me to see the police responding this way.

I commend people like the woman shooting that video. To stay peaceful in the face of violence like that is not easy; it's one of the harder things someone will have to do. It's hard to not let the anger and hurt consume you. However, I'm saddened to see people were violent during the protests. These people are running the risk of ruining anything positive these protests could bring about. The violence is only giving the police what they want. It is giving them a reason to attack and arrest; it is giving them an excuse to use for when the media question them about the tear gas. Violence at a protest like this one will never do any good; violence will only hurt fellow protesters. I'm happy the majority of people have stayed calm and peaceful, but I wish the violent protesters would get some sense in them.

This issue is becoming about more than the racism running rampant in our police; it's becoming a clear sign how out of control American police really are. What the police have done in Ferguson with the tear gas and pellets is nothing new; it's been going on for years and people have ignored it. But these protests have the potential to bring to light the brutality that has been ongoing.

I can't help but wonder though... Is the anger and hurt strong enough this time? Or will be people eventually walk away and continue kneeling to the brutality? I hope it won't be the former; the brutality needs to stop and it will only stop if people start standing up again.

I think I've rambled. I apologize. With all that said, if you (or anyone else reading this) plan to join the protests if they do spread... Please do it safely. Don't get yourself unnecessarily hurt.

It's things like this that make me glad I live in the UK, where the police forces are fairly decent and don't carry guns. Honestly, I always vehemently diaagreed with the gun policy in the US but this just makes it worse. Rubber bullets at people who aren'teven holding arms? That's crazy! I know our police force can get brutal, but that's way beyond acceptable. How on earth can your government justify that, it's just insane. What worries me the most is that my own government tends to follow yours blindly like an adoring little brother. I don't want that happening here, as selfish as the statement sounds.

Honestly though, I feel sorry for the poor saps all caught up in this, and the families of the victim. Its bad enough to lose someone, but to lose them and THEN have this happen in the eake of it? Pure insanity.

@ colibri
If it isn't, the officers refusing to give out their names/wear their I.Ds (which they are avidly doing) is. As well as arresting people with no real charges. (The reporters arrested from the McDonald's incident have been release...just to have another reporter arrested and still in jail at this very moment.) The police in Ferguson are rampant, they even tear gassed the state senator. No one has control over them.

But that doesn't matter since the people running them are vivid racist, so it wouldn't change much.

Be highly worried about black bodies during this time. Death is occurring every 28 hours, if not less, at this point. I would sign this petition and share it to the best of my ability.

This is terrifying. It's just. How can people be like this? Why is this a thing? I mean, how can people still think that shit like this makes sense or is in any way justifiable? It is more than just cruelty, it is more than inhumane. The worst part is that police are this way EVERYWHERE. It is power. It is power corruption, and it is a lot of white people thinking that they deserve more than everybody else, dating back hundreds of years. I have never understood that, the idea that the colour of someone's skin could mean so much in the way of how you look at someone, at their soul. I feel like I'm crying every day now because something bad is always happening. Of course it is, that is the reality of the world, but it seems like everything has been building and building, and so many innocent people have been hurt in every imaginable way.

This situation, this has to be unconstitutional in your country though, no? I've heard so many things, and it is so frustrating because the media isn't reporting fast enough, and how can you trust the words of the media, ever? Tumblr is saying so many things, but Tumblr is always saying different things ... ah. I heard that they are preventing the media from reporting there, and that there is a no-fly zone. They arrested reporters, too. Why would they be so stupid? I have always disliked police officers. They do not know how to handle anything. They don't even know how to handle a suicidal person that has overdosed on medication! My experiences with the police ... well.

I am always sort of worried for people living in the United States. That sounds kind of strange, but it's scary sometimes, the things you hear from the outside looking in. Things progress so slowly, you know? The law is always in the way (this is the case for most countries), for every step forward there is a step or two back. I'm so sorry this is happening. This is so miserable. I can barely stand anything anymore, I'm always angry with everything.

@ Katie Mosing
I saw that! Sorry for the affect it's had on your family.

It's a crazy time for America, really.

I actually live less than 20 minutes away from Ferguson, but I haven't been over in that area in a while. My mom works in the area and she said a lot of shops have closed temporarily, especially smaller, family owned things. She works for a minority contractor and some of her coworkers are even afraid to go to work out of fear they'll be targeted by police. I think at least 3 guys missed work yesterday. One of my high school teachers shared this on Facebook too.