Charles Barkley: Let’s face it, the Ferguson grand jury got it right

[mystery-ak]

http://news.yahoo.com/why-charles-barkley-supports-ferguson-grand-jury-decision-163736319.html

Why Charles Barkley supports the Ferguson grand jury decision
Former NBA star Charles Barkley called Ferguson looters 'scumbags' and said that 'key forensic evidence, and several black witnesses that supported Officer Darren Wilson’s story.'

Christian Science Monitor By Husna Haq
4 hours ago

Former NBA star Charles Barkley recently called Ferguson looters "scumbags," praised police officers who work in black neighborhoods, and said he supports the decision made by the grand jury not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting.

During an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the day after the Ferguson decision was announced, host Mike Missanelli asked Barkley about it and why "black America" doesn't trust the ruling.

His response surprised some listeners.

"The true story came out from the grand jury testimony," Barkley said, adding that he was made aware of "key forensic evidence, and several black witnesses that supported Officer Darren Wilson’s story..." He continued, "I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they (the media) love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. The media shouldn’t do that. They never do that when black people kill each other. "

He also called those who rioted after the decision was announced "scumbags," and said "There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people's businesses, burning down police cars."

And in a marked departure from other prominent black leaders who have questioned tactics used by officers and, in some cases, accused officers of racial profiling and outright racism, Barkley supported police officers, especially those who work in black neighborhoods.

“[W]e have to be really careful with the cops, because if it wasn’t for the cops we would be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods," he said. "We can’t pick out certain incidentals that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad.... Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops?”

His comments are in sharp contrast with those made by other black leaders on the Ferguson case. Rev. Al Sharpton and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson have both criticized the Ferguson decision and racial profiling by police. President Obama is scheduled to hold meetings with civil rights groups Monday on law enforcement and how to rebuild trust in black communities.

Other black athletes have also reacted to the Ferguson decision. Prior to Sunday’s kickoff against the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams football players Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt entered the field with their hands up, referring to the "hands up, don't shoot," rallying cry of Michael Brown supporters.

This PBS Newshour chart shows that a majority of grand jury witnesses agreed that Michael Brown reached into Officer Wilson's police car, but a majority also testified that Michael Brown had his hands up when he was fatally shot.

Barkley immediately drew praise from conservative media and bloggers. "Charles Barkley speaks the truth about Ferguson, calls out the media, and it’s EPIC," wrote Young Conservatives. "Former NBA star Charles Barkley slams Ferguson rioters, leftstream media and Obama," said the Tea Party News Network.

While Barkley's comments are a departure from that of some of his black colleagues, they shouldn't be surprising to those who know Barkley.

In 2013, Barkley famously said he agreed with the George Zimmerman acquittal in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. In July of last year, a Florida jury found that neighborhood watch leader Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, was not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

"That’s probably not a popular opinion among most people. But just looking at the evidence, I agreed with the verdict," he told CNBC host Maria Bartiromo on CNBC's Closing Bell about the Zimmerman verdict.

Twitter lit up with reaction to Barkley's comments, both angry and supportive.

Charles Barkley is the modern day Uncle Tom and he just made every virulent Klan and hate group in America cheer.— Jeff Gauvin (@JeffersonObama) July 18, 2013

Charles Barkley is the laughing stock of the sports world....dumb as shit and well trained by his slave masters— Jeff Gauvin (@JeffersonObama) July 18, 2013

Charles Barkley with a measured and thoughtful reaction to the #Zimmerman verdict.— Brian Adam Jones (@bjones) July 18, 2013

Pretty intelligent comments by Charles Barkley on CNBC. On several topics, actually, including the Zimmerman trial.— Tom Getz (@Getztowondering) July 18, 2013

Barkley is honest man. Have to respect his take on the #Zimmerman case and on racism.— Richard Golding (@24kt_GLD) July 18, 2013

Regardless of the feedback he gets on his Ferguson comments, Barkley made it clear on the Philadelphia radio show that he will continue to share his thoughts on the Ferguson decision and on race in America, telling listeners, "I ain't shutting up and I ain't backing down."

[evadR]

Not nearly enough Barkley's out there.

[mystery-ak]

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/12/01/charles-barkley-lets-face-it-the-ferguson-grand-jury-got-it-right/

Charles Barkley: Let’s face it, the Ferguson grand jury got it right
posted at 5:01 pm on December 1, 2014 by Allahpundit

   
Not the first time he’s taken the “wrong side” of a shooting transformed in haste into a Teachable Moment about race relations in America. Once the death of Michael Brown was reduced to a microcosm of police discrimination against young black men, Darren Wilson had to be guilty or else that discrimination didn’t exist. The retreat to identity was the natural way to process an incident that was supposed to be simple but became too complex for easy narratives.

No one told Barkley, though.

    “The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkley said, adding that he was made aware of “key forensic evidence, and several black witnesses that supported Officer Darren Wilson’s story…” He continued, “I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore. And, that’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media anymore, because they (the media) love this stuff, and lead people to jump to conclusions. The media shouldn’t do that. They never do that when black people kill each other. ”

    He also called those who rioted after the decision was announced “scumbags,” and said “There is no excuse for people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning down police cars.”…

    “[W]e have to be really careful with the cops, because if it wasn’t for the cops we would be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods,” he said. “We can’t pick out certain incidentals that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad…. Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops?”

And that’s how the great “let’s get Charles Barkley fired from TNT” movement of 2015 got its start. As for what he says about the grand jury testimony, read this AP account from Friday or this NYT story from yesterday if you haven’t yet about how sharply the eyewitnesses differed on key details, like whether Brown was “charging” at Wilson or staggering forward to surrender. Sean Davis is right: The fact that prosecutors, who usually strain to convince the GJ that a crime was committed, took pains to highlight those contradictions is proof enough that they didn’t want to take this case to trial. They knew that Wilson’s defense team would destroy the state’s case by emphasizing those contradictions themselves. Rather than let that play out over the course of another year or two while Ferguson waited nervously for the inevitable acquittal, the D.A. decided to get it over with now.

The other reason to follow those links and read those stories is because, a la Barkley, they put the lie to the idea that views of what happened were mainly a matter of racial identity even for the people closest to it. Imagine the social pressure felt by the eyewitnesses, many of them black, to confirm the “hands up, don’t shoot” version of the shooting, knowing that Wilson’s life was already in danger from people enraged by it and that theirs could be too. Wilson certainly had police protection; the eyewitnesses almost certainly didn’t. They told the truth anyway. That was courageous.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shODnGQJ6FU

[truth_seeker]

Listened to Michael Smerconish on XM 124 Potus, and he said he agreed with the Grand Jury decision to NOT indict.

He also brought on a law professor from Univ. of Utah, who examined all the evidence, put it out for comments, and concluded the Grand Jury reached the correct decision.

Intelligent, educated, informed, objective people versus Low IQ blacks dealing 99% from emotion.

The single best thing Obama could do for his remaining time is to urge blacks to do less violent crime, and study instead.

[rangerrebew]

Intelligent, educated, informed, objective people versus Low IQ blacks dealing 99% from emotion.
 

Is this the same as primal, survival instincts inbred after millennia in jungle?  The "fight or flight" way of approaching life?