It seems the cops were way too nice.

________


Waco mayhem exposes double standard on violence

What Waco shows us about race and crime


We've seen it so often that it has become laughable, pitiable and disgraceful. But more than anything, it strikes to the heart of a grotesque truth about American hypocrisy. The "it" this time is the almost matter of fact, infuriating double standard by law enforcement, the press and public officials when it comes to young black males committing mayhem versus young or not-so-young white males committing mayhem.

It reared its ugly head again in the way that law enforcement handled and much of the media reported on the recent deadly shootout between rival Texas biker gangs. The carnage in Waco left nine dead, scores wounded and nearly 200 arrested, most of them white bikers. It was labeled a "feud," a "melee," "a turf battle," accompanied by a deluge of media interviews from self-identified biker gang members painting themselves as belonging to a harmless social club.


Then we saw the now-infamous scene of scores of detained bikers allegedly connected with the mayhem leisurely corralled near the murder scene on their cellphones and yukking it up with each other. And who did we see overseeing them? We saw police officers seemingly just as casual; nonchalant as if it was just another day at the office. Or, as if they had just detained these bikers for nothing more than a speeding violation.

Suffice it to say, there have been few hysterical screeches branding them as thugs, gangsters, animals and vermin. There have been few indignant calls by the press, citizenry and elected officials for a swift, harsh, toss-the-book-at-them resolution — the kind of demands we hear when it's young black males on the hot seat.

Young whites tear up streets, overturn cars and battle police after a championship hockey or basketball victory or loss and it's simply tagged as boys will be boys. Or, when a young white male shoots up a school or theater there are pronouncements about his troubled childhood, drug addiction or psychological traumas. Or, how about, when young whites are popped for drug use? The pipeline for them is not to courts and jails, but to counseling and treatment and therapy.

This dual racial standard rests squarely on the pantheon of stereotypes and negative typecasting of young black males, which too often has deadly consequences.


The hope was that Barack Obama's 2008 election to the White House would bury once and for all negative racial typecasting and the perennial threat it poses to the safety and well-being of black males. It did no such thing. Immediately after his election, teams of researchers from several major universities found that many of the old stereotypes about poverty and crime and blacks remained frozen in time. The study found that much of the public still perceived those most likely to commit crimes as poor, jobless and black. The study did more than affirm that race and poverty and crime were firmly rammed together in the public mind. It showed that once the stereotype is planted, it's virtually impossible to root it out. That's hardly new.


In 2003, Penn State University researchers conducted a landmark study on the tie between crime and public perceptions of who is most likely to commit a crime. The study found that many whites are likely to associate pictures of blacks with violent crimes. This was no surprise given the relentless media depictions of young black males as dysfunctional, dope-peddling, gang bangers and drive-by shooters. The study found that even when blacks didn't commit a specific crime, whites still identified the perpetrator as African-American.


Five years later, university researchers wanted to see if that stereotype still held sway. Researchers found that the attitudes on crime and race remained unchanged.

The bulging numbers of blacks in America's jails and prisons seem to reinforce the wrong-headed perception that crime and violence invariably comes with a young, black, male face. The brutal reality is that Waco won't change that.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...rcement-perspec-0504-20150520-story.html

I wouldn't even know where to start.

It's like stepping into a covey.

Too nice?? Hell, the cops shot some of the bikers and immediately rounded up almost 200 of them simply for the fact that they were wearing biker jackets. How would the Libs feel if the cops in Baltimore had immediately arrested everyone on the street that "looked" like a rioter or looter??

The only double standard is that, in Texas, the cops did their job when faced with a large group of white potential suspects. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, the cops were forced to stand there while a bunch of black folks trashed the city, because it would have been "racist" to arrest the rioters simply because they looked/acted like/associated with other rioters.

Cops were too nice???

They shot a GRANDMOTHER.

They shot a retired COP.

A whole bunch of bikers from VARIOUS clubs (maybe TEN different clubs) were mixed together.

Some shooting started.

Some folks were undoubtedly shooting in legitimate self-defense (as any of us would do).....

Then the SWAT snipers mowed them all down with little to NO IDEA if some were just trying to defend themselves.

It was a police atrocity.

That's why we should be angry.

It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative.

you were there?

Can someone tell me why there's been no news coverage of white crowds looting and burning Waco?

Oh, wait...

Benjamin Crump is MIA.

His friend the Rev. Al must be on vacation.

That's my take too, but apparently liberals don't approve.
_______

Waco shootout, Baltimore protests raise questions
Associated Press

Washington — The prevailing images of protests in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, over police killings of black men were of police in riot gear, handcuffed protesters, tear gas and mass arrests. The main images of a fatal gun battle between armed bikers and police in Waco, Texas, also showed mass arrests — carried out by nonchalant-looking officers sitting around calm bikers on cellphones.

The firefight in Waco is raising questions about perceptions and portrayals of crime in America, considering the vehement reaction that the earlier protests got from police, politicians and some members of the public.

Unlike in Ferguson and Baltimore, where protests went on for days, there was no live news coverage of the Waco shootout. And yet the incident at a Texas restaurant hasn’t been used as a bridge to discuss other issues about families, poverty and crime, media critics, columnists and civil rights activists say.

They complain that there appears to be little societal concern about the gunplay at a restaurant in Texas, whereas politicians — including President Barack Obama — described violent looters in Baltimore as “thugs,” and the media devoted hours of television and radio airtime to dissecting social ills that affect the black community.

On Twitter, #wacothugs and #whiteonwhitecrime were trending, with columnists around the nation debating the differences. “So the mainstream media refuses to talk (hashtag)WacoThugs, huh? No panel discussion on their childhood? Fatherless homes?” radio and TV commentator Roland Martin said on Facebook. The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates tweeted sarcastically, “Why won’t America’s biker gangs be more like Dr. Martin Luther King?”

The shootout at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco left nine people dead and 18 injured. About 170 bikers have been charged with engaging in organized crime, with bond at $1 million for each suspect. Mug shots show an array of suspects: white, Hispanic, a white woman and a man who looked black.

Police said the fight started because a vehicle rolled over a man’s foot. That caused a dispute that continued inside the restaurant, where fighting and then shooting began, before the violence spilled back outside, they said. Police said Wednesday about 1,000 weapons were recovered from the scene, but later revised that to 318 “and still counting,” including an AK-47 assault rifle, handguns, knives, brass knuckles, clubs and chains.

Officials said the nine dead were Bandidos and Cossacks members, ranging in age from 27 to 65. Preliminary autopsy results showed all nine were killed by gunshots.

Police have acknowledged firing on armed bikers, but it was unclear how many of the dead were shot by gang members and how many were shot by officers.

There were no deaths during the Baltimore and Ferguson protests, yet people immediately stereotyped all of the protesters as criminals, said Nicole Lee, a human rights lawyer who worked with protesters in both cities.

“Nine people were killed in Waco, and yet you have not heard the level of disgust and dismay as you did over fires burning in Ferguson and in Baltimore,” Lee said.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/20/waco-shooting-perceptions/27634905/

they are never short of righteous indignation , its what makes them better than us.? them being pissed is a static condition.

The election of Obamcrap has lead to the most racial biased America in my lifetime. He and his henchmen in the justice department are the root cause.

I think the only racial desparity is that a bunch of white gang members will get the justice they deserve, while a bunch of black gangsters were allowed to loot and year schidt up....

We have a state trooper in the family. Every year he gets sent to two big public sin fests to keep the peace.

One is a biker rally,his instructions are to strictly enforce the law and arrest as many people as necessary to do just that. Basically show no mercy,cut no slack.

The other is a big party for black youth,it's called "The Foot Washin". He is told to make arrests only if things get violent. Look the other way with drugs,prostitution,and any other vice or petty crime.

It's clearly a double standard,the groups should get the same treatment.

The big differences?
The bikers forgot, molotov cocktails, hoodies, to fight the cops, to run next door and rob all the stores and run like the wind.

can't take your insanity any longer. Off to ignore with the other trolls. Adios.

Gosh, you have a low tolerance for insanity.

And stupidity. You exemplify both.

Exactly.

And not only this, but there was even a warning published by law enforcement saying that other biker gang members better stay away from the area or risk similar retribution To what occurred earlier in the week.

Imagine if other looters had been similarly warned in Baltimore!

Bicycles vs Harleys... There is a difference

Don't know where you got yer rendition of the facts from, andI haven't paid close enough attention to this to know much, but I can tell you that Man Licker has an awful lot of people on ignore.

Your signature says it all. You are ignorant at best.

You don't have yourself on ignore, do you?

Sorry you don't like it.

I think your sig is one of the best around. Well done.

I heard that his dislike for insanity caused him to put himself on ignore.

Now he just sits in a dark, quiet room......thinking.

Win/Win.

many of the old stereotypes about poverty and crime and blacks remained frozen in time. The study found that much of the public still perceived those most likely to commit crimes as poor, jobless and black.


maybe because it's true?
stereotypes are rooted in a certain amount of truth.

Well yeah.....of course......obviously.

So the ROOT cause is?

Now THINK about it.....

Until we get to root causes......we strive in vain.

That is a double standard but in both situations you have to use a little common sense. Anyone with half a brain knows that black youth shindigs and biker rallies are going to draw the cops for obvious reasons. They may or may not let some stuff go but they are not going to sit there and do nothing if any of your fellow revelers start shooting at them or otherwise cause them to fear for their safety.....and rightly so. They are going to shoot back and you might just catch a stray.

For example, like most people here I like guns. I can find a better place and better people to talk guns with than folks at the local Neo Nazi group or the Klan rally.....even though both of those groups probably share my interest in guns.

I guess what I am trying to say is I really don't understand why all these middle aged bike lovers want to attend these biker shindigs where they KNOW there is going to be a criminal element present....and then bitch at the cops when they have to quell a riot and they wind up on the wrong side of things. Wrong place, wrong time potential is highly elevated.

I'm selling T-shirts that say:


Biker Lives Matter

The main difference is that when whites riot the police are not told to stand down and let it happen because "it's just property". That's what the governor of Missouri did with the National Guard and that's what the Mayor of Baltimore did. These idiots are pandering to criminals in order to gain their votes.

Pretty much the difference I could observe.

I was at a high school football game once talking to another parent who owned an electrical contracting business. His business was located right next to the Hells Angels clubhouse.
He told me the president gave him a business card and said if things ever get to loud at our party Call Me and I will take care of it. Don't call the police. He said there was never a problem.

I wonder what the outcome would have been if the police were instructed to stand down when the fighting started in Waco. How long would it would have gone on and how many more people would have been killed or hurt.

That's what they wanted, whitey.

Kill yourselves off, instead of keeping my homies down.

"Hands Out!Black Lies Matter!!"

News Flash,,
Bikers shot, arrested.
Liberals jealous,
LE community gets panties wet.
no one cares if you bushwhack or massacre nonafrikan undesirables.
cop children cry for more police militarization.
The world still turns.

And guess who keeps perpetuating the stereotypes? Black race whores and liberal politicians!

Citation please.

DancesWithGuys is a liberal.

They don't have any credibility whatsoever.

the big difference is this happens like once every 10 years with the bikers. it happens friggen hourly with the blacks.

I'm no Liberal. I hate Liberals!

I'm a radical. Big difference.

The Waco cops are going to pay big time. They're already on the defensive.

Shot a grandma, a retired cop, a decorated Vietnam vet--people with no criminal records......and they're scrambling to justify their irresponsible volley of fire from automatic weapons into a crowd where they had no idea who was who.

This will go on for months, maybe years.....but the cops definitely screwed the pooch on this sorry clusterfug.

Citation please.

Nah, one just has to realize where dances with dicks gets his information from:

“Nine people were killed in Waco, and yet you have not heard the level of disgust and dismay as you did over fires burning in Ferguson and in Baltimore,” Lee said.

Yeah? So what's your point there, Lee?
In the earlier article posted, the Op Ed writer was complaining that perceptions [i][/i] about who has been committing the violent crime had not changes since Obama has become President.

Enough with the "perceptions." How about we deal with reality?

From a friend:

"CRIMINAL MEETING’ OF BIKERS IN WACO WAS ACTUALLY ORGANIZED POLITICAL GATHERING
MotorcyclePhoto: Lee Stranahan
by LEE STRANAHAN21 May 2015765

Despite the characterization by police that the afternoon gathering at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas that led to Sunday’s bloody shooting incident was a gathering of criminal biker gangs with violent intent, the meeting appears to have been a legitimate, organized gathering of motorcycle riders meeting to discuss political issues.

The group that met was the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents (CoC&I) and a look at that group’s website and history gives a very different impression of the group’s purpose and goals than what has been said repeatedly by Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton.

Swanton has been a central media figure, conducting several press conferences since shootings that left nine dead and dozens injured happened on Sunday. Swanton’s statements have been echoed by the media, creating an image of a get together of thugs converging on Twin Peaks in an event obviously fraught with danger that authorities tried desperately to stop until they were foiled by the uncooperative restaurant owner.

An AP report on Tuesday gives what has been the now-standard media narrative:

Five gangs had gathered at the restaurant as part of a meeting to settle differences over turf and recruitment. Prior meetings had been held at the restaurant, and managers there had dismissed police concerns over the gatherings, he said.

“They were not here to drink and eat barbecue,” Swanton said. “They came here with violence in mind.”

The “gathering of criminal bikers” story was even used to justify the $1 million bail that the 170 arrested bikers were each handed. From the same AP report:

McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. Peterson set bond at $1 million for each suspect. He defended the high amount, citing the violence that quickly unfolded in a shopping market busy with a lunchtime crowd.

“We have nine people dead, because these people wanted to come down and what? Drink? Party?” Peterson said. “I thought it was appropriate.”

Despite those claims by Texas officials of drinking, partying and violence in mind, the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents website and other information give every impression that the group’s meeting on that Sunday was legitimate.

This does not mean that groups or individuals who participated in CoC&I meeting don’t have criminal connections. Some see the CoC&I as a way for clubs like the Bandidos to gain legitimacy, an assessment shared by the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Gang Threat Assessment from 2014:

Formed in the 1960s, the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (Bandidos OMG) conducts its illegal activities as covertly as possible and avoids high-profile activities such as drive-by shootings that many street gangs tend to commit. However, members are not covert about making their presence known by wearing the gang colors, insignia, and riding in large groups. They seek to turn public sentiment in their favor by organizing frequent charity runs. Bandidos are likely to focus on recruiting new members with no criminal history.

However, it’s not clear that everyone who attended the CoC&I meeting had criminal connections. As the Gang Threat Assessment report pointed out, even the Bandidos have recruited members with no criminal history in an attempt to clean up there reputation. As a comment on the biker site Aging Rebel suggests:

If thirty guys were fighting who were the other 140 that were arrested? The Christian Ministries, the Veterans Clubs, and everyone else who attended a COC meeting aimed at keeping bikers safe, biker legislation, and scheduling biker events? So now your local motorcycle minister is locked up on a 1 million dollar bond.

A look at the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents website and events calendar does show a group that’s focused on legislative issues and elections.

The CoC&I site has an entire page dedicated to National, State and Local Happenings with links to various political calls to action and events.

That page features a photo of a U.S. Marine standing at attention with a group of bikers and a photo an eagle over an American flag with the motto “Don’t tread on me. I refuse to allow my civil servant to run my life.”

A look at the group’s events calendar shows that the Twin Peaks meeting was listed on the Calendar as a “Region 1 Texas COC&I Meeting”; one of a number of meeting that happen in every part of Texas on a regular basis.

Other events on the Calendar show an actual legislative purpose. For example, on April 22nd at 7am the Calendar lists a public hearing on legislation:

The Motorcycle Safety Fund Bill (SB754) will be brought to the floor for public hearing in the Transportation Committee.

Paul and Jude will be testifying in support of the bill and we need as many people as possible to attend the hearing to support our community spokesmen, Senator Watson and show we are unified in seeing SB754 passed.

Later in April was a two day “Texas COC&I Christian Unity Event”, described as:

This event is open to everyone. We want to include Christians from all traditional MC’s and not just the Christian MC’s and MM’s.

You are welcome even if you are not a Christian, but the event will be Christian by nature.

Looking beyond the group’s website, eyewitness reports are beginning to paint a very different picture than that the official version from the Waco police.

Halfway through this WacoTrib.com story comes an account from someone who was at event that claims the biker’s political event was interrupted by uninvited bikers from the Cossacks gang.:

Steve Cochran, a national bikers’ rights advocate from Waco who witnessed the melee, blamed the incident entirely on the Cossacks. Cochran, who is a founder of the Waco chapter of the Sons of the South, is an official with the U.S. Defenders Task Force, a legislative group affiliated with the Texas Confederacy of Clubs and Independents.

He arrived at Twin Peaks on Sunday to set up a sound system for the COC&I meeting, only to find that the violence already had started.

Bandidos members were to be part of the meeting, which was to focus on legislative issues common to all bikers, Cochran said. He said police gave no indication to him or other COC&I members that their lives might be in danger.

“These meetings have gone on for 20 years, and we’ve gone all these years without a single incident until Sunday,” he said.

Other reports say that about 60 Cossacks arrived at the meeting and a list of those killed indicates that only one of the victims was from Waco. Tuesday, Breitbart Texas reported exclusively on indications on social media of aggressive moves by the Cossacks, including “transfers” of bikers into Texas.

The emerging picture of what really happened on Sunday in Waco raises some doubts about the initial police explanation of the incident as well as their suggested remedy. For example, Waco spokesman Swanton has repeated blamed the restaurant for not refusing to host the event.

However, the very political nature of the Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents and its website raise troubling First Amendment questions about the police trying to pressure a business to shut down a lawful political meeting that had never led to problems previously, regardless of the people at that meeting.

Texas Law Enforcement has had a difficult job dealing with biker gangs. One frustration is that some groups like the Bandidos combine legitimate elements (with charity rides) with criminal (like meth dealing."

Another friend who has talked to close and trusted friends, who have talked to people actually on the scene cast grave doubts about the police and ATFE's presence and actions on the scene. There's always a knee-jerk initial reaction to reports like this, but I think this one is going to garner MUCH subsequent revellation, though it'll be attempted that it be stymied along the way. That's just how these things seem to go today, in our world where folks seem to think all they need to get by is a damaged ego and an insolent opinion about it. As Sonny and Cher said, "The Beat Goes On."

Well, there ya go. ATF involvement is always suspect. I'd like to know how they insinuated themselves in this incident.

If I may,

1. "Young whites tear up streets, overturn cars and battle police after a championship hockey or basketball victory or loss and it's simply tagged as boys will be boys."

BS. We arrested as many of the violent thugs as we could following the World series win. A few politically connected (even our Public Defender himself!) got off but that was not due to race. Is that because it was a baseball and not basketball or hockey?


2. " Or, when a young white male shoots up a school or theater there are pronouncements about his troubled childhood, drug addiction or psychological traumas."

BS - That excuse is trotted out for everyone. If you are talking about James Holmes, we all want him to get what he deserves.

3. " Or, how about, when young whites are popped for drug use? The pipeline for them is not to courts and jails, but to counseling and treatment and therapy."

BS - If you are whining about liberal defense attorneys and talk show matrons getting some pretty boy or Hollywood favorite out of trouble of their own making, call a Spade a Spade. Or a Kennedy.