[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

Thank goodness for all those free phones.

That statement involves holding a grudge for a VERY long time. It also contains a smattering of racial overtones.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by J1ceasar

Most probably 99% of photographs and videos are not fake but they are certainly edited or shortened to present the view of the media showing it. Of more concern 2-5 years down the road will be what's called deep fake videos, much like what multi-million dollar computers have done for the movie industry, this will come up personal software program and almost anybody will be able to use and you'll have to be even more careful in listening and using your brain to decide of something is real or not

That is a good post that gives a good warning. We, as a whole country, need to improve our universal education in order to improve critical thinking and technical expertise. Technology is a 2 edged sword - it giveth and it taketh!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Mark Twain said something to the effect that we do not make any progress because as we move forward we lose what was.

We would all be lost without our cell phones and computers. What did we lose? Among other things privacy and good manners.

The good old days? Like it or not we cannot go back to what was. We must, like it or not live with the new reality.

The "good old days" had one advantage - the wealth gap was decreasing!

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I think that Steve Jobs knew exactly the degree that a camera phone would change people's lives. He probably thought constantly about change and technical innovation. He wanted his devices to be people-friendly not just expert-friendly. Derrick Chauvin had his life changed by the camera phone. And that could possibly end up as a landmark pivot in human and race relations?

Language is our only means of communications yet it often spins reality. Human relations that term is clear at least to me. Race relations? First of all black and white are not the only races. As far as black and white friction over history first of all it has never been settled, I'm not sure it ever will be or can be. As far as friction, confrontation if we prefer, it has over the years risen and fallen. It is at the highest level I've seen i my lifetime. I am white. I have no white guilt. Truth I have no reason to be guilty-that simple.

For the rest of you. Reparations. Real historical reality. There is almost no group in the United States that could not demand reparations. The Indians? The Irish, many came over as indentured servants, slaves for 14 years. The apprenticeship system you were a slave for 7 years. The Chinese came over to build the railroads, many died doing that and then it was made illegal to employ them. The Japanese, were interred at the start of WWII. The blacks and slavery. We are indoctrinated how evil it was. Go figure there were blacks that owned slaves.

Reality, is far different and far more complex than the mindless hate that drives many.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

"When a large portion of the population doesn't trust the Government or the Press." I'm not sure if it has gotten worse or we just think it has.

The civil war. Trust of government? While it is spun, politically corrected in public indoctrination. Half the country was under a government led by Jefferson Davis and the other half led by Abe Lincoln. The press spun the side they supported.

I recently read a book about the Wright brothers complete with letters etc. The first powered flight was 1903. It was a world story. France and Italy were both leaders.
The Wright brothers did not use the current term,"fake news," but they did complain that newspaper reporters wrote things that they had no idea what they were saying. They complained that reporters fed on other reporters misinformation and they complained
about since it was a world competition about reporters and a nationalistic bias.

Much of what people scream about is nothing new. A lot of it has never and will never be resolved. In the end things will never be perfect. Reality, things are pretty good.
Our press feeds on confrontation. That too has always been so. My opinion, having studied journalism, ethics of the press have deteriorated dramatically.

I disagree with only one part of that post. Namely, the "things are pretty good". If things are so good, then WHY does the US have the greatest wealth disparity of 1st world nations. Things started going south in about 1975 when average wages no longer increased with respect to inflation.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Reality-"the police think twice about what they are doing, that is a good thing."
We have all the time in the world sitting safely in front of our computer. It is far different making decisions in part of a second with Adrenalin pumping.

In am not a cop. I have worked in neighborhoods where most people say I don't go there.

I have seen cops in action. I have seen cops decide it is not worth the paperwork to catch this guy. He will be out before the ink drys and my superior will question why I bothered to catch this guy. The criminals also know this.

The opposite is a police state. Public caning a kid for stealing a political poster.
The question is what do we want. Where is the proper balance? That question has not to date ever been answered. Perhaps, there is no answer that we can all agree on.
Law, unless we accept an all powerful dictator, and even then is not and cannot be perfect.

A dictatorship would be the WORST of ALL possibilities. I hate to even comprehend that in relation to the US of A.

[tvbound]

With the totally misleading and incomplete original "official" statement put out regarding Chauvin, which had to instantly be backtracked after that brave young lady's video came to light, it's only a guess as to the thousands and thousands of similar incidents that bad cops have gotten away with in the past. May the lying and automatic belief of anything an LEO says, over the actual filming of an incident - soon be a thing of the past. Such as the shooting of the girl with the knife, which under the circumstances, makes it hard to criticize the cop's unfortunate action.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

The "good old days" had one advantage - the wealth gap was decreasing!

The wealth gap? My personal truth. My dad was an injured WWII COMBAT vet. He served two tours of combat duty. Poor? We lived in a city housing project. My dad worked hard
and increased his income. I have first hand knowledge of what poor is. Today, people who are not working demand to live better than my family did.

As stated, today our poor, live far better than I did. Wealth gap? The poor have improved their living conditions. The wealthy have also gotten wealthier. What we called the robber barons, actually had greater wealth than the top 1% does today.
A major reason is the income tax and the inheritance tax. Roosevelt, (FDR) the creator of our current big government, actually inherited his huge wealth.

What I have, I EARNED. I inherited a little almost enough to pay the taxes some think I pay too little. My view, all should experience poverty. I gave me unique view. You can
earn your way out of poverty so long as you decide failure is not an option.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jebartle

Actually, like prosecuter said in Chauvin case, believe your eyes, not sure any had different opinions on what happened to George Floyd. This might change crime in general, IF, everyone has a camera phone. Believe what you see.

Well I watched all of the footage, and I saw and heard George Floyd refusing to sit in the squad car, after refusing to get out of his own car and later struggle against four policemen. I saw him apparently quite high on something inside the store. I saw that he was a very large man in apparent excellent physical shape and he towered over the smaller police officers. It appeared to take all four to restrain him.

The cameras, nor the trial mentioned that George Floyd had been arrested and convicted for breaking into a home and holding a gun to the belly of a pregnant woman while four others robbed the home. He must have continued to do illegal things because the store clerk called the police in the first place because he passed a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. Correct me if I am wrong on either what I saw or what I read from sources I vetted.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

I disagree with only one part of that post. Namely, the "things are pretty good". If things are so good, then WHY does the US have the greatest wealth disparity of 1st world nations. Things started going south in about 1975 when average wages no longer increased with respect to inflation.

The person in charge of wealth disparity is the person in charge of themselves. If you work hard and save, if you sacrifice and are careful, almost everyone can be financially comfortable, until someone comes into leadership who wants to spend your money for you.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Well I watched all of the footage, and I saw and heard George Floyd refusing to sit in the squad car, after refusing to get out of his own car and later struggle against four policemen. I saw him apparently quite high on something inside the store. I saw that he was a very large man in apparent excellent physical shape and he towered over the smaller police officers. It appeared to take all four to restrain him.

The cameras, nor the trial mentioned that George Floyd had been arrested and convicted for breaking into a home and holding a gun to the belly of a pregnant woman while four others robbed the home. He must have continued to do illegal things because the store clerk called the police in the first place because he passed a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. Correct me if I am wrong on either what I saw or what I read from sources I vetted.

You know I'm a member of your fan club, but what I saw on video was a cop on George Floyd's neck for 9 and half minutes, that and the $20 counterfeit bill was the only issue, for that he died, thank goodness for the video camera, that will change policing I hope, and protect victims and the police.

[Bucco]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

The person in charge of wealth disparity is the person in charge of themselves. If you work hard and save, if you sacrifice and are careful, almost everyone can be financially comfortable, until someone comes into leadership who wants to spend your money for you.

Suggested reading.....BLACK LIKE ME.......John Howard Griffin

Might give you a more realistic viewpoint

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Language is our only means of communications yet it often spins reality. Human relations that term is clear at least to me. Race relations? First of all black and white are not the only races. As far as black and white friction over history first of all it has never been settled, I'm not sure it ever will be or can be. As far as friction, confrontation if we prefer, it has over the years risen and fallen. It is at the highest level I've seen i my lifetime. I am white. I have no white guilt. Truth I have no reason to be guilty-that simple.

For the rest of you. Reparations. Real historical reality. There is almost no group in the United States that could not demand reparations. The Indians? The Irish, many came over as indentured servants, slaves for 14 years. The apprenticeship system you were a slave for 7 years. The Chinese came over to build the railroads, many died doing that and then it was made illegal to employ them. The Japanese, were interred at the start of WWII. The blacks and slavery. We are indoctrinated how evil it was. Go figure there were blacks that owned slaves.

Reality, is far different and far more complex than the mindless hate that drives many.

It would be POSSIBLE to decrease black and white "friction". it would require a somewhat "big brother" solution that most people would NOT go for. But, for argument's sake, the government could increase the blending of races by paying women and couples to give birth by artificial insemination to children of races different from themselves. Increased blending would likely decrease friction. Of course, many people would find fault with such a system that it would NOT be utilized. I guess that it is possible that in a few hundred years that the whole earth's population is blended. And maybe even national borders are eliminated then?

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by tvbound

With the totally misleading and incomplete original "official" statement put out regarding Chauvin, which had to instantly be backtracked after that brave young lady's video came to light, it's only a guess as to the thousands and thousands of similar incidents that bad cops have gotten away with in the past. May the lying and automatic belief of anything an LEO says, over the actual filming of an incident - soon be a thing of the past. Such as the shooting of the girl with the knife, which under the circumstances, makes it hard to criticize the cop's unfortunate action.

Yes, cell phone cameras make many situations less opaque and more transparent.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

The wealth gap? My personal truth. My dad was an injured WWII COMBAT vet. He served two tours of combat duty. Poor? We lived in a city housing project. My dad worked hard
and increased his income. I have first hand knowledge of what poor is. Today, people who are not working demand to live better than my family did.

As stated, today our poor, live far better than I did. Wealth gap? The poor have improved their living conditions. The wealthy have also gotten wealthier. What we called the robber barons, actually had greater wealth than the top 1% does today.
A major reason is the income tax and the inheritance tax. Roosevelt, (FDR) the creator of our current big government, actually inherited his huge wealth.

What I have, I EARNED. I inherited a little almost enough to pay the taxes some think I pay too little. My view, all should experience poverty. I gave me unique view. You can
earn your way out of poverty so long as you decide failure is not an option.

The US ranks about 30th on world lists for upward mobility and quality of life. The Scandanavian countries rank in the top ten. US people knock the Scandanavians - calling them "socialists". US people typically do NOT look at lists of where the US ranks worldwide because they assume that the US is at the top of everything. The US and China DO have the highest GNP, but the US ranks very LOW in qualities that are important to the average person. PLEASE look it up. It will SURPRISE you! People rationalize and say that those lists are not important because they will NOT be honest with themselves as to the TRUE nature of the US. The US WAS in the top ten BACK in OUR DAY (those fine fifties from say 1945 TO 1965). And we ALL still believe in that myth.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have greater wealth than the lower 40% of US citizens. Roll that around in your brain cavity and state a conclusion. I doubt if you were being honest that it would be much different than my conclusion.