Friday, January 30, 2009

Reverend Al Talks about the Liberty City Shooting

After that terrible shooting in Miami last week, there've been several meetings of community leaders and news conferences. The police say their investigation is no further along than it was on the first day. Here's a fascinating video of the Rev. Al Sharpton and other ministers addressing the community.




Sharpton said the idea of not snitching goes back to the civil rights days when black people were disobeying immoral laws. Nowadays, people are misusing that idea. He called those who would withhold information "traitors to the race," exhorting them to come forward.

What do you think about that? Are the histrionics helpful, do you think? Wouldn't the idea of not ratting out your friends predate the civil rights movement? I always thought it started with James Cagney movies.

Naturally they had a few things to say about the Assault Weapons Ban. From the local pastor we had this:
Don't wait till the bullet come in your door to do something about it... Long as them Uzis and AKs keep snappin' ... No community is safe long as a AK an' Assault Rifle is in our community. Our job is to fight to ban these type o' guns.

The Baptist-style crowd approval seems to indicate widespread agreement with the reverend, at least in this gathering. Do you think there's a growing movement across America to ban "these guns?"

There was one point unclear to me in the original story. Witnesses said the shooter pulled the gun out of his waist band and started firing. How could that be an AK-47? Aren't they too long for that kind of concealment? Why weren't they calling it an UZI or an UZI pistol or something that can be carried like that? Any ideas?

Please leave a comment.

10 comments:

  1. Thanks for the heads-up. Because you linked two stories I must have skimmed both of them, I didn't see the comment on how the perpetrator was waistband carrying (and in gang culture that usually that means without a holster)

    Carrying a long-gun of any sort inside your waistband is nothing short of impossible if the person carrying has any interest in walking. And even the Micro-Uzi (the smallest of the lot) is 10" long and weighs 3 pounds, that's a LOT of weight to lump around...and the larger Uzis are even clunkier. And in the end an Uzi-Pistol is just a 9mm handgun...a bulky awkward 9mm handgun, but no better...and arguably worse.


    Do you find it strange that such odd and conflicting stories are coming from the anti-gun crowd?
    Why do you think that is, Mike?

    I'm not a huge fan of the Reverend Sharpton, but I'm glad to see them starting to stigmatize the "Stop Snitching" Gang-Culture.

    The vast majority of our murder and crime rates are black-on-black crime, and because of this "Stop Snitching" culture (Which I assumed was rooted in Omerta, but I won't split hairs with the Reverend Al and Company) the unsolved murder rate in the are scary high (70% murders go unsolved in Boston) how do you shoot somebody in a busy city street and not have a single person witness it? Omerta! Well and fear, as some of those people who were shot in the street were people talking to the cops, if you live in gangland USA and you want to stay alive, you let the run the show.

    It doesn't matter if they're using rocket launchers, or toothpicks to kill each other, if this system remains in place nothing will stop the crime in the inner cities outside of martial law...and given that these are neighborhoods of mostly blacks, such treatment of one racial group would not go over well.

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  2. I'm inclined to agree with Weer'd: The problems that cause our extraordinary urban violent crime rates are inadequate law enforcement, a legal system that's too overburdened and unwilling to properly prosecute and punish criminals, a civilian culture that doesn't trust the police, and a police culture that often isn't worthy of the people's trust.

    When you let criminals have the run of the place, they'll kill each other and innocent people with whatever weapons are available; banning guns (especially such an arbitrary and meaningless category as "assault weapons") won't have any effect at all on these crime rates. It isn't the guns--it's the people.

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  3. Weerd says, The vast majority of our murder and crime rates are black-on-black crime,

    I bet those white supremacists encourage even more black-on-black murders so that 'they' will kill themselves into extinction.

    Weerd, have you heard any reports from the 'pro-gun crowd' of someone shooting their own nuts off while trying to replace their Micro-Uzi into the holster?

    ;-

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  4. "I bet those white supremacists encourage even more black-on-black murders so that 'they' will kill themselves into extinction."

    Oddly enugh Many of the first gun control laws in this nation were drafted in the Old South to keep firepower away from Freeman Blacks and Indians
    http://www.lizmichael.com/racistro.htm

    This was greatly supported by groups like the KKK (who were Democrats, if you're keeping score)

    In many parts of the south there are still remnants of Jim Crow gun laws still on the books, tho in the last decade a bulk of them have been repealed (Mostly by Republicans....tho there are a shitload of Pro 2nd Amendment and NRA supported Democrats down south....if you're keeping score)

    "Weerd, have you heard any reports from the 'pro-gun crowd' of someone shooting their own nuts off while trying to replace their Micro-Uzi into the holster?"

    Sounds like a troll to me, am I mistaken, Muddy? I'll give you the benifit of the doubt.

    But to play it straight, I'm unaware of an Apendix-carry holster for an Uzi of any sort. I'd imagine if such a rig existed it would cost severl hundred dollars from a custom shop. Coupled with how much IMI charges civilians for their products, I'd assume the person would have enugh sense to carry in a range bag....or at least set the gun to condition 1 or 3 before holstering.

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  5. Hmm,

    Seems maybe the FBI doesn't agree with Sharpton completely.

    Maybe communities won't be safe as long as there are gangs in the communities.

    From USA Today:
    Criminal gangs in the USA have swelled to an estimated 1 million members responsible for up to 80% of crimes in communities across the nation, according to a gang threat assessment compiled by federal officials.

    Of course, to stop kids from joining gangs, people are going to have to talk about single parent families, absentee fathers, fathers replaced by welfare checks, welfare that gives folks money but nothing to do with their time.


    The major findings in a report by the Justice Department's National Gang Intelligence Center, which has not been publicly released, conclude gangs are the "primary retail-level distributors of most illicit drugs" and several are "capable" of competing with major U.S.-based Mexican drug-trafficking organizations

    Remove the monetary incentive for "illegal" drugs and what happens to gang membership, to crime rates?
    Few gangs would be able to compete with organized businesses with their modern distribution channels and methods.

    Assistant FBI Director Kenneth Kaiser, the bureau's criminal division chief, says gangs have largely followed the migration paths of immigrant laborers.

    Wonder if it was political correctness that left off the "illegal" part of immigrant laborers. I think the US needs to revamp the immigration process. Speeding up the process while encouraging those with higher education. Higher education usually equals higher pay and less temptation to be involved in illegal activities.

    Escorza says a "revolving door" on the border has kept the gang's numbers steady — about 10,000 in the U.S. — even as many illegal immigrant members are deported.

    Border security is a must have in the next couple of years; economical and criminal requite it.

    Of course, there could be reasons for people wanting to legally own firearms, even in the poorest parts of town, in the suburbs and even rural areas:

    He says the groups are moving to avoid the scrutiny of larger metropolitan police agencies in places such as Los Angeles. "These groups were hit hard in L.A." by law enforcement crackdowns, "but they are learning from it," Kaiser says.

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  6. Weer'd, The fact that there are odd and conflicting stories, like the long AK-47 coming out of the shooters waistband, a thing that even I noticed as impossible, could very well indicate ignorance on the part of the witnesses and an agenda on the part of the Police Chief and Mayor.

    But that doesn't necessarily mean what they propose is wrong.

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  7. It also doesn't necessarily mean the purpose is RIGHT.

    Of course one side is willing to demonstrate why we feel the way we do...the other side lies or willfully remains ignorant.

    What does that sound like to you, Mike?

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  8. Weer'd, You could reverse our roles and I could say the same thing to you. "Of course one side is willing to demonstrate why we feel the way we do...the other side lies or willfully remains ignorant.

    What does that sound like to you, Mike?"

    Except, I don't call what you present "lies." And I don't call your refusing to agree with me "willful ignorance."

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  9. Mike,

    Show me the lies I've made or that the pro-civil rights side has made.

    I don't think we have enough time to show all the lies from the gun grabber side.

    Show the evidence that gun control works. I've presented dozens of pieces of evidence that it doesn't work.

    I've challenged you to confront your bias on the frequency of defensive gun use...you've chosen to remain "willfully ignorant".

    Sorry, I'm with Weer'd on this one.

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  10. +1 all my claims and statements are reported and verified.

    That's why I'm not an Anti-gun person anymore. I learned that the bedrock on my belief was untrue, so I abandoned the incorrect belief.

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