Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Only Truth in North Minneapolis May be About Lying

While watching the news report about the Black Lives Matter protest over the Jamar Clark shooting by Minneapolis police, I noticed a complete disconnect between the images, and the accounts given by the protesters. One man said that "the peaceful protest was met with violence." He then repeated this; perhaps to try to help to get people who were watching to believe his words. Yet this "peaceful protest" had obviously become violent and destructive. The images on TV showed police cars in the 4th Precinct lot that had been smashed by bricks. It was reported that protesters had blocked all entrances so no one could get in or out of the police station. This was met by police using a "chemical irritant" to disperse the crowd. While it is within one's rights to protest peacefully in the USA, that does not include interfering with the general population's right to police service. It does not include throwing bricks at police and damaging property. The right to protest has been tainted by the continued lack of truth. Obviously, all police need body cameras at all times so that the lies can be exposed. There seems to be an element within society that has no concept of what truth is. Whatever lie someone shouts out in order to further their agenda is held up as truth—even if it is a complete fabrication. Since these people can't be trusted, only a camera can be a truthful witness. Apparently bearing false witness is standard procedure for some people. This really needs to stop. We also need a speedy investigation and answers to the conflicting reports about what happened to Jamar Clark. But until then, let's stick to the facts and stop with the lies.

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