Posts by Razziel

Spoletta, I'm just going to mention (because I see the confusion all the time), that automatic weapons have been unlawful for US citizens to own without special permission since 1934. They are regulated to the extent they have virtually never been used in a crime or homicide since the Prohibition era. It's extremely difficult for even a criminal to get one. Only a handful have been confiscated in the last 50 years because they just aren't out there on the streets (unlike what you see in movies and television).

You're thinking of civilian sporting rifles, which look like military assault rifles (and share their high-capacity), but only shoot one bullet at a time. Unfortunately, many journalists don't know anything about guns at all, so it's common for them to falsely use the term "automatic weapon" on TV or in print.

401

So, the Womens March ... What Is It For?

by Simon in

it seems like mobilizing after the election, which seems pointless.

i keep hearing demands for equal rights but don't understand what rights they are missing exactly.. normally a march is to show the support (and potential votes) for a cause, but ... votes for what?

... and the election happened already.. is anyone else confused?

Razziel

For the last 8 years, every time I visited one half of the family I constantly had to reassure them that Obama wasn't coming to confiscate their guns.

Looks like for the next 8 years, every time I visit the other half of the family I'll constantly have to reassure them that Trump isn't coming to confiscate their vaginas.

21

Would it be ethical for another nation to supply weapons to anti-Trump protesters?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the usa, claiming that the usa supports freedom, has often supported revolutionaries/dissenters in other countries.. some examples:.

currently, the syrian war commenced circa 2011 in the so-called arab spring.

it is claimed that the usa supplied weapons to anti-government forces.

Razziel

A few thousand protesters in a land of 300 million people isn't even a blip on the radar and isn't even historically significant in the numbers so far.

Read this archived news report from 1985 during Reagan's second inauguration. Replace the words Reagan with Trump, and you could almost believe it's a current article.

http://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/01/16/Organizers-of-a-demonstration-against-President-Reagans-policies-scheduled/2326474699600/

"Our demonstration will offer a dramatic challenge to the right-wing, racist and sexist policies of the Reagan administration,'

Sound familiar?

Took me 2 seconds to find that one, I'm sure there's many more.

133

Election Post-Mortem

by Simon in

i'm sure many people, republicans included, are shocked at the results of the 2016 presidential election.

really, wtf!.

the polls were wrong and although it's tempting to blame voter suppression and fbi interference, that would just avoid looking at the real issues for the loss.

Razziel

If you start thinking of Trump through the same lense as you think of Joe Biden, you might start to understand why his gaffes and foibles didn't stop his appeal to the electorate. These are guys who don't articulate well. You have to look at the overarching message and stop focusing on every word as literal.

2

John Oliver reminded me of another great comedian...Bill Hicks

by umbertoecho in

i have just finished watching this john oliver and thought he was great.

i found a utube of him.. then i remembered bill hicks and his take on religion and advertising.....he was sort of hard core in terms of never holding back in his incredible and disturbing humour, but i really loved him.. anyone ever heard of him?

of course some of you must have....

Razziel

The documentary of his life's story is worth a watch if you haven't seen it. It used to be on Netflix.

29

Do video games cause bad behaviour in children?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my boy is 10 and has got very interested in pocamon cards.

( a game way to complicated for me to understand) but i've also noticed it's linked to a computer game, which seems harmless enough but i also noticed advertisements for more violent games appear.. i would value people's opinion on whether, you think video games cause bad behaviour in kids.

i should mention my kid says i limit his time on these games, much more than other children's parents, and i was thinking of reevaluating that rule.. thanks.. the rebel..

Razziel

I should also mention that some M rated games have controls to remove or reduce the blood/gore or profanity to make them more kid friendly. Again, you'd have to research online to see which ones.

29

Do video games cause bad behaviour in children?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

my boy is 10 and has got very interested in pocamon cards.

( a game way to complicated for me to understand) but i've also noticed it's linked to a computer game, which seems harmless enough but i also noticed advertisements for more violent games appear.. i would value people's opinion on whether, you think video games cause bad behaviour in kids.

i should mention my kid says i limit his time on these games, much more than other children's parents, and i was thinking of reevaluating that rule.. thanks.. the rebel..

Razziel

Keep it age appropriate and you should be fine. Mind the ratings as Witness My Fury says above.

Nudity hasn't found much traction in rated M games but everything else you would find in a rated R movie is there in many of them. I would keep it pretty strict at least until the child is old enough to understand they can't go around repeating everything they hear.

Researching a few minutes of online game reviews will usually tell you about what to expect in any particular game your kid is interested in.

579

Won't get fooled again ...Moon Landing.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

so i was fooled by the witnesses.

what can i learn from that?

not to accept things at face value but to seek out opinion and different view points.. hence my question " do you believe man landed on the moon?.

Razziel

Fixed:

The aliens said "don't come back @$$holes". So I punched 'em in the face. -Neil Armstrong

305

McKinney Texas pool party?

by Marvin Shilmer in

so today i was asked my thoughts on the pool party incident in mcminney, texas.

my response: it shows a clash of expectations.

i saw police officers who expected citizens to listen to and follow instructions.

Razziel

Another Facebook post from one of the neighbors:

As most of you probably know my city, McKinney, has made national headlines & is a top trending topic. Forgive this long post, but I feel most of my friends would like to know some actual facts involving this. For those of you still blindly trusting the media, let me tell you I have seen it with my own eyes how inaccurate & one sided it all is. I have truly lost all respect for the media & these so called "journalists" who sensationalized a story with a very one sided, inaccurate report. We moved to Craig Ranch in McKinney almost 5 years ago to get out of Dallas & put our kids in a great public school system. If you will recall McKinney was also recently named #1 best place to live in America. It really IS a great city & part of what makes it so great is our top notch first responders. I have several friends who are on the force, we have crime just like every other city, but what we don't have is a bunch of racist cops "assaulting innocent teenagers", "crashing a pool party" or using "police brutality" as this recent event is being portrayed.

Let me share with you some facts which have conveniently been left out of the narrative going viral.

1. First & foremost, Craig Ranch in NOT an all white neighborhood. It is the most diverse place I have ever lived. The situation & issue was not racial at all. Many black families live in CR along with Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics, Indians & more. The claim that it is some elitist neighborhood with "white privilege" is beyond ridiculous.

2. This was not a little pool party at a residential home & neighbors didn't call the police because they saw too many black faces. That is absurd & absolutely laughable given the demographics of this neighborhood. The pool is a private community pool for residents only. They pay a large HOA fee each year for the benefit of having a private pool. Residents have to use an ID card for access & are allowed up to two guests/ID card. Security is in place to ensure that rules are followed & the area is safe - again, another expense paid for by homeowners.

3. In some news reports I have seen it reported in a way that implies this was a resident having a private pool party at their home. Now while some of the people there were in fact residents, the vast majority were not & they were trespassing in a private community pool. Why were they there? Because the party was being promoted by people on Twitter, including a DJ who sat up in a public place next to the community pool & begin playing very loud explicit music while parents were there trying to enjoy the day with their kids. Tickets were being sold. No one had the right to do that & no one had authorization from the HOA for a party.

4. HOA rules for the pool also include that children must be at least 16 years of age to be there unsupervised. Teenagers were being dropped off by the carload. When the security guard at the pool asked to see ID & refused to let them in, these kids displayed an absolute blatant disregard for rules/authority & began jumping over the fence. Once inside their behavior was wild, loud, obnoxious, rude, with no regard for the families & small children there. Small children were knocked down in some of the ruckus. Cursing, sex, drug use & more. It was not good & certainly not what these families want to see when they are at the private pool they pay for with large HOA dues each year. And let's not forget these teens were trespassing. In addition to the above, there was a verbal altercation between one of the party goers & a mom who lives in the neighborhood. By all accounts things were being said on both sides that should not have been, BUT when the mother attempted leave with her children an actual physical fight broke out & the mom was assaulted while her children ran to the car terrified & crying. THAT is when the police were called. The same girl & others threw items including water bottles at the mom's vehicle as she was driving away.

5. This is not the first time these types of parties have taken place in local cities - the people posting about them on Twitter actually brag about taking over the neighborhood's pools. Craig Ranch is great neighborhood who takes care of their own & pulls together whether someone is sick, needs help jump starting their car, loses their home in a fire or just help fixing something around the house. Fund raisers have been held for a critically injured child & anti-bullying rally after a neighborhood teen tragically took his own life. These are for the most part GOOD people. When the Craig Ranch homeowners & security guards see destruction of property, an unsafe environment, rules & laws being broken by what some are estimating as at least 100 non-resident teens who are trespassing & being violent, yes they called the police. Wouldn't you? Let me be clear, the police were not called because there were black kids just hanging out at an innocent little pool party. Black kids are always there, as I said it's a very diverse neighborhood & seeing a black face in not unusual in the least. I can also guarantee that the police would have been called if it had been a crowd of all white teenagers behaving the same way. The difference would be the lack of race card being played.

6. The small portion of video that is circulating on the media outlets is a clip from a 7:20 minute video which also does not clearly portray the entire situation. There was mass chaos & a large crowd all around. When the responding officers got there they were massively unnumbered by a crowd of kids who were violent, refused to comply, began running & displayed a complete lack of respect for authority. What most people, who have been spoon fed garbage by the media, think is that a police officer used excessive force, drew his weapon unnecessarily & was a racist. Let's address racism first, it is a fact that most of the party goers were black. The people who were Tweeting the invites were black, a lot of their followers & people coming to the pool were black. So based upon the law of averages, yes black children are going to be detained. That's not racist, its just a fact, there were more black kids there. These officers were walking blindly into a hostile environment & their job was to protect people & restore order. Its very difficult to establish order when you have dozens of kids running around wildly, shouting, fighting & refusing to obey simple commands. When an officer asks you to leave, you leave. When he tells you to sit down, you sit. Once order has been established they will listen to you & sort things out. It's true, that is what they are trained to do. Just because they ask you to sit does not mean you are being arrested, but order had to be restored first. The police department had to call for additional units & back up assistance from the fire department because it was mass chaos & took at least 30 minutes to get things under control. This video & the brief clip being shown cannot possibly accurately capture the events that unfolded. The girl in the video was running her mouth & refused to leave the scene when directed to do so, several times. She was given every opportunity to comply, she didn't & when she continued ranting the officer went to detain her. At that point she is breaking the law by resisting & the officer did what he had to do. Of course he took her down, she should have left when she had the chance & stopped running her mouth. She wanted to act tough & grown. Guess what? Act grown, get treated grown, she didn't like that much & called for her Momma. If Momma had taught her to respect authority, she would have never been in this situation. With regard to the amount of force, more force was needed because she was fighting him. He followed protocol by putting her down & restraining her with his knee until she calmed down & stopped fighting. Again, none of this would have happened if she had just left.

7. The issue of drawing his gun is being raised. He didn't just openly draw his gun & swing it around threatening "innocent" teens. While attempting to subdue the girl he was rushed by other teens including one who looks to be reaching behind him. The teen probably wasn't but remember this was all happening in real time with a very chaotic environment & the officer had a split second to make a decision. Those kids charging him could have overpowered him, mob mentality could have taken over, someone could have been hurt including those boys, the officer or innocent bystanders who were attempting to help. If I was being charged by two teenage boys in a large unruly crowd, you can bet your sweet a$$ I would have drawn my weapon too. There are two things to remember, 1. his finger was not even on the trigger he handled the gun safely & properly and 2. he reholstered it as soon as possible once the threat of immediate danger was gone. Please remember that these officers were trying to do their jobs without interference. I fully support the MPD & the actions taken on scene. Not for one minute do I think he used excessive force, nor was there police brutality. He did what he had to do in the moment to re-establish order & create a safe environment for everyone. They are there to protect & serve, their lives are put on the line every single day with situations most of us can only imagine.

8. Once things calmed down & got sorted out most of the teens were released to their parents and NOT arrested. Good, right? No, unfortunately most of the parents who showed up were more concerned about how their precious babies were treated vs. what they did wrong that actually led to all of this nonsense. Police are immediately blamed, accused of brutality, the neighborhood & police are accused of being racist. Threats of complaints to the department & making the story "go viral" were made. Guess what? They got their wish, local media decided to show a slanted one sided view & fan the flames on this one - rushing to the news desk without doing their due diligence regarding the actual facts.

9. But the fun doesn't stop there, no, there is more! These kids decided to host another party in the neighborhood the next night at private residence. Again, said party was publicized on social media. Party goers roamed the neighborhood, vandalized it, were beating on people's doors at all hours of the night, stole a vehicle, crashed into parked cars & other petty nonsense. Threats have been made on social media against one of the residents & his family. This man was there & stepped in to assist both the police who were establishing order & the kid who got hurt while running from police. People have also publicized the police officer's name & address with threats against his life. This is not ok!!! Yes, ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ but so do everyone else's including the police officers on scene. The residents of Craig Ranch, regardless of race, should all be able to safely & peacefully enjoy their neighborhood without fear of violence or retaliation. At this point while most everyone in the Craig Ranch Family stands united in a non-racist attitude with support & gratefulness towards the MPD, many of them are afraid to go on camera or even on record to give a statement regarding the actual events. The journalists are taking their intel from minors who were committing crimes.

10. The media frenzy surrounding all of this is ridiculous. At the end of the day an officer who was doing his job has been labeled a racist, received death threats & placed on administrative leave. That is procedure in a case like this & doesn't mean he will be found guilty of any wrong doing, but the court of public opinion has already tried & convicted him without all the facts. Now a man's career could be on the line, his reputation has been tarnished by irresponsible reporting. The media keeps race baiting & fanning the flames of racism. I urge you all to do some research on this & other news stories before blindly accepting the crap the media feeds us for ratings. Information is out there, I will also be adding links & screenshots in the comments below.

Are there cases of excessive force used by officers? Yes, of course there are, it's wrong & should not happen but this was not one of those cases. Does racism exist? Yes, we should not be naive enough to believe it doesn't. Sadly racism is all too real, but it goes both ways - being black (or any other color for that matter) does not entitle you to automatic exemption from obeying the law & following a police officer's commands. Nor does being caucasian mean we all have "white privilege" & hate black people - that stereotype is wrong & just another form of discrimination. It's offensive just like all forms of racism.

Sorry for the super long "book length" post. If you took the time to read it, thank you. There is so much misinformation out there, bits & pieces here & there and a complete lack of integrity by the media/journalists to give the full story. Their soundbites are causing passionate reactions & people are hopping on the racism train without the benefit of having all the facts. The media is playing a shameless role in dividing this nation's people & they need to be held accountable for this. Do not blindly trust everything reported - they are there for ratings not the benefit of the public & certainly not for those they choose to villainize. Do you think they care for one minute that a police officer's career could be over because of their irresponsible reporting? No, he is just collateral damage. And truth be told, they don't care whether those teens were in the right or wrong, it was a story & in a couple of days the news cycle will change and someone else will be thrown into the fire... If you found this post helpful at all, feel free to like or share. Even if it didn't change your opinion, that's ok, everyone is entitled to their own, but before anyone jumps to conclusions more people need to realize how slanted & one sided this "viral" story is.

Bottom line: I know & love McKinney, Texas - Unique by Nature, I know the McKinney Police Department & McKinney Police Association and I fully support the MPD & the officer's actions, and I know Craig Ranch which is full of many wonderful & caring people and friends. The Craig Ranch Family is not a racist one, it is one that will pull together & get thru this and then continue to enjoy living in the #1 best place in America.