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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2015)
Opinion Media Also Abused Black Youth “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ernie F oster Founder/Publisher B oBBie D ore F oster Executive Editor J erry F oster Advertising Manager C hristen M C C urDy News Editor P atriCia i rvin Graphic Designer a rashi y oung D onovan M. s Mith Reporters M oniCa J. F oster Seattle Office Coordinator J ulie K eeFe s usan F rieD Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 E-mail: info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicit- ed. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE- SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To view The Skanner website on your mobile device, scan this QR code • Local news • Opinions • Jobs, Bids • Sports • Entertainment • Music reviews • Bulletin board • RSS feeds F ox News blowhards will never admit that in cov- ering the racially-charged swimming pool incident in McK- inney, Texas, they blew it. But that’s exactly what they did. And rather than acknowledge that they went overboard in defending the misconduct of the police officer involved – conduct that the chief police later described as “out of control” – some of the network’s personalities are attacking those who pointed out that they messed up. Fortunately, there was videotape of the unfortunate June 5 inci- dent at a swimming pool in Craig Ranch, a predominantly white subdivision in McKinney, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas. The video, which has received more than 11 million views on YouTube, shows a police offi- cer identified as Cpl. Eric Case- bolt attempting to throw Dajerria Becton, a slim, 15-year-old, biki- ni-clad African American, to the sidewalk. “He told me to walk away and I did,” Becton told KDFW-TV. “Next thing I know I’m on the ground.” The video, shot by a white teen- ager, shows Casebolt throwing Becton to the ground as she starts to walk away, yelling to her, “On your face.” He is seen grabbing her by the hair and placing his knee in her back while she was pinned to the ground under the weight of his body. At one point, Casebolt drew his revolver and pointed it at two Black males until two of his fel- low officers intervened and re- strained him. More than a half -dozen Fox George E. Curry NNPA Columnist commentators defended Case- bolt, despite the video. One guest, Bo Dietl, was allowed to speculate about what one of the teens might have told the officer. Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asked, “What in the world” are po- lice supposed to do when people “refuse to obey” their orders? Fox News Host Megyn Kelly wrong in the eyes of all-too many people on the right. Media Mat- ters compiled a disheartening list of Fox News personalities raising baseless hypotheticals that could (maybe) justify Casebolt’s rash actions.” Meanwhile, Casebolt’s behav- ior was so abhorrent that he has resigned and apologized for his actions. Police Chief Greg Conley said, “Our policies, our training, our practice doesn’t support his ac- tions. He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows was out of control during the in- cident.” Fox News wasn’t the only of- fender. ‘Some conservatives, unfortunately, are falling over themselves to defend the police’ said, “The girl was no saint either. He had told her to leave, and she continued to linger. And when the cop tells you to leave, you get out.” Kelly added, “I’m not de- fending his actions, let me make that clear.” After mediamatters.org, the watchdog group, reported her re- marks, Kelly took to the air to charge that “some of the left-wing press continue to use this incident to dishonestly push their own agenda.” However, she neglected to note that even some conserva- tives had criticized her. For example, Reason.com stat- ed, “Some conservatives, unfortu- nately, are falling over themselves to defend the police – the one kind of public employee who can do no A Daily Kos headline summed it up best: “Associated Press pub- lishes hit job on Tamir Rice.” It noted, “You are all familiar with this story. A young boy is playing in the park, a police car pulls up and in less than two sec- onds, 12-year old Tamir Rice is on the ground, bleeding from what would prove to be a fatal gunshot wound. For more than six months the investigation(s) into this vid- eotaped killing has languished. Now, coincidentally, two days af- ter a judge found probable cause that the police officer who shot Rice should face murder charges, and the Associated Press was pre- sented with the opportunity to run a hit job on … Tamir Rice. And, boy, oh boy, did they run with it.” Below are some excerpts from the AP story, written by Mark Gil- lispie, with Daily Kos commen- tary in italics. AP headline: “Boy with pellet gun warned by friend before po- lice shooting” Comment: That’s right! Tamir was warned! No word if Tamir was warned that he would be shot without warning for the crime of being in a public park, because the only quotes in this article come from the prosecutor, an unnamed FBI agent and the shooter’s law- yer. AP: Investigators were told that Tamir used the airsoft gun, which shoots non-lethal plastic projec- tiles, to shoot at car tires that day. Comment: Not only non-le- thal, but non-able-to-shoot-out- a-freaking-tire. Not to mention, that’s not why the police confront- ed Tamir. AP: The video appears to show Tamir reaching for the pellet gun, which is tucked in his waistband, after he was shot. Comment: It does? The only thing I see is Tamir reaching for his his stomach when he’s shot. The reason I became a journalist was because I subscribe to a quote that has been attributed, with some variation, to both journalist Finley Peter Dunne and social activist “Mother” Mary Jones: “The job of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfort- able.” In this instance, Fox News and the Associated Press got it back- wards. Hillary Evokes ‘Collective Anesthesia’ I n March of 2007, I wrote a column under the headline: “Obama Drama.” It began, “Will the euphoria sweeping through our ranks over the possi- bility of a Black President eventu- ally dominate our collective psy- che? Will it overwhelm us with notions of ‘equality’ and ‘victory,’ and ostensibly cause us to subor- dinate our primary interests and abandon the pressing issues that negatively impact Black life in America?” Just when I thought we had learned our political lesson, along comes another one. Our collective anesthesia began in the first week of June, when Hillary Clinton made voter sup- pression her major theme. She went to Texas and called out Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush, all of whom she said supported voter suppres- sion laws in their respective states. Not only did she go into that lion’s den called the state of Tex- as, she gave her speech at Texas Southern University, a Black col- lege. “So what, you say? Take your anesthesia mask off for a mo- ment and think about this. In 2007, Black people started inhaling the nitrous oxide and fell into what has now become nearly a 7-year state of political euphoria. Some of us are still laughing from the gas we inhaled. Page 2 June 17, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner James Clingman NNPA Columnist Now, with Hillary’s foray into the sacred bastion of voting, say- ing she will fight against voter suppression, while surrounded by smiling Black folks on a Black college campus, the fix is in once again. We are being numbed out and of Hillary, or any of the other pres- idential candidates. They will not make demands around criminal justice; they will not demand some form of repa- ration for Black people; they will not demand a student loan bailout; and they will not demand a Mar- shall Pan for America’s urban ar- eas where Blacks reside. Hillary is already playing the voting card with Black folks be- cause she knows that’s what wins us over. I am sure she will be in Selma next year, lending her shoulder to John Lewis as he weeps, saying, “Don’t worry Black folks; I will ‘She’s for voting rights,’ many will say, and that will simply be enough for them dumbed down, and many of us will traipse to the polls and vote for Hillary in 2016 simply because of this one issue. “She’s for voting rights,” many will say, and that will simply be enough for them. Yes, voting is very important, but that one issue must not be used as the panacea for Black political empowerment. There will be no other issue on the minds of many Black voters since they will have been pro- grammed while under anesthesia. They will demand nothing more protect your right to vote, for real this time.” She will attend the NAACP national convention in a staunch show of support for that organiza- tion’s fight against voter suppres- sion, even though the NAACP has shown no penchant for outlawing voter suppression in its own ranks. That’s right; there are several open cases of the NAACP allowing and maybe even supporting voter sup- pression in local branches across the nation, led and promulgated by Gill Ford. Not to worry though. There is a group of conscious (as opposed to being politically anesthetized and unconscious) Black people who will not submit to the nitrous oxide. It is called the One Mil- lion Conscious Black Voters and Contributors (OMCBV&C). We will not be lulled to sleep nor put to sleep by the political shenani- gans of any candidate. We will not be beholden to a particular party, and we will cast our votes for the candidate who publicly supports our platform. Likewise, we will withhold our votes and our dollars from any candidate who does not. Once and for all, Black people must stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated by politicians; we must stop letting them off so easily; and we must stop giving them our so-called “precious” votes with no reciprocity other than a good feeling. This goes for any candidate running in 2016. Let them all know that we are not little children who simply need a warm hug or a pat on the head to make it all better. That’s what we got in 2008, and Hillary, sure to be followed by others in the race, is getting her simple obligation to Black voters out of the way early. Join the OMCBV&C, if you are conscious, and let’s put an end to this political nonsense. Go tow- ww.iamoneofthemillion.com and register.
