Shit that Pissed me Off – 9/14/18

Dallas Police Officer Enters the Wrong Apartment and Kills the Black Man Who Lived There

More problematic than the fact she apparently approached the wrong apartment and shot the guy who lived there is the amount of victim blaming that has happened since.

I mean, police officer or not, she is the one who screwed up. Right?

It wasn’t her apartment. The door was ajar so she just walked in unaware she’d entered the wrong apartment. She saw a person and shot him.

Turns out she shot someone in their own home for doing nothing wrong.

I can honestly understand how a woman in this country would freak out if they walked into an apartment they thought was theirs and there was a strange guy in it. I mean, that would scare the shit out of me and I’m not a woman in America.

But.

He wasn’t doing anything wrong. She apparently gave him verbal commands and he didn’t obey them (probably because he was confused since he was in his own house).

So I’ve seen people blame the victim (Botham Jean is his name) for leaving the door ajar. That one started with “I don’t want to victim blame but…”

Then there is the whole “he should have done what she asked” narrative that ignores the fact it was his house. He was probably about as freaked out as she was.

Oh, and now there is a report that he had marijuana in his house! Holy shit! No wonder she accidentally walked into his house and shot him!

This definitely would put an off duty police officer in immediate danger.

The officer is currently charged with manslaughter and I expect the Blue Lives Matter apologists will continue to blame Botham Jean for having the audacity to be a black man in his own home (with WEEEEEED). Even if she is eventually convicted.

Was the officer drunk? We don’t know because the arresting officers didn’t check. Did she issue verbal commands? Witnesses suggest that her story is not 100% accurate. Did she actually wait for him to comply before shooting him? I doubt anyone had a stopwatch.

So another black man is dead. And this time, all he did wrong was go home after work.

As Hurricane Florence was Headed Towards the East Coast, our President Decided to Politicize the Death Toll in Puerto Rico

Donald Trump makes himself so easy to hate, I honestly can’t figure out why so many people like him.

It’s like 30% of the country suddenly decided to like their grandfather who is an asshole at every family gathering. This fucker ruins Thanksgiving every year and we’ve decided we love him for it.

A study recently concluded that somewhere around 3000 deaths in Puerto Rico can be attributed to Hurricane Maria. These include deaths caused directly by the storm but also deaths caused indirectly because of lack of power, fresh water, and so on.

Given the strength of the storm and the amount of time it took to restore services on the island, this is not really a crazy number. But Trump is pissed because he thinks it makes him look bad.

He has taken to Twitter (his preferred means of distributing bullshit) and claimed that the number is a lie put forward by Democrats to damage his image.

Look, Donald, the only thing required to damage your image is for you to keep talking.

At least I wish that were the case. Because the fact is his acolytes just keep believing his unproven claims because he’s trained them to believe the media will always report lies and he will always report the truth. Since he’s completely demonized the “other,” there is no way anyone can actually convince his followers that he’s a psychopath.

They just keep saying “ha ha – isn’t it funny that Grandpa keeps groping little Janine? Pass the mashed potatoes.”

Charges Dropped Against a Black Man Accused of Shooting at a Cop Because There is no Evidence he Had a Gun

Raheem Howard was arrested for shooting at a police officer based entirely on the claims of the officer. There was no video footage because the officer didn’t turn on his body cam.

After several months, those charges have been dropped because there is no evidence anyone ever shot at the police officer in question. No gun. No cartridge. Literally nothing.

Morris is still charged with other “unrelated” crimes (maybe he had marijuana) but at least he is no longer accused of shooting at a cop without a gun.

What a relief!

The problem here is that the police officer almost certainly lied about the fact Morris shot at him. Since there was no video footage, he could be relatively certain the lie would work as there would be nothing to prove otherwise.

I can’t begin to understand the motivation the officer might have to lie. I can only guess that he will face absolutely no disciplinary action for framing a suspect. He’ll probably just say he was sure he heard a shot and assumed it came from the suspect and everyone will shrug and say “yeah – sounds plausible.”

It also sounds plausible that he made shit up. But police officers get the benefit of every doubt. And black men don’t.

At least Raheem Howard is still alive. That’s something, right?

Archbishop Claims He Didn’t Know Sex with Minors Was a Crime

The article in question doesn’t have a date so I don’t honestly know how recent it is (found it – it is from 2014). I know the statements made by Archbishop Robert Carlson were during court hearings back in the 1980’s.

Even though this isn’t current, It popped up in my feed and should serve as a reminder that the Catholic Church has spent decades covering up the sexual abuse of children. Carlson claimed that he “wasn’t sure whether [sex with minors] was a crime or not.”

I mean, of course he was. He knew full well it wasn’t OK but for some reason, the church was focused on protecting priests rather than children. He also knew if he said he was aware it was illegal, he could be in more trouble than if he gave a bullshit response about not being sure.

Pope Francis seems genuinely concerned about fixing the problem. At least I hope he is.

But the church has a long way to go. Thoughts and prayers aren’t going to fix anything.