Awesome comic Keith!! It’s an absolute attrocity that Mehserle is only getting 2-4 years. I mean, Michael Vick got 2 years for a DOG dying on his property!! What are they trying to say?
Thanks, as always, for bringing a smile to my face when I thought there was nothing to smile about!! You are truly awesome!
I’m Canadian, and I cannot for the life of me understand why American blacks aren’t marching, or even burning and rioting over this. Jesus Christ, this effectively declares that black males are still what they were under the original Constitution — three-fifths of a person! The video made me physically sick, and I’m white; I can hardly imagine what black Americans feel, other than a sadly familiar sick rage.
I’m pretty sure that American blacks aren’t marching over this (although there were some protests) because it is, unfortunately, perfectly normal. The biggest difference here is that it was better recorded than most examples. And that difference is probably the main reason that Mehserle was convicted at all.
It is not even that blacks are less of a person in the courts, even in practice. The police can get away with ANY murder if they do it just a bit more discretely than Mehserle did. (Whether Mehserle killed Grant on purpose or by accident, it was a crime of passion; a planned murder would have been done with a better excuse and fewer witnesses to contradict it.) The main reason why Black people suffer this more often is that cops are more likely to want to kill them in the first place.
In the United States, it is always safest to treat the police, especially in violent situations, more like unpredicatable wild animals than like people who are responsible for their actions. Regardless of your skin colour, try to avoid them, stay calm, assume a defensive posture, etc. Not because they deserve it, but for your own immediate safety. Later you can stand up for your rights, try to get them off the streets, etc.
@ Jonathan Ho & straight setter
According to the Wikipedia article (whose sources I haven’t checked), 4 years is the maximum that Mehserle (or anybody) could get for involuntary manslaughter. However, he could get more (up to a maximum of 14 years) because he used a gun, which adds another charge.
You won’t get justice at a criminal court; that’s not what they’re for. Not that you always get justice at a civil court (and what you do get is usually only something denominated in dollars), but it’s the place to start.
There’s got to be some ambulance-chaser willing to take this case.
@toby: i live in oakland and i am well aware of the case against mehserle. my point was mainly that it is premature to get riled up about the sentence when it not only hasn’t been handed down, but the sentencing date has been postponed until further notice. j.ho’s attitude is the same one that has people driving from across the country to come into my neighborhood to smash up the banks and businesses. that kind of shit does not honor oscar grant in the slightest, it’s just a bunch of thugs looking for an excuse to damage property that isn’t theirs. if people want to smash banks up as a result of this case, let them do it in their own neighborhoods and stay the hell away from oakland.
Awesome comic Keith!! It’s an absolute attrocity that Mehserle is only getting 2-4 years. I mean, Michael Vick got 2 years for a DOG dying on his property!! What are they trying to say?
Thanks, as always, for bringing a smile to my face when I thought there was nothing to smile about!! You are truly awesome!
mehserle has not been sentenced yet, how do you know he’s only getting 2-4 years?
I’m Canadian, and I cannot for the life of me understand why American blacks aren’t marching, or even burning and rioting over this. Jesus Christ, this effectively declares that black males are still what they were under the original Constitution — three-fifths of a person! The video made me physically sick, and I’m white; I can hardly imagine what black Americans feel, other than a sadly familiar sick rage.
@ Hairhead
I’m pretty sure that American blacks aren’t marching over this (although there were some protests) because it is, unfortunately, perfectly normal. The biggest difference here is that it was better recorded than most examples. And that difference is probably the main reason that Mehserle was convicted at all.
It is not even that blacks are less of a person in the courts, even in practice. The police can get away with ANY murder if they do it just a bit more discretely than Mehserle did. (Whether Mehserle killed Grant on purpose or by accident, it was a crime of passion; a planned murder would have been done with a better excuse and fewer witnesses to contradict it.) The main reason why Black people suffer this more often is that cops are more likely to want to kill them in the first place.
In the United States, it is always safest to treat the police, especially in violent situations, more like unpredicatable wild animals than like people who are responsible for their actions. Regardless of your skin colour, try to avoid them, stay calm, assume a defensive posture, etc. Not because they deserve it, but for your own immediate safety. Later you can stand up for your rights, try to get them off the streets, etc.
@ Jonathan Ho & straight setter
According to the Wikipedia article (whose sources I haven’t checked), 4 years is the maximum that Mehserle (or anybody) could get for involuntary manslaughter. However, he could get more (up to a maximum of 14 years) because he used a gun, which adds another charge.
This is one of the many ways they do it in Chicago: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/06/john-ardelean-chicago-police-dui-crash-killed-two.html
Wrongful death suit!
You won’t get justice at a criminal court; that’s not what they’re for. Not that you always get justice at a civil court (and what you do get is usually only something denominated in dollars), but it’s the place to start.
There’s got to be some ambulance-chaser willing to take this case.
@toby: i live in oakland and i am well aware of the case against mehserle. my point was mainly that it is premature to get riled up about the sentence when it not only hasn’t been handed down, but the sentencing date has been postponed until further notice. j.ho’s attitude is the same one that has people driving from across the country to come into my neighborhood to smash up the banks and businesses. that kind of shit does not honor oscar grant in the slightest, it’s just a bunch of thugs looking for an excuse to damage property that isn’t theirs. if people want to smash banks up as a result of this case, let them do it in their own neighborhoods and stay the hell away from oakland.
Very Truthful and on point.