Laquan McDonald and the ‘System’

by Charles Blow

Nov. 30, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/30/opinion/laquan-mcdonald-and-the-system.html?comments#permid=16803460

"While police departments definitely have distinct cultures, in a way they are simple instruments that articulate and enforce our laws and mores, which are reflections of our values.

The only reason that these killings keep happening is because most of American society tacitly approves or willfully tolerates it. There is no other explanation. If America wanted this to end, it would end."

Mr. Blow, you are focusing your ire on the wrong group, the police!
That is the same as blaming the soldiers that go to war at the behest of ignorant politicians for all the killing that goes on in war.

Yes, there is prejudice and injustice in society, but the root cause does not lie with police, it lies with society in general and with the politicians who we elect to manage our society. Blaming the police for these broader ills in our society is completely counter productive - the veneer of civilization in all societies, even in the so-called "advanced" societies - is very thin. The police are the main guarantors of order, and that includes order within black communities.

The people who have taken over the "Black Lives Matter" movement want to exclude any discussion of black-on-black violence and murder from the discussion through the mechanism of political correctness. But if you really care about black lives, you would focus at least some of your outrage on the killings which are taking black lives daily through mindless violence.

Terror in Paris

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDNOV. 14, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/opinion/terror-in-paris.html?comments&_r=0#permid=16667214:16667688

What exactly do the wise persons of the NYT Editorial Board mean when they piosly decalre "This attack will harden the resolve of the French against the savagery of the Islamic State, as it must the world’s"?

From the first three commentors it is obvious that even among the NYT readers the predicable knee-jerk Linsey Graham-esc response of "boots on the ground" will be the dominant reaction. 

Supposedly reputable publications like the NYT need to stop with the hyerventilating, irresponsible and polemicizing characterizations like "incomprehensible barberism", which only serve to prevent rational search for solutions.

Virtually every week we have "incomprehensible acts of barbarism" in the US, mass shootings in schools, in the work place, and senseless drive by shootings. The US has committed "incomprehensible acts of barbarism" in Iraq and Afghanistan" which are coldly characterized as "collateral damage".

We, the US, are the primary cause of the instability in the Middle East, which has spawned the terror. We have proven that military action, "boots on the ground" cannot pacify, stabilize, or democratize countries and societies which do not have the internal will or capacity to do so. So let's not make the same mistake we made in Afghanistan, where we thought that "killing Osama bin Laden" would be the miracle cure.

Marcos59

 mht NH 23 hours ago

Brave words, Klaus! They suggest that you don't believe that what happened in Paris (or New York or Madrid or London) is barbarism. And you don't want us to "make the same mistake we made in Afghanistan." But you fail to suggest any course of action other than hand wringing about America's responsibility in spawning this Islamic terror (isn't Islamic terror by definition barbaric because it specifically targets innocents?). My question to you is: what now?

@Marcos59
No, obviously, what Islamic fanatics are doing all over the world is barbaric. But you don't respond to barbaric acts of others with barbaric acts of our own - one would hope that that kind of thing was left in the Dark Ages - where, unfortunately, much of the Islamic Middle East still resides.

"What now?", you ask. Well, first, if you have nothing sensible, with any chance of success - "boots on the ground" have been proven not to work - then lets take a breath and THINK a little while before DOING something stupid.
We know, for example, that the roots of fanatic Islam are found in our "ally" Saudia Arabia, and to a lesser extent in Pakistan. Can we perhaps start by being honest with ourselves and with others by putting pressure on our "allies" like Saudi Arabia to stop exporting, fostering and financing fanatic islamists?

There are lots of things short of we ourselves committing barbaric acts which can be done to re-stabilize the Middle East. But bombing the hell out of them is not one of them...

What exactly do the wise persons of the NYT Editorial Board mean when they piosly decalre "This attack will harden the resolve of the French against the savagery of the Islamic State, as it must the world’s"?

From the first three commentors it is obvious that even among the NYT readers the predicable knee-jerk Linsey Graham-esc response of "boots on the ground" will be the dominant reaction. 

Supposedly reputable publications like the NYT need to stop with the hyerventilating, irresponsible and polemicizing characterizations like "incomprehensible barberism", which only serve to prevent rational search for solutions.

Virtually every week we have "incomprehensible acts of barbarism" in the US, mass shootings in schools, in the work place, and senseless drive by shootings. The US has committed "incomprehensible acts of barbarism" in Iraq and Afghanistan" which are coldly characterized as "collateral damage".

We, the US, are the primary cause of the instability in the Middle East, which has spawned the terror. We have proven that military action, "boots on the ground" cannot pacify, stabilize, or democratize countries and societies which do not have the internal will or capacity to do so. So let's not make the same mistake we made in Afghanistan, where we thought that "killing Osama bin Laden" would be the miracle cure.

Further Speculations on White Mortality

by Russ Douthat

NOVEMBER 12, 2015 12:55 PM

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/speculations-on-white-mortality/?comments#permid=16650339

Having lived in Europe for many years (Switzerland, Germany and France) I can't escape the feeling that the root cause fir the spike in death among whites is the sense of hope- and helplessness that has settled on large parts of the former middle class in America, brought on by what we are told is the "new normal" - stagnant growth, actually declining income among the middle class - without, contrary to the European model, a solid and dependable social safety net for guaranteed heath care and guaranteed minimum income. It is difficult to explain to Americans the deep sense of security one feels, especially for families, by knowing that heath care is always available, no matter what.
The reason this seems to have less of an impact on non-whites is that African-American and Hispanic minorities were already accustomed to this pervasive malaise from generations of living with it.
Why are women seemingly more affected? Possibly because more woman, especially among lower income groups, have become the primary supporters, so they are feeling the brunt of this new economic reality in the US.