For the benefit of those who are not fluent in Press Release, here is Mayor Michael Bloomberg's statement in response to the Sean Bell verdict, translated from Lying Weasel into Everyday English:
There are no winners in a trial like this.
The cops won.
An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son.
And they also lost the trial.
No verdict could ever end the grief that those who knew and loved Sean Bell suffer.
They were always going to be found innocent.
Judge Cooperman’s responsibility, however, was to decide the case based on the evidence presented in the courtroom.
They were always going to be found innocent because they're cops.
America is a nation of laws, and though not everyone will agree with the verdicts and opinions issued by the courts, we accept their authority.
And cops will never ever get charged with anything for shooting a black person.
Today’s decision is no different.
Today’s decision is no different.
There will be opportunities for peaceful dissent and potentially for further legal recourse – those are the rights we enjoy in a democratic nation.
Please, black people – don’t hurt us.
We don’t expect violence or law-breaking, nor is there any place for it.
We are so ready to kick your ass back to Harlem if you try anything.
We have come too far as society — and as a city — to be dragged back to those days.
So go ahead. Try it. And we’ll make fifty bullets look like a fucking drop in the bucket.
When I spoke with Nicole Paultre Bell on the steps of City Hall this week, I told her that while we can’t bring back the man that she was in love with, we can and will build and make things better.
I’ve been talking a lot of horseshit lately.
She replied, “Yes, and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” and I agreed, “Yes, that’s exactly what we have to do.”
And we'll have this same conversation the next time this happens.
All of us have a responsibility to improve our neighborhoods and our city, and we can only do that by working together, respecting one another other and doing everything possible to prevent future tragedies and injustices.
A fucking drop in the bucket.
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1 comment:
an oldie but a goodie
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