Mike Brown question sparks MetroLink beating caught on video

[pintobean]

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – A MetroLink beating captured on video is now lighting up social media in St. Louis. Viewers sent the video to FOX 2 on Twitter and Facebook pages looking for answers. Police say the beating happened on Monday evening at 9:54pm. The victim, a 43-year-old white male, tells investigators that a question about Mike Brown sparked the incident.

<snip>

St. Louis Police say a security guard saw the train pull up to the platform. He witnessed the victim being beaten by the suspects. The security guard also saw the suspects run from the MetroLink platform. The incident was also capture on a surveillance camera.

The victim took the train to to Central West End and waited for police to arrive. He told investigators that he was seated on the train when he was approached from behind. The man in the red hat and shirt asked for his cell phone. The victim refused.

The suspect in the red hat then asked the seated man what he thought of the Mike Brown situation. The victim tells police that he hadn’t put much thought into it. That is when the man in the red hat started beating him.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS IMAGES AND LANGUAGE THAT MAY OFFEND SOME VIEWERS.

#t=97

http://fox2now.com/2015/03/27/seated-man-beaten-in-metrolink-facebook-video/

[Bonx]

1. No one on the train appeared concerned or tried to help.

The guy filming seemed to find it mildly entertaining.

[msongs]

2. those people who did nothing to aid the victim are scum nt

[Sherman A1]

5. Agreed

It's pretty lousy to just sit there and let someone be beaten. I am in hopes they catch the guy that assaulted this man.

[Warpy]

3. Young punk beats up a middle aged man?

Young punk needs to be put into a cage until he's middle aged.

[Cali_Democrat]

65. This is the kind of mentality that causes America to have the highest incarceration rate in the world

America has 5% of the world's population, but we have 25% of the world's prisoners. No other country comes close and it makes us a worldwide laughingstock.

Why?

Because of people like you who want to lock people up for a loooong time.

[NaturalHigh]

66. People like this SHOULD be locked up for a long time.

As for why we have such a high incarceration rate, it's because we lock up so many drug users, not because we lock up losers like this. If we release non-violent drug offenders, we can lock up plenty of real criminals.

[Cali_Democrat]

67. Disagree

I think there should be more of a focus on rehabilitation/counseling.

This way we can make offenders more productive members of society in the future.

[NaturalHigh]

68. Somehow I don't think you would be so quick to turn them loose...

if you were the victim in this case.

[Cali_Democrat]

70. I have been the victim of assault

I don't believe locking up my assailant for a long time is beneficial to me or society. I think there should be more of a focus on counseling.

[XemaSab]

138. You can't give someone a conscience

who doesn't have one.

[Dreamer Tatum]

156. Counseling while behind bars, sure.

Luckily you don't get to decide how or whether society is mealy-mouthed about unprovoked assault.

[Cali_Democrat]

157. But I sure as hell can laugh at a society which has 5% of the world's population, but

has 25% of the world's prisoners.

Hell, the whole world is laughing at our society and our definition of American freedumz.

USA! USA! USA!

[Dreamer Tatum]

159. Some already drew for you a distinction between drug and violent offenders

which you ignored because you'd rather type USA than be thoughtful.

Violent offenders are prosecuted by the state, not the Cali_Democrat I Hate Myself and You Too Kumbaya Collective. This is because violent offenders very often attack again, and most people not named you would prefer not to be violently attacked. I am sorry that the respective races in the video make you uncomfortable, but that's just how it goes this time around.

Take the drug offenders out of the joint and there is more than enough room for scum like this to rot in there. You would be free to serenade them if you so desire.

[Man from Pickens]

90. Sorry wrong wrong wrong

There is one reason we have so many prisoners and that is drug prohibition.

A violent animal who assaults strangers with potentially lethal force is exactly the kind of criminal that you DO want locked up a long time.

But the people we actually lock up a long time are small-time drug dealers who run afoul of draconian mandatory minimum laws.

[Cali_Democrat]

91. USA! USA!

Land of prisoners.

[cwydro]

95. What if it was an old woman?

Someone did that to my mom and believe me, I'd want them in prison.

Truly, you think these assholes should not serve time for assault?

Really???

[Cali_Democrat]

97. Assault is assault

The sentence should be the same. It shouldn't matter if the victim was born a man or woman....or is black or white.

My point is that incarcerating people for a long time is actually counter productive.

Other means such as counseling should be pursued IMO.

America is a worldwide laughingstock because of the amount of prisoners we have.

We're a worldwide joke.

A punchline.

[cwydro]

98. Sooo...

these creeps should not face jail time?

[Cali_Democrat]

99. My opinion?

No.

I think counseling would be more effective in a case like this.

If anyone should face jail time, its cops who shoot and kill unarmed people.

[cwydro]

100. Wow. So if three white morons do the same thing

to a middle aged black man...

Counseling, right?

[Cali_Democrat]

101. Why are you so focused on race?

You seem obsessed.

This appears to be nothing more than an ordinary mugging attempt because they wanted his phone.

Like I said, it shouldn't matter if the victim was black or white. The sentence should be the same.

In my opinion, killing unarmed people is much more serious and that should lead to life in prison.

When you fail to prosecute killers, it makes everyone more unsafe.

Lesson learned, hopefully.

[cwydro]

102. You're being deliberately obtuse.

Of course you never answered my question.

If you cannot see the obvious difference in how this same assault would be discussed on DU with races reversed - well then, ok.

But I know you to be an intelligent poster and I just HATE the double standard here.

Yes, I completely agree about the cops, but one bad thing in NO way excuses another.

This man was innocent, yet you seem to infer that because of that moron Missouri prosecuted this guy somehow deserved it.

Nope.

[Cali_Democrat]

103. Your obsession with race is noted...and.... I never said the guy deserved it

Well what if the races were reversed?!!?



The prosecution and jailing of killers should be a higher priority.

When killers aren't prosecuted, we're all more unsafe.

Lesson learned?

Hope so.

[cwydro]

104. Race is an obsession on DU lately.

Not my obsession.

You know as well as
I that this thread would be very, very different if the races were reversed.

I give up. Good night.

[Cali_Democrat]

105. How is race an obsession on DU?

I don't see it.

In what way?

[cwydro]

109. Again you fail to respond directly.

So again, good night.

[Cali_Democrat]

112. In what way is race an obsession here?

I just don't see what you see.

[cwydro]

135. Fascinating how you answer every response to you

with a question.

Very clever of you.

[logosoco]

136. I agree with you.

But I would like to see something beyond counseling. I would like to see some sort of system where people who physically or financially harm someone else has to actually put some sweat into fixing it.
In any community, there are schools that need work, or elderly or handicapped people that could use some help with yard work. Instead of a prison sentence, the person has to do so many hours in community service.
Spending time helping others always makes me feel better and I am inclined to think it could change a person who would hit another person in public. Well, most people it would. Certainly it would do more than time sitting in a prison.
Cops who harm others should be subject to the same thing. Prison should be for murderers and rapist.

[allforone]

165. .

[romanic]

171. If these three guys had beat up someone you knew

I very much doubt you'd askthem to get counseling as punishment.

[XemaSab]

172. You do realize that it's racist

to hold black people to a different standard?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

132. The size and age of the victim does matter...

The law is going to be much harder on me if I beat up a toddler than if I beat up Brock Lesnar...

Also, I am a huge fan of counseling and diversion for non-violent criminals.

[cwydro]

137. ...

[ripcord]

148. The purpose of putting someone like this guy in prison

Is to protect people from his violence, I have no doubt unless he is caught and punished he will do it again.

BTW I would love to see you beat up Brock Lesnar.

[stevenleser]

158. Drugs convictions cause the high incarceration rate. People who are violent SHOULD be in jail.

They should get good counseling and not be in conditions that cause recidivism, and that includes being able to get jobs when they eventually get out, but if you are punching strangers on trains after an argument you started, you need to spend a good amount of time in jail.

[awoke_in_2003]

4. this is why

if I ever move back to Cleveland, I will not ride public transportation.

[aikoaiko]

11. Maybe the Cleveland metro is similar to the St Louis metro

It's ok not to be unpleasant.

[pintobean]

12. Cleveland and St. Louis are very similar.

They are often referred to as sister cities. But, what happened in the video could happen in any city, really.

[aikoaiko]

13. True, very true.

[awoke_in_2003]

23. yep...

and I am getting too old to have to defend myself from young punks.

[pintobean]

25. Same here.

We could be saving a bunch of money, and helping the environment, by using public transportation. We don't because of crime. I feel for the people who have to do it.

[awoke_in_2003]

41. I rode it every where...

when I lived in Cleveland. I only got hassled once- walking from a bus station at 1 am on a Saturday night by a drunk guy. He grabbed me by the collar and told me to get off his street. My right hand locked his wrist while my left hand made his elbow bend abruptly the wrong way. I couldn't see me doing it now. What gets me is NO ONE came to help. We are becoming a more violent and apathetic country every day.

[romanic]

115. I honestly think

public transportation should have a security officer on board. That's the only thing I can think of to stop crime on busses. Call it a police state, but it's only logical for the safety of passengers.

[cwydro]

6. Guess white privilege didn't

work in this case?

[pintobean]

7. It appears the person taking the video

is enjoying some kind of privilege.

[bettyellen]

17. Lol at you're thinking it is relevant!

[cwydro]

29. It's brought up in every single thread lately.

Just trying to join in.

[LanternWaste]

178. I think you're confusing "joining in" and "hijacking a thread for your own agenda..."

I think you're confusing "joining in" and "hijacking a thread for your own agenda..."

[pintobean]

181. The thread hasn't been hijacked.

[cwydro]

185. Thank you.

I didn't think I hijacked your thread lol.

Simply commented as many others have done.

[XemaSab]

139. Do you think they attacked him because he was white?

Yes or no?

[cwydro]

186. The victim was the only white person

on that carriage.

The perp asked him a question about a high profile racial incident.

I think it extremely likely that he was targeted because he was white.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

203. O course, he was targeted because he was white

Targeting of whites doesn't get discussed here. Move along.

[cwydro]

204. Indeed,

I'm afraid you're right.

[romanic]

116. Give it time

I'm sure there will be those that will spin it to where the white man was "oppressing" the other passengers with his presence on the bus. -_-

[mfcorey1]

8. There is no excuse for this and I hope they apprehend and arrest them.

[LittleBlue]

14. And people wonder why so many Americans carry guns

If I rode public transport, no way in hell would I be caught without some sort of weapon

[NutmegYankee]

16. A gun wouldn't have made that situation any better.

As it is, nobody died. What would have made it better was a crowd that actually acted to stop the attack instead of pointing and laughing.

[pintobean]

19. The thing is, you never know.

The three criminals could have been armed, and if other riders started interfering, there could have been a bloodbath.

[NutmegYankee]

24. I think Edmund Burke's quote is still valid.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Even a non-violent but clearly shaming action by the crowd could have stopped this.

[allforone]

34. No shaming is going to deter or stop those animals

By the way they acted they were not upstanding citizens .
This was not their first rodeo in assaulting a person or indulging in violent crime.

[marble falls]

124. What do you mean "those" animals?

[NaturalHigh]

131. The ones in the video?

[allforone]

133. I thought we all watched the same video of the violent unprovoked attack by these predators?

[pintobean]

141. The terms you use to describe the young black men

can seem rather troubling to some. I'm rather uncomfortable with them. They border on racist.

[allforone]

142. I would use that term of predators and animals on any group

of people who prey on innocent people.

Race , religion , gender has no bearing on it.
Post a video of white men , white women , black women , brown men , brown women attacking and assaulting an innocent person and I would call them animals and predators .

[pintobean]

143. Do as you wish.

I'm telling you it's a bad idea. We won't be adapting to you.

[allforone]

144. Is this against the policy on DU to call a violent person an animal who preys

and assaults innocent people ?

If the two were white and I called them animals would you think it borders on racist ?

[pintobean]

145. Do as you wish.

I'm not going to argue with you. You've apparently been here a few days, I thought I would give you some advice.

[ieoeja]

198. "They border on racist," hell! They are well in country for racism.

I *hate* how much racism is now tolerated at DU. There was a time this asshole would have been PPR'ed at the drop of a hat.

[pintobean]

205. MIRT whacked him.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=321976&sub=trans

I would have loved to be able to just call him an obvious troll and a racist. Some people can get away with that, but most of us can't.

[Renew Deal]

20. That's because you walk around thinking about who you can shoot.

Normal people don't think that way. I ride public transit almost every day and shooting someone has never been an option. Imagine the guy in the red shirt had a gun. We'd be talking about a different outcome here.

People that have experience with Subways know not to look at or talk to anyone.

[allforone]

35. Normal people don't act like a pack of wild predators on an older man

So who's not normal in this story?

[Renew Deal]

106. The guy in the red shirt

And the paranoid that arm themselves out of fear of everything outside their front door.

[awoke_in_2003]

42. Not talking or looking at anyone...

Last edited Sat Mar 28, 2015, 11:32 PM - Edit history (1)

does not always work. When it doesn't, should we just accept the beating?

on edit: typed "she" instead of "should"

[Renew Deal]

107. There are many tactics

Do you feel it would it have been a better outcome if the victim shot the guy in the red shirt?

[awoke_in_2003]

110. Like what?

What if you ignore the punk, and he starts getting mad about that. "Hey, you. I asked you a question".

[Renew Deal]

111. What if you agree with him?

There are many steps to de-escalate. A big one is to never get into a conversation. But if you have to, just agree with the guy. Also move away if possible. And no matter what, don't do what this person did: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/homeless-man-stabs-woman-face-pen-scolds-subway-smoking-article-1.110881

[DemocratSinceBirth]

134. I ride the L A METRO and I am constantly getting into conversations with strangers.

I do use discernment...

[VScott]

27. I'd like to see them try that with Bernie Geotz...

or a Paul Kersey

[img][/img]

[allforone]

37. .

[Renew Deal]

108. Bloodlust

[stone space]

176. How would a gun have helped?

More likely to have resulted in multiple dead bodies, it seems to me.

[LittleBlue]

177. Show them the gun, they run away

The assailant picked an easy mark. He was targeted because the perpetrators are cowards.

Flash a gun or knife and I bet they run.

I do find it interesting that DU is so anti-gun that it is common opinion around here that people should just take their beatings. TBH I wouldn't give a second thought to shooting or stabbing someone who is punching me without provocation. Why such concern for the criminals?

[bettyellen]

18. Punk acts up on public transport- what is your point posting this?

[pintobean]

22. Really? Wow

The Ferguson question appears to make it a hate crime.
You don't think that's worthy of discussion here?

[cwydro]

30. I couldn't hear it very well.

What did he ask the guy? Was it the punk who asked the middle aged guy something?

[pintobean]

32. It's in the text.

The suspect in the red hat then asked the seated man what he thought of the Mike Brown situation. The victim tells police that he hadn’t put much thought into it. That is when the man in the red hat started beating him.

[cwydro]

33. Good lord.

He should have said "it's none of your f-ing business what I think about anything."

At least that would have been worth a punch.

I sure hope the cops are looking for the scum.

[pintobean]

36. Good pics from a security camera are all over local media

[seveneyes]

38. There should be no escaping some serious prison time

There is no excuse for abusing that innocent person. A crime of hate.

[cwydro]

40. Hope there's a reward.

Someone will turn them in.

[AngryAmish]

80. that dude high

[romanic]

114. Smile for the cameras

you fucking losers!

[bettyellen]

76. its a planned assault, but not nearly as vicious as many that occurred that same

Day. Am I supposed to care about this one more because the victim is white? well- that's business as usual I guess.

[pintobean]

82. Well, you clicked on the thread

read the OP, watched the video, and posted 5 times in the thread so far. You must have thought it was worth your time. It's a discussion board and we're discussing. Cool beans.

[bettyellen]

83. Because the Title was poorly worded, and the OP appeared to be the baiting.....

I can't see any reason you posted it, and you can't give me one. Interesting.

[pintobean]

85. I did give you one.

You just don't want to accept it.

[bettyellen]

87. You did not say WHY you thought it was interesting....

Leaves us all to guess.

[pintobean]

89. "The Ferguson question appears to make it a hate crime."

[NaturalHigh]

130. "not nearly as vicious as many that occurred that same day"...

You know this for a fact? Name three.

Why do you keep bringing up race?

[Fumesucker]

28. What do you think of the reaction of the other passengers to the assault?

[bettyellen]

78. They suck- but a few punches on a Saturday night happens 20x a night in every major city....

And many of those are over absolutely nothing more than people not liking the look of each other.
Maybe I am jaded, but what makes this so very newsworthy- or of interest here?

[cwydro]

84. But if it had been three white punks

beating up a middle aged black man - it would be newsworthy/DU worthy, am I right?

I hate double standards. I also hate when DUers tell other DUers what they should or should not post.

It's obviously newsworthy because I've seen it in other outlets than here.

[pintobean]

86. Every outlet in St. Louis carried it.

The last time we had a black on white crime in the news here, some black teens beat a Bosnian man to death with hammers. That story went national too, even though it was determined not to be a hate crime.
The reason this is news is because it is not a common occurrence, and the Brown question.

Seems like she could have just used the hide thread button.

[cwydro]

96. Yup. nt

[bettyellen]

88. They'd probably have to kill him to make the news.

This OP is Fox news worthy, but in DU it's bullshit.

[cwydro]

93. Nonsense.

Why the double standard?

[NaturalHigh]

128. "in DU it's bullshit"

According to whom? If it violates the TOS, alert on it.

[snooper2]

175. You should post in Ask-the-Admins and get your approval rights back

Every OP must go through YOU!


You don't get to sleep though...24x7x365 yo!

[NaturalHigh]

55. Acts up? Have you truly no shame?

When my son blasts his speakers, that's "acting up." "Acting up" is usually defined as something like an unfortunate but minor bit of misbehavior, a slip or a boo-boo if you will. A beating on a train is not acting up.

[rollin74]

21. I hope the video assists in identifying

and capturing them

they need to be taken off the streets

[Smarmie Doofus]

26. Nice of the other riders to try to defuse the situation.

I'm also inspired by the help and comfort they offered the victim after the assailant left the train.

[allforone]

31. hate crime

[Cali_Democrat]

43. This is not a hate crime.

However, I do think the killing of Michael Brown could be considered a hate crime.

This is what happens when you let murderous cops get off. The cops and the DA decided to throw the rule of law out the window, so now we will get incidents like this.

Prosecute killer cops committing hate crimes or shit like this will happen.

[allforone]

44. It is a hate crime and they should be charged as so

[Cali_Democrat]

48. It is not a hate crime

See what happens when the DA and the cops throw the rule of law out the window and defend the killing of an unamred black person?

Incidents like this will continue.

Ironically, The lack of prosecution actually makes white people more unsafe.

The solution?

Prosecute killer cops.

[pintobean]

50. Do you think it is a crime at all?

You appear to be trying to justify 3 guys assaulting a man.

[Cali_Democrat]

53. There were crimes

This is assault.

Then there's the murder of an unarmed black person.

I take the killing of unarmed blacks more seriously than assault charges. This looks like an attempted mugging to me. Nothing more.

Like I said, it's necessary to prosecute killer cops for their hate crimes.

Ironically, the lack of prosecution actually makes whites more unsafe and this stuff will just continue.

[Dreamer Tatum]

160. One has nothing to do with the other. You're conflating the two for your political point.

Luckily, the criminal justice system isn't quite as compromised.

[allforone]

52. By your response to me in this post you see it is a hate crime

So why did you say before it wasn't?

[booley]

197. yes this is a hate crime

what happened (or didn't' happen) in Ferguson in no way justifies this.

If the victim was targeted because of his race then that's a hate crime. (Not that Missouri to my knowledge has hate crime laws. St. Louis might)

And we should be really careful in using anger (even justified anger) to rationalize this. People who do hate crimes are filled with anger, anger they see as totally legitimate and rational. Indeed, this incident feeds into that. This won't make people believe corrupt cops are the problem. It reinforces the idea that people of different races are and society is justified in treating black people differently (certainly that's how many will use the incident)

IF we start downplaying when one person gets victimized because of the ethnicities of the people involved then how an we then condemn this same sort of thing just because the racial mix gets changed around?

Because this guy was innocent. He had no say in what the Ferguson PD did. He's evidence to the adage "revenge has poor aim"


Sorry but your philosophy might be part of the problem.

[rollin74]

49. I agree. It IS a hate crime

[allforone]

46. What do mean shit like this will happen?

[geek tragedy]

54. I agree it's not a hate crime-appeared to be two losers high on drugs looking to

mug someone and start some shit.

This happens all the damn time, to black people more so than white people.

These guys would have been drug-addled criminals regardless of the Michael Brown incident.

[allforone]

58. They didn't mug him they asked a question on a high profile racist event to the only white person

there and then assaulted him.

Hate crime

[geek tragedy]

60. That wasn't the beginning of the encounter.

The victim took the train to to Central West End and waited for police to arrive. He told investigators that he was seated on the train when he was approached from behind. The man in the red hat and shirt asked for his cell phone. The victim refused.

The suspect in the red hat then asked the seated man what he thought of the Mike Brown situation. The victim tells police that he hadn’t put much thought into it. That is when the man in the red hat started beating him.

Mugging. These thugs wouldn't think twice about beating up an older black man. That's usually the type of victim this element targets.

[allforone]

62. Hate crimes are determined by deeds and words spoken

This is a hate crime

[KittyWampus]

191. you think they'd have asked an older black man what he thought of Brown's death

before laying an unprovoked beating on him?

LOL

[geek tragedy]

192. No, they would ask him for his wallet or phone, and then beat the shit out of him.

The Michael Brown question was just gratuitous. It's very likely they had already decided to give the guy a beat down for not giving them his phone.

Loser thugs like this mug older black people all the damn time, and it never makes the television news.

[pintobean]

194. Riiiight....

They just happened to target the only white guy on the train. If they wanted a cell phone, wouldn't the woman across the isle, with her phone in her hand, be an easier target?


He looks pretty proud of himself for failing to get the phone.

Here's the Post Dispatch version, taken from the police report.

One of the men asked the victim if he could use his cellphone, and the victim said no.

The man then asked the victim “what he thought about the Mike Brown situation.” The victim responded that he hadn’t thought much about it, according to the police report.

The man in the red shirt then punched the victim in the face and struck him multiple times, police said.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/three-suspects-arrested-in-attack-on-metrolink-rider/article_66b85fda-d782-5ba3-9bd3-35ac26859ff0.html

[SickOfTheOnePct]

75. A couple of observations

We don't know if it's a hate crime, might be, might not be. Had the criminal (and yes, convicted or not, I'm going to call him a criminal, because there is video evidence of the crime) started beating the man when he refused to lend him his cell phone, then I would agree there is no indication of a hate crime. But by beating him only after asking, and apparently not liking, the response of the victim, it can certainly be perceived as a hate crime. My personal opinion is that race, more so than not being allowed to use the cell phone, precipitated the beating. If so, then it is absolutely a hate crime.

"This is what happens when you let murderous cops get off." is a cop out, no pun intended. This young man made the conscious decision to beat this man, whatever his reason. And if your contention is that he beat him because Wilson got off, then you yourself are contradicting your statement that it isn't a hate crime.

There is no excuse for this, none. If the young criminal wants to take vengeance for the fact that Wilson was let off, then he should man up and take it up with a cop, not with an innocent man trying to get home from work.

Your seeming justification of this criminal act is appalling.

[mythology]

77. Considering that the DOJ cleared the killing of Brown as a crime at all, no it can't be considered

a hate crime. So by definition, it can't be a hate crime.

And no, this is what happens when scumbag pieces of filth act like the scumbag pieces of filth they are. That applies to both the assholes who attacked the guy as well as the cockroaches who sat there and did nothing. None of them are worth a damn as human beings. The old saying that evil triumphs when good men do nothing is wrong. Good people don't just ignore somebody being beaten. Lousy people do.

They made a decision to either beat somebody, or sit and do nothing while a beating took place. It's not Wilson's fault, it's not the DA's fault, it's not the other cops' fault, it's not the DOJ's fault. Unless you think that black people are incapable of not engaging in criminal or anti-social behavior because they wanted to believe something about the Michael Brown shooting that wasn't backed up by the actual evidence.

But even if the Brown shooting had been a crime, that doesn't mean responding with violence is the right answer. Particularly not when the violence is directed at random people. Maybe I missed it on John Lewis' Wikipedia page, but I don't think he went out and beat up a random white person after he had his skull fractured while marching in Selma.

[XemaSab]

140. Do you think black people are justified in beating white people?

[Cali_Democrat]

147. I think the shooting and killing of unarmed blacks is a more serious issue.

Should people who commit assault be punished?

Yes.

Should people who shoot and kill unarmed black people be punished?

Even more so.

[XemaSab]

150. You didn't answer my question.

n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

151. I said people who commit assault should be punished

Just like people who kill unarmed blacks should be punished.

I consider the killing of unarmed blacks to be a more serious issue than an assault on a bus.

Sorry.

[pintobean]

152. The assault on the bus could have resulted in

the killing of unarmed blacks. People in Missouri have the right to carry firearms and use them in self defense. Looking at all of your posts in this thread, it appears you're defending their illegal, aggressive, and risky behavior.

[Cali_Democrat]

153. I haven't defended any crime

I said they should be punished for assault. What part of that do you not understand?

Reading comprehension appears to be an issue here.

[Rex]

154. Not at all, they just ignore your words. Goodluck.

It's not good enough to say they were trying to mug the guy, you are not playing their sad little game Cali. The wannabe muggers told him to give up his phone in the beginning (funny how that gets skipped over) and he said no, so they assaulted him.

However, you are supposed to play a silly game with the OP and you refuse to do so.

A tip of my hat to you!

[Cali_Democrat]

155. Thank you, Rex!

[pintobean]

162. "asked for his cell phone"

The Post Dispatch says that the police report says he asked if he could use the guy's phone. That's not "trying to mug the guy". It was an assault on the only white guy on the train. That and the question about Mike Brown indicates a hate crime. Who's playing games Rex?

[Rex]

164. You are and Cali didn't fall for it. Did you not read my post?

Nice try. Sorry Charlie. And he refused to turn over the phone and got beat up for it.

Again, nice try but your thread is easy to see through as many have already pointed out.

[pintobean]

166. Hey Rex, can I use your cell phone?

I guess I just tried to mug you.

One of the men, who was 20 to 25 years old and wearing a red T-shirt, asked the victim if he could use his cellphone, and the victim said no.

The man then asked the victim “what he thought about the Mike Brown situation.” The victim responded that he hadn’t thought much about it, according to the police report.

The man in the red shirt then punched the victim in the face and struck him multiple times, police said.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-beaten-on-metrolink-train-after-attacker-asks-him-about/article_f7b500b8-db86-5258-a686-97367fb5bde5.html

[Rex]

167. Of course not, I wouldn't trust you with a wooden nickle.

[XemaSab]

168. You believe that thug

wasn't going to take the guy's phone and run?

You're gullible.

[Rex]

169. Or never been intimidated by someone or a group of people.

The OP knows what he is doing and didn't get the responses he hoped for. All of us think the perps should be caught and punished.

[pintobean]

170. You really think he would expect anyone

who didn't know him to "loan" him their phone? He wasn't after a phone.

[Rex]

187. He was going to take the man's phone, I understand that it bothers you to no

end that is what started the encounter. So now all the sudden you are a mind reader.

Nice try but fail.

[pintobean]

189. "So now all the sudden you are a mind reader."

[bettyellen]

173. Easy to see through is dead on.

Omg a white man was attacked, there is no white privilege! He would have been better off if only he was an African American! So absurd, so transparent -isn't it?

[pintobean]

179. Show me where I've posted any of that bullshit.

[Rex]

200. YEP.

At least everyone sees it and makes sure to note who is doing it. I LOVE how this OP did not go the way PB wanted it to!

Mega-fail.

[pintobean]

202. So says Rex, in the 200th reply.

[pintobean]

206. Can you see through the Feds, too?

Federal authorities are launching hate crime investigations into the beating of a man on MetroLink, and into an assault on former Cardinals' player Curt Ford.

http://www.kmov.com/story/28718769/feds-investigating-metrolink-assault-attack-on-former-cardinal-player-as-hate-crimes

What do you think their motives are?

[Rex]

207. Well I know what your motives are

so really it doesn't matter what you ask me about. I know exactly where you are coming from.

[pintobean]

208. How cheesy

and predictable. You never learn.

[Vattel]

188. I guess you haven't read the DOJ report on the Michael Brown case.

The DOJ folks didn't believe that the killing was a crime, let alone a hate crime.

[cwydro]

39. I just saw the guy being interviewed.

He said he's afraid to ride the train anymore.

[Cali_Democrat]

45. And blacks are affraid to go about their daily lives because of cops

It's a clusterfuck all around.

This is what happens when the DA and the cops throw the rule of law out the window and defend the killing of an unamred black person.

Incidents like this will continue.

The solution?

Prosecute killer cops.

Ironically, The lack of prosecution actually makes white people more unsafe.

[NaturalHigh]

57. Nice of you to be so dismissive.

[Cali_Democrat]

61. People are dismissive of the fear blacks have of cops

Racial profiling is real.

When millions of Americans are afraid to go about their daily lives because of the color of their skin, something is very wrong.

Whites have much more faith in the criminal justice system than blacks, and for good reason. Statistics show that blacks serve longer sentences than whites for equivalent crimes.

When people think the system is stacked against them and the evidence backs them up, bad things happen

[NaturalHigh]

63. How does that excuse this assault?

I'll clue you in - it doesn't.

[Cali_Democrat]

64. Who said it excuses their assault?

Keep trying.

[NaturalHigh]

69. Well, if you're not excusing it...

you sure make it out like it's no big deal. What would be an appropriate penalty if the perps were caught - community service maybe?

[Cali_Democrat]

72. Who said it's no big deal?

You really enjoy putting words in other people's mouths, don't you?

Keep trying, sweetie....

[NaturalHigh]

73. No, just inferring from your dismissive tone.

[Cali_Democrat]

74. Inferring from my tone? LOL. nt

[stone space]

113. Jury Results

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

Mail Message



On Sat Mar 28, 2015, 09:42 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

Who said it's no big deal?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6429375

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Not only dismissive, but misogynist.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sat Mar 28, 2015, 09:51 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: calling someone sweetie is NOT misogynist.

Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I think Cali_DEmocrat has been awful in this thread, for the record.

Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Really reaching for a reason to alert here. "Sweetie" is non-gender specific. I've used it on males and females, and I'm female and definitely not misogynist.

Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: I love this poster but this post is insulting.

Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[NaturalHigh]

127. For the record, I didn't alert.

I don't know who did.

[marble falls]

125. Nobody said it was excusable, but why can't you put murder and assault into perspective?

[cwydro]

59. Why are whites more unsafe because of the actions of an idiot DA?

Do all black people respond with violence against innocent whites?

Surely not.

[nomorenomore08]

47. ...

[geek tragedy]

51. Looks like an aborted mugging. They wanted his phone and when they didn't

get it, they decided to beat him up.

Happens all the time to people of all races and ages.

But the racists will have a field day with this one.

[benld74]

56. Some kinda punks having their fun for the night,

really brave too, timing what they did with the train stopping and them high tailing it out. Typical nonsense, making themselves feel big and brave. I feel for the victim, just minding his own business. But I have a feeling he was thinking the worst may happen,,,,

[Aerows]

92. Horrible.

Ferguson is horrible, this is horrible, all of it needs to stop. All of the sane people, black, white, police and civilians need to get together and say "enough".

[treestar]

71. Strange how long the filming was going on

At first it does not look like anything that would inspire one to film.

[bettyellen]

79. From the timing of the punches- as the train was pulling in to the station it seems planned by both.

[questionseverything]

81. they probably filmed it to put on their facebook page

bunch of kids beat a homeless man here in my town,he died...they were caught cause they posted the video and were lol about it on facebook

similar thing happened within last year with the "knock out game"

[marble falls]

126. Kinda see it, but I also saw the camera turn away from Red Cap when he looked back towards ....

the camera. Also: why wouldn't the camera have been positioned close to get better detail?

[questionseverything]

149. idk i hadnt thought of it as being planned ahead until those 2 above mentioned it

if it was planned ahead by the video guy and the red cap guy...it is a hate crime for sure...maybe as dem cali says..it is a warning to whites...maybe that was the plan

i used to think we collectively could get past the race thing,start to judge each other by our actions not our appearances, realize we are part of the 99% but my hope is fading

the 1% use race to divide us...

look at stop n frisk, it is clearly unconstitutional and yes 85% of its victims are black...how does that help the 15% that were white? but it seems to make some poc blame all whites ,then some whites get scared and the viscous circle continues

i guarantee that what 99.99% of stop n frisk victims have in common...they are poor or of limited means

[bettyellen]

190. Stop and frisk helps a lot of white people not get arrested, as does ATF policies avoiding more

Middle class and white neighborhoods, leading to raids largely happening among POC and seriously impoverished people who are easy targets.
White people need to stop believing and supporting the myth that drugs are a problem only for POC.
It's enforcement targeted towards certain neighborhoods that is the issue.

[questionseverything]

195. i believe the 4th amendment should apply to every citizen

regardless of race

can we agree on that or no?

[romanic]

120. I can't believe

that some people are just brushing this off as an "everyday thing" like it's normal for three guys to jump a man on a train. I think it's highly suspicious that these three black guys would target the only white man sitting down and ask him about Michael Brown. And I also think it's messed up that some see this and don't think there was any hate involved here, because the man was white and his privilege somehow makes it "okay" for this to happen.

For the record I don't believe these assholes give a flying shit about Mike Brown (or Eric Garner or Trayvon Martin, etc), they just wanted to beat up a man for shits and giggles and show how "hard" they are; bullshit! Stop making excuses for scumbags like these, they could have easily assaulted someone else on the train or at the train stop or whatever. JFC!

[NaturalHigh]

129. I don't understand it either.

It defies logic.

[melman]

161. What's to understand?

Everybody knows this thread would be twice as long with a very different tone if the races were reversed in this incident.

That's just the way it is on DU.

[allforone]

174. You got that right

[Enrique]

146. as harsh as our justice system is

it isn't as draconian as some of the responses in this thread. People are talking about Bernie Goetz and Charles Bronson. The actual St. Louis police are talking about a misdemeanor assault charge.

The victim of this assault is understandably shaken up, he's saying he is afraid to ride the train now. I think he deserves justice. But let's all keep in mind that he required zero medical treatment. He lost zero property. And people are thinking about jailing the perp for a long time, or fantasizing about a vigilante action? Get ahold of yourselves.

[ieoeja]

199. Thank you! One of the few reasonable responses on this thread.

DUers love their bloodlust.

[LanternWaste]

180. This story will certainly allow...

This story will certainly allow those with an agenda the opportunity to engage in a little bias-confirmation via a few, well-chosen post-hoc-ergo-prompter-hoc fallacies over the next few days...

[pintobean]

182. ***Breaking*** Three suspects arrested in attack on MetroLink rider

ST. LOUIS • Police have arrested three suspects in an attack last week in which a MetroLink rider was beaten after one of several men asked him about the Michael Brown “situation.”

A police source confirmed the arrests Monday evening and said more information would be released soon.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/three-suspects-arrested-in-attack-on-metrolink-rider/article_66b85fda-d782-5ba3-9bd3-35ac26859ff0.html

[rollin74]

184. Good news

I'm glad the arrests were made

Thanks for the update

[pintobean]

193. 2 arrested, another in custody and cooperating

A police source confirmed Monday evening that a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old have been arrested and another person is in custody who is cooperating with the investigation.

Same link; this was a clarification update.

[Blue_Tires]

183. This is the America we live in now...

Trouble starts, and the first instinct of people now is to whip out the smartphones...

[booley]

196. are we actually debating this?

Are we actually debating whether a guy who started beating up someone else for reasons that had nothing to do with self defense was in the wrong ? That this is a bad person and yes they should be jail so they don't' hurt others?

Is that really so unclear?

We don't' have to ignore racism to also acknowledge this person is a horrible human being. At the least he should not be around others. Fine, give him counseling but even the most egalitarian socially liberal country would put this guy in a jail cell.

And that remains true no matter the race of the attacker or the victims.

[Smarmie Doofus]

201. +1. n/t