Power & Ms. Mosby

[H2O Man]

Marilyn Mosby just renewed my faith in the ability of good people to transcend the mechanics of “the system,” and to bring about social justice. I realize that she is, in a sense, the public face of a large team. Yet she is clearly the powerful and capable leader of that team.

This is a historic day. The struggle is far, far from over. But we should take time to appreciate the significance of the press conference that we have just seen.

Peace,
H2O Man

[blm]

1. I said the same in another thread.

((Waterman))

[H2O Man]

4. It is a pleasure

to read through the many OP/threads -- like your's and mine -- today. During the dark and difficult days that we are enduring, Ms. Mosby has shined a bright light.

Now, this may sound terrible ....but I was glad that it was a young, beautiful, highly intelligent black woman from a law-enforcement family that delivered the word today .....because that's just gotta annoy the crap out of the pro-violence shitheads.

[blm]

7. heheheh

can't say I disagree with you there….

; )

[malaise]

9. Isn't that the truth

Great thread

Rec

[malaise]

13. Here's the video

[malthaussen]

18. Well, yeah, on one hand.

But you're just not malicious enough, H2O man. There are already narratives claiming a conflict of interest because she and the victim are both black. The mendacity of the evil knows no bounds.

-- Mal

[lamp_shade]

2. Yes - truly - a historic day. I cried through her whole presser.

[H2O Man]

6. I kept hearing

myself saying, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," as I watched the press conference.

It was so needed.

[calimary]

17. I did, too. I was incredibly impressed. Takes a WOMAN.

All these jackass prosecutors with their biases and cozy-in-bed relationships with the local cops - this young woman showed 'em all up.

THIS is how it's done. She was magnificent, I thought. Magnificent Ms. Mosby.

My husband said this morning - "the best man for the job is a woman."

What she said!!! "Accountability. You're getting it today." THE QUOTE OF THE YEAR.

[CTyankee]

19. Yes, she was. I have been so appalled since this whole thing went down in a way I never

thought I could be. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked but I was, truly...I was horrified at the utter brutality against a fellow human being...

[Hutzpa]

3. It's not easy fighting the good fight

but she is showing it can be done.

[KingCharlemagne]

10. For all of the disenfranchised and alienated youth in her city, she

really reminds me of Robert F. Kennedy at Indianapolis on that fateful day in 1968 when MLK, Jr. was assassinated.

I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening, because I have some -- some very sad news for all of you -- Could you lower those signs, please? -- I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world; and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with -- be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond, or go beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poem, my -- my favorite poet was Aeschylus. And he once wrote:

Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget
falls drop by drop upon the heart,
until, in our own despair,
against our will,
comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God.

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King -- yeah, it's true -- but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love -- a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.

We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past, but we -- and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

And let's dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

Thank you very much.

~Robert F. Kennedy, April 4, 1968

[H2O Man]

14. Oh, you nailed it!

Perfect! Thank you so much!

[CTyankee]

21. I remember that well...what an awful year that was...I thought the country had just

gone to hell...

[calimary]

23. Wow. Never forget.

I've always wondered where we'd be, as a nation, now, if Bobby Kennedy had lived (and might even have been elected President). Well, we would not have had Watergate.

[KingCharlemagne]

27. We would have been out of Vietnam within six months of an RFK inauguration, that much

is reasonably certain.

[hifiguy]

34. Indeed. Had he lived he would have beaten Nixon like a gong

in the general election.

[qwlauren35]

25. Can't agree.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

It's not the vast majority.

[KingCharlemagne]

26. I know what you're saying, but I still view racism, sexism and homophobia

as functions of 'ignorance' and thus capable of being rectified with education and consciousness-raising. If I didn't believe that, I think I might succumb to despair.

[hifiguy]

28. Everything wonderful about RFK is summed up in that brief speech.

What a loss.

[KingCharlemagne]

37. I was tearing up watching Ms. Mosby's press conference (the latter third, I'm guessing). That

prompted me to dig out RFK's speech and then the water works really started. Couldn't even suck it up enough to read it to my wife. Posted it to her FB page and then we were both choking up.

Really sad shit.

[Dem2]

36. I was just reading this post

As Lawrence O'Donnell is indeed simultaneously showing RFK giving this exact speech. And indeed RFK was similarly assassinated just weeks later. I feel somber remembering those days.

[H2O Man]

11. You are right.

I'm not sure that any-or-every other official in Ms. Mosby's position would have stepped up this way. Sometimes, extreme circumstances seem to bring forth the right person at the right time. She appears to me to be the type of individual who can enrich the public's understanding of how people -- average citizens -- can step up to increase the ability of those in positions such as her's, to bring about social justice.

[Hutzpa]

35. This country needs more people like her

efficient and proficient with unfettered individual that stands on the good side of the law rather than this abusive power that
we have been seeing by some overzealous cops.

Good natured people will always rub their zen on others.

[Gothmog]

5. I was impressed with her performance at the press conference

[H2O Man]

16. Definitely.

I'm hoping to get to communicate with my nephew, who is employed in a position that provides him opportunity to know her. He had sent me messages that indicated something good would come about. I didn't expect this, though.

[hifiguy]

29. She struck me as a very bright, very no-nonsense person.

I wish her well in her prosecution of these goons.

[Scurrilous]

8. Baltimore's Prosecuter Faces Big Test 4 Months Into Job

<snip>

"Baltimore's chief prosecutor, just 35 years old and on the job for less than four months, is facing the biggest challenge of her career: deciding whether evidence supports criminal charges against police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.

State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby ousted an established white opponent by promising to hold police accountable. She accused him of being too cozy with officers and too out of touch with the citizens of Baltimore. Mosby and her husband, a Baltimore city councilman, are black and live just blocks from the poverty-stricken community where riots broke out Monday following Gray's funeral."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BALTIMORES_PROSECUTOR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-01-10-32-22

[calimary]

24. Looks like she passed this test with flying colors.

[Scurrilous]

32. Yes she did.

[H2O Man]

41. Absolutely!

She changed the entire tone of the media coverage.

[H2O Man]

40. Thanks for this!

She delivered exactly what was needed.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. I hope she takes on that Chris Christie wannabe in Annapolis in 2018. nt

[H2O Man]

42. Right.

I believe that she will accomplish whatever she attempts to do in life.

[Skidmore]

15. She is an impressive young professional.

[hifiguy]

33. Some people have natural gravitas. Some don't.

District Attorney Mosby definitely has gravitas.

[H2O Man]

44. You nailed it!

One of my favorite parts was when, in response to certain questions by reporters, she said, "I can't answer that" ....then made a face that fully conveyed the answer.

[H2O Man]

43. I agree.

She's an impressive human being.

[spanone]

20. i agree 100%

[H2O Man]

45. "Power"

is from the Latin root "posse" -- meaning "the ability to accomplish." She defined it for the American public yesterday.

[CTyankee]

22. One could not go away from that presser without feeling that this young woman was

absolutely magnificent, just what the situation demanded of her. She stepped up and did her job, commandingly.

[H2O Man]

46. So well said, my Friend.

[CTyankee]

47. The police union is a disgrace, trying to smear her. Sick of them...

[H2O Man]

48. The machine will

increase its attempts to discredit her. When that fails, it will attempt to destroy her.

One of my nephews lives there, and works/socializes in the same circle as Ms. Mosby. From our conversations, although I didn't know what was about to happen, I was assured that it was not going to be "business as usual." And I'm convinced this lady knows that her opposition isn't limited to six criminals dressed in blue uniforms.

[CTyankee]

49. Sounds like she has a helluva lot of courage...

I hope Obama's Justice Dept. is keeping a close watch on Baltimore...

[H2O Man]

50. Right.

I believe that they are. My nephew's work actually involves coordinating services between states and the federal agencies in a related manner (though not the Dept of Justice). My impression -- though it is speculation upon my part -- is that Ms. Mosby made full use of all the tools available to her, in such a way that what she is doing now is beyond what the system normally would do. Thus, she has the full support of many, many people in the various agencies, who have been frustrated by the system's inability to respond to similar cases.

Thus, the amount of courage that Ms. Mosby is displaying is, in my opinion, awe-inspiring.

[CTyankee]

52. She is largely responsible for the relative calm in Baltimore now.

I shudder to think of what might have happened if she hadn't made that decision.

[Flying Squirrel]

30. Full video:

Mesmerizing. Watched to the very end - her final one-word answer to how we can prevent future such tragedies: "Accountability."

[joshcryer]

39. I posted a better quality one in Video and Multimedia:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017263026

The last line was good, but even better was "Accountability. This is what this is."

[H2O Man]

51. Thank you!

I can't watch this enough!

[workinclasszero]

31. This is historic

It will be justice served when at least one of these cops are sent to prison for murder.

All of them should go for some prison time.

We have yet to see a jury do this to police officers if I'm not mistaken

And until they do these wanton police killings will continue

[joshcryer]

38. I finally got to see the full press conference.

She is a valued treasure. When people say Gen X / millennials are not going to do good I would refer to people like Mosby.

What was important about her team was that she instructed them, within her power, to do an independent investigation, rather than "letting the police handle it." Who polices the police if the police police themselves? That's the problem. All cases of police abuse must come from an independent team, one particularly vested in the judicial system, not enforcement. A lot of police departments do have independent teams, but those teams aren't judicial in nature, they're just another branch of law enforcement, largely ran by officers. In their minds protecting their own likely comes first.

[aikoaiko]

53. I hope you're right because initially all I saw was Angela Corey Part II.

But then seeing all the positive reactions here, I wondered if I'm missing something. Maybe so.

But then again, DU heralded Angela Corey when she made her big press conference.