# DOJ report on racism and shakedown-artistry in the Ferguson PD **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 9, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604 "2015-03-09T15:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![dude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@dude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/261 "2015-03-14T14:53:29Z")
eric ‘my people’ holder … I don’t know if that is outright racist … but very inappropriate considering he’s a public servant to all american citizens ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/262 "2015-03-14T15:20:53Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Add on the fact that there is widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans because of the racist criminal justice system. If you’re in prison, on probation, or on parole, you can’t vote. And you might not register at all if you have a warrant out for the $600 in court fines accrued for the bullshit citation you got for telling the officer your name was Mike and not Michael. And [Missouri is one of the states that have taken steps to prevent blacks (and other likely-Democrat voters) from voting.](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/opinion/10thu1.html) True, the voter suppression statutes do not mention any race specifically, but excerpts from the report on police already give examples of statutes being applied unequally. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/263 "2015-03-14T15:34:09Z")
> [@dude77](#): > > eric ‘my people’ holder … I don’t know if that is outright racist … but very inappropriate considering he’s a public servant to all american citizens How about you give us the quote in context? ---
**Author:** ![dude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@dude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/264 "2015-03-14T16:07:54Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > How about you give us the quote in context? I thought it was common knowledge, my mistake … [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAmIIQTbXc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAmIIQTbXc) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/265 "2015-03-14T17:00:09Z")
> [@dude77](#): > > I thought it was common knowledge, my mistake … > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAmIIQTbXc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAmIIQTbXc) Cite is a youtube link? Poor form. So I googled it, and here’s the context: > [@Politico](#): > > “Think about that,” Holder said. “When you compare what people endured in the South in the 60s to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, and to compare what people were subjected to there to what happened in Philadelphia—which was inappropriate, certainly that…to describe it in those terms I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who risked all, for my people,” said Holder, who is black. > > Holder noted that his late sister-in-law, Vivian Malone Jones, helped integrate the University of Alabama. > > “To compare that kind of courage, that kind of action, and to say that the Black Panther incident wrong though it might be somehow is greater in magnitude or is of greater concern to us, historically, I think just flies in the face of history and the facts,” Holder said with evident exasperation. Some schmuck said the Black Panther 2008 case was the most serious voter intimidation he’d seen in his career. Holder bristled at that and talked about how it’s small beans compared to voter intimidation against black Americans. And he used the phrase “my people” to refer to “black Americans” in this specific context. And really, you think this defines him? You think this is racist? This isn’t evidence of racism. This is evidence of contemptible gotchaism, and you should be embarrassed at bringing it up like that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/266 "2015-03-14T17:08:09Z")
500 years of the white majority defining “you people” as a lesser kind of—if at all—American, and “my people” makes him racist? It takes a truly twisted—and dedication to apologetics for racism—attitude to date to say that in front of people. ---
**Author:** ![dude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@dude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/267 "2015-03-14T17:18:49Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Cite is a youtube link? Poor form. > > So I googled it, and here’s the context: > > Some schmuck said the Black Panther 2008 case was the most serious voter intimidation he’d seen in his career. Holder bristled at that and talked about how it’s small beans compared to voter intimidation against black Americans. And he used the phrase “my people” to refer to “black Americans” in this specific context. > > And really, you think this defines him? You think this is racist? > > This isn’t evidence of racism. This is evidence of contemptible gotchaism, and you should be embarrassed at bringing it up like that. he drew the line with that comment … showed his racial bias and tribalism … he’s the attorney general of the United States … he serves many people that are not ‘his people’ … how do you not see how that is inappropriate ? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/268 "2015-03-14T17:34:36Z")
> [@dude77](#): > > he drew the line with that comment … showed his racial bias and tribalism … he’s the attorney general of the United States … he serves many people that are not ‘his people’ … how do you not see how that is inappropriate ? How do I not see it as inappropriate? By thinking that you’re reading ridiculous things into the line. If I said that “my people” had had dominance over the United States for a few hundred years, referring to white people, that’s not racist. If I said that “my people” moved to Appalachia to get away from bankers and lawyers, referring to the Scots-Irish, that’s not racist. Black people HAVE been treated differently in this country. Acknowledging that isn’t tribalistic (although referring to a black person’s tribalism more than smacks of dog-whistling). It’s contemptible to focus on such an innocuous phrase in order to make a spurious accusation of racism, and you should be ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/269 "2015-03-14T17:38:07Z")
> [@dude77](#): > > he drew the line with that comment … showed his racial bias and tribalism … he’s the attorney general of the United States … he serves many people that are not ‘his people’ … how do you not see how that is inappropriate ? It’s not racist to be aware of one’s race. A “[people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People)” is “an ethnic group or nation”. Unless you have a quote in which Holder states he will treat his ethnic group favorably over others, or evidence that he’s doing that, any claim of racism or tribalism remains unsupported. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/270 "2015-03-14T17:44:01Z")
Should not the Attorney General of the United States see “his people” as all Americans? President Obama routinely uses “we” and “our” to include all of us. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/271 "2015-03-14T17:49:25Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Should not the Attorney General of the United States see “his people” as all Americans? 1. So anyone who comes from a historically disadvantaged minority is disqualified from national office. 2. The majority has the luxury of having a “my people” in fact if not in words without being subject to this level of scrutiny. That’s part of the privilege of being a default American. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/272 "2015-03-14T17:52:30Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Should not the Attorney General of the United States see “his people” as all Americans? > > President Obama routinely uses “we” and “our” to include all of us. Again, “people” refers to two things: ethnic group, or nation. I’m fairly certain that Eric Holder is aware that he’s an American, elected to serve Americans. He’s also part of an ethnic group, which is what he was referring to in the video. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/273 "2015-03-14T17:53:43Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Should not the Attorney General of the United States see “his people” as all Americans? > > President Obama routinely uses “we” and “our” to include all of us. A person can have more than one group with whom he identifies. Americans are “my people.” Gays are also “my people.” So are comic book nerds and D&D geeks. If I’m talking about a situation that’s specific to, say, Spider-Man fans, and refer to them as “my people,” that doesn’t automatically imply I’m throwing gay people under a bus. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/274 "2015-03-14T17:54:15Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > President Obama routinely uses “we” and “our” to include all of us. And he has never used these words to mean anything else, ever in his life, right? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/275 "2015-03-14T18:01:38Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And he has never used these words to mean anything else, ever in his life, right? Last Thanksgiving, he delivered an address that began with this: > [@Barrack Obama](#): > > On behalf of the Obama family – Michelle, Malia, Sasha, Bo, and Sunny – I want to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Like many of you, we’ll spend the day with family and friends, catching up, eating some good food and watching a little football. Clearly, by using “we” to mean himself, his wife, and children, Obama is signalling that he only cares about his immediate family, and everyone else on Earth can go hang. ETA: And his pets are part of “we,” too! Clearly, Obama’s pronoun use demonstrates that Obama thinks most Americans are worth less than dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/276 "2015-03-14T18:55:49Z")
Scoundrel! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/277 "2015-03-14T19:46:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That is because American RWs are fighting a cultural rearguard action and they know it. [And here’s another example.](http://www.salon.com/2015/03/13/the_end_of_white_christian_america_is_nigh_why_the_countrys_youth_are_abandoning_religious_conservatism_partner/) ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/278 "2015-03-14T20:18:44Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A person can have more than one group with whom he identifies. Americans are “my people.” Gays are also “my people.” So are comic book nerds and D&D geeks. If I’m talking about a situation that’s specific to, say, Spider-Man fans, and refer to them as “my people,” that doesn’t automatically imply I’m throwing gay people under a bus. For that matter, while it’s not 100% the same it was somewhat similar to Barney Frank’s response to that infamous idiot woman at a Town Hall who kept comparing Obama to Hitler and Obamacare to a Nazi policy where he said “let me answer you in the spirit of my people”. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8) Edit: Whoops. I misremembered. He said “let me revert to my ethnic heritage”. However, it’s still pretty similar and I don’t remember anyone screaming “Isn’t that inappropriate!” He’s supposed to represent all the people of Massachussetts, not just the Jews!" Hell, St. Patrick’s day is coming up in a few days and lots of Irish-American politicians will be making references to “my people” “my ancestors” or similar crap. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/279 "2015-03-14T20:30:16Z")
There is a peculiar strain in American conservative thought in which white conservatives will clutch at any straw, no matter how flimsy, for a chance to call a black person racist. It’s pathetic and embarrassing for them. I won’t speculate on their motives, since that’s not appropriate for this forum, but I certainly wish they’d stop. I wish they’d hold themselves to at least the standards for calling black people racist that they’d hold white people to. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604/280 "2015-03-14T20:55:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > 1. So anyone who comes from a historically disadvantaged minority is disqualified from national office. > > 2. The majority has the luxury of having a “my people” in fact if not in words without being subject to this level of scrutiny. That’s part of the privilege of being a default American. No. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-report-on-racism-and-shakedown-artistry-in-the-ferguson-pd/714604.md?page=15)