RTP-area local music and culture

[John I <not AT hotmail.com>]

Lisa Drake wrote:

> In article <20061122212313.60340.qmail AT web54602.mail.yahoo.com>,
>  thebackyardbbq AT yahoo.com (mc^2) wrote:
> 
>> ...and I know some of you amchsters love your
>> politics...
>> 
>> Most people are probably gonna obsess on the race card
>> with this one, but the fact is, there are real age and
>> gender issues involved as well.  If there's one thing
>> I've learned the past 6 years, in some towns, if
>> you're female, and especially as you get "older," the
>> only way you're gonna succeed is if you take the quiet
>> role, act the way you're supposed to, and rather than
>> defend yourself when challenged, always defer to the
>> men.  "Women, know your place."  In Atlanta,
>> apparently the police have decided to execute this
>> with deadly force.
>> 
>> 
>> Read on, 
>> 
>> E.
>> 
>> link w/AP video, etc.:
>> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELDERLY_SHOOTOUT?SITE=RIWAR&SECTI
>> ON=HOM E&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
>> 
>> AP story:
>> 
>> Nov 22, 2:37 PM EST
>> Woman, 92, Slain in Shootout With Police
>> 
>> ATLANTA (AP) -- The niece of a 92-year-old woman shot
>> to death by police said her aunt likely had reason to
>> shoot three narcotics investigators as they stormed
>> her house.
>> 
>> Police insisted the officers did everything right
>> before entering the home Tuesday evening, despite
>> suggestions from the woman's neighbors and relatives
>> that it was a case of mistaken identity.
>> 
>> The woman, Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in
>> the house at the time and had lived there for about 17
>> years, Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said. The officers
>> had a legal warrant, "knocked and announced" before
>> they forced open the door and were justified in
>> shooting once fired upon, he said.
>> 
>> Sarah Dozier, the niece, told WAGA-TV that there were
>> never drugs at the house.
>>      
>> "My aunt was in good health. I'm sure she panicked
>> when they kicked that door down," Dozier said. "There
>> was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her
>> down like a dog."
>> 
>> As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached
>> the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started
>> shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe
>> Cobb, a police spokesman.
>> 
>> One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the
>> third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a
>> hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious
>> and alert, police said.
>> 
>> Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights leader, said
>> Johnston's family deserves an apology.
>>      
>> 
>> "Of the police brutality cases we've had, this is the
>> most egregious because of the woman's age," Hutchins
>> said.
>> 
>> Hutchins said he would try to meet with Atlanta Police
>> Chief Richard Pennington and would also meet with
>> lawyers.
>> 
>> 

> I was in ATL this week and read a lot about this.  My problem is the 
> fact that a 92 year old woman is automatically assumed to be innocent by
> default,  when no one really knows if that is the case. 
> 


There used to be a tradition in the US of presuming innocence in criminal 
cases.  Those were the days.  However, now with the War on Terror and all, we 
can't afford that particular triviality anymore.  Better one old lady be 
killed and an entire city block be terrorized by the police than even one bag 
of pot go free.  This is war, after all.

Anyway:  Any word on why the cops couldn't wait until the old lady went to 
pick up her social security check to grab her?  Did they absolutely HAVE to 
storm the house?  Were there White Supremicists (for example[1]) trafficing 
in cyanide bombs (for example) in the apartment and it just couldn't wait?



[1] replace these examples with ones of your own choosing.  One man's boogey 
man is another man's imaginary friend, after all.