After a LAPD officer reported a partner for kicking a homeless man, he was fired for filing a false report. Then Officer Christopher Dorner went on a rampage, shooting four people before being forced to commit suicide in a burning cabin. A tragic end, but what’s the alternative for people ground down by an unfair system?
A Tragic Alternative
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Christopher Dorner was murdered by the “authorities” – as evidenced at the following sites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_221407&feature=iv&src_vid=UqtV-6hNTd0&v=h8dPKCPmpHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUGJo2tRsHs
Dorner started his crusade against the LAPD by murdering the daughter of the lawyer who had defended him and her fiance. Even if you believe that the LAPD is so corrupt that open, violent war against them is justifiable, Dorner’s actions would still be morally indefensible. I know your whole schtick is that you’re contrarian to a fault, but this is ridiculous. Do you really believe that Dorner only had two choices?
Yes, the LAPD has a known history of corruption and police brutality. But we also know that Dorner’s moral compass was seriously demented. Is it really unlikely that the same man invented or grossly exaggerated a police brutality claim in order to preemptively retaliate against a poor performance review, as the LAPD alleges? I don’t see any compelling reason to accept either version of events. Do you? Or are you just choosing to accept Dorner’s version of events because of its polemical value?
Steve makes some good points, but, it’s still a great cartoon. I get it, and it works, and it makes a needed and worthy statement, whatever the facts of this particular case turn out to be in 20/20 hindsight.
The Corporate State finds the economically precarious easier to negotiate into accepting lower wages, high interest loans, and huge college loans. And then to fight fake wars that destroy their minds and souls. And then to subsidize the failures of incompetent predatory bankers and other politically connected financial criminals. And then it subsidizes corporate outsourcing of good paying jobs. And then it cuts funding for mental health care and kicks them out of their houses. And then it tells them TINA.
Some of the precarious are then tipped into desperation and the desperate are then foolishly expected to act rationally when their lives collapse before their eyes and the eyes of an indifferent government and society. The desperate may not understand the nature of the system that made pariahs of them. But many of them are afraid, and angry, and a few will not take it passively anymore. It is not enough for us to try to avoid them and arm ourselves to protect ourselves from them when they explode emotionally.
None of the murders they commit can be justified.
The desperate will not be shamed into proper behavior after the shame of being excluded into poverty and prison from the wealthiest nation in history; one also with the largest prison population, both per capita and in total number.
None of the murders can be justified, but they can be expected.
Just don’t feign shock when the next horrendous crime is committed when another desperately irrational person loses everything including his ability to figure a way to survive in a game rigged to serve the wealthy at the expense of the financially precarious.
@Glenn said: “The Corporate State finds the economically precarious easier to negotiate into accepting lower wages, high interest loans, and huge college loans. Some of the precarious are then tipped into desperation and the desperate are then foolishly expected to act rationally when their lives collapse before their eyes and the eyes of an indifferent government and society.”
Oh Glenn sweetie, you’re such a victim aren’t you? The big bad Corporate State (love the caps there, btw) forced people into those loans, I know. They’re such victims. Just like you sweetie — I know it’s not your fault. It never is. You, Glenn, are just a victim in this big mean corporate-run oligarchy that doesn’t properly value your genius.
I’ll weep for you Glenn. Your bad luck and unfair treatment just breaks my heart ….
(ooohhhhh …… wipes tears from eyes …. mfdsmksdsniffle sniffle ……)
Glenn makes a perfectly salient argument and Exko, rather than refute it, makes an unwarranted assumption from it and uses that as a basis for a belittling ad-hominem attack.
Yes Russell, the guy’s a sick little troll – but as far as the cartoon, Ted’s got it right – if you’re disenfranchising and destroying as many people as the US does every day, then you’ve got expect some blowback. After all, we are No.1 in the world with the highest percentage of our population stuck in jail – land of the un-free and home of the blind.