Michael Bennett (1985- ), an American football player with the Seattle Seahawks, has stood with Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality. Now he is accusing the Las Vegas police of using excessive force against him!
On August 27th 2017, after watching the Mayweather-McGregor fight, Bennett was walking back to his hotel when he heard gunfire. He ran and hid like everyone else there. But, unlike everyone else:
“Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The police say he was acting suspicious.
They ordered him to the ground. Despite following their orders, an officer held a gun to his head and said:
“Don’t move or I will blow your fucking head off!”
Another officer put a knee in his back.
Bennett is Black, 6 foot 4 (1.93m) and 274 pounds (124kg). Last May, Las Vegas police killed an unarmed Black man, Tashii Brown.
Bennett’s life flashed before his eyes. He feared he would never live to see his family again.
Later they let Bennett go when they learned they had just arrested a nationally known football player. They gave no good reason for the arrest.
Bennett told writer David Zirin and Black Lives Matter about it that night. Last week he went public.
The police union in turn wrote a letter to Roger Goodell, the head of the National Football League (NFL):
“Michael Bennett’s claim that our officers are racists is false and offensive to the men and women of law enforcement.”
And besides, “both officers were minorities.”
More:
“I request that you conduct an investigation, and take appropriate action, into Michael Bennett’s obvious false allegations against our officers. While the NFL may condone Bennett’s disrespect for our American flag and everything it symbolizes, we hope the league will not ignore Bennett’s false accusations against our officers.”
Like Colin Kaepernick, Bennett “disrespects” the flag by not standing during the “Star Spangled Banner”. Not a crime.
The police are trying to dig up dirt on him:
“It’s fair to say the LVMPD is continuing to investigate whether Mr. Bennett was involved in the altercation at the hotel casino prior to his detention on Las Vegas Boulevard.”
Meaning they have no proof.
The police do not deny they held a gun to his head and threatened his life. The officer who did it claims that his body camera was turned off. But another body camera did catch video of the moment when he held a gun to Bennett’s head.
Bennett’s lawyer, Black Lives Matter, and Color of Change all call on the Las Vegas police to name the arresting officers and make all video public.
Bennett:
“I sit during the national anthem – because equality doesn’t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a “Nigger,” you will be treated that way.”
Heroes: Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis.
– Abagond, 2017.
See also:
- Sign the Color of Change petition
- the police
- Colin Kaepernick
- Star Spangled Banner
- Muhammad Ali
- Angela Davis
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Labeling – Patient may be incomplete or misleading, because not all cases conform to the sharply defined characteristics of the standard diagnostic categories, in psychological assessment – Psychology Dictionary
https://psychologydictionary.org/labeling/
“I sit during the national anthem – because equality doesn’t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a “Nigger,” you will be treated that way.” – Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks
So true Bennett, I sincerely wish that we had more so-called African American professional players to realize this as well! On the other hand, incidents such as this are attributable to Amerika’s propensity or legacy to label certain members of the citizenry for the purpose of becoming a target at a specified time.
Once you are tagged or labeled by the so-called status quo as a “nigger”, or a “smart ass” or a “troublemaker” or some other type of provocateur, the system then employ race or foot soldiers who subsequently proceed to come against you in accordance with whatever label that has been wrongfully attached to your person. (smh)
Indeed, it is a fact that to be Black in Amerika, is to also be perpetually deemed a deviant as well. In short, labeling someone is in essence a cheap form of self fulfilling prophecy.
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Of course the police are going to circle the wagons and defend their own, black or white. Well, maybe not in the case of the black officer in Minnesota who shot and killed a white woman. He is probably going to prison or worse.
The thin blue line is drawn to “protect and serve” white property, not the people of this land. The word of a black man cannot be honored over that of a white man, especially one wearing blue (instead of white) today.
As a people, we need to understand that our skin color alone is a red flag to every police officer in this country, because they have lost the ability to discern who is dangerous and who is not.
My hope is more people will join the movement to boycott the NFL (not watch the games, buy their stuff or support anything having to do with the NFL) until they change their policies regarding a man’s right to earn a living, despite their political views.
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“…equality doesn’t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a “Nigger,” you will be treated that way.”
As true today as in 1676, 1789, 1857, 1919, 1982, 2005 or 2016.
The second word every immigrant group learns upon arrival in the USA is Nggr.
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He’s lucky he wasn’t shot and killed.
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@Afrofem
“… The second word every immigrant group learns upon arrival in the USA is Nggr…” So very true. The word ‘Nggr’ has permeated the universe.
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@ wbarnard
Lost? They never lost anything. They understand perfectly who’s considered a threat and who isn’t.
Sadly, that’s not gonna change, no matter how many boycotts you participate in. Short of a cataclysm that fundamentally changes the very foundation of this nation, you’re not gonna see much change.
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The second word every immigrant group learns upon arrival in the USA is Nggr.
Truer words never were spoken. They also learn: “At least I’m not a n____er.
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So sad
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And it really pi$$es off many white NFL fans that Bennett is an ally of Kaepernick.
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@ Herneith
They also learn: “At least I’m not a n____er.
Yes, that is the third word/phrase/concept they learn.
What do you think is the first word? I think it is “dollar”.
Quite a trilogy of first language lessons for those fresh of the boat/plane (or in the case of Haitians fleeing to Canada from Trumpland, footpath).
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There’s a big uproar in white supremacist Quebec over the fleeing Haitians. There are other refugees fleeing over the border. The government will put a stop to this soon. Not good for politics. There is a ceiling to how much black or other melanin rich refugees and immigrants whites and white adjacent folk will accept.
My cousin is experiencing the joys of white love with her son. He has been continuously bullied, harassed, and physically threatened by a group of white supremacist bullies(they learn young). This has been ongoing since he started at this school. My cousin had to call the police recently as he was chased by this group of bullies. Luckily, the child was able to get to a friends house to hide.
Of course, the white pieces of shite parents and school authorities are characterising these episodes as ‘kids fooling around’. My advice to her? Sue the parents, school board and police. Go to the newspapers. When these parasites loose money they tend to take notice.
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@ Herneith
“…white adjacent folk…”
Good one. I will have to remember that term the next time some clueless Black person gushes on about “communities of color” (and other meaningless terms).
I had been using ” Whites and their allies”. Perhaps that is too subtle for some people.
Your cousin needs to go full on legal-pain-in-the-backside with the parents and school. She should keep an incident log with photos and video. It might be a good idea to file police reports after every incident to establish an “official” paper trail.
The police will not do anything, but their records can be useful in civil court.
Good luck to your cousin and her son in this matter.
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I am with you in pursuing these little bastards legally. If they are too young to charge, go after the parents and school boards, contact the newspapers(the Toronto Star loves these stories), take the case before the Human Rights Tribunal. Once this situation gets into the public forum, the wider the better, these tools start taking notice and they act. They don’t want anyone to know them for what they truly are, white supremacists. In other words, feed it to them! I have not yet gotten an update.
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