Waco

Did I miss something? There's been nothing that I've seen here in The Courthouse on the biker melee in Waco, TX. An oversight, perhaps? Or not willing to address the issue? Anyone have any reliable info on this incident? The media I've seen is mixed. One says it was a shootout between gang members. Others say all the fatalities were at the hands of the police. Still others say there were over 1000 weapons, including knives, brass knuckles, and, of course, guns, that were found inside the restaurant and on the perps involved. Still others say the response by police and by the media is a double standard. Was it.....a double standard?

What say you?

Several rival gangs get together. Whether it's to discuss legislation as some say, or to hammer out turf boundaries, there is going to be conflict. The police were right in having officers at the ready. The biker gangs are not well known for their peaceful outlook. Sounds like a lot of them came ready for a fight and a rowdy few were happy to oblige, putting all of them in the hopper.

I'm not sure what your underlying point is Zhawke? I saw plenty of coverage and I think the cops did a great job of bringing the incident to an end quickly. Now if this had dragged on for days and weeks and had permanently harmed the town, then the media would have set up camp and it would be a bigger story.

There's a whole lot more good and bad stuff to talk about that isn't being talked about here. All it takes is for one person to start a thread and you'll either get interest or you won't. Glad to see you back, it's been a while

Rick wrote: I'm not sure what your underlying point is Zhawke? I saw plenty of coverage and I think the cops did a great job of bringing the incident to an end quickly. Now if this had dragged on for days and weeks and had permanently harmed the town, then the media would have set up camp and it would be a bigger story.

There's a whole lot more good and bad stuff to talk about that isn't being talked about here. All it takes is for one person to start a thread and you'll either get interest or you won't. Glad to see you back, it's been a while

To be honest, Rick, I'm not really sure I actually "have" an underlying point here. More of an observation than anything with regard to the fact it wasn't even mentioned in a thread by anyone else here in The Courthouse. That's the only reason I jumped back in.

Thanks for being glad to see me back. Truth is, I've never left. I've been watching, but have chosen to not participate in The Courthouse -- too acrimonious for my sensitive psyche

ZHawke wrote:
Thanks for being glad to see me back. Truth is, I've never left. I've been watching, but have chosen to not participate in The Courthouse -- too acrimonious for my sensitive psyche

What was, was, I don't see that here anymore thanks to SC.

edit to add, you'll also notice that the Baltimore riots were not mentioned here which I believe was a much bigger story. So like I said, it just takes one person to post a story they find interesting and others may or may not chime in.

Rick wrote: What was, was, I don't see that here anymore thanks to SC.

edit to add, you'll also notice that the Baltimore riots were not mentioned here which I believe was a much bigger story. So like I said, it just takes one person to post a story they find interesting and others may or may not chime in.

I meant the "sensitive psyche" thing as being tongue in cheek pretty much. I can both take it and dish it out most of the time, but I find it tiresome after awhile so am picking and choosing what to get involved in and not to get involved in a little more carefully now. That's all.

There are some in the media world who are comparing the Baltimore riots with what happened in Waco and vice versa. I guess what constitutes a "bigger" story all depends on one's own views on those things.

To me, the loss of life in Waco makes it very much being newsworthy. The Baltimore riots didn't result in that kind of loss of life.

Conversely, the property loss in Baltimore far outweighed the property loss in Waco for sure. However, there has also been a lawsuit filed by a neighboring business to the restaurant in which these gangs kind of went to war with each other.

All of that notwithstanding, the far bigger issue, from my perspective, revolves around how we individually perceive how each of these incidents is being applied to different segments of our population and society as a whole.

I just read an article in which the author posited biker gangs make up approximately 1% of the motorcycle riding population . I also take a look at the motorcycle riders that participate in Emily's Parade , and marvel at all the good things they do.

So, would it not be safe to say that it's ridiculous in every way possible to condemn an entire group for the actions of a few when it comes to motorcycle riders in this country? If this is true, then could not the same be said of gang on gang violence - say, in the city of Chicago as one example - being used to "represent" a segment of our society that has far more good and worthwhile groups and organizations within its ranks than just the gangs in Chicago?

Let me help out,

"Media coverage of gang violence sure looks different when the perpetrators are white"

www.vox.com/2015/5/19/8620357/waco-biker-shootout-race

I also found this: www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/05/...utm_content=20150522

There was also an MSNBC story on how Texas LE is investigating some new threats posed by the biker gangs: www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/officials-n...ker-gangs/vi-BBk66Mu

And this: www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/...utm_content=20150522

Takes OMG's (Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs - yep, it's real and it's being used as a descriptive acronym) beyond a race thing into the domestic terrorism arena, as well.

Well I guess I still don't agree with what you find disturbing about the coverage or which was a bigger story. With the Baltimore riots we saw multiple businesses burned and looted, police told to stand down and watch the mayhem. And just like Ferguson, the property values are sure to plummet and any business would be completely nuts to risk their capital by opening a business in either area. Now in Baltimore, murders have risen about 200% in a short time and arrests are way down. If I was a cop, I'd much rather be one in Waco than I would in Baltimore because every arrest in that city will be highly scrutinized and picked apart from now on. It won't work out well when criminals are allowed to make the rules.

Now if there is a real life "Sons of Anarchy" town where violence and murder are a daily occurrence by white bikers, I'd agree that's a big story. But it was a single big event that was over quickly and could have happened almost anywhere.