Jackson Jambalaya

"Us and Them".... Well, well, well... Isn't that just the picture of unity

"....the culture of the communities they serve."

Law and order is law and order. Why should we demand a different policing model determined by 'block culture'?

Seems to me we were better off back when the police didn't worry about culture, block-attitude and 'us and them'. They busted your head and threw your ass in jail if you broke the law and acted out.

Hmmm. Will police agency representatives be there from surrounding towns?

FIX THE POT HOLES! You can preach on Sunday.

Election time

Remove Yarber from office, he is doing this because it's the flavor of the month. The election cycle is gearing up and this sorry excuse for an administrator. Jackson is eminently doomed by the pool of candidates running for mayor.

What a stupid name for a town hall. I'm confused Mr. Mayor -- am I part of the Us, or part of the Them? Will I even be allowed to go, you know 'cuz I'm white and all. Who is representing Us, or Them, for that matter.

Way to Stoke(s) the flames of division - isn't your (other) job as a preacher to bring people together? Jackson and Hinds County has such unfortunate leadership.

6:36 am- 7:02 am It's hard to believe that none of you seem to have a clue as to why the African American community might be suspicious of law enforcement. That is amazing given what happened in Philadelphia ,MS and the most recent shooting of the health care worker with his hands up while trying to help an autistic patient playing with a truck.
And, yes , we need good law enforcement. And, yes, it's a difficult, often thankless job. And, yes, without respect for and enforcement of laws, we fall into chaos.
But, for God sakes, why you can't see there is a reason in a free country to hold those who have the power to use deadly force to a high standard of professionalism is beyond belief! Are you crazy or are you Nazis?

Want to strengthen "partnerships" Yarber? Get off your ass and file charges against the known water thieves.

You are a joke Yarber.

Honest question: Has anyone seen a white JPD officer in the past 5 or 10 years? I'm sure there are some but I don't know if I've seen one.

Don't get out of your Klan meeting much, do you?

8:26 I'd bet that 90% of JPD is black.

Part of the inherent ineffectiveness of the so-called "Black Lives Matter" movement is it's attitude that the police are some foreign army invading the Black community. In the vast majority of urban areas in this country including Jackson, Black people are a major part of the police and the city government. Police hiring, policy, and training are directly controlled by Black people in many cases.
"Us against them" is the wrong message and the wrong discussion if your aim is real change. In a City like Jackson, the discussion is about "Us" and what we do to hire and train good police officers. If you want to talk about "them", you have admitted your own incompetence and that you can't run your own city even when you hold all the key positions of power. Might as well abandon voting and politics because you can't win anyway. Mayor? On the other hand if all you are interested in is fanning the flames...

Good for the mayor. Dialogue is needed to find common ground and overcome distrust.

In 2015, police killed twice as many whites than blacks.

In 2012, white males were 38 percent of the population and committed 4,582 murders. The same year, black males were 6.6 percent of the population but committed 5,531 murders.

DOJ statistics show that between 1980 and 2008, black people committed 52% of homicides, though blacks only made up 13% of the total population.

According to FBI, though blacks make up 15% of the total population in the 75 biggest counties in the country, 40% of the killings of police officers were by blacks, and blacks committed 62 percent of robberies, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults.

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8:03am The chicken or the egg, which came first? It's understandable for a black citizen to fear the police, but one really can not suggest that it's something "racial" within American police. Black police officers are more likely to shoot blacks than white police officers. The problem is that American police have to encounter blacks more often in dangerous, criminal situations. Much of that is due to poverty.

The American Democratic Party has used blacks to further a progressive agenda and, unfortunately, many prominent black figures have helped it along.

Less preaching and more working. I keep hearing culture used when some blacks do not want to obey the law. Is culture a code word for criminals?
Why is it when a white person dares to say anything about blacks they are labeled a klan member. Blacks can talk all day about whites and no one will say anything? Maybe we need more klan members and less PC.

Dialogue is needed to find common ground and overcome distrust.

Been hearing that since the first year of Harvey Johnson's very first term.

How has it worked out so far?

9:02...how dare you confuse the issue with facts....shame on you.

9:30...why should an "issue" not pay attention to facts?

As a lifelong citizen of Jackson, I have to admit that I am taken back by this to a certain extent. First, this is the politics of division. Second, It is very disturbing to find that in reading the local news every morning, that essentially every day, someone is killed, injured, stabbed, harmed, etc in a crime of a person on person, or one victimized, and more concerning is that it is black males. Third, our police department is a majority of black officers. Fourth, there are many more pressing problems in the city: education, after school programs, neighborhoods, infrastructure, cronyism, unbelievably poor development decisions by the city, etc, the list truly goes on for a while. Fifth, water and sewer.....this has to be a category all its own. I will say this, if this meeting creates a spirit of we will no longer sit silent, we will work with the police and investigators, and we will demand the courts prosecute and apply correct sentencing, and I would rather be a "snitch" than continue to be intimidated and controlled to live in fear by criminals..........then possibly the mayor could salvage something from this term.

Amen 9:02

If I'm a cracker, am I an "us" or a "them"?

Common ground? How about stop killing and robbing? The "black community" doesn't want a dialogue. They want to rant to tell "the man" to change. Just look at Stokes and his hostility towards law enforcement. That tells it all.

This is a joke. Yarber can't even figure out how to pay his mortgage and he's going to solve this issue?

Yarber is in over his head.

You in Jackson Baby Boy!

Police hiring and training are issues for every mayor and police chief in the country including Jackson. Poorly selected and trained officers are a concern for everybody, not just the Black community. It happens that because the Black community is in contact with the police so much, and scared poorly trained officers react to profiles rather than facts, Blacks are most affected. The situation now playing out in Miami is a good example. The officer who shot an innocent care giver is obviously incompetent or worse. If he shot (multiple times) by accident he is an idiot. If he shot (multiple times with a rifle) and still hit the wrong man and never struck his intended target he is a very, very dangerous idiot who never should be given a rifle. Either way he should not be on the police force. The fact that he was a SWAT officer indicates that his training is lacking. More telling will be that way the other officers who did not shoot and who recognized the situation, will still try to defend their fellow officer even in a situation of police incompetence. If the mayor wants to responsibly discuss the real issue, he should focus on police personnel and politicians who cover up real incompetent police officers who are a danger to the public they are sworn to protect.

I thought the cop in Minnesota literally freaked out and panicked.

Sterling case. Right now I'm leaning against the cops but they do have their day in court.

10:14, I feel sorry for you. There are very few who believe like you left in Jackson. I hope you stay safe.
One reason nothing good ever comes from the elected officials in Jackson is they keep the people excited over them and us. As long as they can keep the people in Jackson mad at some imaginary person they will not look at the piss poor job the city is doing.

People are not coming into Jackson to kill the people there.
People are not coming into Jackson destroying the utilities.
People are not coming into Jackson to rob and steal.
People are not coming into Jackson to destroy the streets.

Put the blame where it should be. There is no us and them. Just politicians fooling the uneducated while they steal tax money that should be used to help the city.

So, according to Kingfish one who questions the demographic makeup of the JPD is a Klan member? And another one of you suggests that blacks in Jacktown have a right to distrust the police. If Jackson is 89% black and the JPD is 80% black, who indeed is 'us' and who is 'them'?

I can tell you right now for damned sure that within ten minutes of this meeting beginning, the entire venue will be an angry mob (in the audience and on the stage) criticizing the police departments of Pearl, Brandon, Madison, Clinton and Byrum.

That, my friends, is the 'us' and 'them'.

@8:03 - The FACTS show that more WHITE people have been shot by police than BLACK people EVEN THOUGH Black commit a much larger percentage of violent crimes. (These are US Dept of Justice facts, not MINE....) Therefore, your logic doesn't make any sense. If WHITE people aren't "afraid" of the police, even though THEY are shot more often than blacks, WHY should black people be afraid????? I know this is hard for you so I'll help you out: Black people are afraid of the policy they have been TAUGHT that they SHOULD be. The average black person is not afraid because he has had some sort of personal experience that was less than pleasant.....because the AVERAGE black person has not HAD an unpleasant encounter (unless you classify a well-deserved traffic ticket to be "unpleasant"...as we ALL do). No, Race-bating, hate mongering parasites like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Barack Obama have made their fortunes going around this country and "lecturing" impressionable young black people about the abuse they are BOUND to endure at the hands of police officers. They have convinced them that, in order to avoid being beaten and (probably) killed, they must RUN, RESIST, FIGHT and even SHOOT FIRST. Then, like obedient, brain-washed sheep, they do as they've been taught which leads the police to be more aggressive with THEM and then, Sharpton, Obama, etc., point back at this as PROOF that black people are justified in being afraid of the cops. There is only ONE way to stop this cycle. Influential black people MUST teach black kids to respect law officers, to OBEY them, to COOPERATE with them EVEN IF they think they are being singled out for some minor infraction. This approach has worked quite well for white people. It's past time for black folks to give it try. Hey...what have you got to lose???

So explain Chicago. You know, where they hid the tape.

KF
What do you mean "explain Chicago...they hid the tape"?
They hid the tape for one reason only, to ensure that Rahm would get re-elected. He just barely beat the Hispanic as it was. If the tape had been revealed, he would have been toast. I don't believe it had anything to do with "us vs. them", just Chicago politics at it's everyday low, low level.

8:26 and 8:56 - I don't care what color my police officers are. I only see blue. I appreciate them when I see them patrolling my neighborhood and place of business. And I welcome dialogue among blue, black and white. It is the only way to bring understanding. Most of you will never have it because you are crouching in your secluded corner of the world. You should get out and meet people who are different than you. Also, as to the name of the forum, I'm guessing it refers to the "us vs them" mentality. With the state of the world being as it is, it would behoove us to get as close to one America as we can get.

If some of the above posters, assuming they live in Jackson, would come to their Precinct Cops Meetings, you would meet your officers. Some are white and some are black. So What? I don't believe the "Us and Them" refers to black and white. I believe it refers to Police and Civilians. BTW, did you see the pictures of some officers (police) and protesters playing ping pong in Cleveland?

"9:02...how dare you confuse the issue with facts....shame on you."

Eeewww - facts! Make the mean man go away!
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10:08 To quote Chandler Bing: "Irony - not a fan?"

Dumbass

"I don't believe the "Us and Them" refers to black and white. I believe it refers to Police and Civilians."

You just go ahead and hang with that belief you dumb, stupid shit.

8:03 you are somewhat on the right track. Millions of us consider the Black Lives Matter folks a bunch of racist fools. We are unmoved by videos and reports of so called racists police when mountains of evidence says it is not so. Looting, burning down buildings, and shooting policemen for being policemen just confirms what we thought all along. It is regrettable that police have to shoot anyone, but criminal behavior sometimes forces those conflicts. Because blacks commit far more crimes per capita, they are necessarily involved in some of these shootings. With almost 700,000 law enforcement personnel in the USA there are going to be accidents and there is going to be out and out crime committed by police. We have local judges, and juries to consider those cases. The BLM cause not only insults the integrity of cops, it is also very insulting to judges and juries. Do you think that juries all over the country are conspiring against black folk? Keep in mind that those back folk serve on the juries. One thing that is certain to happen because of BLM is that policing will get worse. Why? Because young people don't have to be policemen. And the ones who would make the best policemen, the more intelligent and better educated ones, are the very one who have more career choices. How's this for a career - let me stand in the street for hours and keep the city safe from fools who are cussing me and throwing things at me for doing my job. And at the same time - a sniper is taking aim at my heart from a nearby rooftop. 8:03 it's real easy to see what BLM is. It's is the same thing as raising hell to get men into the ladies rest rooms or trying to force someone to sell a gay couple a wedding cake. They are all issues invented by Democrats to change the subject. They must change the subject because they are completely incompetent are running the country. So BLM can riot, and burn, and shoot people but they cannot change the hard statistics that say there is not widespread, systematic, racism against blacks by police in this country.

They should hold that forum somewhere that is a little safer. Maybe outside of the city limits.

How many white folks do you think they will have at this venue?

Well, 7:58 pm , the " us vs them" mentality is rather obvious in these posts.

12:57 pm goes on an illogical diatribe about how more white people are shot by police . Should that be the case and isn't something terribly wrong if more violent crime is being committed by blacks but more whites are being shot? You make it clear that you've read none of the studies done about crime or criminals. You get your information from unreliable sources.


The truth is that instead of casting blame, every community , every race needs to be looking at how they contribute to the problems we have. Those who want to make us all better people and find ways to improves ourselves and our systems need to be controlling the dialogue.

It's way past time that whites and blacks learned to turn a deaf ear to the troublemakers among us. We all need to dismiss out of hand the Kings and Queens of Drama who can't wait to exacerbate every problem.

Does Jackson have problems? Of course it does. Are the problems insurmountable, of course they are not. What it will take is good men and women coming together to rationally look at solutions. What it will take is the overly dramatic minding their own damn business rather than trying to sabotage every effort that is made.

Will some efforts fail? Yes they will. But, if you don't try and keep trying then failure is a certainty.

I know some of you see everything bad around you and love to gossip and repeat every bad news item that comes your way. I know you , black or white, get attention when you can stir people up. But it's negative attention.

I know that the troublemakers and naysayers are people who don't feel good about themselves so they have to say bad things about others and caste blame. I know you feel powerless except when you can make others feel just as scared and insecure as you feel.


People who are secure and successful and happy take pleasure in the success of others and want to lift others up, not tear them down. They want all those around them to be equally secure, successful and happy and are willing to help. They want to inspire and encourage.

Toxic people make themselves feel better by tearing others down and casting blame.

As for me, I'm encouraged that Baptist Hospital, St D's and UMMC continue to build and grow. I am encouraged by the new builds and the new businesses I see. I am encouraged that homes in my neighbor have been remodeled and our values are increasing. I want that for every neighborhood in Jackson. The people that work at those growing hospitals are the people moving in. Many doctors need to be able to be at a hospital within 30 minutes or didn't y'all know that?

State government is not moving out. Or do y'all believe that can really happen and succeed?

Fondren is booming and while some of you seem frightened of creative,enterprising young people, the rest of us enjoy the vibrancy and energy.

The racial divide in Mississippi has always been our worst problem and held us back. Doing what has always been done isn't going to work. And, that includes African Americans becoming those they hated by perpetuating prejudice. It's the prejudice and the pity is we can see it in others but not in ourselves. It's way past time to look in the mirror!

"Fondren is booming and while some of you seem frightened of creative,enterprising young people, the rest of us enjoy the vibrancy and energy."
Yeah, riiiiight, 10:02. Up until someone opens a bar/restaurant that is just a little too close for the creative, enterprising young people's comfort. Then it's all about NOT IN MY BACKYARD. Hahahahaha. Putz.

It's a damn good thing UMMC 'continues to grow'. The ER is drastically over-burdened by the routine traffic caused by Jackson's crime issues.

'We just need to come together and solve these problems'. I've been reading that fool's comments on this blog for about three or four years.

When the community causing the problems has no interest in 'coming together' or in 'solving the problems', the notion of 'coming together' is as useless as a fart in a whirlwind.