Resolved: on balance, police are more responsible than protesters for recent civil unrest in the United States



Download 0.83 Mb.
Page18/23
Date13.08.2017
Size0.83 Mb.
#31612
1   ...   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23

Neg Case 5


My Partner and I stand in NEGATION of the topic, Resolved: On balance, police are more responsible than protesters for recent civil unrest in the United States.
Definitions: On Balance: taking everything into account, Responsible: chargeable with being the author, cause, or occasion of something, Protest:an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid, Protester: a person who publicly demonstrates strong objection to something; a demonstrator, Unjust:not based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair.
Contention 1: Protesters choose to react to police action and cause civil unrest to do so. We think that, while the actions of the police are what protesters are protesting, the protesters CHOSE to react to the actions of the police. Though protesters are reacting to police, they don’t have to be reacting.

Subpoint A: In the case of the death of Eric Garner. Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Michael Slager the police had done something unjust and the protesters had a right to protest. Because of them protesting that caused civil unrest and then caused the police to react violently which made the protesters react violently. These protesters reacted inappropriately to the police officers who had pulled guns on them in an attempt to dissuade protesters and restore normality to the community.


Contention 2: The police are trying to protect and serve and the protesters are trying to disrupt the community. The job of the police is to protect their community, and they are doing just that during events of civil unrest. It is their job to stop civil unrest and restore normal function to the community they are serving, and that is what they are doing. Regardless of how they do it, it is better than them not reacting and therefore not doing their jobs.

Subpoint A: The violent protests aren’t the most important protests. The protesters that erupted after the death of Eric Garner in NYC walked through Union Highway after the Rockefeller Christmas lighting event at 8:30 pm which made a lot of people not be able to get back to their homes, The bad thing was is that their encouraging more random people to protest. Whilst walking through the highways stopping copious amounts of cars some of the people in the cars actually supported the protests even though that they are the ones being



Subpoint B: What the protesters have done is incredibly disabling to the community, The protesters in Ferguson have burned down more than twelve buildings and most of them will have to be completely rebuilt. Two police cars were basically melted onto the road, In Baltimore and NYC have had 29.4+ million dollars according to John Clarke, Ian Simpson, and Nate Reymond.

Cards



Ferguson damage
"’I know that there's at least a dozen buildings that have been set on fire,’ St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a press conference today. ‘Most of those are total losses. I know that I have two St. Louis County police cars that are basically melted on Florissant Road, just to the north of Suburban [Avenue].’”
Murray, 2014 (Rheana, writer for ABC news, “A Look at the Destruction After Ferguson Riots”, ABC, 25 November)
Reaction to lack of indictment
“On the streets of the city, from Tompkinsville to Times Square, many expressed their outrage with some of the last words Mr. Garner uttered before being wrestled to the ground: “This stops today,” people chanted. “I can’t breathe,” others shouted.

While hundreds of angry but generally peaceful demonstrators took to the streets in Manhattan as well as in Washington and other cities, the police in New York reported relatively few arrests, a stark contrast to the riots that unfolded in Ferguson in the hours after the grand jury decision was announced in the Brown case.”
Goodman and Baker, 2014 (J. David and Al, reporters for the New York Times, “Wave of Protests After Grand Jury Doesn’t Indict Officer in Eric Garner Chokehold Case”, New York Times, 3 December)
Reaction to Wilson decision
“In Richmond, students from Virginia Commonwealth University, joined by students at Virginia Union University, started marching around 11 p.m. Monday night, chanting "No justice, no peace," and singing "Amazing Grace," CBS News 6 reported.

At Ohio University, about 100 students gathered in the student center and refused to leave at midnight (when the center closes), saying that they were occupying the building to protest the failure to indict the police officer who shot Brown, The Columbus Dispatch reported. University staffers, after trying without success to get the students to leave, said that they could stay.”
Jaschik, 2014 (Scott, reporter for Inside Higher Ed, “Students Protest Over Ferguson, Inside Higher Ed, 25 November)

“The group walked slowly north, weaving through taxis and cars all at a dead stop. Some drivers were unimpressed, but others were giving out high fives, taking photos and honking horns.”
Caulderwood, 2014 (Kathleen, Writer for the International Business Times, “Eric Garner Protesters Shut Down West Side Highway In New York City”, International Business Times, December 4, 2014)

Neg Case 6


Neg

Resolved: On balance, police are more responsible than protester for recent civil unrest in the US



Definitions:

Civil Unrest- “Civil unrest involves is a disruption of the typical social order; it can involve a strike or protest, and it can be peaceful or involve violence.” - Sternheimer 12

Responsible- “Liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent (2) being the cause or explanation” – Webster 15

Contention 1: Protesters use excessive violence

While police can certainly be considered responsible for acts of racial injustice, they are not the primary drivers of civil unrest.

Michael Snyder in May of this year explains that

recent protests have turned to increasingly violent means, looting stores, harming property, and even maliciously targeting life. Snyder provides examples of this violence, citing events in Baltimore, Oregon, Seattle, New York, and South Carolina where the lives of community members and police officers were threatened, resulting in injury, hospitalization, and in some instances even fatal attacks.

Michelle Maiese in 2004 describes

as fundamental to social stability and peace. Ultimately, recent actions by protesters employ means of excessive violence that delay solutions to the problem and only promote greater unrest that risks the stability and well-being of the entire nation.

Contention Two: Social Media indicates Protesters are more responsible

Throughout the last year social media platforms, such as twitter, tumblr, and facebook have been utilized to convey outrage over police actions and bring groups of protesters together.

Professor Tucker in 2014 explains that

social media plays a significant role in garnering support and involvement in protests as it creates a rapid exchange of information. These platforms have in turn served as primary drivers of civil unrest as they bring massive groups of people together and incite outrage and violent action.

Mark Trujillo in 2014 explains that

these conditions play a major role in stoking tension and igniting nation-wide protests that frequently turn violent. He specifically highlights how just a few hours after the St Louis prosecutor’s decision regarding Officer Wilson received more than 3.5million tweets and ignited nation-wide protests.

Justin Fenton and Erica Green in April of this year add that

in Baltimore it was social media that brought rioters and looters to the street, spurring on violence and unrest across the city. In light of the role of social media in fanning the flames of tension and aggression, it becomes clear that unrest is largely caused by this use of social media, which in turn indicates that protesters are more responsible than police in recent showings of violence.


Download 0.83 Mb.

Share with your friends:
1   ...   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23



The database is protected by copyright ©ininet.org 2024
send message
    Main page
washington post
grand jury