After the news on Wednesday that there wouldn't be an indictment in the case of Eric Garner, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would open a civil rights inquiry.
While hopes hang once again on the federal court system amid waves of protests, the discussions and debates regarding race, our legal system, and the disadvantage black men all too frequently face when confronted by law enforcement must continue.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), on MSNBC’s “Hardball” Wednesday talked to Chris Matthews about his reaction to the grand jury decision not to indict in the Garner case:
“Well, you know, I think it’s hard not to watch that video of him saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,’ and not be horrified by it. But I think there’s something bigger than just the individual circumstances.Sorry, Senator, but it wasn't taxes, or the law, too many laws, or evil laws strongly favored by Democrats that caused Eric Garner's death.“Obviously, the individual circumstances are important. But I think it’s also important to know that some politician put a tax of $5.85 on a pack of cigarettes. So they’ve driven cigarettes underground by making them so expensive. But then some politician also had to direct the police to say, ‘Hey, we want you arresting people for selling a loose cigarette.’
“And... for someone to die over breaking that law, there really is no excuse for it. But I do blame the politicians. We put our police in a difficult situation with bad laws.”
We need to discuss why it's become open season for killing black men in America, and how to end that. We can't be deterred by meaningless sideshows.