This is the MOST DANGEROUS event so far in the country's lurch to fascism.
This is a Republican governor telling right-wing fascists to start shooting.
He's saying it is OK now, no one will hold you accountable if you murder "those people."
"Texas governor seeks pardon of man convicted of murder in Black Lives Matter shooting"
@dcjohnson It seems like before you say this is "telling right-wing fascists to start shooting" we need to consider the point about this being self-defense.
If an angry mob surrounds a car and points guns at the driver, you gotta expect a reaction. Or: was the driver doing something threatening? or... ?
@schwern @dcjohnson "you go talk to the driver" vs. "surrounding his car and banging on it" – kind of give different impressions. (The video doesn't look like the car was totally surrounded or anything, though; like Perry could have driven away, I think.)
@ech @dcjohnson Regardless, surrounding a car is not punishable by summary execution.
@schwern of course not, although if you surround a car and threaten the driver you should obviously expect the driver at least to drive forward (or reverse) rapidly in order to get away, which might kill you depending on where you are standing. (see: Alexian Lien) And if you also threaten the driver with a gun, you should expect maybe more.
Sounds like maybe neither of those things happened in this case, though.
I will go with the thought that your point is so freaking obvious it had to have come up in court during summation and if not it surely must have come up during deliberation.
At least some of the jury had to be packing on a regular basis. Has to be a jury of his peers after all. But if so these gun owners felt there was a problem with his response.
@graphictruth Well, I'm sure it came up, it was literally the main defense argument used in the trial, wasn't it?
I don't think "peers" means "people with the same proclivities & interests" but I suppose you have a point.
@ech @dcjohnson Witnesses testified that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/army-sergeant-guilty-fatal-texas-shooting-protester-98439113
Foster was openly carrying a gun, which is what I thought good, law abiding, 2nd amendment loving citizens are supposed to do in Texas. *
If a car approaches a crowd, you go talk with that driver; cars have been used as weapons at protests (intentionally or not). I've had to step in front of cars trying to push through *a bike parade*.
Perry could have talked with this law abiding, gun toting citizen, or backed up. Instead he shot Foster.
* Open Carry is fascist bullshit. It's all about who is carrying.