When the video of Eric Garner being choked to death by a NYPD officer surfaced in July only a few major news outlets picked it up. The story didn’t garner anywhere near the media attention that the controversial shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson did less than a month later.

I was familiar with Eric Garner’s choking death when the Michael Brown shooting occurred. At the time, the amount of attention and the emotional response generated by the Michael Brown case surprised me. After all, only a month earlier, the video of Eric Garner had been released and the collective masses barely let out a peep. The video clearly showed police officers literally choking the life out of him for the “crime” of selling cigarettes. Was the Eric Garner case too clear-cut an example of police abuse to incite anger?

An ambiguous case like Michael Brown’s, shrouded in questions and conflicting statements from witnesses, amassed the interest of the entire nation in a few short days. At the time this really confused me. Why weren’t more people infuriated by a video that clearly showed an officer choking a man to death?

As I discussed in a recent article, there was both outrage and interest in the Michael Brown case because it was a perfect fit for modern media to examine the story from every angle. There was enough evidence on either side to incite a passionate response. Individuals raged over the death of the unarmed Michael Brown or passionately defended the actions of Officer Darren Wilson. It was the media’s dream come true.

Those protesting the decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson have increased the focus on crimes committed by police officers. This has been especially true when considering the increased attention the Eric Garner case has received of late. This past week, when the news broke this week that a New York grand jury decided not to indict the police officer that killed Eric Garner the story was a lead in media outlets across the country.

Outrage from the decision in the Michael Brown case being fresh in the minds of individuals served to spike interest in the tragic death of Eric Garner. Five months earlier Garner’s tragic story barely registered with the public.

The Michael Brown case may have been ambiguous and divisive, but it appears to have awakened the masses to police abuse that is rampant throughout society. Perhaps now citizens will begin to understand the ridiculous laws that excuse officers’ violent behavior by providing them with the legal authority to brutally attack non-violent “criminals” like Eric Garner.

The outrage against the police and the grand jury in Eric Garner’s case is more justified that the backlash displayed in response to the decision to not indict Michael Brown’s killer. This is not to say that Darren Wilson is free and clear of blame, but rather NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo is clearly at fault for the death of Eric Garner. This is because there is video evidence that definitively shows the officer choking and shoving Garner’s head into the pavement for the “crime” of selling loose cigarettes.

There are many parties to blame for the death of Eric Garner. The police certainly are not the only culprits. The circumstances that led to his tragic death are too complex and layered to simply blame the cops and chalk this tragedy up to another instance of out of control police officers.

There is not one singular individual responsible for Eric Garner having the air choked to his lungs. There are a collection of offenders. Police, legislators, and the citizens of this nation all share a portion of the blame for the senseless death of a father of six.

This tragedy was carried out by the police when they brutally attacked a man for a non-violent crime. Legislator played a role in the violence by drafting and passing laws that permit police to forcibly stop an individual from committing a non-violent act. The masses of people who defend coercive government laws that ban and tax substances share in the blame.

Rand Paul recently appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews to discuss the grand jury decision to not indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for choking Eric Garner to death. Senator Paul’s response to host Chris Matthew’s question recognizes the insanity of killing a man for the “crime” of selling loose cigarettes.

On Hardball Senator Paul had this to say, “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 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 politician; we put our police in a difficult situation with bad law.”

Paul is on the right track. There are many parties to blame here. The officer is culpable for choosing to continue to serve on a police force that violently attacks citizens for the non-violent crime of selling loose cigarettes. The politicians are certainly to blame for passing laws that coercively ban and tax substances.

Paul stop short of blaming the people, but that’s to be expected, he’s planning on running for President. He doesn’t have the luxury of being truthful. Luckily, I’m not running for President, so I can tell you to look in the mirror and understand this hard truth: if you support coercive taxation or bans, then you support the organized theft of your neighbor’s property by armed thugs from the government. It really is that simple.

Those armed thugs very well could kill your neighbor if he does not comply with their demands. If you don’t believe me, then go ask the family of Eric Garner.

Check out the video of Senator Paul on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.



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