In photos: Michael Brown justice rally draws hundreds in Asheville

Photos by John Penley

About 200 people gathered in downtown Asheville Nov. 25 in support of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man who was killed by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer earlier this year. On Nov. 24, a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict the police officer, spawning protests across the country. Unlike protests in Ferguson and some other cities, the Asheville gathering at Vance Monument was peaceful as attendees held signs with phrases such as “Hold Cops Accountable” and “Where is Justice for Black America.”

Here’s a slideshow of photos from the event by John Penley:

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25 thoughts on “In photos: Michael Brown justice rally draws hundreds in Asheville

  1. Jim

    Must’ve missed the article about the rally at Lee Walker Heights a few weeks back when the crip did the drive by. Oh that’s right, blacks hold whites accountable but not other blacks when violence is committed.

  2. Michael Brown was a common street thug who started a fight with a police officer and was justifiably killed by the innocent officer in the course of defending himself against a violent life-threatening assault.

    Justice means getting what you deserve. Michael Brown got what he deserved. And now, thanks to the Grand Jury deliberations of the facts and evidence, we know that for certain.

    Evidence and Testimony: goo.gl/cdJiC6

    What should be condemned in all of this is not an intentionally maligned police officer, but the frenzy of media hype, wishful thinking narrative creation and self-serving race-hustling activism.

    By the way, you phony embarrassing protestors were wrong for 2 years. Own it.

  3. Red Riot Dog

    Well it looks like the local KKK members are the first to weigh in with comments.

    • Jim

      No, not KKK. But about tired of the race racketeers and their crony white guilt fools who won’t hold blacks up to the same standards they hold whites. Again, where were the protest at Lee Walker for the drive by? There weren’t any but I’m the racist for pointing that out, right? See the sign that “claims” black lives matter? Apparently not at Lee Walker Heights or the other places that the left wing loons seem to want to keep blacks in.

  4. Scotty_Mack

    Tim Peck spouts the sort of meaningless drivel I expect from a person that espouses his own rights as an individual but cares nothing for the rights and lives of others. You can always tell fake libertarians by their brown nosing and worship of police officers and other authoritarian figures, in direct opposition to libertarian philosophy. First off, this is not just about Michael Brown, its about all the police murders going on every day in America. Police have become a hostile occupying force in America enforcing corporate laws and protecting moneyed interests while stealing lives and resources (misspent taxes, civil forfeiture) from the citizens they espouse to serve. They are not just a danger to brown people in America, they are a danger to all freedom-loving citizens, since intrusions on the liberty of others often morphs into intrusions on all of us. For example, if we as a nation had cared and voiced objection that hundreds of thousands of brown people were illegally stopped and searched without cause in New York City starting in 2002, we might have set the precedent to prevent the TSA from illegally feeling up everyone’s junk to board a plane.

    Plus the idea that an unarmed Michael Brown attacked an armed & car-mounted policeman is so farfetched that one must be a media stooge or complete racist to believe it. Grand Juries can indict a pint of ice cream that has never left the freezer, so it took a lot of corruption and ‘home-field advantage’ to keep Darren Wilson out of trouble. Prominent legal scholar destroying the prosecution of Darren Wilson in 8 tweets: http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/11/25/7285265/darren-wilson-grand-jury

    A couple of personal notes, Tim. Fist, “street thug” is the new acceptable media term for “n*gger” and quite clearly shows your racist dehumanization of others. Dehumanization is the first step to undermining the rights of a group or individual. And second, get out of the house more often. Seriously. I’m worried about you. Staying inside for days at a time and never leaving the comfort of your computer is a poor substitute for human interaction and leads to a distant, withdrawn, and miserable emotional state.

    • bsummers

      Staying inside for days at a time and never leaving the comfort of your computer is a poor substitute for human interaction and leads to a distant, withdrawn, and miserable emotional state.

      Have you met Tim?

    • Jim

      Unarmed? Sure. Dangerous? Very. Brown was a bully and thief. The store owner should’ve capped him when he not only stole the cigars, but threatened and intimidated him physically.

      No matter. The only thing it really shows is how and why businesses should avoid black areas.

    • “Tim Peck spouts the sort of meaningless drivel I expect from a person that espouses his own rights as an individual but cares nothing for the rights and lives of others.”

      Why would someone change the subject toward the person commenting? Seems an odd way to go about it, don’t you think?

      And just how do you conclude from my comments that I “care nothing for the rights and lives of others”? Frankly, that’s rather absurd. I am not a libertarian, but I do advocate a political philosophy of individual rights. Not MY singular rights to the exclusion of the individual rights of others, mind you, but the expansive concept that all individuals have rights that should be protected. Even innocent police officers who are attacked by thugs and maligned by race-baiting activists with an ulterior motives.

      A person who violates those rights, as Michael Brown did, is guilty of a crime and deserving of punishment. A person whose rights are violated, as Officer Wilson’s was, has recourse to defend his person and property when the exigency of the situation demands it, as it did. The aggressor who initiates force against another is the criminal. That is the basis for my opinion.

      In this case, I have pointed out what the Grand Jury concluded having examined all of the evidence and relevant testimony. Brown was a violent thug who attacked another person with violent intent and got what he so richly deserved. Case closed.

      Also, at no time have I mentioned race. A thug is a thug is a thug. And Michael Brown was a thug. In fact, it was YOU who introduced that factor. I draw my conclusions without reference to race. YOU, however are unable to do so. Pity.

      • chris

        Nice to see that Moffit’s mouthpiece has moved on. Perhaps he can make a comeback in Buncombe on your platform of dog whistle racebaiting!

    • Jim

      You’re expecting people who lie to show integrity. Maybe they might follow the example of the tool Chuck Shumer, who actually told the truth about the ACA even though politics was behind it. Even though it’s like Hell freezing over, we can always hope.

  5. bsummers

    Peck’s goal in this is the same as in every other – throw a stinkbomb of hate into any discussion that he perceives “the left” cares about, in order to keep that discussion from happening. He doesn’t really care about Michael Brown’s shooting, or anything else – just doing damage to those who do care enough to try to speak out about injustice, whatever the issue.

    • Jim

      Why should he care about the Brown shooting? Blacks locally don’t care about a crip coming into Lee Walker Heights and spraying the place up with bullets so why are you HOLDING A WHITE MALE UP TO DIFFERENT STANDARDS??? Obviously you think blacks are either stupid or unable to fend for themselves. Well if you’re all for handouts and giveaways while telling people they’re underprivileged and targeted, it’s not surprising. But you omit such details that the substitute for the male in the black community is BIG GOVERNMENT that has done nothing but kept the section 8 and single mother WELFARE machine going to remain relevant. Black women don’t need no man remember? And a lackluster education system that spends more per a capita on students yet produces nothing but failure after failure.

      Modern blacks don’t know what REAL racism is. What they experience is made up racism from the left who only see them as useful idiots for votes. But what they don’t tell them is that unchecked illegal immigration is taking their opportunities away. Or that in order to really progress in society, it takes hard work, responsibility, and accountability instead of acting like a bunch of thugs. Why would they? Leftist don’t garner votes or huge payouts by being truthful as we’ve seen for the past several years now. Instead crony fools only say injustice yet oddly not one of you has said anything about the store owner who was assaulted by this punk. Or the businesses that were looted and set on fire for absolutely no reason other than to steal and have a good time.

      • chris

        “Modern blacks don’t know what REAL racism is.”

        Nothing says racist like a white guy telling black people what real racism is.

        “But what they don’t tell them is that unchecked illegal immigration is taking their opportunities away.”

        You have a deep regard for all humans, regardless of skin color, I can tell. If people didn’t know what “real” racism was, they will after reading your post.

        • Jim

          What is racism??? You tell me.

          The only thing modern blacks are is useful idiots for the likes of Sharpton, Jackson, Obama, Holder, and company. Blacks are doing a great job of killing themselves off in Chicago with over 300 being gunned down in the streets this year alone yet no protest by the black race bating goon squads. Blacks are only useful so long as others can profit from them. No profit in Chicago because when blacks do each other in, it’s not a big deal. But when whitey is there to be a lackey and a fall guy, man oh man do the gates of Hell open up.

          When I see these young black guys with their pants down to their thighs and who can’t put a coherent sentence together because they ignored school and their mother has to deal with several kids by several different dads, they ain’t racism fools. That’s the outcome of a democratic political machine brought on by LBJ way back when to not solve poverty or any black problem, but to keep it going on.

          • chris

            “When I see these young black guys with their pants down to their thighs and who can’t put a coherent sentence together because they ignored school and their mother has to deal with several kids by several different dads, they ain’t racism fools.”

            If that’s ALL you see, that’s why you’re a racist.

    • Dionysis

      He reminds me of an unpopular little kid that other kids try and ignore, so he waves his arms around while throwing a ‘look at me’ tantrum. It’s always the same lame approach, ending with the same delusion, regardless of the topic. He confuses being irritating with being interesting. Now that is sad!

  6. One would expect you two goons to have an argument after all this time to think of one. Oh well.

    After all of your useless personal attacks and fantastical biography, I am still of the well-considered opinion that Michael Brown was a common street thug who started a fight with a police officer and was justifiably killed by the innocent officer in the course of defending himself against a violent life-threatening assault.

    I look forward to our next conversation with great eagerness.

  7. Oh, and your right about one thing (which is pretty pitiful considering your word count): I don’t “care” about Michael Brown. I care about Officer Wilson. He was the one attacked by a violent thug. I only hope there is a place where he can go to get his reputation back. In this age of virulent racial McCarthyism, I can’t think of any.

  8. bsummers

    Don’t forget the peeing in the sandbox so nobody else wants to play in it. These threads used to have dozens of commenters.

  9. bsummers

    Anyway, ignoring the distractions, the grand jury’s failure to indict Darren Wilson doesn’t “prove” him innocent. All it proves is that the prosecutor really. really didn’t want Darren Wilson indicted. The way he conducted the grand jury “proves” that.

    I hope they begin a federal prosecution of this bad cop.

    • Suetwo

      Barry said: “The way he conducted the grand jury “proves” that.”

      Could you please explain that comment? How did he conduct the grand jury in such a way to prove that he didn’t want the police officer indicted? I am honestly interested in your answer. (And theories and suppositions don’t count- just facts.)

    • Jim

      Wrong. Prosecution had every incentive to indict did they not? But by all means present us with real facts as to why this was racism instead of self defense.

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