Carter Coughlin was among the protesters on the highway at the time of the semi-truck incident

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Was through this stuff in the 60's & early 70's. Have seen some of the current talking heads saying how the protesting seems different this time because so many young whites were joining in. Hate to break it to them, but a lot of us young whites were out there way back then. So that makes me doubtful about how much things will actually change.

But this is different now and gives me at least a bit of hope. One, is that athletes and coaches are now speaking out and becoming very vocal. They're not going to change the redneck's mind or the law and order conservative's mind, but it does show there's been a shift. Black athletes back then were pretty apolitical in public as far as making statements. That's why it was so great to see Rashod Bateman's statement right away. And I really don't recall any white athletes being active either. That is going to get the attention of some older folks and maybe get them to look at their attitudes. But I think where someone like Carter will be the most effective is with the younger generation. I won't be around when the United States resolves its race issues; but hopefully this awful murder will be a big step in the right direction, so George Floyd's murder isn't going to be just a footnote.
 

So_Money said:
My comment was rhetorical. Moreover what really kills me is channel 5 showed video where the frame rate was clearly sped up to condemn the drive. Our world is a joke, screw facts, push an agenda, narrative or flat out propaganda, then never apologize or recognize your actions and the damage you have done.
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The Star and Trib said he was speeding. He was also put in jail according to the article. I assume he was released and given a speeding ticket. The problem occurred because the barriers weren't put up in time. One can imagine that the road is ordered closed but with a pandemic and riots, everyone is busy putting out literal and figurative fires so thinking the road had had the barriers the folks who stopped him made an understandable assumption that he went through the barriers that were supposed to already have been erected. The governor sees he is arrested and makes an understandable assumption that he went though barriers. I highly doubt this is an attempt to push propaganda...that's what Russia does....not our governor and not our news channels. Do they get it wrong sometimes? Yes but not deliberately.
 

hungan1 said:
The police and guardsmen were quick thinking to get all the protesters away from the truck. The only way to do that quickly was using tear gas.

If some of the people around the fuel truck messed with the valves, a spark can easily ignite the fuel, turning it into a bomb. Imagine how many people could have been killed.

Hopefully, the protesters heard the reason why that it was not an attack on them by the police. It was out of concern for the safety of everyone in a very dangerous scenario.
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The Trip said the truck was empty. Which would also allow him to stop/slow down faster.
 

Love me some CC, but he made a fool out of himself on this one. Putting that Tweet out there with racial propaganda with minimal info. Then he deletes it when others call him out on it.
Dude, admit you were wrong and move on.
 


Our friend knows the driver and told us he absolutely did not intend to hurt anyone. He was on his way home after a trip. His wife is pregnant with their first child, and now they are getting death threats. So sad. While I can sure understand the rush to judgement (I made the same conclusion when I first heard this), it is really sad now that many of us (myself included) are quick to embrace the mob mentality and declare people guilty before all the facts are known.
 

Honestly, I blame the DOT. To not have the barricades up after closing the freeway is just ridiculous.

I'm just relieved this colossal whoopsie didn't turn into a colossal loss of life.
 

Bordergopher said:
Our friend knows the driver and told us he absolutely did not intend to hurt anyone. He was on his way home after a trip. His wife is pregnant with their first child, and now they are getting death threats. So sad. While I can sure understand the rush to judgement (I made the same conclusion when I first heard this), it is really sad now that many of us (myself included) are quick to embrace the mob mentality and declare people guilty before all the facts are known.
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But if everyone was driving the wrong way on a freeway towards you wouldn't you slow down and see what's going on? "hmmm why is everyone driving the wrong way and towards me"
 

I did not know this. Carter has an adopted brother and sister from Haiti(?). It was on KSTP Channel 10 O'clock News.

We have to applaud this young man for his courage to come out and support change for the better in society.
 
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So_Money said:
My comment was rhetorical. Moreover what really kills me is channel 5 showed video where the frame rate was clearly sped up to condemn the drive. Our world is a joke, screw facts, push an agenda, narrative or flat out propaganda, then never apologize or recognize your actions and the damage you have done.
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The people that assaulted the truck driver should face charges. Justice for the truck driver. And humanity.
 

John Galt said:
The people that assaulted the truck driver should face charges. Justice for the truck driver. And humanity.
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I think I read the driver didn't want to press charges.
 


John Galt said:
If so, I wonder if it’s because he feels sorry for what happened, or if he fears for his life.
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Sometimes it's the right call just to move on.

I think I heard a go-fund-me site was set up. If yes, there's a good chance open wallets will provide a decent outcome.

Any crimimanl prosecution would be against students and young adults, which would rely on cellphone, instagram, etc. and in-person testimony as the basis of any convictions.

Any civil suit would be meaningless as any potential targets have no money. Since the lawyers survey the field for the deepest pockets, maybe an action against the city or state for not adequately closing the particular exit...or not having a manned barricade to the south of the protests...might yield some monetary damages.

As noted before, this finally was a break in all this. If justice requires some type of compensence for the driver's mistake, then that 1 minute of hell for him certainly counts in my book.
 
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BilldGopher said:
Sometimes it's the right call just to move on.

I think I heard a go-fund-me site was set up. If yes, there's a good chance open wallets will provide a decent outcome.

Any crimimanl prosecution would be against students and young adults, which would rely on cellphone, instagram, etc. and in-person testimony as the basis of any convictions.

Any civil suit would be meaningless as any potential targets have no money. Since the lawyers survey the field for the deepest pockets, maybe an action against the city or state for not adequately closing the particular exit...or not having a manned barricade to the south of the protests...might yield some damages.

As noted before, this finally was a break in all this. If justice requires some type of compensence for the driver's mistake, then that 1 minute of hell for him certainly counts in my book.
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What mistake did the driver make. He was on the road prior to it being closed and coming up over a small rise that limits the view ahead of you. What if he was glancing out the window at a building or something that takes another second for the truck to stop. He should be a hero for not hitting anyone. The fact that everyone thought some crazy driver tried to kill protestors, but yet managed to not hit a single one is ridiculous. The guy got the crap beat out of him for no reason.
 

I agree with you. I called him a hero very early on. My intent might have been better stated by putting "mistake" in quotes. More of a devil's advocate statement than my belief.
 

PMWinSTP said:
There is a pretty sharp left curve on 35W right before the area that had the protesters so I assume he had to slow down into that curve. An empty payload definitely helped him stop in a much shorter distance, it still was a very short distance before he was completely stopped.
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Actually a semi can stop faster with a load than without. Weight equals Traction...same reason an empty 2wd pickup truck cannot accelerate faster than one with weight in the back.

This explains it.

Speed Control And Stopping Distance | High Road Online CDL Training

Speed Control And Stopping Distance will be covered on page 19 of The High Road Online CDL Training Program. Prepare for your CDL test now!
www.truckingtruth.com
 
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I’ve been pretty busy and hadn’t looked at the video of the situation beyond the nightly news snippet until today. This is like something out of The Road Warrior. He immediately knew he was in trouble and tried to creep out of it but was overcome. Who is at fault for he and the crowd both on the interstate? Did he drive around barriers? Attorneys are contacting him already if he was truly unaware. I don’t know.


The view inside the scrum. Probably half trying to kill him and the other half defending him. Reports he was in the fetal position at the bottom of this taking kicks to the head, shirt ripped off. Nothing short of amazing he walked away with apparently non-critical injuries?

 
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BilldGopher said:
The horn honking a warning says it all.
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The irony of the protestors freaking out when faced with imminent danger and yelling for everyone to “beat his ass” at a demonstration about excessive police reactionary violence shouldn’t be lost on anyone. Can we be respectful and discuss things?

How many reasonable but unaware people would be far more willing to embrace reform and special assistance to the black community if they understood the ramifications of overt racism at institutions like the University of Minnesota well past WWII, and things like difficulties obtaining home loans to help build wealth leading to increased poverty and addiction and broken families and discontent and hate which can be difficult to escape from. I’d wager many reasonable people are largely totally unaware of these relatively recent historical issues bit do understand wealth building. Many hear Kaep going ballistic and shooting off his mouth, excusing bad behavior by some, and shut it all off. Both sides need to come to the table.
 

Mulligan said:
Was through this stuff in the 60's & early 70's. Have seen some of the current talking heads saying how the protesting seems different this time because so many young whites were joining in. Hate to break it to them, but a lot of us young whites were out there way back then. So that makes me doubtful about how much things will actually change.

But this is different now and gives me at least a bit of hope. One, is that athletes and coaches are now speaking out and becoming very vocal. They're not going to change the redneck's mind or the law and order conservative's mind, but it does show there's been a shift. Black athletes back then were pretty apolitical in public as far as making statements. That's why it was so great to see Rashod Bateman's statement right away. And I really don't recall any white athletes being active either. That is going to get the attention of some older folks and maybe get them to look at their attitudes. But I think where someone like Carter will be the most effective is with the younger generation. I won't be around when the United States resolves its race issues; but hopefully this awful murder will be a big step in the right direction, so George Floyd's murder isn't going to be just a footnote.
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Did you miss what Ali, Lee Evans, Jim Brown, Lew Alcindor were saying ! Bill Russell never stopped saying it and it was more difficult then.
 


builtbadgers said:
Did you miss what Ali, Lee Evans, Jim Brown, Lew Alcindor were saying ! Bill Russell never stopped saying it and it was more difficult then.
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No, I'm well aware of what those athletes were saying. I'll claim they were the exception, the lone voices, and received little support compared to today. They also were the superstars; now you have athletes without their stature speaking out. And, as far as the U was concerned, I don't recall any athletes speaking out against racism or Vietnam. To what extent social media has played in this, I'm not sure, but it's been a factor. Over-simplified it, but there has been a big change as I was trying to point out.

Personally, reading about Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Larry Doby, and others got a white kid from a small Minnesota town to really start thinking about race. John Carlos and Tommy Smith raising their fists in Mexico City had a huge impact on me. Read about the athletes first and then that got me into reading the literature of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Langston Hughes to try to understand the black experience better. So athletes have huge voices, especially on the young, and am glad they're using them today.
 

The Olympics Black Power salute was very huge in that day. Cassius Clay had similar impact with his name change.
 

highwayman said:
Being a pedestrian on a freeway is just stupid. Any reason. 24/7/365.
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Agreed.

I think the state did a pretty good job.
They moved up the freeway closures when they figured out the protesters planned to go on the freeway.

unfortunately they didn’t get it executed properly.

We should just count our blessings no one died
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The irony of the protestors freaking out when faced with imminent danger and yelling for everyone to “beat his ass” at a demonstration about excessive police reactionary violence shouldn’t be lost on anyone. Can we be respectful and discuss things?

How many reasonable but unaware people would be far more willing to embrace reform and special assistance to the black community if they understood the ramifications of overt racism at institutions like the University of Minnesota well past WWII, and things like difficulties obtaining home loans to help build wealth leading to increased poverty and addiction and broken families and discontent and hate which can be difficult to escape from. I’d wager many reasonable people are largely totally unaware of these relatively recent historical issues bit do understand wealth building. Many hear Kaep going ballistic and shooting off his mouth, excusing bad behavior by some, and shut it all off. Both sides need to come to the table.
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Some fair and reasonable points. Much work to be done. Much to discuss. I won't open up the Kaepernick part since it's been discussed numerous times.
 

I think freeway is great place for a protest, no worries about rouge elements destroying anything. I get that some of you think it's outrageous that you could have some impact on your drive or commute, all I say is cry me a river.
 

Wally said:
I think freeway is great place for a protest, no worries about rouge elements destroying anything. I get that some of you think it's outrageous that you could have some impact on your drive or commute, all I say is cry me a river.
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And I say your take is as bright as a sack of light bulbs, but that’s just an opinion.
 

CoMn said:
Proud of Carter! It is so easy to support Fleck's players. He has taught them to be real leaders.
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I don't think real leaders join angry mobs that attack people using a highway for . . . . wait for it. . . commuting.
 

Wally said:
I think freeway is great place for a protest, no worries about rouge elements destroying anything. I get that some of you think it's outrageous that you could have some impact on your drive or commute, all I say is cry me a river.
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You probably don't see the hypocrisy in this statement, but it made me chuckle.
 

It has been 10 days since this incident, and 15 days since the protests began.

Are all of these protesters sick yet? Or can we go back to having fans in the stands for the football season?
 

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