Hey guys My name is Tyre D. Nichols. I am an aspiring photographer. Well I mostly do this stuff for fun but i enjoy it very much. Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways i cannot write down for people. I take different types of photograhy, anywhere from action sports to rural photos, to bodies of water and my favorite.. landscape photography. My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what i am seeing through my eye and out through my lens. People have a story to tell why not capture it instead of doing the "norm" and writing it down or speaking it. I hope to one day let people see what i see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work. So on that note enjoy my page and let me know what you think.
Oh, my God. Those innocent, sweet words of self-explanation of his passion for photography are deeply moving, in and of themselves. Then to think what torture this sweet soul experienced -- as you say, the last image in his mind before he died -- is so completely opposite from this lovely person, no words. No words. Just tears. I don't know how his mother can stand it, knowing that her beloved son's final words were him calling to his Mama for help. I don't know how she will live with this horrible knowledge. I won't be watching the video. Reading his sweet words is enough for me. Prayers for his mother, his family, his little son. Prayers for Tyre that he rest in the arms of Angels for as long as it takes for him to become fully healed -- emotionally, physically, spiritually healed and ready to move forward in his Soul's journey.
These 2 videos released today have left us all grieving for America. You are all so eloquently speaking to this moment. I have 2 rather simplistic comments to add, maybe not so deep, but things we could change.
We are a military family. I am offended by all the disrespectful versions of the American flag, black, blue, trumpy, on sandals and t shirts. We should have higher standards.
Another very simple take away- why is a police unit like that doing traffic stops?
Always, love the eloquence of Steve and his subscribers.
Thank you for saying out loud what we have known for a while..the thin blue line flag has been co-opted as a way for racists to fly it on their front porch or stick it to their bumper in lieu of the Confederacy’s Stars and Bars. They want you to know they are small minded bigots and think the rest of us are so stupid we can’t read their “coded” message.
I am a native Texan and typically these days the thin blue line flag is accompanied by a trump flag and a ‘Come and Take It’ flag. Their trifecta as it were. Occasionally, they just go ahead and stick a confederate flag sticker on their bumper too. Why not?
What gets me - as someone who lives in that part of the world where scorpions are found - is how anyone could think of calling something theoretically designed to promote peace in the community after a beast that is dedicated to the opposite. When you see a scorpion, you do one of two things - move away from it or kill it. There's no negotiating with a scorpion.
As to the five oxygen thieves who would have made the world a better place had they never been born, and their murder of an artist, I'm left with "If my thought dreams could be seen, they would put my head in a guillotine."
As to the LAPD, I've watched their crimes since 1967 with their first police riot. I''ve been around for all five "major reforms" each coming quicker after the one before to fix the unreformables from the last reform. I've gotten off jury duty here, telling the DA that I wouldn't believe a member of the LAPD if they testified it was the day it is. All the reforms in the world aren't going to change that they were created in 1880 to terrorize the "stolen from" and protect the thieves. The thieves whose names are on streets here - Whittier, Nordhoff, Van Nuys, the rest of the scum.
Thank you Steve for presenting my opinions and positions so well! I chose not to watch the videos. I can't take any more; I'm77 years old and still remember too well the video of the beating of Rodney King in 1991 and many that followed. I see them in my head still. From start to finish your writing was vivid enough for me, and that first quoted "note" heartbreaking! I've long hoped for the one that produces a positive change and I sincerely hope this is it; it should be. But I've said that before, I repeat it again! I hope this is the one that brings the positive change so another life wasn't ended in vain!
The cops that stood back are just as guilty of the crime. They could of stopped it.
Hearing him call for his mum, broke my heart.
Reading the introduction triggered tears.
There are horrid ppl everywhere in the community. Sadly, the places we want honour, servitude and integrity, still has evil. Cops, priests, judges, politicians etc have a grand title, but attract deplorables.
May Tyre rest in peace & may his death trigger positive change.
The thing that bothers me most of all, and maybe you will write something on this, is how after seeing countless videos like this, each more horrific than the last, I am becoming acclimated to it, that the mass shootings, the one off executions like this, are normal. Far away, in a huge country, so the new now. I am becoming acclimated to going to the gym and seeing certain people tuned to Fox on their machines, every day. Never changing, and they are the demographic we expect. They gather in groups to talk and invariably the subject relates to what is on the tv that day. And I noted once them talking about another gym patron, who was watching MSNBC. The vibe was clear. An enemy. Not one of us. Outsider, suspicious, to be left alone. We really are two countries and my forecast is in the future that comes to pass but for now we are 'going to go thru some things...' for years I think.
The only thing good about this is that Steve is articulating the situation as it is. The truth. No spin. Long have I thought that something deep in the heart of American policing is dark and has “ gone underground”. Knowing the racist beginnings of policing makes this horror even more horrible. The high jacking of the “blue line” flag by home grown terrorists just compounds the disgust.
The vitriole of the cops and right-wing nuts who justify themselves in the name of some absurd and distorted notion of “law and order” reminds me of the fears that slave-holders in the South had before the Civil War. They justified censorship of the mails for fear of abolitionist material that might become available to slaves, they justified cruelty out of fear that the slaves would want to be as hard-hearted and cruel to them as they were to the slaves-- that was the fear engendered by the Haitian Revolution and Nat Turner in the early 19th century. They justified white supreacy in the name of some phantasmagoric belief that they, the white slaveholders, were the vanguard of civilization. Alll the while, they were the real barbarians. They were the vanguard, not of civilization, but of ignorance, cruelty and bestiality. With their every cruel and unthinking action, these cops and would-be supremacists prove their moral inferiority and render our society less and less civilized. They do not protect society, they destroy it from within by their hatred and cruelty. They serve only fear and anger and hatred and then they feel persecuted by those who dare to challenge them and call their critics “communists” as though name-calling their opponents somehow proves them right. The name-calling is the giveaway, however, as it has always been-- because that’s what children do. The problem is that these are children who look like adults and wield the authority and power of adults. And perhaps there is a link here between racial cruelty and the numbers of mass murders we experience in this country, including murders committed on children by other children. That is a thought that should keep us up at night.
Giving anyone dominion over another person while also giving them a badge, a uniform and a gun requires special qualities in that police offficer, running from courage all the way to empathy. In the United States you have about 18000 police FORCES. In Canada we have about 250 police SERVICES. In the U.S. you have 50 sets of laws. In Canada we have one. In the U.S. you have a gun culture. We do not. We are not without our faults and we have occasions of police extremism but violence has taken hold in America and there are few places where that will emerge more regularly than when one person has dominion, a badge, a uniform and a gun. Significant repairs are needed.
I worry that black people have been so put down, dishonored and disproportionately punished for so long that even some black people who achieve authority disrespect black people who don’t. How else could five black public servants beat a fellow black man to death. Significant repairs are needed.
I cried for him, his mother, his father, his family, this country, when I watched those videos last night. I cried again, reading what you published today. It is beyond horrific.
I still cannot imagine why they did that to him. He was janked from the car, while asking what he had done. He clearly knew what was coming, he was terrified, he complied. He tried to answer.
He clearly knew he was going to die at their hands but had no idea why.
While exploring the website where you posted your amazing photographs, I couldn't help but notice that you took many photos of bridges. Bridges are a metaphor for bringing people together. To build bridges, not walls. To bridge the gaps between us.
But I also couldn't help but think of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where officers of the law beat and brutalized other human beings on March 7, 1965, much like you were beaten and brutalized. I couldn't help but think about the way you died.
I pray that your beautiful photographs of bridges will be remembered as symbols for bringing people together, not just reminders of police brutality. I think we owe you that.
Oh, my God. Those innocent, sweet words of self-explanation of his passion for photography are deeply moving, in and of themselves. Then to think what torture this sweet soul experienced -- as you say, the last image in his mind before he died -- is so completely opposite from this lovely person, no words. No words. Just tears. I don't know how his mother can stand it, knowing that her beloved son's final words were him calling to his Mama for help. I don't know how she will live with this horrible knowledge. I won't be watching the video. Reading his sweet words is enough for me. Prayers for his mother, his family, his little son. Prayers for Tyre that he rest in the arms of Angels for as long as it takes for him to become fully healed -- emotionally, physically, spiritually healed and ready to move forward in his Soul's journey.
These 2 videos released today have left us all grieving for America. You are all so eloquently speaking to this moment. I have 2 rather simplistic comments to add, maybe not so deep, but things we could change.
We are a military family. I am offended by all the disrespectful versions of the American flag, black, blue, trumpy, on sandals and t shirts. We should have higher standards.
Another very simple take away- why is a police unit like that doing traffic stops?
Always, love the eloquence of Steve and his subscribers.
Thank you for saying out loud what we have known for a while..the thin blue line flag has been co-opted as a way for racists to fly it on their front porch or stick it to their bumper in lieu of the Confederacy’s Stars and Bars. They want you to know they are small minded bigots and think the rest of us are so stupid we can’t read their “coded” message.
I am a native Texan and typically these days the thin blue line flag is accompanied by a trump flag and a ‘Come and Take It’ flag. Their trifecta as it were. Occasionally, they just go ahead and stick a confederate flag sticker on their bumper too. Why not?
What gets me - as someone who lives in that part of the world where scorpions are found - is how anyone could think of calling something theoretically designed to promote peace in the community after a beast that is dedicated to the opposite. When you see a scorpion, you do one of two things - move away from it or kill it. There's no negotiating with a scorpion.
As to the five oxygen thieves who would have made the world a better place had they never been born, and their murder of an artist, I'm left with "If my thought dreams could be seen, they would put my head in a guillotine."
As to the LAPD, I've watched their crimes since 1967 with their first police riot. I''ve been around for all five "major reforms" each coming quicker after the one before to fix the unreformables from the last reform. I've gotten off jury duty here, telling the DA that I wouldn't believe a member of the LAPD if they testified it was the day it is. All the reforms in the world aren't going to change that they were created in 1880 to terrorize the "stolen from" and protect the thieves. The thieves whose names are on streets here - Whittier, Nordhoff, Van Nuys, the rest of the scum.
Thank you Steve for presenting my opinions and positions so well! I chose not to watch the videos. I can't take any more; I'm77 years old and still remember too well the video of the beating of Rodney King in 1991 and many that followed. I see them in my head still. From start to finish your writing was vivid enough for me, and that first quoted "note" heartbreaking! I've long hoped for the one that produces a positive change and I sincerely hope this is it; it should be. But I've said that before, I repeat it again! I hope this is the one that brings the positive change so another life wasn't ended in vain!
The cops that stood back are just as guilty of the crime. They could of stopped it.
Hearing him call for his mum, broke my heart.
Reading the introduction triggered tears.
There are horrid ppl everywhere in the community. Sadly, the places we want honour, servitude and integrity, still has evil. Cops, priests, judges, politicians etc have a grand title, but attract deplorables.
May Tyre rest in peace & may his death trigger positive change.
Words fail me at this horror. Thank you Steve for yours, and for Tyree’s. He was only 80 yards from his mom’s home. There is no peace.
The thing that bothers me most of all, and maybe you will write something on this, is how after seeing countless videos like this, each more horrific than the last, I am becoming acclimated to it, that the mass shootings, the one off executions like this, are normal. Far away, in a huge country, so the new now. I am becoming acclimated to going to the gym and seeing certain people tuned to Fox on their machines, every day. Never changing, and they are the demographic we expect. They gather in groups to talk and invariably the subject relates to what is on the tv that day. And I noted once them talking about another gym patron, who was watching MSNBC. The vibe was clear. An enemy. Not one of us. Outsider, suspicious, to be left alone. We really are two countries and my forecast is in the future that comes to pass but for now we are 'going to go thru some things...' for years I think.
Shame. My heart goes out to his family. I cannot imagine their pain.
The only thing good about this is that Steve is articulating the situation as it is. The truth. No spin. Long have I thought that something deep in the heart of American policing is dark and has “ gone underground”. Knowing the racist beginnings of policing makes this horror even more horrible. The high jacking of the “blue line” flag by home grown terrorists just compounds the disgust.
The vitriole of the cops and right-wing nuts who justify themselves in the name of some absurd and distorted notion of “law and order” reminds me of the fears that slave-holders in the South had before the Civil War. They justified censorship of the mails for fear of abolitionist material that might become available to slaves, they justified cruelty out of fear that the slaves would want to be as hard-hearted and cruel to them as they were to the slaves-- that was the fear engendered by the Haitian Revolution and Nat Turner in the early 19th century. They justified white supreacy in the name of some phantasmagoric belief that they, the white slaveholders, were the vanguard of civilization. Alll the while, they were the real barbarians. They were the vanguard, not of civilization, but of ignorance, cruelty and bestiality. With their every cruel and unthinking action, these cops and would-be supremacists prove their moral inferiority and render our society less and less civilized. They do not protect society, they destroy it from within by their hatred and cruelty. They serve only fear and anger and hatred and then they feel persecuted by those who dare to challenge them and call their critics “communists” as though name-calling their opponents somehow proves them right. The name-calling is the giveaway, however, as it has always been-- because that’s what children do. The problem is that these are children who look like adults and wield the authority and power of adults. And perhaps there is a link here between racial cruelty and the numbers of mass murders we experience in this country, including murders committed on children by other children. That is a thought that should keep us up at night.
Giving anyone dominion over another person while also giving them a badge, a uniform and a gun requires special qualities in that police offficer, running from courage all the way to empathy. In the United States you have about 18000 police FORCES. In Canada we have about 250 police SERVICES. In the U.S. you have 50 sets of laws. In Canada we have one. In the U.S. you have a gun culture. We do not. We are not without our faults and we have occasions of police extremism but violence has taken hold in America and there are few places where that will emerge more regularly than when one person has dominion, a badge, a uniform and a gun. Significant repairs are needed.
I worry that black people have been so put down, dishonored and disproportionately punished for so long that even some black people who achieve authority disrespect black people who don’t. How else could five black public servants beat a fellow black man to death. Significant repairs are needed.
Amen, Steve Schmidt.
I cried for him, his mother, his father, his family, this country, when I watched those videos last night. I cried again, reading what you published today. It is beyond horrific.
I still cannot imagine why they did that to him. He was janked from the car, while asking what he had done. He clearly knew what was coming, he was terrified, he complied. He tried to answer.
He clearly knew he was going to die at their hands but had no idea why.
Dear Tyre,
While exploring the website where you posted your amazing photographs, I couldn't help but notice that you took many photos of bridges. Bridges are a metaphor for bringing people together. To build bridges, not walls. To bridge the gaps between us.
But I also couldn't help but think of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where officers of the law beat and brutalized other human beings on March 7, 1965, much like you were beaten and brutalized. I couldn't help but think about the way you died.
I pray that your beautiful photographs of bridges will be remembered as symbols for bringing people together, not just reminders of police brutality. I think we owe you that.
Your friend,
Andrea
This post said it all. Thank you Steve.