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No charges in high-profile grand jury cases; death of Nelson Mandela; Tom Brokaw departs as ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor; ‘Rudolph’ premieres; U.S. Navy unprepared for war

 

⇒ What You Were Talking About This Week: No Charges

The most widely reported stories over the past two weeks refer to two grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers who used lethal force on unarmed black men. On November 24, a grand jury voted not to indict a police officer who fatally shot unarmed black teen Michael Brown in August in Ferguson, Missouri. On Wednesday, a grand jury in New York decided not to bring charges against another white police officer who used a chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man, when arresting him for selling untaxed cigarettes.

Both instances reignited racial tensions long embedded in the American psyche and left many—including President Obama—questioning excessive use of force by police officers, not to mention the effectiveness of grand jury proceedings. Protestors across the country took to the streets chanting “black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe,” which is reportedly what Mr. Garner repeated during his arrest.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Justice Department released a “pattern or practice” report that examined the Cleveland Police Department and what Justice found to be the Cleveland police’s repeated use of unjustifiable force. This investigation follows the death of a 12 year-old boy who was shot and killed by a white officer who thought the boy was reaching for a real gun (it was a toy). In 2012, the Independence Police Department judged the officer unfit for duty; Cleveland didn’t review his file.

All I can say is we’re going to keep talking about this.

⇒ Last Year: Death of Madiba          

Nelson Mandela, South African activist and former president, passed away at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013. Madiba, as he is affectionately called, ushered in South Africa’s emancipation from Apartheid. While his revolutionary actions brought much-needed change to an incredibly polarized society, he is most remembered for his forbearance, as he actively tried to remove the distrust between blacks and whites and heal the nation. After his election as president, Mandela formed a government, which included many of his former oppressors. When The New York Times interviewed Mandela in 2007 about his “lack of rancor,” he responded: “Hating clouds the mind. It gets in the way of strategy. Leaders cannot afford to hate.”

Given what we’re currently talking about in the U.S., it’s particularly interesting to explore the motivation behind Mandela’s decision to move away from peaceful protests and become a leader of armed resistance. Though his role as co-founder and leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe (or Spear of the Nation) would land him behind bars for 30 years, he justified his actions during trial when he said: “I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the Government met our peaceful demands with force. . . .It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. . .”

Mandela is remembered as a champion for peace and social justice and continues to be celebrated around the world.

⇒ 10 Years Ago: Tom Brokaw Signs Off

For nearly 23 years, Tom Brokaw anchored NBC Nightly News. He signed off on December 1, 2004, with a heartfelt dedication to his staff and what he considers the “enduring lessons” over the years: “It’s not the questions that get us in trouble. It’s the answers. And, just as important, no one person has all the answers.” He then added a tribute to the greatest generation: “They never stopped learning from each other, and they did not give up on the idea that we’re all in this together.”

In the era of Cronkite, nightly news used to be must-see TV. Over the past few years, however, ratings for nightly news programs across all major networks continue to slip. Both CBS and ABC in particular have seen considerable shake-up for lead anchor in the last ten years: Bob Schieffer and Katie Couric served as anchors at CBS before Scott Pelley took over in 2011; and at ABC Evening News Bob Woodruff, Elizabeth Vargas, Charles Gibson, and Diane Sawyer sat at the desk before it went to David Muir in September 2014.

NBC News enjoyed relative stability when they found a worthy successor to Brokaw in Brian Williams, who celebrated his 10-year anniversary this week. Williams, for his part, knows how to poke fun at himself—especially by slow jamming the news at the hands of Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show.

Brokaw continues to report for NBC News. Perhaps he’s holding true to his last words at the desk: “see you along the way.”

⇒ 50 Years Ago: Rudolph Reigns Supreme      

The beloved stop-motion classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” first aired on NBC on December 6, 1964, and remains the longest-running holiday special. Japanese puppets made of felted wool, wood, and wire were used in production, though sadly only Santa and Rudolph may be the last to survive.

Reflecting on the 50th anniversary, Paul Soles—who voiced Hermey the elf—told TIME he believes the movie’s charm lies in its celebration of misfits. In this case, it’s ok to have a red nose or prefer dentistry to toy making.

Sorry, Charlie Brown. Looks like Rudolph will “go down in history” for this one. Cue Burl Ives’ rendition of the theme song (or “Silver and Gold” for that matter).

⇒ 100 Years Ago: One Submarine to Save Us All

On December 5, 1914, the New York Tribune ran the first part of an investigative report about the U.S. Navy and the “unpreparedness of the navy for war.” As you know, Europe was in the throes of World War I. President Wilson declared U.S. neutrality, which at this time the bulk of Americans supported. Still, as this report indicates, “If by any chance, remote as it now is, the American government should become involved in the European war, within two weeks the English, the German, or the Japanese fleet, or all of them, could blockade our coast without danger from submarine attack.”

The article goes on to report that of the four U.S. submarines currently in commission on the Atlantic Coast, “Only one of these is in first class fighting trim.” What seems like an editor’s note prefaces the article by saying they are presenting these facts “not with the idea of frightening the country. . . but with the purpose, so far as the newspaper could supply it, the truth. . .” A worthy cause though just a few inches down the reporter describes in detail a chlorine gas leak that left two of the men with “hemorrhages from the lungs.” For what it’s worth, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels refused to comment on the report.

It’s somewhat funny to read this article today considering the U.S. spends more on defense than any other country in the world. The greatest advantage is the U.S. fleet of 19 aircraft carriers—compared, again, to everyone else that has 12 between them.