I'm not trying to say that rioting is a good idea. But I don't think it should be seen as "undermining" the situation at hand, here. People have a right to be furious about this. Have we seen any protestors choking anyone?
Edit: no problem, Acey. This is a #### situation for everyone.
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In retrospect, undermine was certainly a poor choice of wording. I just mean like... what a piece of ammo it is for our cause if, tomorrow morning in the highlight reels of the riots, black people are not violently misbehaving and the media only has video of white people destroying police cars. Riots historically have not been kind to certain demographics.
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Besides the obvious another thing that is bothering me about this video is the handling of it by the EMTs should they have not tried to resuscitate the man or were they trying to cover for the cops
It's dangerous to call protesting and rioting an undermining event, as it will always look undermining at the time, to observers. It's one of the more important resources the citizens have, and if they give that up because "it doesn't look good" then the slip away from freedom in any nation becomes faster.
Black people can be murdered by police in the US and mostly aren't charged with murder, often their acts even justified. That is an issue that requires the citizens to step up and demand change and so far doing that online and with words means nothing to police forces and governments.
And for what's it worth, myself and many Canadians don't see these protest videos in 2020 and go "Man, what a bunch of typical black thugs" We see it for exactly what it is - Extreme abuse of power against a specific race being rightfully protested.
I'll be much more concerned when you don't see black people resisting this insanity. Ans sadly that day may come as society pressures them to accept abnormal as normal due to frequency.
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And for what's it worth, myself and many Canadians don't see these protest videos in 2020 and go "Man, what a bunch of typical black thugs" We see it for exactly what it is - Extreme abuse of power against a specific race being rightfully protested.
I'll be much more concerned when you don't see black people resisting this insanity. Ans sadly that day may come as society pressures them to accept abnormal as normal due to frequency.
While I agree people don’t view the rioters as thugs - that would be beyond stupid. I would disagree that the majority see the riots as that though. I would say most sympathize with the racism and abuse of power but I think riots undermine that for a ton of people.
There are always going to be idiots at protests, with the sole goal to rev people up and push them over the edge. Some people live for this ####. It isn’t exclusive to any particular group. How it’s twisted in particular media however...
I think I'm more surprised at people being surprised in this thread.
Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, the list goes on. These are just the ones that became household names. How many countless fly under the radar?
The racism is institutional in the USA and it's sickening. Trump being elected just emboldened those that think if you ain't WASP, you ain't American.
Michael Brown had just committed a brazen assault and robbery and the autopsy did not support the narrative that he had his hands up nor was facing away from the officer. Witnesses said that Brown had attacked Wilson and Wilson said he had reached for his gun. Wilson had bruises and scratches from the altercation. Forensic evidence indicated that Brown was in close contact to both the gun and the vehicle when first shot. The witnesses that stated Brown was running away were not credible as the blood trail clearly shows he turned around. Many of the witnesses who said that he had his hands up later testified that they had only heard he did. Other more credible witnesses based on forensic evidence indicated that Brown was charging at Wilson.
Trayvon Martin's case unraveled with Rachel Jeantel's testimony. Contradictions, outright lies, and admission that she wasn't sure who started the fight after Martin called Zimmerman a creepy-ass cracker. On top of that, Zimmerman was a minority himself and it was clear that he did not know the race of Martin until after he started following him.
We'll never know the real truth, and as much as I would want wannnabe-cop-Zimmerman to face some sort of justice for his stupid actions, I have no doubt that neither of the prosecutors in those cases were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt on the charges. Which is fortunately how the justice system is suppose to work (with that said, it's clear that certain races/classes aren't given the same criteria of "beyond a reasonable doubt.")
I don't think invoking those names helps the issues. It just gives racists and others who are blind to the injustices an out. Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher, John Crawford, Charles Kinsey (fortunately survived), Botham Jean (officer guilty), I mean there's unfortunately 100s of better examples.
Last edited by Oling_Roachinen; 05-27-2020 at 07:26 AM.
And for what's it worth, myself and many Canadians don't see these protest videos in 2020 and go "Man, what a bunch of typical black thugs" We see it for exactly what it is - Extreme abuse of power against a specific race being rightfully protested.
I'll be much more concerned when you don't see black people resisting this insanity. Ans sadly that day may come as society pressures them to accept abnormal as normal due to frequency.
If anything, watching the arrest video I was surprised at how well restrained the bystanders were being. Rightfully chirping at the officers, sure, but no-one freaking out. Even when the officer checked his pulse and onlookers realized he was gone, you mostly just heard "are you serious??" I'm not sure I could be so calm watching such a thing.. it was bound to come out elsewhere.
I stated it above, but I guess it wasn't clear. Still, I would like to apologize to everyone, I overreacted in the last 2 posts. I just got off a phone call with my mom and these things end up being pretty emotional for us. She always eventually breaks down in these phone calls and talks about how terrified she was that my brother or I would have a run-in with the police and not come home. I've had a few text convos with friends and cousins tonight for reassurances that they're not going out tonight to throw rocks at anybody.
I'm maybe too close to this issue to comment with my head on straight. But if the question is whether or not black Americans have the right to be outraged, rest assured we are in a perpetual state of outrage to the point of tears that this keeps happening over and over again.
I can't even imagine how frustrating it would be. And it is honestly baffling, disappointing and down right ####ing stupid that racism is still a thing in 20 ####ing 20.
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While I agree people don’t view the rioters as thugs - that would be beyond stupid. I would disagree that the majority see the riots as that though. I would say most sympathize with the racism and abuse of power but I think riots undermine that for a ton of people.
Well quite frankly, #### those people. They weren't any help in the first place. They prefer order and comfort to justice.
It is great to see in the protests it isn't just black people out there, you have all different races joining together who recognize the big issue here. If everyone doesn't join and stand together nothing will happen. I really hope something changes, but the systematic change in how policing is done in the US will not change over night because of new policies.
This might be a silly question but of all the police forces in the US what is the demographic based on race? Like 50% white cops? Maybe they need more representation of all the races in the US to help get rid of some biases and stereotypes, maybe . George Floyd didn't deserve to die in this, that cop wasn't thinking straight at all and deserves a severe punishment. I think he should be in jail for this and I truly believe if he goes to jail he will likely be killed once word gets out about who he is around the prison.
I don't think he deserves death either but does deserve some sort of severe punishment. The system is so messed, I have no idea how to fix it.
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Man, the issue with law enforcement is that you can’t just pull a cop off of someone. Try it, and you may very well find a bullet somewhere in you.
Ya, my husband said the same thing, that he would have jumped in to help him, but there was 3 other cops around, no way this ends well for anyone and why nobody physically did anything. The people in the video tried with their words and reasoning the best they could and you could see on that cops face that he was enjoying himself. Made me want to knee him right in the teeth and I am not a violent person.
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"You're worried about the team not having enough heart. I'm worried about the team not having enough brains." HFOil fan, August 12th, 2020. E=NG
Ya, my husband said the same thing, that he would have jumped in to help him, but there was 3 other cops around, no way this ends well for anyone and why nobody physically did anything. The people in the video tried with their words and reasoning the best they could and you could see on that cops face that he was enjoying himself. Made me want to knee him right in the teeth and I am not a violent person.
And this is the issue I have with the "they shouldn't riot" crowd, because there is legitimately no way for black people to protest that doesn't get condemned or criticized.
Civil disobedience? Well they shouldn't do things that inconvenience the public because it undermines their cause!
Social media campaigns? Well if they were serious, they'd actually get out there and do something!
Kneeling for the anthem at a football game? Disrespectful to the troops!
Not to mention that anytime this does come up there's a whole bunch of gaslighting that occurs (e.g. "well if they would just listen to the police," "not all cops," etc.).
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