Now that we have a new thread, in order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a complete and thorough read before posting!
NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.
Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.
On May 31 2020 14:45 StalkerTL wrote: We’ve already been through this.
You say that they’re breeding resentment from this. People already think blacks people are “thugs”, just look at this thread where people post statistics then run away with the claim that they’re just posting facts. The same people want “peaceful” protests because they can just ignore it.
Truth of the matter is that this guy is getting charged with only third degree murder because it’s probably the only thing that will stick. There’s no evidence that there’s going to be any police reformation, only this guy is going to be made an example of because of the outcry and the fact he got caught on camera slowly choking someone out.
Convincing white moderates through peaceful protest has done nothing at all but have them whine about how all lives matter and how divisive the black lives matter protests are. They don’t want to listen to peaceful protests in good faith so what’s the solution now?
That’s why there’s a riot, the fact that people can’t comprehend why riots occur is amazing to me. They do not occur out of thin air, they are always a reaction to something. Peaceful protesting and strategic voting hasn’t stopped the crimes of the US justice system towards minorities because the majority of non-minorities just do not care. This was the case during the civil rights movement and it is still the case now.
It must be highlighted that this police officer had a large chunk of the police department stand in solidarity outside of his house before he got arrested. Everyone should be able to understand what message this sends to the black community.
And how is rioting going to help any of this?
It is demonstrative that the status quo is unsustainable and demands immediate remedy. Problem is, agents of racism/those in power are far more concerned with stopping the riots (even if that means massive violent repression against peaceful protesters by the state) than the conditions that spawn them (which are exacerbated by remedial questions like "how is rioting going to help?").
That still doesn't address the fact that rioting is not a solution and will not solve the problem. It only creates more problems. Someone else took the time to spell it out more on the last page so I'll just refer to that.
When you can't think of a good reason for an otherwise obviously bad action, maybe it becomes time to stop defending it.
Explain us why they are rioting. You seem convinced by something but you are not tellling us what is it.
My take is that the riots are an emotional response borne out of frustration. But that's not the point. People in this thread were defending the riots, as if they were reasonable because "there is no other option". And that is just wrong. Even if there were "no other option", which is obviously not true, this line of reasoning assumes that riots are an "option" to tackle the problem of abuse of power by the police. And that's simply not the case. Riots don't solve anything and are not an "option". So stop defending riots.
Thanks Sr18 for your answer. So you understand that riots are caused by frustration. And if I may link it to the end of your statement, it is caused by the frustration of the abuse of power of the police. Now lets forget a bit about the people here trying to defend the rioters and try to answer a second question, if you were victim of the power of the police, what would you do to have justice and prevent stuff like this happen again ?
I honestly don't know. I don't believe there is a simple course of action that would lead to the end of abuse of power by the police. It seems like a multifacated problem to me, with abolishing racism being only a part of the puzzle to solve.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Your second paragraph is super troublesome because you’re suggesting the reason why police violence oversight isn’t enforced is because of the level of violence in America.
Certainly that encourages some police officers to resort to aggressive behaviour but it completely ignores the fact that police departments all around America enjoy using force needlessly. Not do so because of fear but because they can and will get away with it. No other place on earth can you walk into the wrong house, shoot everyone inside and claim self defense successfully while having 50% of the country support your actions.
I need to repeat this again: there’s a video of a police officer choking a man to death. The police department doesn’t throw this guy under the bus, they go to his house and stand in front of it to stand in solidarity with their brother. That’s the power dynamic you are looking at, can you imagine the amount of brazen disregard you have to have for the black community to even think about doing that? What they’re doing there is no different to taunting.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
i think protests and riots are successful if the public sentiment is more left wing or at least moderate. I don't normally like to do grand theorizing about history but I find it quit telling that most successful social movements occurred at a time when the left wing or moderate wing was powerful (Indian independence, Stonewall riots, Civil Rights movement, end of Soviet Union, arguably end of apartheid).
Unfortunately, it's kind of a conservative golden age at the present time (with ardent Trump supporters being some of the most delusional people I have ever seen) so I suspect these riots will not be very effective in general.
On May 31 2020 18:08 Anc13nt wrote: i think protests and riots are successful if the public sentiment is more left wing or at least moderate. I don't normally like to do grand theorizing about history but I find it quit telling that most successful social movements occurred at a time when the left wing or moderate wing was powerful (Indian independence, Stonewall riots, Civil Rights movement, end of Soviet Union, arguably end of apartheid).
Unfortunately, it's kind of a conservative golden age at the present time (with ardent Trump supporters being some of the most delusional people I have ever seen) so I suspect these riots will not be very effective in general.
In the traditional sense of left=progressive, yes, obviously. Riots as a method for instigating societal change are obviously going to work better if the politicians are generally in favor of societal change themselves. Conservatives, by the very definition of the word, are against change and defenders of the status quo. So if conservatives are the main political power, the bar for pressuring through societal change is obviously going to be a lot higher. Not impossible. Politics in America right now is a mess. I am pretty sure you're right that there is no way Trump is going to push reforms the way JFK (eventually) promised to. But maybe it can pressure Biden to make it a key point of his platform.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
Not only this, but people all over the world are watching how the police react and so far they look like a bunch of untrained sadistic cowboys intent on shooting shit up and silencing journalists.
So its definitely helping to get their point across.
This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
On May 31 2020 18:57 puppykiller wrote: This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
On May 31 2020 18:57 puppykiller wrote: This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
It is bizarre to me you think folks haven't considered that. The notion that "it will only end in violence" implies that the uprising wasn't a response to incessant and unaccountable violence in the first place.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
Not only this, but people all over the world are watching how the police react and so far they look like a bunch of untrained sadistic cowboys intent on shooting shit up and silencing journalists.
So its definitely helping to get their point across.
What a farcical state of affairs. It’s hard to get one’s head around, one era defining, reform-ushering police scandal in the U.K. like Stephen Lawrence happens, worse in the States in an endless torrent.
Thoroughly sick to my stomach seeing that footage, more so after that when people who claim to have watched said footage and defended those individuals anyway.
That’s me as a white guy across the Atlantic, I can only imagine how minorities in the US who’ve put up with such a state of affairs for far too long feel, can’t blame people for rioting hell wish people took the riot option more often.
I would have rather little faith in the system too if the man at the very top took to Twitter to dog whistle about shooting people to their base of racists and people who aren’t racist but have somehow convinced themselves America is colourblind already.
Not to excoriate Trump any more than this thread has done on countless occasions, more as a symbolic personification of the whole system.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
Not only this, but people all over the world are watching how the police react and so far they look like a bunch of untrained sadistic cowboys intent on shooting shit up and silencing journalists.
So its definitely helping to get their point across.
What a farcical state of affairs. It’s hard to get one’s head around, one era defining, reform-ushering police scandal in the U.K. like Stephen Lawrence happens, worse in the States in an endless torrent.
Thoroughly sick to my stomach seeing that footage, more so after that when people who claim to have watched said footage and defended those individuals anyway.
That’s me as a white guy across the Atlantic, I can only imagine how minorities in the US who’ve put up with such a state of affairs for far too long feel, can’t blame people for rioting hell wish people took the riot option more often.
I would have rather little faith in the system too if the man at the very top took to Twitter to dog whistle about shooting people to their base of racists and people who aren’t racist but have somehow convinced themselves America is colourblind already.
Not to excoriate Trump any more than this thread has done on countless occasions, more as a symbolic personification of the whole system.
Yeah, I was pretty disturbed to read about the Vincent Chin case. Makes me wonder how black people feel when something that unjust happens to their community all the time.
On May 31 2020 18:57 puppykiller wrote: This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
It is bizarre to me you think folks haven't considered that. The notion that "it will only end in violence" implies that the uprising wasn't a response to incessant and unaccountable violence in the first place.
I'm happy you have accounted for this. Looking at what is being shared and posted, I felt people needed a reminder.
On May 31 2020 18:57 puppykiller wrote: This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
It is bizarre to me you think folks haven't considered that. The notion that "it will only end in violence" implies that the uprising wasn't a response to incessant and unaccountable violence in the first place.
Plus it’s not as if the right doesn’t incessantly do those things anyway.
Any time a black man is shot, however patently unjustifiably they’ll get digging to portray the victim as a criminal if he has a record, or dig up whatever other dirt they can find to deflect. Hell I saw a post that George Floyd had done pornography.
No idea if it’s true, it would be immaterial to my feelings about his horrific death but it’s patently obvious that the dog whistles are out in full force.
The far right have shown their tactical hand over many years, it’s hiding behind non-violence to spread their wings into other nooks and crannies.
The free speech zealots and the ‘just facts’ crowd have let the far right cosy up to them and use their platforms precisely because they have this huge blind spot over what even constitutes violence. Said neighbouring groups also give Antifa a real disproportionate amount of space in their discourse on various platforms, which makes a lot of sense given who is sidling into their various territories.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
Not only this, but people all over the world are watching how the police react and so far they look like a bunch of untrained sadistic cowboys intent on shooting shit up and silencing journalists.
So its definitely helping to get their point across.
What a farcical state of affairs. It’s hard to get one’s head around, one era defining, reform-ushering police scandal in the U.K. like Stephen Lawrence happens, worse in the States in an endless torrent.
Thoroughly sick to my stomach seeing that footage, more so after that when people who claim to have watched said footage and defended those individuals anyway.
That’s me as a white guy across the Atlantic, I can only imagine how minorities in the US who’ve put up with such a state of affairs for far too long feel, can’t blame people for rioting hell wish people took the riot option more often.
I would have rather little faith in the system too if the man at the very top took to Twitter to dog whistle about shooting people to their base of racists and people who aren’t racist but have somehow convinced themselves America is colourblind already.
Not to excoriate Trump any more than this thread has done on countless occasions, more as a symbolic personification of the whole system.
Yeah, I was pretty disturbed to read about the Vincent Chin case. Makes me wonder how black people feel when something that unjust happens to their community all the time.
The incidents are bad enough but the lack of repercussions in many of these cases would make them that bit more egregious. Then subsequently having to see ‘all lives matter’ or ‘blues lives matter’ trying to deflect from the issues would be yet a further kick in the teeth.
It’s bad enough being me but I am glad that I wasn’t born that side of the tracks and having these kind of circumstances to put up with.
Americans as a whole have tried to silence the black lives movement and misrepresenting their protest by asking why all lives don’t matter.
That’s why there are riots.
Since Trump era, everything that is against him needs to be silenced..
It's as if people completely forget that the peaceful protests already happened, and were silenced or ignored. Remember BLM? Remember taking a knee?
I thought that taking a knee was basically the most respectful form of protest possible. No disruption to anyones lives, very proper, absolutely no violence, not even violent speech. Just a few minutes of kneeling (already a sign of respect) instead of standing.
And that was still too much for america. The horror of watching a black man kneel instead of standing was something that america simply couldn't endure, and required massive outrage from rightwing people.
The overnight curfew policy ended up being a total disaster. The city originally set the strict curfew up in an attempt to curb the looting and arson because so much of the vandalism was happening at night. Unfortunately what ended up happening was a ton of peaceful protesters who stuck around past curfew ended up getting shot, tazed and arrested like vandals. The news was out their filming the whole thing and now the situation is even worse!
Also someone needs to make a video compilation of news casters getting shot.
To elaborate. Where I live, every time a cop fires his gun warrants an investigation. That is only possible though because there is rarely a need over here for a cop to draw a gun. So proper oversight of police violenc seems easier to organize when the police has to resort to violence in fewer case. This would mean reducing the overall level of violance in American society is another part of the solution.
Yup, the root cause of American society being violent is I think paranoïa. They are paranoïd about the constitution, the rights to carry gun, the cartels, the religion... A paranoïd society brings a lot of laws to make sure the police is untouchable so they feel protected.
One thing that would not cross my mind is rioting however. I simply can't see how riots are a part of the solution.
Many violent riots were solutions(but not all, check my previous post). Just look at the Boston Tea party, they were violent. And then it led unfortunately to a total war against the british but the aftermath is that they finally became independ. Riots can definitly bring solutions.
Not only this, but people all over the world are watching how the police react and so far they look like a bunch of untrained sadistic cowboys intent on shooting shit up and silencing journalists.
So its definitely helping to get their point across.
What a farcical state of affairs. It’s hard to get one’s head around, one era defining, reform-ushering police scandal in the U.K. like Stephen Lawrence happens, worse in the States in an endless torrent.
Thoroughly sick to my stomach seeing that footage, more so after that when people who claim to have watched said footage and defended those individuals anyway.
That’s me as a white guy across the Atlantic, I can only imagine how minorities in the US who’ve put up with such a state of affairs for far too long feel, can’t blame people for rioting hell wish people took the riot option more often.
I would have rather little faith in the system too if the man at the very top took to Twitter to dog whistle about shooting people to their base of racists and people who aren’t racist but have somehow convinced themselves America is colourblind already.
Not to excoriate Trump any more than this thread has done on countless occasions, more as a symbolic personification of the whole system.
Yeah, I was pretty disturbed to read about the Vincent Chin case. Makes me wonder how black people feel when something that unjust happens to their community all the time.
I find Baldwin speaks to this well for me.
To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.
Here he speaks to the apathy of white america:
In this extended clip he frames the future rather succinctly into what we are experiencing today. + Show Spoiler +
If you really want to know how many of us feel, I suggest watching I Am Not Your Negro based on Baldwin's writings and speeches as narrated by Samuel L Jackson + Show Spoiler +
Then think about how he was incessantly polite enough to be invited on white TV in the 60's and that was almost a lifetime ago. This is how a lot of us felt like ~40 years ago
On May 31 2020 18:57 puppykiller wrote: This all feels like a Black Mirror episode on how social media escalates conflicts. Anytime an idiot protester does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country), it gets posted. Anytime an idiot cop does something stupid (anywhere in our huge country) it gets posted. Whatever narrative people already believe gets validated by their news feed and the opposing sides get depicted as violent, irrational, boogeymen. Rumors with very little evidence circulate, and are accepted with little hesitation (so long as they fit the narrative) and people become radical, narrow-minded, and unable to reflect critically with their own nuanced viewpoint. Polarity is exacerbated. Popular influencers teach you through tweets how to rationalize the world around you, tell you what role you play in it and give you the very words to use to condemn those who oppose you. This has been going on for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen it get this bad.
All you on the Left consider this. What do you think the Right is seeing at this moment? Probably posts glorifying 'hero' cops and vilifying rioters. Probably lieing tweets telling them that the protesters and looters are the same because the protesters aren't stopping the arsonists. How do you think this is gonna all end? If people stay wrapped up their mob-mentality depictions of those that oppose them, it will only end in violence.
It is bizarre to me you think folks haven't considered that. The notion that "it will only end in violence" implies that the uprising wasn't a response to incessant and unaccountable violence in the first place.
Plus it’s not as if the right doesn’t incessantly do those things anyway.
Any time a black man is shot, however patently unjustifiably they’ll get digging to portray the victim as a criminal if he has a record, or dig up whatever other dirt they can find to deflect. Hell I saw a post that George Floyd had done pornography.
No idea if it’s true, it would be immaterial to my feelings about his horrific death but it’s patently obvious that the dog whistles are out in full force.
The far right have shown their tactical hand over many years, it’s hiding behind non-violence to spread their wings into other nooks and crannies.
The free speech zealots and the ‘just facts’ crowd have let the far right cosy up to them and use their platforms precisely because they have this huge blind spot over what even constitutes violence. Said neighbouring groups also give Antifa a real disproportionate amount of space in their discourse on various platforms, which makes a lot of sense given who is sidling into their various territories.
it is pretty regrettable that the far right was able to drag in so many people by using free speech as a political weapon. Unfortunately, the left shot itself in the foot by making itself look weak on the issue. It kind of reminds of the terrorist strategy where they try to agitate countries into making foreign policy blunders so that they can attract more recruits who are radicalized by the foreign policy blunders, and the process begets itself. The far right has been able to act in such a depraved manner that left wing people feel forced to censor them out of respect for common decency and that has brought people who hold free speech as sacred but otherwise were not far right into the fold.
Of course, anyone with sense knows free speech is very important and the far right is also morally bankrupt but unfortunately, a lot of people like to view the world in a tribal manner.
On May 31 2020 14:21 Xxio wrote: AP is a good news source for following events. Some of the latest: US authorities say killing of federal security officer during protest in Oakland, California, was domestic terrorism. Multiple shootings in downtown Indianapolis amid protests; one person killed. A 27-year-old woman has been arrested with four counts of attempted murder after throwing a Molotov cocktail at a police cruiser. A twenty-strong mob in Columbia, SC rushed a lone and unarmed man from across a street, harassed him, and chased him around the back of a building. Video from Tariq Nasheed's twitter. Apparently the mob targeted him because he held a MAGA hat.
Maga hat is the new KKK hood so there's some ground to understand that reaction. Also, was he killed? That could've happened to a black guy legally carrying a gun if police saw that.
You must be ripped with all the acrobatics it takes you to try to shift the focus of the debate and deligitimize the protests wholesale.
EPT
