BLM/Police Reform protests

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by Boloni86, Jun 2, 2020.

  1. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    John Lewis in the NYT, an essay he wrote to be published in the day of his funeral:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html


    While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

    That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

    Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.​


    And his conclusion. . .


    Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

    You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

    Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

    When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.​


    He definitely lived one of those "left the world a better place" lives.
     
  2. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Feds in Portland are requesting the judge lift the TRO preventing them from targeting press and observers because... and I shit you not... there is too much tear gas in the air, which requires officers to wear gas masks that obscure their view...

     
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  3. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    My connection to reality is constantly being eroded. It takes work to repair, every day.
     
  4. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Now imagine being a member of that wing of the GOP that doesn't bother with maintenance and repair of that connection to reality. A wing whose contempt for the "reality based community" was first announced during the GWB administration c. 2004.
     
  5. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Bugs Raplin had it right.

    (I'm starting to get off on super deep cuts. It's like sending you guys on a scavenger hunt.)
     
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  6. Dolemite

    Dolemite Member+

    Apr 2, 2001
    East Bay, Ca
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  7. luftmensch

    luftmensch Member+

    .
    United States
    May 4, 2006
    Petaluma
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  8. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You seem to know an awful lot about what the protesters are doing in Portland.

    There were a couple of high school classmates who went down once for shits and giggles. I forget exactly how they described it, but my image was small town Mississippi/Louisiana/Alabama full of White people.
     
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  9. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There is a lot of interaction between the Seattle and Portland protestors and I know people that were heavily involved in Seattle’s.
     
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  10. rslfanboy

    rslfanboy Member+

    Jul 24, 2007
    Section 26
    I can't remember where this was originally posted, ProPublica reported that a 15-yr-old black girl in Michigan with some mental/emotional (ADHD at least) problems was thrown into jail by a judge for violating probation by not keeping up with her online schoolwork in May after the pandemic closed schools, all while there was an order from the Governor to reduce juvenile detention. She went into a high risk juvenile detention center for nearly 3 months. Her offenses are getting physically violent with her (single-parent) mom and then stealing a friends Iphone. Sounds like crazy teenage hormones to me.

    An appeals court, today, demanded her immediate release. Hopefully there will be some sort of censure or reprimand for this judge, Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan. Can't let a lethal pandemic get in the way of putting a Black in their place! :mad:

    :(
     
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  11. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The bolded is just an add on, but in the larger scheme of things, not relevant. What matters is that she is Black, and it follows a pattern of how Black students are treated worse then White students.
     
  12. rslfanboy

    rslfanboy Member+

    Jul 24, 2007
    Section 26
    I put it in there to partially explain the nature of her involvement with law enforcement. The original piece talked about how she and her mother were thick as thieves until she hit puberty, and then things started to get difficult. She definitely has impulse control issues, but her behavior is pretty commonplace in my experience. That was my point.

    The article also points out that something like 45% of juvenile cases involve Black youth, whereas they only make up 15% of the population. Surprise!
     
  13. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So the wall of moms and black lives matters groups are having some beef.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/portland-wall-moms-movement-falling-104705149.html


     
  14. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When the Feds pulled out and OSP took over, the protest started fracturing really quick. OSP has been staying inside the courthouse and not coming out to crack heads like the Feds were and after weeks of fighting, the protestors are getting antsy. There’s also been a rise in “protest police” that are trying to rein in the more militant protestors and stop them from tearing down the fence, starting bonfires, and throwing fireworks... As long as OSP stays out of sight and doesn’t do anything stupid, the numbers will drop precipitously and infighting will break up what’s left... I give it a week before it goes back to the hundred or less people they had before the Feds came...
     
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  15. charlie15

    charlie15 Member+

    Mar 9, 2000
    Bethesda, Md
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I started watching the video but gave up after a couple of minutes....The terror in Floyd's face is haunting.

    Newly obtained body-cam footage from two of the police officers charged in George Floyd’s death reveal more details of the horrific arrest that led to his death, the Daily Mail reports.
    The video shows Floyd’s horror when one officer points a gun at his head as he begs not to be shot. The video also shows Floyd asking for compassion.
     
  16. xtomx

    xtomx Member+

    Chicago Fire
    Sep 6, 2001
    Northern Wisconsin, but not far from civilization
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    One is a partisan political statement.
    The other is racial justice statement.

    One promotes racial hatred and division.
    The other sheds light on racial hatred and division.

    Not the same thing at all.
     
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  17. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    Yeah, BLM vs. Blue Lives Matter would have been the right comparison. Or a Biden mask vs. a Trump mask.
     
  18. appwrangler

    appwrangler Member

    Barcelona
    United States
    Dec 18, 2018
    BLM vs Blue Lives Matter isn’t right either, as cops aren’t facing systemic discrimination in housing, education, employment, and legal justice.

    Biden vs Trump mask kinda works but just weird all around.
     
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  19. Auriaprottu

    Auriaprottu Member+

    Atlanta Damn United
    Apr 1, 2002
    The back of the bus
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    No, that's not a fair comparison, either. Black people aren't actively out looking for cops to kill, but the reverse is happening. And Biden isn't fueling this reign of toxic conservatism and centrism.
     
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  20. InTheSun

    InTheSun Member+

    Oct 20, 2005
    The Andes Mountains
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Ecuador
    Wow. This living statue is amazing.
     
  21. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    #2396 JohnR, Aug 3, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2020
    So your argument to the right is, "We can wear our gear because our side is righteous, but you don't get to wear your gear because your side is not?"
     
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  22. Auriaprottu

    Auriaprottu Member+

    Atlanta Damn United
    Apr 1, 2002
    The back of the bus
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I can't imagine making that argument to the right. It's why they're the right, remember?

    Do you believe BLM literally is out to harass and intimidate anyone of any other color because of their color?
     
  23. appwrangler

    appwrangler Member

    Barcelona
    United States
    Dec 18, 2018
    No.
     
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  24. Auriaprottu

    Auriaprottu Member+

    Atlanta Damn United
    Apr 1, 2002
    The back of the bus
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
  25. ceezmad

    ceezmad Member+

    Mar 4, 2010
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Red Stars
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No 187 on a mother fvcking cop?
     

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