Topic: The Murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.

[McrRed]

Undercover reporters tried to make complaints about police in several forces and precincts and were given short shrift. Threatened with arrest and one of them out on a wanted list for his troubles.

Reporter talks to man attacked by two "black men" for saying All Lives Matter. Footage reveals he was actually threatening a crowd with a hunting bow and got battered by them because of his behaviour. Oh, and he lied about the two black men.

Reporter talks to protestor (cop) who got out of an unmarked police van on his way to protest. Said he worked for CNN!
Before you criticise people for violence, remember that agent provocateurs are being used to incite violence.

Oh, and while sportsmen were kneeling in protest shitstorm was kicked up about how unamerican they were being. Suggests nonviolence isn't taken seriously.

Finally, my favourite quote: racism isn't getting worse; it's getting filmed.

[Brissyred]

The sheer amount of footage of police brutality and aggression coming out of this is phenomenal, unbelievable considering the circumstances behind the protests.

[Indomitable_Carp]

I fail to understand how anybody other than an African American can comment on what is the right or wrong way for them to protest.

Yeah it rings incredibly hollow when you have people completely removed from the African American lived experience saying "They should be holding placards and chanting slogans outside a government building, not burning stuff!!".

[BarryCrocker]

Yeah it rings incredibly hollow when you have people completely removed from the African American lived experience saying "They should be holding placards and chanting slogans outside a government building, not burning stuff!!".

Does that mean we're not to complain about rednecks turning up at government buildings armed to the teeth with automatic weapons demanding the government lift a lock-down implemented to control a pandemic?

[Red Viper]

Does that mean we're not to complain about rednecks turning up at government buildings armed to the teeth with automatic weapons demanding the government lift a lock-down implemented to control a pandemic?

If you genuinely think that's a fair comparison to make then I don't really know what to tell you.

[killer-heels]

And clearly people taking advantage of the situation and acting chaotically for the sake of it. For this kid, he picked the wrong person's car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qalMQSsalsA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-DZ26mQYMc

He was wearing what looks like the Katrina version of the Air Jordans to do that as well. Something quite poetic about that.

[BarryCrocker]

If you genuinely think that's a fair comparison to make then I don't really know what to tell you.

What's the violence going to achieve? The burning of shops, the throwing of Molotov cocktails at police cars, the looting of shops.

All you need is for one innocent bystander or one good cop to die and the other side gets to suck the argument out of yours.

Apartheid and the Troubles in Ireland were both 'resolved' through people getting out and voting. They picked members who represent their cause.

Disrupt, but don't destroy.

[killer-heels]

What's the violence going to achieve? The burning of shops, the throwing of Molotov cocktails at police cars, the looting of shops.

All you need is for one innocent bystander or one good cop to die and the other side gets to suck the argument out of yours.

Apartheid and the Troubles in Ireland were both 'resolved' through people getting out and voting. They picked members who represent their cause.

Disrupt, but don't destroy.

To be fair they have tried the voting thing and it clearly didnt work.

[Red Viper]

What's the violence going to achieve? The burning of shops, the throwing of Molotov cocktails at police cars, the looting of shops.

All you need is for one innocent bystander or one good cop to die and the other side gets to suck the argument out of yours.

Apartheid and the Troubles in Ireland were both 'resolved' through people getting out and voting. They picked members who represent their cause.

Disrupt, but don't destroy.

From what I've seen most of the looting is being done by opportunistic idiots who probably don't care about BLM.

Also, most of the violence is coming about in areas where the police have reacted to the protests violently.

Who should they vote for? Cos getting rid of Trump doesn't end any of this. He's part of the problem but he's not THE problem. America is just a broken country, the entire system needs burning to the ground and rebuilding.

[BarryCrocker]

To be fair they have tried the voting thing and it clearly didnt work.

Vote for better people. People who don't just become part of the political system and decide its better to keep their job than to help their constituents. And that's not just politicians it should be police chiefs, union delegates, etc.

[12C]

300 years of racism and oppression. Thinking about it, the American revolution, that they are so proud about, was caused by far less

That was about a few rich people not wanting to pay tax 

[12C]

The sheer amount of footage of police brutality and aggression coming out of this is phenomenal, unbelievable considering the circumstances behind the protests.

What makes me unbelievably sad are comments from black people like

“This is why we give Give out children ‘the talk’...”

They actually warn their children how to behave when stopped by a policeman to try and minimise their chance of being shot or killed by a cop.

[Fromola]

This isn't just racism and police brutality. This is a powder keg of an incredible number of factors coming together.

1) You've got entrenched racism and the strain of white superiority that runs through American culture, that was after all their unifying theme around which they built their nation though over time they have increased their blanket in order to accomodate more and more people into their own group (though it has never extended beyond people of European extraction)

2) You've got massive cultural problems in the African-American community, glorification of violence, shirking of education and what not and they seem to be stuck in the loop of no investment in their communities means the social ladder isn't very robust. Recent African expats like Nigerian-Americans have all reach the middle-class level of American society and they don't appear to have regular run-ins with the cops.

3) The modern left seems to have gone too far in the culture wars with a small but alarmingly loud movement of destroying things that are central to the homo sapien experience like the family unit, gender and for many people even religion. Religion and Science can co-exist, there is a place for both and Religion still has a place in modern society but the modern left wants to take a hammer blow to all of these things and lead us down a reckless path into the unknown based on some hypotheticals they cannot prove

4) The bogeyman in the room that no one wants to talk about but the left views this as dicohotomy between Black and White. Walk down a Latino/Black neighbourhood and you'll see unprecedented violence or the Black on Asian (Global definition not the British so Chinese etc) violence which is quietly swept under the table because Asians aren't a politically important group yet has led to a complete fragementation of American society with each sub-group pulling for their own. In essence USA is becoming a country of multiple countries rather than unifying people via the American 'culture'. They could turn this around in say 50-100 years as more people become second generation but in that time frame it appears anything can happen

5) The American economic model whilst pushing human innovation to the limit isn't really conductive to building a healthy society it would seem

The list could go on and on and on but long story short it could be the beginning of the end for America and if America goes then no matter how snobby Europeans get the sun will be setting on Western civilization

The disastrous war on drugs plays a big part.

Drugs are always rife through inner cities and blacks are disproportionately jailed for using, too many also aspire to be drug dealers for the easy money, the glamorous lifestyle and a lack of other options or skills but street smarts due to poor education in bad areas and a bad upbringing.

This was all documented in The Wire 15 years ago. That show was well ahead of its time and one of the themes of the show was nothing changes. Two terms of a black Democrat president made no difference.

[killer-heels]

Vote for better people. People who don't just become part of the political system and decide its better to keep their job than to help their constituents. And that's not just politicians it should be police chiefs, union delegates, etc.

Did it work under Obama? Is it going to work under Biden?

[BarryCrocker]

From what I've seen most of the looting is being done by opportunistic idiots who probably don't care about BLM.

Also, most of the violence is coming about in areas where the police have reacted to the protests violently.

Who should they vote for? Cos getting rid of Trump doesn't end any of this. He's part of the problem but he's not THE problem. America is just a broken country, the entire system needs burning to the ground and rebuilding.

I agree with the idiots being the main instigators of the violence. From reports everything that happens before the curfews have been peaceful. It's the riff-raff at night who are poisoning the message.

People need to protest everyday. FFS there's 42m who have nothing to do at the moment. Stop the cities by crowding out all the streets and squares, but don't destroy the businesses and infrastructure that your people rely on to survive.

As for the whole system being burnt to the ground and rebuilt. What's that going to mean for the rest of the world? Are Russia and China going to move into spaces while America rebuilds? How long does that take?

The USA's GDP represents India, Japan, Russia & Germany combined. All of those nations as well as the rest of the world would crumble if their economy and society collapses.

You don't need to kill the patient to remove a cancer. You need to cut it out, treat it, and give them a healthy environment for it not to regrow.

[Fromola]

From what I've seen most of the looting is being done by opportunistic idiots who probably don't care about BLM.

Also, most of the violence is coming about in areas where the police have reacted to the protests violently.

Who should they vote for? Cos getting rid of Trump doesn't end any of this. He's part of the problem but he's not THE problem. America is just a broken country, the entire system needs burning to the ground and rebuilding.

And yet the UK for too long has looked up to America and has tried to emulate America in decline. Even Brexit was a mentality of sod Europe and let's get a trade deal with our American friends.

It's a nation in decline and their economic power won't last forever. They caused the 2008 global crash (and the 1929 one) and the recovery for that is built on sand.

[damomad]

the Troubles in Ireland were both 'resolved' through people getting out and voting. They picked members who represent their cause.

Disrupt, but don't destroy.

That's a gross oversimplification. Catholics could not vote in local elections, they were discriminated against when it came to applying for jobs. No job, no rates paid - no vote.

It wasn't until the civil rights movement and protests (and subsequently violence) that the genesis of the parties we have in power now were created.

The same could be said for the US, there is blatantly no-one representing the black working class in either of the 2 main parties.

[Buggy Eyes Alfredo]

Two peaceful protesters were driving home from the protest in Atlanta when they were attacked. The college students were run up from behind, the driver side window smashed out, had their tires slashed, they were both tasered, the female passenger is yanked from the car, the male driver is repeatedly tasered, pulled from the car, assaulted while he was facedown, and then both of them arrested for breaking curfew. They were not armed.

Now, two of the couple dozen officers at the scene have been fired.


Meanwhile a screengrab from the video:
 

The waving white girl and her friend just continued down the street unscathed.


One of the officers wrote in a police report that he used his taser because he was unsure whether Pilgrim or Young were armed.

"I heard officers say gun two-three times," the officer wrote. "Not being able to see the hands of the passenger and being that she was in my immediate sight I deployed my city issued taser to defuse the situation."


https://us.cnn.com/2020/06/01/us/atlanta-cops-fired-excessive-force/index.html

[Fromola]

Indeed, the democrats like to portray themselves as part of the solution but they are a critical part of the problem. The easiest way to get out of poverty as seen in Asia, India and even African cultures that promote it (Nigeria) is education and a two parent household. Both factors lacking in the African-American community and the left is waging a covert war on the institution of marriage.

If anyone points this out they're going to get shouted out as racists (tbf, the people who point this out do this through the tone of 'genetic' differences and code the language with that of white supremacy so i can understand the reaction) but the situation now looks more or less unsolvable in the current political climate.

to be honest I think the destruction of the family unit (which is a complex issue) has harmed white culture as well as black. In the UK you've got the under class for example.

I agree the Democrats aren't the answer either.

[Alan_X]

What's the violence going to achieve? The burning of shops, the throwing of Molotov cocktails at police cars, the looting of shops.

All you need is for one innocent bystander or one good cop to die and the other side gets to suck the argument out of yours.

Apartheid and the Troubles in Ireland were both 'resolved' through people getting out and voting. They picked members who represent their cause.

Disrupt, but don't destroy.

To say that Northern Ireland and Apartheid were resolved peacefully is missing out the years of armed struggle that preceded the peace talks.

Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech was given in 1963 - 57 years ago. Africa Americans are still second-class citizens and there are large areas of the old Confederacy that would like the return of segregation at least and although they won't say it out loud, wouldn't be averse to the return of slavery.

That's 2 generations trying to work through the ballot box and peaceful protest and African Americans are still waiting for King's dream to become reality:

...But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition...

and this...

...It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges...

and this...

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as our chlidren are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only."

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

...

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...

It's 57 years since that speech. And that speech was 100 years after emancipation. And emancipation was after hundreds of years of slavery. African Americans live in a country that has elected a racist as president. A man who condemned a simple peaceful protest against police brutality and has continued to show his racism on the one hand and his support for white supremacists on the other.

I'm not in a position to condemn people who can justifiably question what peaceful protest has achieved. Black Lives Matter was founded 7 years ago and the reality is that being black means you're more likely to be killed by the police than if you're white. A white racist with a gun can take over the state capitol but a black reporter with a microphone will be arrested without explanation...




Full speech:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as our chlidren are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only."

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exhalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Maybe we need a United nations police force to protect the minority blacks from oppression in the USA.

I would expect the world's greatest super power, China, to at least threaten a military intervention to stop the bloodshed. Maybe even maintain a presence in the USA until some sort of democracy gets set up there, America needs a period of enlightenment to join the civilised world, we cant sit back and watch the slaughter and do nothing.
If I was Boris Id be shoulder to shoulder with China on this one in the battle of good versus evil. They probably got WMDs there, imagine nuclear weapons falling into the hands of these madmen. If they can kill their own people with total impunity, I for one would be worried if they get their hands on anything bigger than a handgun.
We can send our companies to rebuild the USA afterwards, they got plenty of natural resources there too, could be just what we need.

Do something, president Xi, before its too late.


Funny old world.

The only factor going for the police is that they've been working for years in an environment where you cannot feel confident that the civilian you're engaging isn't hiding a gun. I cannot get past the mental effect it'll have on shaping your thought process and actions, over years. Better to be cruel, violent but alive rather than calmer (slower) and dead etc. You need to ban guns among civilians for a myriad of reasons; creating a healthy, calmer mentality among the enforcement personnel being one.

[BarryCrocker]

To say that Northern Ireland and Apartheid were resolved peacefully is missing out the years of armed struggle that preceded the peace talks.

SNIP

Of course there was violence, on both sides. I know people who's families were wrecked in the Troubles and none of them can say it was their daughter or sons life that was catalyst for change.

It was politics that got the agreements to change. People decided to stop the killing on their side on condition that the other do.

Up to now the killings have been committed by one side. When it starts happening in retaliation there will be no peace, just tit-for-tat in a continual cycle.

[Indomitable_Carp]

I agree with the idiots being the main instigators of the violence. From reports everything that happens before the curfews have been peaceful. It's the riff-raff at night who are poisoning the message.

People need to protest everyday. FFS there's 42m who have nothing to do at the moment. Stop the cities by crowding out all the streets and squares, but don't destroy the businesses and infrastructure that your people rely on to survive.

As for the whole system being burnt to the ground and rebuilt. What's that going to mean for the rest of the world? Are Russia and China going to move into spaces while America rebuilds? How long does that take?

The USA's GDP represents India, Japan, Russia & Germany combined. All of those nations as well as the rest of the world would crumble if their economy and society collapses.

You don't need to kill the patient to remove a cancer. You need to cut it out, treat it, and give them a healthy environment for it not to regrow.

Centuries of violent systemic racism is unfortunately not just something that can just be neatly cut out.

If you are comparing the cure to cancer treatments, the US needs chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can cure the cancer, but it is going to do a lot of damage to the other structures that the white population  holds dear. More then likely many of those structures will need to be completely rebuilt.

In the meantime, it is unrealistic to expect such deep burning anger and life threatening prejudice to not boil over into violence.

We have had other people in this thread saying ´Well this violence is only going to increase Trumps chances of reelection´. But even that is from a position of privilege, because (for those with legitimate grievances at any rate) if you are pissed off enough to want to be out fighting police then your experiences of violent systemic racism didn´t start under Trump and won´t end after Trump has gone. They have watched African Americans achieve the highest positions of power in the state, and yet still nothing change.

Of course there is no overnight fixes. It is not necessarily the ´smart´ option to be out burning and rioting. But the state has also given them zero reason to believe the peaceful way of trying to fix things is going to work.

Which is why us sitting here going "Well they shouldn´t be burning things - and it might lead to Trump getting reelected which for me is worst outcome that could happen" rings hollow. The worst conceivable outcome for them is they could wind up dead at the hands of the state walking down the street, regardless of who is sitting as President. Knowing that the same state structures will then go out of their way to protect those responsible for it, and probably even blame their now dead self.

[BarryCrocker]

Centuries of violent systemic racism is unfortunately not just something that can just be neatly cut out.

If you are comparing the cure to cancer treatments, the US needs chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can cure the cancer, but it is going to do a lot of damage to the other structures that the white population  holds dear. More then likely many of those structures will need to be completely rebuilt.

In the meantime, it is unrealistic to expect such deep burning anger and life threatening prejudice to not boil over into violence.

We have had other people in this thread saying ´Well this violence is only going to increase Trumps chances of reelection´. But even that is from a position of privilege, because (for those with legitimate grievances at any rate) if you are pissed off enough to want to be out fighting police then your experiences of violent systemic racism didn´t start under Trump and won´t end after Trump has gone. They have watched African Americans achieve the highest positions of power in the state, and yet still nothing change.

Of course there is no overnight fixes. It is not necessarily the ´smart´ option to be out burning and rioting. But the state has also given them zero reason to believe the peaceful way of trying to fix things is going to work.

Which is why us sitting here going "Well they shouldn´t be burning things - and it might lead to Trump getting reelected which for me is worst outcome that could happen" rings hollow.

Let's see how this all plays out in November.

BTW, Where the fck is Kanye while this is all going down?

[Alan_X]

Vote for better people. People who don't just become part of the political system and decide its better to keep their job than to help their constituents. And that's not just politicians it should be police chiefs, union delegates, etc.

Voter suppression and gerrymandering have been key strategies for the Republicans for decades now. Read up about Stacey Abrams who established Fair Fight to combat voter suppression after losing the election for Governor of Georgia by 50,000 votes. Between 2012 and 2018 the Republicans purged 1.4 million voter regstrations in Georgia, most of them belonging to minorities.

It's hard to tell people that voting is the way to go when they know the system is rigged against them.

[BarryCrocker]

On a side note, I can't stop thinking about Childish Gambino's "This Is America" video and lyrics watching all of this unravel.

[The North Bank]

Unfortunately all governments and successive presidents have let black people down in America. Even when Obama was president he couldn't do a thing. That shows its the system that's broken. The problem now isn't Trump, even though hes a buffoon pouring fuel on fire, its the same system that has been oppressing them for centuries, the same system that allows kids to machine gun their way through a school, time and time again. Once the system changes, then the vote, the democratic process, will actually be meaningful.
They are not protesting because they want to bypass democracy, its because they are desperate and have had enough, they have tried every process going and ended up in the same place, flat out on the sidewalk with their face in the ground and a knee to their neck.

[AndyMuller]

This song is from 1991 and still as relevant today.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/KaHsNhY7veA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/KaHsNhY7veA</a>

[Red-Soldier]

This song is from 1991 and still as relevant as it is today.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/KaHsNhY7veA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/KaHsNhY7veA</a>

Might as well add this to the list:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR5sH41Vl5g&list=PLBC3FD84E14789836

Released shortly after the LA riots in 92 (before he went Disney).

[Cpt_Reina]

Vote for better people. People who don't just become part of the political system and decide its better to keep their job than to help their constituents. And that's not just politicians it should be police chiefs, union delegates, etc.

My guy the game is rigged.

Those people can't get on the ballot, they can't get the votes due to gerrymandering, the voters are suppressed.

Everything about the system is broken, it doesn't work for these people. It's been designed that way.

It needs to be burned down and smashed not participated in 'a bit better'

[BarryCrocker]

My guy the game is rigged.

Those people can't get on the ballot, they can't get the votes due to gerrymandering, the voters are suppressed.

Everything about the system is broken, it doesn't work for these people. It's been designed that way.

It needs to be burned down and smashed not participated in 'a bit better'

Dems have had a fairly decent run in holding the House and Senate since the race riots in the 1960's.

Also, it's not about one party being pro-black and the other anti-black. The Dems have laid claim to having the black vote by default without really delivering them much.

[Wool]

This is probably going to offend some of you, but it needs to be said: if you're white and your first reaction is to tone police minorities then you are absolutely part of the problem. You might not be racist, you might not be the ones murdering these black men and women, but you're more than happy to sit there and impede change, to sit there and enable the systemic racism we're seeing and at that point as far as I'm concerned you're no better.

[Snail]

This is probably going to offend some of you, but it needs to be said: if you're white and your first reaction is to tone police minorities then you are absolutely part of the problem. You might not be racist, you might not be the ones murdering these black men and women, but you're more than happy to sit there and impede change, to sit there and enable the systemic racism we're seeing and at that point as far as I'm concerned you're no better.

No arguments from me there.

[Cpt_Reina]

Dems have had a fairly decent run in holding the House and Senate since the race riots in the 1960's.

Also, it's not about one party being pro-black and the other anti-black. The Dems have laid claim to having the black vote by default without really delivering them much.

Haven't you laid waste to your own argument there?

That's exactly the problem. The Dems don't represent these people any more than the Republicans. Not in any meaningful way.

Its a two party system where neither party gives a fuck. Its top of the house rather than grass roots but the closest poor/marginalised/racially discriminated against people have gotten to being able to elect someone with a track record in looking out for their interests just got roundly beaten by a senile man who's offering them nothing.

Try again isn't good enough, not anymore.

[Buggy Eyes Alfredo]

An underground bunker?

He's literally inside and surrounded with one of the most heavily guarded buildings on the planet, and he's shitting his togs. C*nt.

But...  wait.  wearing a mask made him look "weak".     

[eddymunster]

This is probably going to offend some of you, but it needs to be said: if you're white and your first reaction is to tone police minorities then you are absolutely part of the problem. You might not be racist, you might not be the ones murdering these black men and women, but you're more than happy to sit there and impede change, to sit there and enable the systemic racism we're seeing and at that point as far as I'm concerned you're no better.

Any chance of a dumbed down version of this? What do you mean "tone police minorities"? Apologies if I'm being thick.

[Snail]

Any chance of a dumbed down version of this? What do you mean "tone police minorities"? Apologies if I'm being thick.

Telling people how they should or shouldn’t behave in response to systemic oppression and state-sanctioned murder.

[eddymunster]

Telling people how they should or shouldn’t behave in response to systematic oppression and state-sanctioned murder.

Ah, cheers.

[Dench57]

Any chance of a dumbed down version of this? What do you mean "tone police minorities"? Apologies if I'm being thick.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_policing

[DangerScouse]

I fucking despair at #alllivesmatter. Fucking racist wankers.