That was his name.
Trump's fault
Those who voted for Trump are to blame.
China Virus was boring. Racial issues always enrage the unassuming sheeple.
Let's call it systemic racism.
Black lives matter
Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.
It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.
America's greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America — from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr. — are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation's disturbing bigotry and exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America's need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised.
That is exactly where we now stand. Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all.
This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way — the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way.
- W
Yes, we had a whole thread about this. Tell me how "most white people" think. Systemic racism is a convenient term that allows you and others to judge those of us who don't tow the line according to your values, or lack there of.
Your example for George Floyd was that the cops arrested him because he was black. According the the systemic racism theory he would not have been arrested for offering a counterfeit $20 had he been white. You have no way of knowing that or if the cop killed him because he was black. This is all a judgement thing for you. Anybody who does not agree with you is "part of the problem".
The worst thing about all of this is that everyone was on the side of the man that was killed by police and was demanding justice. Trump addressed it; every news report I saw addressed it; even law enforcement bodies addressed it. It was a shared feeling by all colors and nationalities in the nation. If this was caused by any kind of racism people were ready to listen.
Now....it's just another "hands up don't shoot" moment (yeah, saw a bunch of those signs among the protesters referring to an incident that DID NOT HAPPEN) where the issue has been hijacked by rioting and looting morons and the political pundits have taken the focus off of the incident and put the focus on political talking points. George has become just another life that is being used by the dumb and violent left to attempt to overthrow order here in America, especially in the deep blue regions of the nation.
Shame.
FWIW I live in a town that used to headquarter the KKK. It is a town I said I would never live in. Yet, here I am and I love my community.
Yesterday there was a peaceful protest in that same town to ask us to simply consider the words "Black Lives Matter" and they were supported by the police in their right to peacefully protest and despite the fact that some fear mongering white folks on Facebook tried to rile up opposition by sharing it as a planned violent protest.
This isn't complicated. Most are peaceful protesters of good will. Listen to them, not the ones trying to broker violence for political points.
Don't ponder a movement called Black Lives Matter. Don't retort with All Lives Matter (they do, that is beside the point). Don't point to looters as if bad agents discredit the sentiment any more than bad cops make law enforcement unnecessary.
Systemic racism is real. Blacks do not feel safe in their own lives.
Ponder the words "Black lives matter" and ask yourself whether you have biases and what changes you can make in your life. Don't make it any more complicated than that.
100% agree. The people rioting and looting only know they get paid to do so, and there is nothing about George Floyd at this time. We all saw the video and were horrified at the murder of Mr. Floyd. There has never been a need for rioting and looting other than for political purposes. If black lives matter to them, why did they take everything they had by burning and looting their small businesses and other property? Why did they set the house on fire with people in there- I believe they were black as well? This is just so sad! They had everyone's attention. That is lost. I have no problem with peaceful protests, and most are. The looters and rioters don't care about anything other than hate and the money they are paid to do so. They distort the conversation and it is sad!
Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
The protestors are not the same as the rioters and looters. There is already a thread to talk about that.