Black Lives Matter

[2020k]

Given everything going on in my country, I just feel compelled to at least create a respectful topic here to shed light on it, acknowledge privilege, and to stand up for voices that have been oppressed for far, far too long.

I know other countries went out and protested how our government and police are handling things. If anyone from here went (stateside or other) or have supported this movement to end inequality, stand up for black citizens, and do something about the police in any way...thank you so much. I would have been to all protests Pittsburgh's had so far and would have been stuck tear gased and shot with rubber bullets, but my home is a high risk for COVID19 infection and I've resorted to spreading awareness, donating money, and monitoring our protests (and others) online.

There were quite a few members here who don't reside in the United States who were participating in #Blackouttuesday and it made me feel so warm to see so much love.

Comprehensive link to donate your time/money: http://www.blacklivesmatter.carrd.co

[Mexicola]

Well said that man.

I'm watching things Stateside with particular interest given our own political situation here in the UK. There's a saying, originating from the business world, that when the USA catches a cold, the UK sneezes. While we might not have identical problems here, the parallels are striking.

So many of my heroes as a white man, with all the privilege that comes with that, are black. Just in the music world, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck D, Miles Davis, Otis Redding, George Clinton, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Charles Mingus, Tom Morello, Bob Marley, Gil Scott Heron...

But of course, you shouldn't have to be a musical genius, to gain respect. You shouldn't need to be famous to be allowed the room to live a dignified life free from discrimination, fear or hatred. Sadly, what's happened recently is, I suspect, only the tip of the iceberg. I fear there were many other George Floyds, running back to Rodney King and far, far beyond that. I fear there will be many more in the future too, particularly while this current President remains in office.

Someone asked on Twitter the other day, whether anything had really changed since the LAPD beat Rodney King. I perhaps rather flippantly replied that more people had cameras today.

Black lives matter.

[bungler666]

...oops.

[Mexicola]

*We have removed one post at the request of the person who wrote it.*

[TheStatPow]

It reached canada, Montreal (Town next to mine) got some protests and sadly a lot of looting too which just ends up fucking the movement over. But I still wonder if without the fires and looting the government would listen even ...

2020 is cursed. Hope something good comes out of it. the "new normal" talk on the news gives me the creep.

[A_Northern_Soul]

Well said.

Full solidarity with those taking part in any demos.

Black. Lives. Matter.

[turquoise70]

Very well said, and I'll put my hat in as well.

There's plenty more that could and should be said about it. I regret not saying more here and now, but... I'm feeling very carved out, I can't find my words. I'm just so exhausted.

[jcnporter]

There will only be change when people drop that delusions about the society we live in - that everyone experiences life in the same way, that the rules and conventions apply to everyone, that the state is a benevolent institution there to defend and protect you and act in your interests, that the media is there to speak truth to power.
There's many folk who really don't understand that, for example, the standard white middle class experience of interacting with a respectful police force that are there to help you isn't the same for everyone, that it in fact, for millions upon millions, is profoundly different, almost the exact opposite.
There are many who don't understand, many who don't want to understand and, tragically, probably even more who do understand but don't care.
Acknowledging the delusion, even the very slightest bit of it, strikes so deeply at the heart of who people believe they are and what their countries and societies stand for, that they are repulsed, that they react with bitterness and spite and verbal and physical violence at any suggestions that their delusions might not be true. They want to believe any faults are the fault of the individual, not the system – of course they do – the system underpins their very lifestyle and existence.
The entire raison d'être of conservatism is to preserve the delusion, of noble and solid institutions, of a righteous and benign hierarchy.
The entire raison d'être of liberalism is to preserve the delusion while saying, well, it's not ideal and it might need some mild reform, at some point in the future.
Everything is geared to keeping it going – everything we're taught in school, almost everything we can read in the media, everything the government or institutions tell us.
Imagine if none of it were true? Imagine if everyone believed it, yet your personal experiences from as far back as you can remember tell you it's all crap? The mental fatigue this would cause?
This is a reckoning and nowhere near the last, not until the delusions all come crashing down. And if not now, then when?

[Mexicola]

Excellent post. Two points spring to mind.

People and society need dilusions and stories to exist. Sad but true. Read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. I'm not thrilled by this, but there we have it.

Secondly, people says things like 'The system is broken.' Not so. The system was designed this way. It serves 'their' purposes just fine. We are grist to the mill.

These two things explain much.

[jcnporter]

Excellent post. Two points spring to mind.

People and society need dilusions and stories to exist. Sad but true. Read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. I'm not thrilled by this, but there we have it.

Secondly, people says things like 'The system is broken.' Not so. The system was designed this way. It serves 'their' purposes just fine. We are grist to the mill.

These two things explain much.

Absolutely. Funnily enough, just this morning, someone recommended Sapiens to me, I'll definitely have a look.

[Negamuse]

I don't have a lot more to add to any of this except to state the obvious: the current round of protests are being reported in the press as "American" but it's not just "their" problem, it's everywhere and it's just as much our fault as anywhere else. 1700 people dead in police custody in the UK since 1980, vast majority BAME and a handful of prosecutions. Anyone crying over statues being violently attacked and not real, living people needs to wake the fuck up. We are living comfortably on the proceeds of stolen wealth and human suffering and inequality that never stopped. Solidarity

[Jonse]

Hopefully cops can drop killing solely for someone being black. Lot of denial going on right now trying to divert the black community away from the focus. A lot of white people whitewash everything to be so much weaker than it was.

[Torn n Frayed]

https://twitter.com/HenryMakow/status/1 ... 4065406976

This is not about Black Live Mattering; it's about subverting the US from the inside, the long March is almost complete.

[Mexicola]

Jesus. I never knew those cops knelt on George Floyds neck for 9 minutes just to bring about the downfall of the very police force they worked for. This goes deeper than I thought.

[Josh]

Yup, socialism has totally taken hold in the U.S. Game over.

We've witnessed the largest redistribution of wealth in history. Only thing is, it's socialism for the corporations and the wealthy. Banks are "too big to fail". Unions, which used to keep capitalism somewhat in check are all shrinking since manufacturing jobs don't exist anymore. One exception to this is police unions! Go figure! The people who are employed to protect the ruling class from the unwashed masses have great unions in most cases. Are you a cop who fucked up on the job? Like, maybe shot someone you shouldn't have? No problem, paid leave until retirement, or we'll help you find a job with another police department. Defund the police you say? Oh, my! Can't have that.

So, the rich keep getting richer, even in the midst of a global pandemic. Meanwhile, the poor are getting poorer, the "middle class" is an endangered species. Public lands are turned over to companies so they can exploit resources for profit while fucking up the environment. Yeah, socialism, American Style!

Black Lives Matter. The fact that people are even the slightest bit uncomfortable with this movement shows how deeply rooted and systemic racism is. If everyone actually took the time to learn some Black History and discovered that American History and Black History are really one and the same... America was built on slave labor. African Americans have fought and died in every American war. The first person to die in the Revolutionary War was black. On and on it goes. Keep looking and you'll find that no group of people have given more for their country than African Americans. And how have they been thanked? With every kind of oppression imaginable. For 400 years. Even when Black leaders preach peace and justice FOR ALL they're killed. And yet people still wonder why are black people so upset!

Black people are asking people who aren't black to listen. To consider. To have some sympathy if not empathy. Will we actually do that this time? Will we really make serious changes or just make some token "reforms" and call it a day? I really, really hope things do change, but I know history and what history tells isn't encouraging.

[jcnporter]

https://twitter.com/HenryMakow/status/1273668164065406976

This is not about Black Live Mattering; it's about subverting the US from the inside, the long March is almost complete.

Folks have been banging on about the US being 'subverted from the inside' (like 'Cultural Marxism', a famously antisemitic trope) for approaching a century now and yet they've been electing increasingly right wing governments the entire time, with taxes, wages and public spending on a consistent downward slope since the 50s. Indeed these two observations are not unconnected.
With the Democrats having purposely torpedoed the only candidate offering a vaguely left wing vision , a second term looks nailed on for Trump.

So that's one hell of a long march. Yet I'm sure they're right and socialism's just round the next corner.

Any day now.

[Torn n Frayed]

https://twitter.com/HenryMakow/status/1273668164065406976

This is not about Black Live Mattering; it's about subverting the US from the inside, the long March is almost complete.

Folks have been banging on about the US being 'subverted from the inside' (like 'Cultural Marxism', a famously antisemitic trope) for approaching a century now and yet they've been electing increasingly right wing governments the entire time, with taxes, wages and public spending on a consistent downward slope since the 50s. Indeed these two observations are not unconnected.
With the Democrats having purposely torpedoed the only candidate offering a vaguely left wing vision , a second term looks nailed on for Trump.

So that's one hell of a long march. Yet I'm sure they're right and socialism's just round the next corner.

Any day now.

Funny you should mention that word...

phpBB [media]

[SamuraiDrifter]

Pretty disappointing to see right-wing anti-semitic conspiracy bullshit and obvious propaganda in a BoC forum, particularly under a topic about ending police brutality against people of color. Disgusting, really. I'd hoped we were better than that.

[Josh]

Pretty disappointing to see right-wing anti-semitic conspiracy bullshit and obvious propaganda in a BoC forum, particularly under a topic about ending police brutality against people of color. Disgusting, really. I'd hoped we were better than that.

Same.

[SamuraiDrifter]

I'm also appalled by people who are more shocked by the destruction of corporate property than by a man being murdered in the street, in full view of onlookers, without a shred of humanity as he begged for his life. People looking for any and every excuse to discredit the movement while ignoring the horrific acts of violence that started it are serving the interests of the state in its mission of suppressing dissent and covering up its perpetuation of systematic racist violence.

The fact is, peaceful protest was tried. When people marched and chanted they were ignored. When Colin Kaepernick kneeled for the anthem he was insulted, demeaned, and ultimately blacklisted from the NFL. When people peacefully blocked highways, because other less disruptive forms of protest were tried, they were threatened with being run over (and in some cases were actually struck by cars), and legislation to dispense long prison sentences for this type of civil disobedience were written.

And now that all that has failed, and people (of all races, but mainly black folks) continue to be murdered by police who face zero consequences, the same people who willfully ignored and aggressively attacked every other protest want them to "stay peaceful," meaning just lay down and die.

Two weeks of riots and civil disruptions got more done than decades of voting and trusting politicians. Minneapolis is dismantling its police department and others are diverting millions in funding. A massive police reform bill has been unveiled (though as we've seen, the toothless reforms passed by Democrats never work).

The protests are completely justified and change is long overdue. Black lives matter.