George Floyd Protests

cincinnati dude

https://www.wlwt.com/article/photos-protests-erupt-across-us-after-george-floyds-death/32710535

A protester puts on a gas mask in Los Angeles.

PHOTO: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

ed243421

#walksbyme

JG49071

It would be nice if Pearl Jam joined the rest of the entertainment world and the majority of the people in the world and turn their social media accounts (Facebook/Twitter, etc) Black for today.
But hey, they still have advertising on their Facebook from March for the new album. 

Parksy

JG49071 said:

It would be nice if Pearl Jam joined the rest of the entertainment world and the majority of the people in the world and turn their social media accounts (Facebook/Twitter, etc) Black for today.
But hey, they still have advertising on their Facebook from March for the new album. 

When I read this post... I picture a Doosh Canoe riding a bicycle while listening to The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice".   

tempo_n_groove

Let's move this to AMT and not try to point any more fingers at people.

Kat

Hey, the guy in that shirt in the first post looks familiar.
Moved this from Porch, left redirect.

brianlux

Great to see a separate George Floyd thread.  Very appropriate. 

brianlux

My wife and I are wearing black today in support of Blackout Tuesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/blackout-tuesday-dominates-social-media-millions-show-solidarity-george-floyd

gimmesometruth27

is that shirt real? what a fierce photo on that shirt. always loved that photo.

FiveBelow

If social media blackouts are cool, consider me Miles Davis.

Spiritual_Chaos

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

static111

Spiritual_Chaos said:

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

Lack of critical thinking?

evenflow82

Speaking as a resident of Mpls, there have been plenty of white nationalists in town since mid last week.  Terrifying.  

This yahoo has no idea what is going on.  I'm sure trump would love to have him in his caibinet.  

brianlux

Spiritual_Chaos said:

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

"Trump knocked it out of the park with his speech..."

...and I knocked Krist off my FB feed.  No big loss there.

jerparker20

JG49071 said:

It would be nice if Pearl Jam joined the rest of the entertainment world and the majority of the people in the world and turn their social media accounts (Facebook/Twitter, etc) Black for today.
But hey, they still have advertising on their Facebook from March for the new album. 

Turning your social media black doesn’t do shit. It’s a pretty weak way to make a statement. A better statement would be to completely delete and deactivate Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

I’m a resident of the Twin Cities. I live 4 blocks from the site of Philando Castillo’s murder, and very close to the area of St Paul that went up in flames last Thursday. I use to work out of one of the buildings in South Minneapolis that was partially destroyed. My kid’s daycare center was vandalized.  And the police murdered another person from my community, again.

If if you want to make a difference, bug the hell out of your elected officials to make real changes to policing, education and economic policies. Vote for non-shitbag politicians. Support minority owned businesses, especially those in our neighborhoods.  Also if your a white person know when to shut your mouth and listen to our communities of color,  especially when it’s uncomfortable. Blacking out your social media accounts for one day is just lazy.

when things calm down, maybe I’ll share my thoughts/experiences of the past week. 

darwinstheory

brianlux said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

"Trump knocked it out of the park with his speech..."

...and I knocked Krist off my FB feed.  No big loss there.

Classic Brian - clear, concise and to the point. Love the response.

I have found myself enjoying the social distancing away from even my friends who are trumpers. The supporters of deputy dipshit are insufferable. 

pearljammr78

brianlux said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

"Trump knocked it out of the park with his speech..."

...and I knocked Krist off my FB feed.  No big loss there.

Brian, you are the master. 

Can he be forgiven for possible CTE?

bootlegger10

Kris’s post isn’t as bad as it could have been.  He disagreed with bringing in troops.  He agreed that it was time to stop the looters.  Neither of these positions are that controversial.

We’ll never come together if we automatically disassociate with people we disagree with based on one post that isn’t that extreme.  

Meltdown99

Jonathan Toews 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/jonathan-toews-stuns-the-hockey-world-with-a-stirring-call-to-arms?ref=trevor&fbclid=IwAR1GCMtohVgcZSDPyvZkMUnbXWRf5cXMQB0ELrsQk9YiL00sUQOckfUg6_8


A lot of people may claim these riots and acts of destruction are a terrible response. I’ll be the first to admit that as a white male that was also my first reaction.
But who am I to tell someone that their pain is not real? Especially when it is at a boiling point and impossible to hold in anymore. It’s obviously coming from a place of truth. This reaction isn’t coming out of thin air.
I’m not condoning or approving the looting, but are we really going to sit here and say that peaceful protesting is the only answer? There has been plenty of time for that, and if it was the answer we would’ve given it our full attention long ago.
Listen to these two men debate. They are lost, they are in pain. They strived for a better future but as they get older they realize their efforts may be futile. They don’t know the answer of how to solve this problem for the next generation of black women and men. This breaks my heart.
I can’t pretend for a second that I know what it feels like to walk in a black man’s shoes. However, seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and the violent reaction across the country moved me to tears. It has pushed me to think, how much pain are black people and other minorities really feeling? What have Native American people dealt with in both Canada and US? What is it really like to grow up in their world? Where am I ignorant about the privileges that I may have that others don’t?
Compassion to me is at least trying to FEEL and UNDERSTAND what someone else is going through. For just a moment maybe I can try to see the world through their eyes. Covid has been rough but it has given us the opportunity to be much less preoccupied with our busy lives. We can no longer distract ourselves from the truth of what is going on.
My message isn’t for black people and what they should do going forward. My message is to white people to open our eyes and our hearts. That’s the only choice we have, otherwise this will continue.
Let’s choose to fight hate and fear with love and awareness. Ask not what can you do for me, but what can I do for you?Be the one to make the first move. In the end, love conquers all.

bootlegger10

A couple days of peaceful protests wouldn’t change anything.  The history of the planet is full of the people taking up arms against their government because talking only goes so far.  Sucks.

darwinstheory

Meltdown99 said:

Jonathan Toews 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/jonathan-toews-stuns-the-hockey-world-with-a-stirring-call-to-arms?ref=trevor&fbclid=IwAR1GCMtohVgcZSDPyvZkMUnbXWRf5cXMQB0ELrsQk9YiL00sUQOckfUg6_8


A lot of people may claim these riots and acts of destruction are a terrible response. I’ll be the first to admit that as a white male that was also my first reaction.
But who am I to tell someone that their pain is not real? Especially when it is at a boiling point and impossible to hold in anymore. It’s obviously coming from a place of truth. This reaction isn’t coming out of thin air.
I’m not condoning or approving the looting, but are we really going to sit here and say that peaceful protesting is the only answer? There has been plenty of time for that, and if it was the answer we would’ve given it our full attention long ago.
Listen to these two men debate. They are lost, they are in pain. They strived for a better future but as they get older they realize their efforts may be futile. They don’t know the answer of how to solve this problem for the next generation of black women and men. This breaks my heart.
I can’t pretend for a second that I know what it feels like to walk in a black man’s shoes. However, seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and the violent reaction across the country moved me to tears. It has pushed me to think, how much pain are black people and other minorities really feeling? What have Native American people dealt with in both Canada and US? What is it really like to grow up in their world? Where am I ignorant about the privileges that I may have that others don’t?
Compassion to me is at least trying to FEEL and UNDERSTAND what someone else is going through. For just a moment maybe I can try to see the world through their eyes. Covid has been rough but it has given us the opportunity to be much less preoccupied with our busy lives. We can no longer distract ourselves from the truth of what is going on.
My message isn’t for black people and what they should do going forward. My message is to white people to open our eyes and our hearts. That’s the only choice we have, otherwise this will continue.
Let’s choose to fight hate and fear with love and awareness. Ask not what can you do for me, but what can I do for you?Be the one to make the first move. In the end, love conquers all.

Wow! This is top notch. Krist Novaselic could learn a thing or two from this writing.

brianlux

bootlegger10 said:

A couple days of peaceful protests wouldn’t change anything.  The history of the planet is full of the people taking up arms against their government because talking only goes so far.  Sucks.

Being in or witnessing in person violent protests is pretty awful.   But you are right, change has often come through violent action.  And that is very sad, very unfortunate.

But history has also shown that people can make changes through peaceful protest.  Some examples:

-The 1913 Suffrage Parade did much to further Women's rights issues.

-Gandhi's salt march in 1930 that helped India gain its freedom from Britain.

-1955 to 1956 Montgomery bus boycott stemmed from Rosa Parks refusal to sit in the back of the bus.  Segregation became unconstitutional. 

-The late 1960's Delano Grape Boycott and Strike served to protect farm workers.

-The war in Vietnam, though far, far too long, was ended in part by widespread protest.  Many of these protests were violence, but I saw some of that happen and most protesters were non-violent.  Most of the violence came from law enforcement.  And many protests did not end in violence.

-Christopher Street Liberation Day, June 28, 1969.  True, this was an outright riot, but it was the seed that led to other more peaceful protests that led to peaceful pride marches and the opened the door to the gains we've made in LGBT rights today.

These and other peaceful protests/boycotts/strikes led to change.  I would encourage anyone to not write off peaceful protest.   To my way off thinking, it's a much better option than being in or even watching a blood bath.   

Spiritual_Chaos

bootlegger10 said:

A couple days of peaceful protests wouldn’t change anything.  The history of the planet is full of the people taking up arms against their government because talking only goes so far.  Sucks.

I think this is a pretty dangerous narrative to push as an inevitability. 






And I can't really wrap my head around the defense (in general, not you Bootlegger specifically) of looting and the destruction of property etc. All I see is backed-to-the-wall clutching-at-straws fabricated arguments to not give a centimetre to "the other side" (of note though, I haven't digged so deep into this - just my observation from what I have taken in).

Halifax2TheMax

Like Bernie? Or Tara? Or the Swedish Voodoo Doctor (sorry forgot his Mario cart KISS name explanation of confidence.) sorry not sorry. Time will tell so walks in the forest are ordered.

Fifthelement

jerparker20 said:

JG49071 said:

It would be nice if Pearl Jam joined the rest of the entertainment world and the majority of the people in the world and turn their social media accounts (Facebook/Twitter, etc) Black for today.
But hey, they still have advertising on their Facebook from March for the new album. 

Turning your social media black doesn’t do shit. It’s a pretty weak way to make a statement. A better statement would be to completely delete and deactivate Facebook and Instagram accounts. 

I’m a resident of the Twin Cities. I live 4 blocks from the site of Philando Castillo’s murder, and very close to the area of St Paul that went up in flames last Thursday. I use to work out of one of the buildings in South Minneapolis that was partially destroyed. My kid’s daycare center was vandalized.  And the police murdered another person from my community, again.

If if you want to make a difference, bug the hell out of your elected officials to make real changes to policing, education and economic policies. Vote for non-shitbag politicians. Support minority owned businesses, especially those in our neighborhoods.  Also if your a white person know when to shut your mouth and listen to our communities of color,  especially when it’s uncomfortable. Blacking out your social media accounts for one day is just lazy.

when things calm down, maybe I’ll share my thoughts/experiences of the past week. 

Great post @jerparker20, especially the part I highlighted in bold. Sending much love to you and your family.

 I sincerely hope that real change in policing (de-militarisation), the justice system and the million other micro and macro threads of systemic racism that prop up western societal structures comes sooner rather than later.  As you say, the way that happens is through voting and contacting elected representatives. 

brianlux

Like many of you, I have been following all of this closely this last week. One of the things that is talked about a lot is the looting, burning and destruction of property.  Much of that talk focuses on two of three groups of people who engage in this activity:  angry and/or radical protesters and infiltrator "protesters"-  mostly fake Antifa infiltrators, white supremacists acting as protesters. 

The third kind isn't mentioned as often:  Opportunists using the distraction and/or confusion of protests to break into stores and steel.  They are people who have little or no interest in social justice issues but instead seek to exploit the situation for the sole purpose of stealing.  I would include in that group thrill seekers who enjoy breaking shit but who also have little or no interest in social justice issues.

I don't know what percentage of the people destroying and steeling are opportunists and thrill seekers, but I do find it interesting that there is not much focus on them in conversation on theft and damage as compared to the other groups. 

Why do you suppose that is?

mace1229

Anyone heard of the Singing a Revolution? I spent some time in Estonia about 10 years ago and learned a lot about their history. It’s an amazing story, here’s a clip about a documentary for it. They didn’t have weapons, they fought their revolution from the Soviet Union by singing together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4njksFKyycY&app=desktop

Every day I am seeing more and more people condone this violence, saying it’s the only way to get change. That we didn’t win the civil war through peace.

We have already made big changes. Yes, bigger changes are needed. But I don’t remember MLK beating a woman unconscious with a 2x4 so he could loot her store in order to make his point.

Innocent people are already dying. Police have already been ambushed and killed. Innocent people have lost their only way to provide for a family. I saw police with orders to step down and allow the looting for days. Now I see the enforcement being ramped up with use of tear gas on the media and anyone out passed curfew. Some were calling this a war. It’s really starting to look like one. The thing is, in a war the other side fights back with violence too. That’s not what I want.

gimmesometruth27

Meltdown99 said:

Jonathan Toews 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/jonathan-toews-stuns-the-hockey-world-with-a-stirring-call-to-arms?ref=trevor&fbclid=IwAR1GCMtohVgcZSDPyvZkMUnbXWRf5cXMQB0ELrsQk9YiL00sUQOckfUg6_8


A lot of people may claim these riots and acts of destruction are a terrible response. I’ll be the first to admit that as a white male that was also my first reaction.
But who am I to tell someone that their pain is not real? Especially when it is at a boiling point and impossible to hold in anymore. It’s obviously coming from a place of truth. This reaction isn’t coming out of thin air.
I’m not condoning or approving the looting, but are we really going to sit here and say that peaceful protesting is the only answer? There has been plenty of time for that, and if it was the answer we would’ve given it our full attention long ago.
Listen to these two men debate. They are lost, they are in pain. They strived for a better future but as they get older they realize their efforts may be futile. They don’t know the answer of how to solve this problem for the next generation of black women and men. This breaks my heart.
I can’t pretend for a second that I know what it feels like to walk in a black man’s shoes. However, seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and the violent reaction across the country moved me to tears. It has pushed me to think, how much pain are black people and other minorities really feeling? What have Native American people dealt with in both Canada and US? What is it really like to grow up in their world? Where am I ignorant about the privileges that I may have that others don’t?
Compassion to me is at least trying to FEEL and UNDERSTAND what someone else is going through. For just a moment maybe I can try to see the world through their eyes. Covid has been rough but it has given us the opportunity to be much less preoccupied with our busy lives. We can no longer distract ourselves from the truth of what is going on.
My message isn’t for black people and what they should do going forward. My message is to white people to open our eyes and our hearts. That’s the only choice we have, otherwise this will continue.
Let’s choose to fight hate and fear with love and awareness. Ask not what can you do for me, but what can I do for you?Be the one to make the first move. In the end, love conquers all.

i saw this. as a lifelong blues fan i was always conditioned to hate toews. i respected his hockey ability but never liked him. this statement has changed my opinion of him for the better. i am glad he stepped up and said something. it takes courage for people in his position to step into something like this with such conviction. i saw that people in the twitterverse are all over sidney crosby for not saying anything at all. with statements like this from people like toews, i do not think crosby needs to even be mentioned in the conversation.

gimmesometruth27

brianlux said:

Spiritual_Chaos said:

What happened to Krist...



https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/06/krist-novoselic-donald-trump-speech/

"Trump knocked it out of the park with his speech..."

...and I knocked Krist off my FB feed.  No big loss there.

thanks brian, i needed this laugh!!

i think krist was a bigtime libertarian at one point. i am pretty concerned that he feels that trump knocked it out of the park with that speech. it was a speech that a strongman dictator would have been proud of. i expected better of krist for some reason. probably because he was one of my heroes growing up. i guess people change, or at least show you who they really are eventually.

dignin

gimmesometruth27 said:

Meltdown99 said:

Jonathan Toews 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/jonathan-toews-stuns-the-hockey-world-with-a-stirring-call-to-arms?ref=trevor&fbclid=IwAR1GCMtohVgcZSDPyvZkMUnbXWRf5cXMQB0ELrsQk9YiL00sUQOckfUg6_8


A lot of people may claim these riots and acts of destruction are a terrible response. I’ll be the first to admit that as a white male that was also my first reaction.
But who am I to tell someone that their pain is not real? Especially when it is at a boiling point and impossible to hold in anymore. It’s obviously coming from a place of truth. This reaction isn’t coming out of thin air.
I’m not condoning or approving the looting, but are we really going to sit here and say that peaceful protesting is the only answer? There has been plenty of time for that, and if it was the answer we would’ve given it our full attention long ago.
Listen to these two men debate. They are lost, they are in pain. They strived for a better future but as they get older they realize their efforts may be futile. They don’t know the answer of how to solve this problem for the next generation of black women and men. This breaks my heart.
I can’t pretend for a second that I know what it feels like to walk in a black man’s shoes. However, seeing the video of George Floyd’s death and the violent reaction across the country moved me to tears. It has pushed me to think, how much pain are black people and other minorities really feeling? What have Native American people dealt with in both Canada and US? What is it really like to grow up in their world? Where am I ignorant about the privileges that I may have that others don’t?
Compassion to me is at least trying to FEEL and UNDERSTAND what someone else is going through. For just a moment maybe I can try to see the world through their eyes. Covid has been rough but it has given us the opportunity to be much less preoccupied with our busy lives. We can no longer distract ourselves from the truth of what is going on.
My message isn’t for black people and what they should do going forward. My message is to white people to open our eyes and our hearts. That’s the only choice we have, otherwise this will continue.
Let’s choose to fight hate and fear with love and awareness. Ask not what can you do for me, but what can I do for you?Be the one to make the first move. In the end, love conquers all.

i saw this. as a lifelong blues fan i was always conditioned to hate toews. i respected his hockey ability but never liked him. this statement has changed my opinion of him for the better. i am glad he stepped up and said something. it takes courage for people in his position to step into something like this with such conviction. i saw that people in the twitterverse are all over sidney crosby for not saying anything at all. with statements like this from people like toews, i do not think crosby needs to even be mentioned in the conversation.

Fucking Crosby. Never forgive him for going to the Whitehouse.

hedonist

brianlux said:

Like many of you, I have been following all of this closely this last week. One of the things that is talked about a lot is the looting, burning and destruction of property.  Much of that talk focuses on two of three groups of people who engage in this activity:  angry and/or radical protesters and infiltrator "protesters"-  mostly fake Antifa infiltrators, white supremacists acting as protesters. 

The third kind isn't mentioned as often:  Opportunists using the distraction and/or confusion of protests to break into stores and steel.  They are people who have little or no interest in social justice issues but instead seek to exploit the situation for the sole purpose of stealing.  I would include in that group thrill seekers who enjoy breaking shit but who also have little or no interest in social justice issues.

I don't know what percentage of the people destroying and steeling are opportunists and thrill seekers, but I do find it interesting that there is not much focus on them in conversation on theft and damage as compared to the other groups. 

Why do you suppose that is?

I‘ve mentioned it here several times as it was happening in my city. I think others have as well. 

Crickets, mostly. 

Ah well!