What are your thoughts on the recent protests?

[FireballCaco]

All across the globe, people have forgot about COVID-19 and started to focus more on the defund the police protests. 

 

What are your thoughts?

[dr_st]

Nothing good, but it's probably more related to the COVID-19 lockdown and ensuant economic damage than might seem at first.

[Chip]

can we not have this conversation here? I don't think people want to get into political debates right now. 

[Good-Old]

A VERY controversial thread about cops happened a few days/weeks ago, it was a very angry thread overall. You really shouldn't continue this thread.

[Master O]

6 hours ago, FireballCaco said:

All across the globe, people have forgot about COVID-19 and started to focus more on the defund the police protests. 

 

What are your thoughts?

 

People have a right to be upset about police brutality, to protest peacefully, and to work towards reform of the police.

 

However, the way some people have been rioting and destroying the property and livelihoods of those who had nothing to do with police brutality is unacceptable. Taking out their anger on those people is not only counterproductive, it only makes those people more hostile to them.

 

Moreover, the bizarre narrative in some corners of the media that all white Americans are responsible for minorities' problems is not grounded in reality.  It's similar to the "Blame the Jews" excuse many conspiracy theorists have about certain kinds of world events.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Master O

[FractalBeast]

Cops are literally more deadly to people with a slightly darker skin than COVID-19. Seems reason enough to protest that. It's sickening and absurd what American cops can get away with in the USA. American soldiers in Iraq taking on LITERAL terrorists had more oversight and rules of engagement than American cops "protecting" American citizens.

[kalaeth]

rioting sucks. It's true. But you can count by the fingers in one hand the number of non-violent protestes that achieved anything at all.

And most of those will be things like the portuguese revolution of 74 that was peaceful, yes, but only because the army was the one revolting (and they had tanks. and weapons, and a lot of force to use).

 And the truth is that this few weeks of rioting and protesting have achieved more than anything in the past decade or so..

[random_soldier1337]

20 hours ago, FractalBeast said:

Cops are literally more deadly to people with a slightly darker skin than COVID-19. Seems reason enough to protest that. It's sickening and absurd what American cops can get away with in the USA. American soldiers in Iraq taking on LITERAL terrorists had more oversight and rules of engagement than American cops "protecting" American citizens.

 

It's almost as if when you equip someone with military grade gear, you need to give them military grade training, let alone when you give them lethal weaponry. From what I hear the cops are just given a few months of training. Soldiers are broken down and remade over the course of a few years. And it's still no guarantee. You definitely can't expect your average Joe to be up to it in the span of a few months.

[Woolie Wool]

My opinion is that without an actual political revolution, the protests' energy will be drained away into the endless pseudodemocratic circus of "liberals" and "conservatives" and George Floyd's death will become a South Park "teachable moment" where we all pretend to have learned something without learning anything or changing anything substantial about American society.

 

Not that I'm holding my breath or anything.

[random_soldier1337]

21 hours ago, Woolie Wool said:

My opinion is that without an actual political revolution, the protests' energy will be drained away into the endless pseudodemocratic circus of "liberals" and "conservatives" and George Floyd's death will become a South Park "teachable moment" where we all pretend to have learned something without learning anything or changing anything substantial about American society.

 

Not that I'm holding my breath or anything.

 

"Actions speak louder than words."

 

That's just something I've learned about people. Everyone talks a big game but their actions seldom match what they say or claim to believe. Don't expect anything unless you've seen a lot of definite proof towards it.

[Gokuma]

Dead Kennedys - Riot (live in 1984)

[Tammato]

I remember Pat from the Best Friends saying something along the lines of: back in the day riots and protests couldn't go indefinitely because people eventually had to go back to work or whatever else they do, but with COVID that's out the window. IDK if this is the actual case but at least it shows it's no coincidence that these are happening alongside COVID-19.

[random_soldier1337]

Well technically, if you had enough saved for a rainy day, you probably could afford to go out riot, lose your current job and still be set for a while until things die down and you get a new one. At least I presume that. I don't know anyone who falls into both sets of "has lots of money" and "cares to go about actively changing things for the better".