Posted: 2020-05-30 9:08:11 pm Category General Viewed 906 times Likes 3
Some inspiring scenes to be sure, and a reminder: we do have power in numbers, we should use it wisely, and all protest does not have to be violent. These people "demonstrated" by example - that coming together to fight a wrong is the best solution.
"Use their privilege"? So, what this tells me, is that someone decided to put a bunch of innocent bystanders in danger to protect their protest, and that the bystanders were mostly whites and the protesters were not. I feel the circumstance behind it is tragic, but to hide behind innocent bystanders and convince them to defy law enforcement for them is cowardly. And if the colors were reversed? I'd still feel the same way.
Dalamar are you serious? Do you really think black peoples put white peoples in front of them as a shield? Law enforcement is joining us the REAL protestors. There is still in the bigger cities corrupt cops getting caught on camera doing foul racist acts but there is finally GOOD cops calling them on it. Again your racism is showing.
In our city (Portland, OR) we've seen some of the worst of it - but what I saw last night and the night before was the police marching WITH the protesters - the true protesters - and hauling off the rest. Some are there to loot and "get theirs" the true protesters are not. We're dealing with curfew too, but seeing the police truly come alongside and support the movement has done more than any arrest or police action can do.
Also, the words "use your privilege" gave me a little knee-jerk because I do not feel I am privileged in any way that I havent earned - and the color of my skin is not one of those things. No one was hiding, no one was "using" anyone - they were showing support for people that are just like them but due to the color of their skin at times are seen differently. I saw it as a statement that "all lives matter" and that was a pretty powerful image I'd rather see than hours of riot footage.
White privilege does not mean you have a great life, it means you can bird watch and the police won’t be called on you, you can go jogging and you won’t be hunted down like an animal, you can have a gathering in the park and you won’t have the police called on you. White privilege means you can sleep peacefully in your bed and your door won’t get kicked in and you killed in your sleep. It means when you deal with the police you don’t have to worry if you are the next number in the body count.
"White privilege means you can sleep peacefully in your bed and your door won’t get kicked in and you killed in your sleep." .... No, that's what the Second Amendment means and EVERY American Citizen has that same RIGHT, not "privilege."
Yes we all have the right to arm ourselves, but the majority of the government would have heart attacks if the black community armed themselves and decided to defend themselves as they see fit.
I don't recall seeing anyone burning courthouses and looting Target stores over haircuts. There's a vast and obvious difference between a peaceful (non-violent) protest, which is protected by the US Bill of Rights, and a riotous mob of vandals, looters, and arsonists, all of which are illegal acts and NOT rights OR privileges in America.
Racist? Honeychile, I'm of Jewish descent. We know racism. I ain't it. So, what i saw in that article, were serious blacks protesting, silly white people getting involved, and the police were agreeing with the protesters? Then...what was the problem? Why the line at all? But that's not what the article described. It's easily forgotten that the police are people too. Sometimes they too get fed up with stupid. They feel the balance must be kept, if at least in their own minds.
I'll guarantee they all became police because they wanted to do the right thing, but that mentality wears down, grows bitter, and eventually the person feels they aren't making much difference, and starts to think for themselves instead of everyone else. Mistakes then happen. Never forget, that these people in uniform are people just like you and me, who willingly put themselves in bad positions every day, and try to make the best of it. And we act like they can do it all, alone.
It's not racism, it's training, that causes the issues where people get the bejeezus beaten out of them. They're taught to watch for certain modes of dress, behavior, and speech patterns and consider them suspicious, such as wearing a hoodie because they hide the face, and baggy pants because they might hide a weapon. Averting the eyes, acting nervous and stupidly running away when they walk up to you, are also considered such. It's what they're taught, not how they are as a person.
What's happening is sad, i totally agree, but you're dealing with people who are not at all perfect, on both sides. I don't feel I'm privileged. I feel I have the same rights as anyone else that's a citizen of this nation. I don't trigger cops...much...because I know how to act. You act like a respectable, responsible person with a backbone, and you be polite. You keep your hands in plain sight, don't fidget, look them in the eye. You are protected by the law. This is how you should act.
I've got a friend who is white who had the cops called on him for parking his suburban attack vehicle near a public boat ramp across the street from some random old woman's house, and went off into Escambia Bay on his kayak. He was gone for an hour and a half, she made that officer sit there and wait for him to come back, and by the time he did? She had went off on some errand somewhere. So, it's not just blacks getting harassed because they're entertaining themselves publicly.
I know what people are referring to when they cite "white privilege" I'm saying I don't intentionally access it for my own benefit - and I don't believe it should exist at all. While I realize all people get "harassed" there's a disparity based on race and that's just a fact - one that also shouldn't be. What we can do: show we will not participate in any racially biased activities, especially when propagated by the men and women who have sworn to serve and protect. Respect goes both ways.
And just to be clear - I respect ALL law enforcement officer - they do an extremely difficult job - except the few who who seem to still be blinded by color/income disparity. Law enforcement can be positive even in the worst situations - if they choose to be, if they are trained to be. Good point about the training Dalamar, right on the mark.
