Remember when MLK jr said, "To further the cause of social justice go down the street and rob and loot your neighbors." Me neither, because it didn't happen.
I fully sympathize with the situation in Minneapolis and the death of George Floyd. I believe in due process, but after seeing the video I was sickened by the police officer's actions. He did not need to have his knee of the neck of a man who was handcuffed and held down by two other officers. His excessive force caused the death of Floyd. He was fired and he will be arrested and charged. There will be a court case and evidence will be presented and a verdict delivered.
That's how our system works. It does not work by robbing your neighbors and destroying their livelihoods. There is no cause that is furthered by the looter's actions. There is no traction gained. Their actions haven't changed policy and ensured that justice was done. It was simply a group of people who took the opportunity to steal and destroy for personal gain. The looters are selfish because they took some of the spotlight away from George Floyd and now the nation sees another example people run amok without furthering their agenda or making any positive strides.
If the looters actually cared about Floyd or the social cause they speak of they would take civil action. It worked in the past and it would work again. The Montgomery bus boycott changed policy. But it wasn't easy, it was certainly harder than breaking glass and stealing a tv. And therein lies the problem. It's easy to riot, it's easy to steal and claim "XYZ caused me to loot." It's hard to organize like-minded people and bring about change. It takes time, grit and determination. Think how much better things would be if the thousands of people who looted and rioted got together and voted for change. They could elect someone who could enact policies to prevent something like this from happening again. That's how our system works, not by destroying your own neighborhood.
There have been reports of left wing groups like antifa creating much of the chaos too. Peaceful protestors and journalists like CNN should not be arrested or pepper sprayed. If a person is destroying property, throwing things at cops or looting they should be arrested.
There have been reports of left wing groups like antifa creating much of the chaos too. Peaceful protestors and journalists like CNN should not be arrested or pepper sprayed. If a person is destroying property, throwing things at cops or looting they should be arrested.
Yeah Trump made that claim about antifa so it's going to get lots of repeating now, especially from true sycophants...all the way to the DOJ if necessary, to preserve that narrative. Isn't it great to a have a completely incompetent racist at the helm of our country during a national crisis? He lies. His AG lies. The VP lies. The SOS lies....well most of not all of the cabinet lie for the POTUS...no need to list them all.
The fact that white supremacists travel to MN during a pandemic to vandalize and loot and cause trouble for the peaceful protesters should be disturbing for all Americans. But apparently that level of "disturbed" is very much related to politics.
Specializes in Clinical Pediatrics; Maternal-Child Educator.
42 minutes ago, jobellestarr said:
Minnesota is my home state and it is always touted as a great and welcoming place to live but only if you’re are a white Scandinavian. It probably has one of the highest levels of racial inequality in the US. And the Minneapolis police have a history of abuse and killing unarmed citizens. People are sick of this *** and no matter how many people are murdered by police it doesn’t change. Can you even imagine being too afraid to go for a walk in your own neighborhood because you might not come home? This is documented by multiple people in several cities. And as a sided note: AIM members were patrolling their neighborhood and came across looters in a store. They were high school boys (all white) from Eau Claire. So, yeah. Violence is always wrong but it is understandable.
I'm not discounting the racial inequality in Minnesota, but it's not the only place experiencing it. My area was described by the UN as "comparable to a third world country" because of the housing conditions for a lot of the population. There is a clear racial disparity in that. The majority of the houses and businesses are owned by white citizens. As far as the houses, some of them are for sale and the owners would sell to anyone, but a large majority of the population can't afford it. Most of the businesses hire anyone qualified, but the struggle is to find people who are qualified or who will not half do their job. The schools here are still segregated. I'm not even kidding. The public school is 99% black and almost all white children attend a private school. The public school is a failing school so I can't blame anyone who can afford it for sending their children elsewhere. This is not unique. It's like this across the US. Racism still exists. I've seen it. But the issue more complex that it. It's also economic.
I do know what it is like to be afraid to walk through my neighborhood - but because of gang violence. I stayed in his area to help the people here, but I watch my city and a dozen others like every single day destroy itself due to the effects of poverty and ignorance. I've literally seen a mid-adolescence young girl give birth to a baby and had the adolescent's mother tell the girl's friends that they "need to get yourself a baby so you can get a check". When one of them said she wanted to go to college, I overheard her being accused of "trying to be white". Most teen mothers struggle just to get through high school and without support both their life and the life of their child is going to be really hard. That is the cycle of poverty. All I can do is encourage her friend and every other adolescent I see to go to college, learn a trade, improve your life and I do that regardless of race.
These are systemic problems that are affecting multiple areas and disproportionately affecting minorities. Minnesota is not alone. I feel for the people in this area because this is the exact type of population I work with daily and the every day struggle I see breaks my heart.
Any police officer that acts with excessive force should be removed from office and charged. All police need to be held to higher standard of following the law. All those, regardless of race, who are looting need to be arrested and charged. There is no excuse for the violence. In fact, I believe it to be unforgivable. The people who coming in and causing it are leaving this area in worse economic condition than they found it. How is that going to help the already present inequalities? If anything this type of violence will cause the police to "justify" harsh tactics.
George Floyd's death was horribly tragic and gross overuse of force and careless disregard for human life. No one is really arguing against that. The officer involved has been arrested, but the violence continues. This is violence for violence's sake at this point. No, that is not understandable.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
5 minutes ago, LovingPeds said:
I'm not discounting the racial inequality in Minnesota, but it's not the only place experiencing it. My area was described by the UN as "comparable to a third world country" because of the housing conditions for a lot of the population. There is a clear racial disparity in that. The majority of the houses and businesses are owned by white citizens. As far as the houses, some of them are for sale and the owners would sell to anyone, but a large majority of the population can't afford it. Most of the businesses hire anyone qualified, but the struggle is to find people who are qualified or who will not half do their job. The schools here are still segregated. I'm not even kidding. The public school is 99% black and almost all white children attend a private school. The public school is a failing school so I can't blame anyone who can afford it for sending their children elsewhere. This is not unique. It's like this across the US. Racism still exists. I've seen it. But the issue more complex that it. It's also economic.
I do know what it is like to be afraid to walk through my neighborhood - but because of gang violence. I stayed in his area to help the people here, but I watch my city and a dozen others like every single day destroy itself due to the effects of poverty and ignorance. I've literally seen a mid-adolescence young girl give birth to a baby and had the adolescent's mother tell the girl's friends that they "need to get yourself a baby so you can get a check". When one of them said she wanted to go to college, I overheard her being accused of "trying to be white". Most teen mothers struggle just to get through high school and without support both their life and the life of their child is going to be really hard. That is the cycle of poverty. All I can do is encourage her friend and every other adolescent I see to go to college, learn a trade, improve your life and I do that regardless of race.
These are systemic problems that are affecting multiple areas and disproportionately affecting minorities. Minnesota is not alone. I feel for the people in this area because this is the exact type of population I work with daily and the every day struggle I see breaks my heart.
Any police officer that acts with excessive force should be removed from office and charged. All police need to be held to higher standard of following the law. All those, regardless of race, who are looting need to be arrested and charged. There is no excuse for the violence. In fact, I believe it to be unforgivable. The people who coming in and causing it are leaving this area in worse economic condition than they found it. How is that going to help the already present inequalities? If anything this type of violence will cause the police to "justify" harsh tactics.
George Floyd's death was horribly tragic and gross overuse of force and careless disregard for human life. No one is really arguing against that. The officer involved has been arrested, but the violence continues. This is violence for violence's sake at this point. No, that is not understandable.
The economic disparity is part of the institutional racism that permeates this country. Failing public schools in poor neighborhoods is proof of the institutional racism that permeates our society...there's a reason we choose to fund schools that way...insuring that the poorest students get the poorest schools...
Only one of the 4 murderers was arrested. The other 3 walk freely today, protected by the police.
There have been reports of left wing groups like antifa creating much of the chaos too. Peaceful protestors and journalists like CNN should not be arrested or pepper sprayed. If a person is destroying property, throwing things at cops or looting they should be arrested.
I cannot find names or affiliation of any arrested looter or rioter.
I think that so far the public has NO PROOF that antifa and radical leftists looted and NO PROOF that White Supremacists or militia members looted.
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
Cops Across The US Have Been Exposed Posting Racist And Violent Things On facebook. Here's The Proof.
A review of the facebook accounts of thousands of officers around the US — the largest database of its kind — found officers endorsing violence against Muslims, women, and criminal defendants.
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
This article is nine months old White nationalists pervade law enforcement. We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it
Fighting far right violence means continuing our fight for police accountability
White nationalists pervade law enforcement. There is a long history of the military, police and other authorities supporting, protecting or even being members of white supremacy groups. But it’s not just history. It was revealed last week that a black man in Michigan came upon KKK materials and Confederate flags in plain view while being shown a home for sale – the home of a police officer on the force for more than 20 years who shot and killed a black man in 2009 without consequence.
It’s a widespread pattern. As early as 2006, the FBI flagged it. Another FBI report in 2015, not covered nearly enough, indicated that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers”. (And that’s the FBI, which has its own history of white supremacy affinity groups.)
White nationalists connect through online networks and offline groups, and openly share tactics for infiltrating and influencing police departments, border patrol, the FBI and the military. That was the case for a Virginia police officer – assigned to a high school – who was revealed to be a longtime white nationalist and served as a recruiter for Identity Evropa, one of the groups behind the Charlottesville hate rallies and violence. He was not shy about his cover. In chat messages, he “discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism”....
I'm not discounting the racial inequality in Minnesota, but it's not the only place experiencing it. My area was described by the UN as "comparable to a third world country" because of the housing conditions for a lot of the population. There is a clear racial disparity in that. The majority of the houses and businesses are owned by white citizens. As far as the houses, some of them are for sale and the owners would sell to anyone, but a large majority of the population can't afford it. Most of the businesses hire anyone qualified, but the struggle is to find people who are qualified or who will not half do their job. The schools here are still segregated. I'm not even kidding. The public school is 99% black and almost all white children attend a private school. The public school is a failing school so I can't blame anyone who can afford it for sending their children elsewhere. This is not unique. It's like this across the US. Racism still exists. I've seen it. But the issue more complex that it. It's also economic.
I do know what it is like to be afraid to walk through my neighborhood - but because of gang violence. I stayed in his area to help the people here, but I watch my city and a dozen others like every single day destroy itself due to the effects of poverty and ignorance. I've literally seen a mid-adolescence young girl give birth to a baby and had the adolescent's mother tell the girl's friends that they "need to get yourself a baby so you can get a check". When one of them said she wanted to go to college, I overheard her being accused of "trying to be white". Most teen mothers struggle just to get through high school and without support both their life and the life of their child is going to be really hard. That is the cycle of poverty. All I can do is encourage her friend and every other adolescent I see to go to college, learn a trade, improve your life and I do that regardless of race.
These are systemic problems that are affecting multiple areas and disproportionately affecting minorities. Minnesota is not alone. I feel for the people in this area because this is the exact type of population I work with daily and the every day struggle I see breaks my heart.
Any police officer that acts with excessive force should be removed from office and charged. All police need to be held to higher standard of following the law. All those, regardless of race, who are looting need to be arrested and charged. There is no excuse for the violence. In fact, I believe it to be unforgivable. The people who coming in and causing it are leaving this area in worse economic condition than they found it. How is that going to help the already present inequalities? If anything this type of violence will cause the police to "justify" harsh tactics.
George Floyd's death was horribly tragic and gross overuse of force and careless disregard for human life. No one is really arguing against that. The officer involved has been arrested, but the violence continues. This is violence for violence's sake at this point. No, that is not understandable.
I’m only speaking about Minnesota because it’s where I’m from but also, people are surprised because it’s always listed among the best places to live in America. I said the violence is understandable, not acceptable. But I am not them and I can’t imagine having to live with that amount of hopelessness either. And for a long, long time so other means haven’t really accomplished much.
If we forget all the racist allegations being going around for a minute, we all can agree that the involved officers should be arrested. The fact that they are public servants, and in one way or the other we are all paying them. No one should be behaving in such a criminal manner leave alone the ones who are responsible for public safety. What ever the reason may have been for Floyd's arrest, there was no evidence of retaliation from him and hence no need for such insensitive fatal force. And to add to it, no feelings at all.
And the administration not arresting them is what is adding fuel. The officers should be arrested and charged. Why is it so difficult for the administration to do that. The message they are sending out is more like " we are going to do whatever it takes to protect those officers at all cost". Having the National Guard, police force, all the riots etc.
Racism exists, and we cannot deny that, but here it is just plain humanity if you will. Nobody, yes Nobody should have to be a victim of such inhuman treatment and hope we all can agree on it.
Nurses are known to stand up for the truth and truth is undeniable in this situation.
Seeing how violent the police have been in response to all of this is really more troubling than anything the protestors have done so far, for me. Also unpopular opinion but, MLK is not the be all end all of the civil rights movement. There were plenty of riots/protests that led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act.
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
To me there is possible that if Dr. King had lived our country could have been better than it is now.
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 he was leading us in rights for ALL humans. He was leading us to activism regarding economic inequality, peace instead of war, and fair housing.
He planning for Americans of all races to demonstrate in Washington, D.C., in May 1968 to lobby for an “economic bill of rights” that included jobs, unemployment insurance, a fair minimum wage and more low-income housing. But before it could happen we were watching his mule drawn coffin on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta. Economic Bill of Rights: https://www.crmvet.org/docs/68ebr.htm
I believe if he had lived he would still be speaking out for justice. That's what he was doing in Memphis. He was supporting the garbage workers. I am almost certain he would have been a leader for working people. in movements to empower the poor and working class. He would attract media to issues like safe nurse staffing, workplace safety, and other issues.
I got to hear this song on Sesame street with six young children. Now adults they haven't forgotten the words of Martin Luther King.
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
Who can forget that? The Civil Rights law and the Voting Rights law exist. He accomplished a lot. President Lincoln was killed, but slavery is now illegal.
I posted less than half of President Obama's essay:
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change
As millions of people across the country take to the streets and raise their voices in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ongoing problem of unequal justice, many people have reached out asking how we can sustain momentum to bring about real change.
Ultimately, it’s going to be up to a new generation of activists to shape strategies that best fit the times. But I believe there are some basic lessons to draw from past efforts that are worth remembering...
... The point of protest is to raise public awareness, to put a spotlight on injustice, and to make the powers that be uncomfortable; in fact, throughout American history, it’s often only been in response to protests and civil disobedience that the political system has even paid attention to marginalized communities. But eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practices — and in a democracy, that only happens when we elect government officials who are responsive to our demands.
Moreover, it’s important for us to understand which levels of government have the biggest impact on our criminal justice system and police practices. When we think about politics, a lot of us focus only on the presidency and the federal government. And yes, we should be fighting to make sure that we have a president, a Congress, a U.S. Justice Department, and a federal judiciary that actually recognize the ongoing, corrosive role that racism plays in our society and want to do something about it. But the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels...
toomuchbaloney
16,054 Posts
Yeah Trump made that claim about antifa so it's going to get lots of repeating now, especially from true sycophants...all the way to the DOJ if necessary, to preserve that narrative. Isn't it great to a have a completely incompetent racist at the helm of our country during a national crisis? He lies. His AG lies. The VP lies. The SOS lies....well most of not all of the cabinet lie for the POTUS...no need to list them all.
The fact that white supremacists travel to MN during a pandemic to vandalize and loot and cause trouble for the peaceful protesters should be disturbing for all Americans. But apparently that level of "disturbed" is very much related to politics.