2020 Protests megathread

[NeederNodder]

What a queen!

The mayor of Atlanta goes off on TV, full-on yelling into the camera at the rioters and looters while supporting the peaceful protestors.

How completely useless. More time scolding people for property destruction than instructing the police to stop instigating violence. These mayors aren't on the sidelines, they are in positions of power and should be held just as accountable to the deaths as the police.

She had Killer Mike up there with her backing up every word she said. I guess Killer Mike is pro cop too now? Please be quiet. Harming private businesses would be especially counterproductive here in Atlanta because (As mayor Bottoms so eloquently put it) so many are black owned.

Don't put words in my mouth. The mayor doing too little to address police violence does not equate to being "pro-cop," it equates to doing too little. Her focusing on fires instead of systematic change demonstrates a refusal to accept a functional solution. Black people have been denied justice in Atlanta, and in cities throughout the country, and it's the responsibility of people like Mayor Bottoms to hold the police accountable. If she intended on introducing criminal justice reform, she would have done that instead of speaking down to communities so desperate to breathe that they're out in the streets during a fking pandemic. The only solution I've seen from her is to vote, and that's just not going to cut it, here.

As a black person myself, I am absolutely outraged over what happened to George Floyd, and I can understand why these people are out on the streets, as they are. Real and systematic change needs to take place in the country. However, that does not excuse violence and rioting of the scale we've seen here. And you seem not to acknowledge that many of these people are destroying their own communities, their own businesses, and ruining the livelihoods of their own neighbors. Violence should not be met with more violence.

And as a black person myself, these buildings and communities can easily be rebuilt and are likely covered by insurance while the loss of innocent black lives can not. I'm all for the peaceful protests but I'm not surprised with all the looting and violence that's erupting across this country. Our history, this Presidency (and those before him) along with the policies that have systematically denied Black people criminal and economic justice is finally boiling over. What should be more maddening is how leaders of both parties care more to demonize these protesters than actually materially change the conditions that sprung these riots across the country in first place. Dr. Cornell West said it best.

edit: deleting copy

[NeederNodder]

What a queen!

The mayor of Atlanta goes off on TV, full-on yelling into the camera at the rioters and looters while supporting the peaceful protestors.

How completely useless. More time scolding people for property destruction than instructing the police to stop instigating violence. These mayors aren't on the sidelines, they are in positions of power and should be held just as accountable to the deaths as the police.

She had Killer Mike up there with her backing up every word she said. I guess Killer Mike is pro cop too now? Please be quiet. Harming private businesses would be especially counterproductive here in Atlanta because (As mayor Bottoms so eloquently put it) so many are black owned.

Don't put words in my mouth. The mayor doing too little to address police violence does not equate to being "pro-cop," it equates to doing too little. Her focusing on fires instead of systematic change demonstrates a refusal to accept a functional solution. Black people have been denied justice in Atlanta, and in cities throughout the country, and it's the responsibility of people like Mayor Bottoms to hold the police accountable. If she intended on introducing criminal justice reform, she would have done that instead of speaking down to communities so desperate to breathe that they're out in the streets during a fking pandemic. The only solution I've seen from her is to vote, and that's just not going to cut it, here.

As a black person myself, I am absolutely outraged over what happened to George Floyd, and I can understand why these people are out on the streets, as they are. Real and systematic change needs to take place in the country. However, that does not excuse violence and rioting of the scale we've seen here. And you seem not to acknowledge that many of these people are destroying their own communities, their own businesses, and ruining the livelihoods of their own neighbors. Violence should not be met with more violence.

And as a black person myself, these buildings and communities can easily be rebuilt and are likely covered by insurance while the loss of innocent black lives can not. I'm all for the peaceful protests but I'm not surprised with all the looting and violence that's erupting across this country. Our history, this Presidency (and those before him) along with the policies that have systematically denied Black people criminal and economic justice is finally boiling over. What should be more maddening is how leaders of both parties care more to demonize these protesters than actually materially change the conditions that sprung these riots across the country in first place. Dr. Cornell West said it best.

And as a black person myself, these buildings and communities can easily be rebuilt and are likely covered by insurance while the loss of innocent black lives can not. I'm all for the peaceful protests but I'm not surprised with all the looting and violence that's erupting across this country. Our history, this Presidency (and those before him) along with the policies that have systematically denied Black people criminal and economic justice is finally boiling over. What should be more maddening is how leaders of both parties care more to demonize these protesters than actually materially change the conditions that sprung these riots across the country in first place. Dr. Cornell West said it best.

Again, I fully understand what's going on, and I certainly do think that lives are more important than property. Lives are definitely more important than property, and the anger over these issues is intense. I'm almost moved to go out and protest about these injustices myself. But do you honestly think that more violence is going to redress the situation? Look at what happened in 1968! The race riots that occurred that year sparked immense backlash among white racists, and helped propel Richard Nixon into office. They brought an end to the Civil Rights Movement, and led to the undermining of policies, and the escalation of the conditions, that have led us to where we are.

And I still don't think you give enough credit to the real devastation these communities are suffering from. The inner city never fully recovered from the riots of 1968, and the riots we are seeing this week are adding to that. There needs to be a solution that reforms our police departments root and branch, that curbs economic inequalities, that brings justice and equality to nonwhites, to women, to everyone. But it has to be done differently from what these protesters, and the police responding to them, have done.

You can also argue that those same riots also prompted an end to the bombing in Vietnam. If you really wanna play the history card in this let's not forget how riots and violence lead to the founding of this country itself!

If we go by 1968, 50 years later, Black Americans have seen how reforms all the way to electing a Black President have been for their community. In that time, we've seen drugs poured into our communities, a prison industrial complex locking our people up for life sentences on minor offenses, and a extreme decline of wealth and gentrification. Looting multinational corporations who pay slave wages and businesses who directly have involvement with police forces who systemically profile black boys and girls is arguably reasonable compared to white supremacists storming state houses demanding restaurants to open. This young generation out there is tired and angry and I see why they resort to this when leaders only care about them every time they need folks at the polls.

[NeederNodder]

Regardless of arguing semantics between "violent" or "peaceful" protests, they will all be under the terror of military force due to Trump's actions. Absolutely shameful.

[NeederNodder]

https://twitter.com/FOXNashville/status/1267570523632013312?s=19

https://twitter.com/Oregonian/status/1267282082532741121?s=19

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1267306821947097088?s=19

Obviously those police officers are outliers, because many on this site claim that most/all cops are bad and evil 🤷‍♂️

These gestures are a step in the right direction, but why aren't we seeing officers openly commit to defunding and demilitarizing their departments? If they really want to be apart of solving this systemic problem, they wouldn't just be kneeling and saying a nice speech while minutes later deploy teargas and rubber bullets to these people (which is getting more clear that they've been using on violent and peaceful demonstrations).

[NeederNodder]

https://twitter.com/FOXNashville/status/1267570523632013312?s=19

https://twitter.com/Oregonian/status/1267282082532741121?s=19

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1267306821947097088?s=19

Obviously those police officers are outliers, because many on this site claim that most/all cops are bad and evil 🤷‍♂️

These gestures are a step in the right direction, but why aren't we seeing officers openly commit to defunding and demilitarizing their departments? If they really want to be apart of solving this systemic problem, they wouldn't just be kneeling and saying a nice speech while minutes later deploy teargas and rubber bullets to these people (which is getting more clear that they've been using on violent and peaceful demonstrations).

>I want police to be more professional, better trained, and better able to screen out undesirable recruits
>Why haven't police committed to defunding themselves!?

Do people actually believe this tf

Police departments don't need military grade equipment to protect and serve their communities while other departments (especially housing, health services and education) need it more right now than ever. Kneeling and raising fists with protesters are just photo-ops if they aren't ready to fundamentally change themselves.