2020 Protests megathread

[Mr. Reactionary]

I’m surprised trump hasn’t openly called for the military to fire live ammunition at the protesters yet

Is it time for a whiff of grapeshot?

[Pyro]

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

https://twitter.com/joe_spears7/status/1267245828667854853

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

https://twitter.com/LorenLo50773174/status/1266943815702548480

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

In almost every instance of police kneeling, it's followed up with a brutal response. It's done for photo ops or to change the narrative.

This is what we need more of -->

https://twitter.com/Y2KANi/status/1267477338629058561

[Sestak]

https://twitter.com/jpegjoshua/status/1267626193051942913?s=20



Thread:

https://twitter.com/jwehrens/status/1267587942895230976

[NOVA Green]

https://mobile.twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1267626627967725570

If true, this appears to reinforce some of the claims from MN LEA regarding "White Nationalists" exploiting the situation, as well as other coverage we have seen elsewhere...

Interestingly the President and his Republican puppets (now that he completely owns the proud party of Abraham Lincoln), continues to support the claim that somehow any incidents of "protester violence" are somehow simply a bunch of "Domestic ANTIFA terrorists", where every single window broken, cop car burned, or business looted it somehow orchestrated by phantom ghosts which only exist within the mind of the Far Right and their fellow travelers....

ANTIFA simply equals Anti-Fascist, and most actions from these decentralized groups are inherently self-defense actions against the mobilizations of White Supremacist Political Formations...

Trump is AWOL... the National Republicans simply squawk the talking points coming from the PRES, who half the time is taking his talking points out of Fox News, while meanwhile neglecting the murders that have been committed even recently at the hands of "White Nationalists" in places of worship and beyond because somehow there are tons of decent people among them.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Trump's speech was great. No mercy for rioters and looters. Trump's bringing me (and many other pubs) home with these remarks.

Yep. Today is the day Trump stepped up to the plate. After completely losing me for the last three months, I am cautiously teetering back toward him again. He still seems a bit weak, but I would be extremely confident if he put someone dependable like Tom Cotton in charge of the response since he is a bit too lazy.

So, he threatens to violate posse comitatus to use military force against American citizens, and that's what brings you back to the fold?

They were always going to go back to the fold. They just needed the excuse

Chapo made me go neutral --> slight FF for Biden on last week's episode. He was just so endearing even if he punches down a lot. This move makes me go tilt HP to tilt FF on Trump prospectively. But it's not a crazy gap between them. It's completely feasible I just go third party again. We'll see which culture wars are happening in October.

Wait Biden was on Chapo? Or are you referring to something else?

They played the "Best of" from his interview with Charlemagne God and officially deemed him the funniest most charismatic candidate in the race.

[Gracile]

These police have intentionally assaulted members of the press, medics and other neutral parties.
Anyone who continues to defend these monsters is an unprincipled crank.

https://twitter.com/AshleeMullany/status/1267596369562394627

If you aren't voting for Biden I don't want to hear it.

"Sorry, I'm ignoring massive human rights abuses because I suspect your voting intentions."

You have no interest in removing the root of the problem and are therefore in no position to decry its effects. Period.

The root of the problem is systemic white supremacy in the United States that emboldens racists everywhere to commit horrendous acts. Trump is just a symptom of that.

[Pyro]

These police have intentionally assaulted members of the press, medics and other neutral parties.
Anyone who continues to defend these monsters is an unprincipled crank.

https://twitter.com/AshleeMullany/status/1267596369562394627

If you aren't voting for Biden I don't want to hear it.

"Sorry, I'm ignoring massive human rights abuses because I suspect your voting intentions."

You have no interest in removing the root of the problem and are therefore in no position to decry its effects. Period.

Police brutality existed long before Trump, and it appears as though it will continue beyond his presidency. Joe "Shoot 'Em in the Leg" Biden taking his place will not put an end to the problems of policing and structural oppression against brown and black people, and especially not so considering his decades-long political career has composed of advocacy and writing of 'tough on crime' legislation that has escalated mass incarceration and the war on drugs. 

Speaking as someone living in a state with total Democratic control of government and a city with a Democratic mayor, I can assure you that electoralism alone will not fix this.

[SevenEleven]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/01/david-mcatee-louisville-business-owner-killed-police-national-guard/5310854002/
Stop giving cops free donuts
those fat idiots can pay for it on their own.

Wrong. States and localities refuse to pay police officers a fair wage commensurate with the risks they take for us every day. This is the least we should all do to make it worthwhile.

Cops are paid a heck of a lot to never respond when needed.

Farm workers feed the country and are more likely to die from their work than cops and they get paid the bare minimum. You really should figure out your priorities.

[Bidenworth2020]

These police have intentionally assaulted members of the press, medics and other neutral parties.
Anyone who continues to defend these monsters is an unprincipled crank.

https://twitter.com/AshleeMullany/status/1267596369562394627

If you aren't voting for Biden I don't want to hear it.

"Sorry, I'm ignoring massive human rights abuses because I suspect your voting intentions."

You have no interest in removing the root of the problem and are therefore in no position to decry its effects. Period.

Police brutality existed long before Trump, and it appears as though it will continue beyond his presidency. Joe "Shoot 'Em in the Leg" Biden taking his place will not put an end to the problems of policing and structural oppression against brown and black people, and especially not so considering his decades-long political career has composed of advocacy and writing of 'tough on crime' legislation that has escalated mass incarceration and the war on drugs. 

Speaking as someone living in a state with total Democratic control of government and a city with a Democratic mayor, I can assure you that electoralism alone will not fix this.

Ah, got it. No reason in conversating with someone who takes quotes as wildly out of context as you appear to have done with the "shoot em in the leg" quote. What is your suggestion for an armed police officer when someone is charging at them with a knife? (which was the full context of the quote)

[NOVA Green]

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

https://twitter.com/joe_spears7/status/1267245828667854853

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

https://twitter.com/LorenLo50773174/status/1266943815702548480

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

In almost every instance of police kneeling, it's followed up with a brutal response. It's done for photo ops or to change the narrative.

This is what we need more of -->

https://twitter.com/Y2KANi/status/1267477338629058561

In all fairness to the Portland, Oregon Police Department, tactics shifted dramatically after rubber bullets and tear gas were first deployed sometime in the early 2000s after thousands of people were peacefully assembling, listening to bands, BBQ'in with kids in the North Park Blocks of West Portland as part of an annual May Day Community event, which I seem to recall led to a Police Chief being fired, not to mention various figures being voted out of office.

Although the Portland Police Department started to adopt more modern "European Style" crowd control techniques, naturally it didn't stop fatal encounters between police and civilians.

That all being said, unrest will be unrest.... mass demonstrations will be mass demonstrations.... occasionally there might be some graffiti spray-painted on Gvt buildings, some damage to private property, but overall I think that the Portland City Gvt, and even the top City Cops, generally have a pretty good relation, compared to how it was some 15-20 Years back.

Just the other Night the Chief and Police & a leading Lieutenant invited three of the leaders of the protest inside for not only a photo-op, but additionally to discuss some of the various grievances of the protesters gathering outside the main downtown law enforcement bldg....

Trust me... Portland & Eugene Oregon could well have been much worse over the past Weekend, had it not been for changed patterns of policing over the past 15-20 yrs, not to mention how they have changed their tactics when it comes to dealing with peaceful protests....

[Gass3268]

[Pyro]

These police have intentionally assaulted members of the press, medics and other neutral parties.
Anyone who continues to defend these monsters is an unprincipled crank.

https://twitter.com/AshleeMullany/status/1267596369562394627

If you aren't voting for Biden I don't want to hear it.

"Sorry, I'm ignoring massive human rights abuses because I suspect your voting intentions."

You have no interest in removing the root of the problem and are therefore in no position to decry its effects. Period.

Police brutality existed long before Trump, and it appears as though it will continue beyond his presidency. Joe "Shoot 'Em in the Leg" Biden taking his place will not put an end to the problems of policing and structural oppression against brown and black people, and especially not so considering his decades-long political career has composed of advocacy and writing of 'tough on crime' legislation that has escalated mass incarceration and the war on drugs. 

Speaking as someone living in a state with total Democratic control of government and a city with a Democratic mayor, I can assure you that electoralism alone will not fix this.

Ah, got it. No reason in conversating with someone who takes quotes as wildly out of context as you appear to have done with the "shoot em in the leg" quote. What is your suggestion for an armed police officer when someone is charging at them with a knife? (which was the full context of the quote)

"Instead of standing there and teaching a cop, when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something, you shoot em in the leg instead of in the heart is a very different thing."

To be fair, this statement references both an "unarmed person" and someone "with a knife or something", but it still frames escalation of violence/shooting people differently as the answer.

[GeneralMacArthur]

With zero due respect, if you aren't voting for Biden, shut the hell up about the protests.

You don't care.  You are just a poser.  You are pretending to care for credibility.  But you don't give enough of a damn to sacrifice your precious sanctity, your precious moral purity.  That shows where your priorities truly are.  Selfish sanctimony comes first.  Actually helping the oppressed, somewhere further down.

We live in a democratic republic where individual power is wielded through the election of officials who enact changes on our behalf.  There is exactly ONE way to get real, permanent, meaningful change in this country, and that is to put officials in office who are committed to bringing about that change.  What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot, from Biden on down to dogcatcher.

"But the root of the problem is capitalism!"  I guess the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 accomplished nothing for black people then.  I guess the election of Lyndon Johnson in 1964 accomplished nothing.  I guess the election of Barack Obama in 2008 accomplished nothing.  Because none of those presidents dismantled capitalism so electing them was just a waste of time.  Thank you for lecturing black people on what real progress means!  I guess all

If you're voting Green, or voting Lib, or abstaining, or some other masturbatory action, that says everything about you.  You pretend to care about black lives.  You pretend to listen to what they have to say.  But when given the option to actually help them, at the cost of nothing but your precious ego, you proudly say "nope, can't help you with that one chief."

[Sumner 1868]

We live in a democratic republic where individual power is wielded through the election of officials who enact changes on our behalf.  There is exactly ONE way to get real, permanent, meaningful change in this country, and that is to put officials in office who are committed to bringing about that change.  What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot, from Biden on down to dogcatcher.

Is this post from 1965?

[Sestak]

What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot

Considering how a lot of Democratic mayors have been handling this, I don't think this argument holds any water at the local level. Especially considering that in most large cities both of the major factions (reformist and anti-reform) are Democrats.

[Adam Griffin]

Imagine the tedium of droning on about "party unity" when the entire country is unraveling at its seams. Tone deaf to the nth.

[Annatar]

Trump's speech was okay, I think he would do better listening to Tom Cotton though than his current advisers, the people blocking roads and disrupting law and order need to be removed by any means immediately.

[redjohn]

Trump is an authoritarian goon trying to force the entire country to accept his fascism. It's so clear to me that if he wins a second term, the country is done for. Biden's truly our last hope. This chaos is all just a preview of what's to come in a second term for the wannabe dictator.

[NOVA Green]

Protests heating up in Oakland & Phoenix right now....

[GeneralMacArthur]

What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot

Considering how a lot of Democratic mayors have been handling this, I don't think this argument holds any water at the local level. Especially considering that in most large cities both of the major factions (reformist and anti-reform) are Democrats.

Other than de Blasio, the universally despised idiot, which mayors have handled this particularly poorly?

[Sestak]

What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot

Considering how a lot of Democratic mayors have been handling this, I don't think this argument holds any water at the local level. Especially considering that in most large cities both of the major factions (reformist and anti-reform) are Democrats.

Other than de Blasio, the universally despised idiot, which mayors have handled this particularly poorly?

Well Garcetti has for sure.

[Gass3268]

Attempted murder in Columbia, Missouri:

https://twitter.com/mattdpearce/status/1267649061621907456?s=20

[Mr. Reactionary]

With zero due respect, if you aren't voting for Biden, shut the hell up about the protests.

You don't care.  You are just a poser.  You are pretending to care for credibility.  But you don't give enough of a damn to sacrifice your precious sanctity, your precious moral purity.  That shows where your priorities truly are.  Selfish sanctimony comes first.  Actually helping the oppressed, somewhere further down.

We live in a democratic republic where individual power is wielded through the election of officials who enact changes on our behalf.  There is exactly ONE way to get real, permanent, meaningful change in this country, and that is to put officials in office who are committed to bringing about that change.  What this means is that there is ONE thing you can do this year to actually help black lives, and that is to vote straight Democrat all the way down your ballot, from Biden on down to dogcatcher.

"But the root of the problem is capitalism!"  I guess the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 accomplished nothing for black people then.  I guess the election of Lyndon Johnson in 1964 accomplished nothing.  I guess the election of Barack Obama in 2008 accomplished nothing.  Because none of those presidents dismantled capitalism so electing them was just a waste of time.  Thank you for lecturing black people on what real progress means!  I guess all

If you're voting Green, or voting Lib, or abstaining, or some other masturbatory action, that says everything about you.  You pretend to care about black lives.  You pretend to listen to what they have to say.  But when given the option to actually help them, at the cost of nothing but your precious ego, you proudly say "nope, can't help you with that one chief."

BOOOOOO!

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Protests heating up in Oakland & Phoenix right now....

Alameda County suddenly announced a curfew beginning in a few minutes, which seems unconstitutional.

[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).