Protest
 

With all the destruction in Minneapolis we are looking like a 3rd world country. 2 wrongs don't make a right. Stealing and destroying someone's business is not protesting.

Most are not protesting, just getting their hands on free things and destroying others property.
I saw that one was shot by a shop owner. Need a few more of those to slow them down. 10 people were murdered in Chicago over the weekend and nobody raised an eyebrow, go figure!

True. This is very complicated though with a lot of things stirring the pot.

I lived in Minneapolis for 5.5 years in 1986-late 1991.

There are some very tough neighborhoods that had a lot of problems when I was there and it looks like they still have them.

I do not understand burning down the stores where you buy things every day. Makes no sense. But I am not an African American in the Twin Cities dealing with Corona Virus and all the other things surrounding it.

Empathy should be very important though with respect to everyone involved up there.

It was stated on the news last evening that there were a lot of out of town protestors involved once again. A very sad sight to see, I feel sorry for all of those living in the area.

That would need to be triple-checked for accuracy.

Source for this? That looks like spin but I could be wrong about that.

I did live in a quite tough neighborhood in Minneapolis in the Summer of 1988. I never left my rented apartment after 7:00 PM as there were often drug deals across the street in a park.

This was a primarily Lakota/African American neighborhood.

I had gotten a very good deal on the rent.

National Guard Called To Respond To Minneapolis Violence | Minneapolis, MN Patch

I did find this of interest.

I did not do any research so this is only an observation. But it is interesting that when police are involved I read alot about how we should not judge and we dont know what happen before the incident. But some seem to judge rather quickly on police less matters. Like I said I didn't take the time to research so maybe people that wait to react wait on both sides and others rush to judgement on both sides. I just hope some are not blindly protecting some and blindly attacking others. Just my two cents.

If the officers are guilty lock them up.

When the neighborhood uses this as an excuse to steal and destroy neighborhood business they are nothing but criminals and should be arrested. Why stand back and let the looting happen?

CNN had two commentators who grew up in Minneapolis or in that area this morning and both were as shocked as I am that this is happening there. Laura Coates - Wikipedia
Poppy Harlow - Wikipedia

They also said that the MN Attorney General is taking his time investigating the officers so that the case does not fall apart later.

That AG was Class of 1990 U of MN Law. I was Class of 1989. Laura Coates was U of MN Law Class of 2005.

I do hope he does things carefully. It would be quite bad if these officers are arrested and then get off due to some technicality.

How would we ever know for sure?

While your reference to the world view of our country is spot on, I assure you that "look" has nothing to do with this incident.

These type events make living in TV so much nicer and probably helps many to decide to move here. I know I couldn't wait to leave the Baltimore area, I still like the sports teams and maybe visit, although it's been since 2013 since my last visit.

I lived in a probably one of the best suburbs in Baltimore, it was Bel Air, and in 2016 two cops were ambushed and killed inside a Panera's next to Wegmans a 1/2 mile from my old house.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...11b_story.html

I usually try to avoid seeing or reading about these events, there's really nothing we can do about it. I even hate when I see someone start a thread like "Forget About Getting Fired", what good did that do, other than rile up a few people who live 1500 miles away. I wish those threads were never allowed. It's always the same posters, they stay quiet until something bad happens in the country and they quick to jump on the topic and post their views like they're know-it-alls. I wish that thread was closed right now,

Baltimore is a very scary place at times. Parts of it anyway.

Another place that frightens me is Chicago.

My aunt would not let me go to the U of Chicago for a look see when I was living with her in Itasca in IL in late 1994. I was taking care of my uncle before he went into a nursing home. No spot was available yet. Itasca was quite safe for the most part.

Love the Villages as it is the safest place I have ever lived in over the years.

until the underlying systemic issues are addressed this will never end

Agreed but to stand by and let businesses be destroyed by hoodlums is not helping anything.

Some of the destruction wasn't hoodlums. It was organized, partly by outsiders with inside connections. Such as the "auto zone umbrella man" with the gas mask - his identity hasn't been confirmed (though some OTHER organized outsiders are intentionally creating suspicion about one particular person), but he was not recognized by people in the area.

There are also accusations that it is the black community exclusively involved in the looting and destruction. It isn't. There are absolutely confirmed Antifa folks - who were asked BY the black community to stay out of it, and they refused to stay out of it.

There are also white supremacists involved doing it on purpose to ensure that the black community gets blamed for it.

And yes there are also folks in the black community doing this.

You attack a segment of the population, then encourage that segment to fight back and even HELP them be violent - and you're going to end up with violence. No matter who is the segment being attacked.

Kent State, the destruction of Black Wall Street, the rioting in Charlotte, NC, the lynchings in Alabama - all spurred by people who encouraged other people to lash out against their enemy, whether real or merely perceived. The ones who goaded the rioters and looters to riot and loot - the ones who KNEW that a group of people were angry and upset and on the edge - and then tipped them over the edge on purpose into violence.

THOSE are the people who have started all the looting and destruction in Minneapolis.

You don't p*s* people off, and then hand them a lit match. But that's exactly what is happening now.

A hoodlum is "a person who engages in crime and violence".

They sure look like hoodlums to me.

If the police were allowed to do their jobs the looting would not happen. A certain segment of the population as described above have learned that free stuff is their for the taking.

The same Government process has been in effect for the last 20 years or so. When a racial event occurs, people are allowed to destroy property and steal whatever they want for about 2 or 3 days. Then, enough is enough, and the Government applies force to stop it. This process will continue in the future until the Government decides to change the process. And any statements by Government officials that looters will be arrested and prosecuted are universally viewed as lies because they are lies and people know it.

Those of you who would rather focus on the fires/looting, instead of what has brought people to the point where they feel they are at the end of their rope, have nothing to lose, because no one cares how the African-American community has been constantly mistreated and abused...YOU are also to blame.

If you just stand on the sidelines and refuse to recognize and to become active and support true equality, you are no different than those German citizens...who just stood by while Hitler rounded up Jews/critics/gays/Etc.

If you're one of those keeping your mouth shut and purposely confusing 'Nationalism' (which is simply code for "white nationalism") with 'Patriotism,' when blacks are on the front lines serving you and dying at a horrendous % rate compared to other demographics, just so you can hide in your house during this virus crisis...you also carry part of the blame.

I guarantee, if it were old white people suffering what is constantly happening to young black men and were treated from black policemen the way so many black men are treated from so many white policemen, millions of you would be screeching about the horror and injustice...and a certain % would be running around with their assault rifles screaming "give me my liberty back."

This morning, a FULLY credentialed news team who was doing absolutely nothing wrong, other than the on-air reporter being black...was arrested while reporting.

You can claim all you want about how you're not racist or a bigot, but if you refuse to become involved to right these wrongs...you forfeit that claim.

MLK referred to it as "the silence of good white people."

Are YOU one of those people?

Would you be fine with it, if the tables were turned...180 degrees?



Repeat this 100 times...until it actually sinks in:


“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

I would like to know how Al Sharpton is helping.

Saw the state police standing in line creating a safety perimeter for the firefighters........protesters standing & yelling in their faces. What's the point?? Wish I could hear what "she" was yelling. Oh wait, glad I can't hear it.


Not helping any effort.

I saw riots in Baltimore up close and personal when I was in the Maryland Army National Guard and was called to active duty for the Baltimore riot in the late 1960s. Nothing much about who participates and what happens seems to have changed. Most of these rioters are there to steal, commit arson and other crimes as they know they will get away with it. Many have criminal histories or are undesirables in various other ways. These riots are organized by small but high profile vocal extremist groups and tolerated by society. What a shame!

and btw the police officer has been arrested. Hopefully we can now let the criminal justice system do its job

Do not understand why anyone takes anything Al Sharpton says seriously. He should be in prison for tax evasion.

Former NYers during the Tawana Brawley case and all Sharpton did was inflame the black community every chance he had. When it turned out she lied about the whole thing he just disappeared.

Nothing justifies rioting. Nothing. This is no protest.

The rioting must be stopped. Period. By force if necessary.

In that case I would suggest calling out the national guard with shoot to kill orders. Ends looting in a hurry

People need feel no shame for their race no matter what race it is.

People need to obey laws no matter what the laws are or seek to change them.

You cannot legislate morality. Hatred will always find a subject and even if it is to bully and belittle than hatred will destroy.

Unless there are consequences the looting will continue. Just an excuse to get free stuff.

So this title was about the protesters. Seems the subject has gotten confused with looters. Because they are not one and the same. That would be like me saying all cops are bad.

I'm confused. Are you saying that looting for free stuff is just a fringe benefit of protesting? What about burning buildings and cars? Is that protesting? I would say that all of it is protesting, but it is illegal protesting.

That is the funniest thing I heard all day.

Counter View
 

I believe your statement gets at the root cause of why these tragedies occur and why they will never be solved, i.e., Denying The Root Causes of These Tragic Events. Try to take your emotions out of the equation and we can get at the root causes, then solve the problem.

Let's start with your claim " I guarantee, if it were old white people suffering what is constantly happening to young black men" we'd be doing the same things. Well, when old white people do something wrong and are confronted by police, we tend to say "Yes, Sir" and comply with their commands. Would there be less of these tragic events if there was more compliance and less resistance?

Forgive me, but I will diverge. I'm basically a liberal but my problem with extreme liberal folks is that they tend to just want to throw more money at failed social programs and blame others for poverty and crime. I want to solve the problems of poverty and crime. We actually can do it, but not by denying the root causes.

Unless there are consequences, police brutality will not stop. As horrific as the action of this officer was, the inaction of the other officers is sickening.

More is being revealed as is usually the case. Both Floyd and the cop worked security at the same club so they obviously knew one another. Was it a personal grudge? George Floyd & Fired Cop Worked Security Together at Club: Report

George Floyd, Arresting Officer Worked Together: Club Owner

ENABLING by silence

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.”


― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I always wonder about the "outspoken" on any particular "cause" actually. Do they practice what they preach? Oh..... to be a fly on some walls!
Steve