Why are we so upset about this NOW?

[Aqua Buddha 14624]

I keep asking that question in my head and to my close friends and we can't find a good answer.   A close black woman friend asked me that and truth be known, I was embarrassed at what she was asking.  Why did it take us this long?  Maybe years from now philosophers or sociologists will figure it out but until then, all I have is this august body of intellectual heavyweights.

I didn't see the Floyd video until late the day it happened as I was busy.  As bad as it was (and this will sound horrible), it didn't seem any worse than the others over the past few years.  I cynically thought we'd have a weeks worth of internet memes and we'd move on to something else like we always have.  Yet, much to my pleasant surprise, we decided we ain't havin' it anymore.

The question is why now?  Was it a culmination of recent cases?  Is it that we're all sitting at home anyway?  My personal theory (and this applies to me) is that we as a country are on our last fucking nerve right now for obvious reasons.  We then looked up one day and saw that some people think it's still business as usual.  That's my best offering.

What does everyone else think?  Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Two factors:

1. Covid-19: I think it’s a transformative event that is going to have long-term implications for us as a country, most notably is the divide in income inequality. It made the rich even richer and decimated already decimated segments of our society. People are out of work and angry. And that is going to get worse.

2. Leaders matter. Words matter. Hope and unity and a belief that together we can build a stronger future for our children matters. There is none of that, and it matters. I’ll leave it at that.

[immortal13 4059]

8 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

I keep asking that question in my head and to my close friends and we can't find a good answer.   A close black woman friend asked me that and truth be known, I was embarrassed at what she was asking.  Why did it take us this long?  Maybe years from now philosophers or sociologists will figure it out but until then, all I have is this august body of intellectual heavyweights.

I didn't see the Floyd video until late the day it happened as I was busy.  As bad as it was (and this will sound horrible), it didn't seem any worse than the others over the past few years.  I cynically thought we'd have a weeks worth of internet memes and we'd move on to something else like we always have.  Yet, much to my pleasant surprise, we decided we ain't havin' it anymore.

The question is why now?  Was it a culmination of recent cases?  Is it that we're all sitting at home anyway?  My personal theory (and this applies to me) is that we as a country are on our last fucking nerve right now for obvious reasons.  We then looked up one day and saw that some people think it's still business as usual.  That's my best offering.

What does everyone else think?  Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Cops have been out of control for a long time, and this was the incident that finally brought it out into the open. 

[gmr548 16617]

Discussed this recently and I essentially had the same question. Why are so many people that have been unreceptive to the same massage all of a sudden changing their minds after what was, sadly, nothing new?

My best theory kind of goes along with yours. The country was already on edge. Half the country is at home and probably way more plugged into the news than normal. The video was like ten minutes long and there is just zero room for the typical ways people try to explain this sort of thing away. Kind of a perfect storm in that regard. I think part of it is people just looking to band together. Part of it could be the polarized political climate.

I'm not sure there is one answer. But white/ corporate America's responses have definitely thrown me for a loop.

[VABuckeye 2472]

At some point enough is enough. 

[Brew 3049]

No sports, no gatherings, no concerts, nothing to turn our focus too while we ignored the issues in front of us or made a quick drive-by post on Facebook in support. That combined with the pent up rage of being isolated for weeks and the overall political divide made this more real to people for whatever reason.

[GreenspointTexas 9685]

Yup, a combo of the above posts

 

/thread

[UTGrad98 2282]

Because most of america had never seen someone slowly choke the life out of another human being with such nonchalance and entitlement. I never felt more empathy for the black population than when I saw that video. George floyd was not a human being to that cop. That is what resonated with me unlike any other social injustice I had ever witnessed. 

[gmr548 16617]

Because most of america had never seen someone slowly choke the life out of another human being with such nonchalance and entitlement. I never felt more empathy for the black population than when I saw that video. George floyd was not a human being to that cop. That is what resonated with me unlike any other social injustice I had ever witnessed. 

I ask this not to be critical or patronizing or whatever - I ask because it's the thread topic: What about this made you feel that when, say, the Eric Garner killing didn't? I think that's really what OP is getting at.

[ztejas 43549]

Because it's much, much bigger than George Floyd.

Part of it is a frustration across the board with how this country is policed - from black felons to white traffic violators, vice versa and everything in between - cops fucking suck to deal with and everyone is sick of it. 

Our prison system is not out to reform anybody. People are still incarcerated for marijuana crimes.

Lawyers are expensive. Dealing with courts sucks. Drug charges are blown out of proportion and simply being charged with anything is a huge pain in the ass - while cops have had and still have basically zero repercussions for charging/arresting/detaining/tasing/pepper spraying all the way up to fucking shooting and killing people.

The wealth gap and income inequality in this country has destroyed the middle class. Kids are held to higher standards, school (and basically everything along with it) is more expensive, virtually no single earner can support a family without living paycheck to paycheck or in debt. 

We value the wrong shit. We obsess over meaningless garbage. Instead of doing the right thing we do the politically correct thing. No one thinks for themselves - we consume information at an unfathomable rate in the context of human history and most of the time we never stop to think about it.

I don't give a fuck who you vote for: our president is a self absorbed lunatic. Our politicians are too white, too wealthy and too old (and that includes people like Pelosi and Biden). The right is too far right and the left is too far left. 

And this is all ignoring the fact that we may very well be in the midst of irreversible environmental devastation.

The world is less transparent and scarier than it's ever been and the working class is fed up with the folks running the show. 

(plus Texas hasn't had a great season in over a decade)

[UTGrad98 2282]

3 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

11 minutes ago, UTGrad98 said:

Because most of america had never seen someone slowly choke the life out of another human being with such nonchalance and entitlement. I never felt more empathy for the black population than when I saw that video. George floyd was not a human being to that cop. That is what resonated with me unlike any other social injustice I had ever witnessed. 

Read more  

I ask this not to be critical or patronizing or whatever - I ask because it's the thread topic: What about this made you feel that when, say, the Eric Garner killing didn't? I think that's really what OP is getting at.

I never watched the video of Eric Garner dying. Only read about it. Just like I only  read about James Byrd. I remembered thinking how awful each killing was but this time what I saw will never leave my mind. 

[staboner 4988]

11 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

19 minutes ago, UTGrad98 said:

Because most of america had never seen someone slowly choke the life out of another human being with such nonchalance and entitlement. I never felt more empathy for the black population than when I saw that video. George floyd was not a human being to that cop. That is what resonated with me unlike any other social injustice I had ever witnessed. 

I ask this not to be critical or patronizing or whatever - I ask because it's the thread topic: What about this made you feel that when, say, the Eric Garner killing didn't? I think that's really what OP is getting at.

what is already being said on this thread by @Brew and @DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt

[staboner 4988]

someone asked me this question today too. i find it to be a very strange question. seems obvious to me but maybe i don't understand the question being asked?

without the pandemic is counts maybe as 2 Eric Gardners and moves the movement you will eventually see forward. 

with the pandemic its worth 1000 Eric Gardners and gets us right to the movement

oversimplification but effectively it. its why people get scared of bad economies. shit happens. good and bad. 

[Incredulity 11683]

26 minutes ago, Brew said:

No sports, no gatherings, no concerts, nothing to turn our focus too while we ignored the issues in front of us or made a quick drive-by post on Facebook in support. That combined with the pent up rage of being isolated for weeks and the overall political divide made this more real to people for whatever reason.

This.

To add-on, no school and 20% unemployment has amplified people’s ability to focus on the moment.  

[Surly Bevo 25216]

I would caveat that hopefully it's different.  So far this has a different feel and I hope it's different but as the Zen Master said about the little boy...we'll see.  

[Whitewater Horn 968]

29 minutes ago, VABuckeye said:

At some point enough is enough. 

Yep. There always has to be a critical mass reached, a tipping point, straw that broke the camel’s back etc. It’s embarrassing that we needed so many other factors in combination with the rampant and disproportionate police brutality and straight up murder of our black citizens to agitate us to sustained action and hopefully real changes in attitude and treatment. 

[gmr548 16617]

what is already being said on this thread by [mention=155]Brew[/mention] and [mention=1291]DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt[/mention]

Right, but we were all discussing society broadly. I was interested in hearing the reasoning from an individual who was basically the subject of the question.

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13120]

Because it’s all a big joke to them.

 

[SHOOTER12 8836]

48 minutes ago, immortal13 said:

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Cops have been out of control for a long time, and this was the incident that finally brought it out into the open. 

Wtf?  Where did my thesis go?  Dammit

Edited June 10, 2020 by SHOOTER12

[Cajun 11753]

Keep searching boys. It is not the one thing...

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by Cajun

[Guadaloopy 11023]

The pump was pretty well primed by the Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor murders in quick succession and then the particularly egregious murder of George Floyd is caught on horrifying video.  And boom.  

[Knighthawk 284]

Election years amplification.   We have a couple more crisis in the news cycle before November.  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

4 minutes ago, Knighthawk said:

Election years amplification.   We have a couple more crisis in the news cycle before November.  

Have considered fucking yourself?

[Reynolds Woodcock 4811]

COVID definitely played a big role, but I think the widespread response is mostly about the crystal clear video, and in particular the length of the video. No “furtive movements”, scary hoodies, unfortunate accidents in a police van, or whatever other fabrications that have swayed folks in the past. Instead, for the first time I can recall, this was viewed as straight up murder across the political spectrum.

Hopefully without being too political, I do think the Lafayette square violence and the general divisive rhetoric has had an impact on the staying power of the movement in some of the bigger cities. 

[gmr548 16617]

8 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

Hopefully without being too political, I do think the Lafayette square violence and the general divisive rhetoric has had an impact on the staying power of the movement in some of the bigger cities. 

I think this is a good point. The tactics deployed by police were intentionally escalating the situation. Fighting protests of police brutality with police brutality. That probably extended the life of the protests and certainly garnered more coverage.

Edited June 10, 2020 by gmr548

[Aqua Buddha 14624]

1 hour ago, Brew said:

No sports, no gatherings, no concerts, nothing to turn our focus too while we ignored the issues in front of us or made a quick drive-by post on Facebook in support. That combined with the pent up rage of being isolated for weeks and the overall political divide made this more real to people for whatever reason.

I actually think there's something to this.  We knew it had been wrong but we had nothing else to watch and nothing else to do.

Me, I'm personally mad about we treat poor working people.  We've dubbed some of them "essential" but don't want to pay them more and treat them to abuse by the police.  Fuck that.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

"Why now?"?

Shit, man... this seems to come back around every 4, 7, maybe 10 years apart & has returned since after the American Civil War & definitely on the regular since Brown v. Board of Education.

Do I need to list the flashpoints? In chronological order from the 1860's through today or going in reverse?

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

[immortal13 4059]

51 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Wtf?  Where did my thesis go?  Dammit

Would you prefer a 12 paragraph Derka rant?

[Bill Brasky 1465]

1 hour ago, Aqua Buddha said:

I keep asking that question in my head and to my close friends and we can't find a good answer.   A close black woman friend asked me that and truth be known, I was embarrassed at what she was asking.  Why did it take us this long?  Maybe years from now philosophers or sociologists will figure it out but until then, all I have is this august body of intellectual heavyweights.

I didn't see the Floyd video until late the day it happened as I was busy.  As bad as it was (and this will sound horrible), it didn't seem any worse than the others over the past few years.  I cynically thought we'd have a weeks worth of internet memes and we'd move on to something else like we always have.  Yet, much to my pleasant surprise, we decided we ain't havin' it anymore.

The question is why now?  Was it a culmination of recent cases?  Is it that we're all sitting at home anyway?  My personal theory (and this applies to me) is that we as a country are on our last fucking nerve right now for obvious reasons.  We then looked up one day and saw that some people think it's still business as usual.  That's my best offering.

What does everyone else think?  Thanks.  I'll hang up and listen.

1. it's an election year

2. nothing else to talk about once everyone got tired of the corona bullshit 

3. people are stupid 

[bluto 4943]

One other factor contributing to the protest staying power/size is the weather, until the last few days it was damn near perfect weather across the country. Sounds silly but I have no doubt it’s contributed.

Another angle is the current protestors seeing the stark difference between how quarantine protests were treated vs their own. When things escalated then it just kept rising.

[WBT 20675]

18 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

"Why now?"?

Shit, man... this seems to come back around every 4, 7, maybe 10 years apart & has returned since after the American Civil War & definitely on the regular since Brown v. Board of Education.

Do I need to list the flashpoints? In chronological order from the 1860's through today or going in reverse?

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

This is where I am.  How is this much different than the Ferguson aftermath?

[TwiceHorn 31583]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Two factors:

1. Covid-19: I think it’s a transformative event that is going to have long-term implications for us as a country, most notably is the divide in income inequality. It made the rich even richer and decimated already decimated segments of our society. People are out of work and angry. And that is going to get worse.

2. Leaders matter. Words matter. Hope and unity and a belief that together we can build a stronger future for our children matters. There is none of that, and it matters. I’ll leave it at that.

Yep, between covid and our "leadership," the nation was a powderkeg.

Also, the video here is exceptionally egregious.  The Tony Timpa thing was as bad or worse, but this is a doozy.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

23 minutes ago, Bill Brasky said:

1. it's an election year

2. nothing else to talk about once everyone got tired of the corona bullshit 

3. people are stupid 

1. You seem to imply this is just manufactured drama...is that what you are saying?

2. You think people are just bored? I’m trying to think of a more insulting viewpoint to explain people’s anger but I’m drawing a blank.

3. In what sense? How has our stupidity manifested itself in this situation?

[stone oak 639]

12 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

1. You seem to imply this is just manufactured drama...is that what you are saying?

2. You think people are just bored? I’m trying to think of a more insulting viewpoint to explain people’s anger but I’m drawing a blank.

3. In what sense? How has our stupidity manifested itself in this situation?

[atomheartbevo 89844]

2 hours ago, gmr548 said:

My best theory kind of goes along with yours. The country was already on edge. Half the country is at home and probably way more plugged into the news than normal. The video was like ten minutes long and there is just zero room for the typical ways people try to explain this sort of thing away. Kind of a perfect storm in that regard. I think part of it is people just looking to band together. Part of it could be the polarized political climate.

People being cooped up/on edge already, and being more in tune with the news than normal, but I think the length of how long it took him to murder him is a major part of it.   This was not some "oops, we shot him, he's dead" in the heat of the moment or "oops we crushed his windpipe and didn't realize how bad it was because it was dark and we stood around not checking on him while waiting on the EMTs".

It was done in broad daylight in front of people.  The video left nothing to the imagination.  You could see the whole thing was so wrong, so deliberate, and none of the other cops was doing anything about it, and they had a long-ass time to do something about it.  They knew from the pleas of the victim and the witnesses that something was wrong, and they ignored it.  And then it seemed like they might not even charge the cop.

Quote

I'm not sure there is one answer. But white/ corporate America's responses have definitely thrown me for a loop.

They jumped on this quick, which is really odd.  I didn't expect so many companies to come out in support of BLM or whatever.

Edited June 10, 2020 by atomheartbevo

[Brian Fantana 6692]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Because it's much, much bigger than George Floyd.

Part of it is a frustration across the board with how this country is policed - from black felons to white traffic violators, vice versa and everything in between - cops fucking suck to deal with and everyone is sick of it. 

Our prison system is not out to reform anybody. People are still incarcerated for marijuana crimes.

Lawyers are expensive. Dealing with courts sucks. Drug charges are blown out of proportion and simply being charged with anything is a huge pain in the ass - while cops have had and still have basically zero repercussions for charging/arresting/detaining/tasing/pepper spraying all the way up to fucking shooting and killing people.

The wealth gap and income inequality in this country has destroyed the middle class. Kids are held to higher standards, school (and basically everything along with it) is more expensive, virtually no single earner can support a family without living paycheck to paycheck or in debt. 

We value the wrong shit. We obsess over meaningless garbage. Instead of doing the right thing we do the politically correct thing. No one thinks for themselves - we consume information at an unfathomable rate in the context of human history and most of the time we never stop to think about it.

I don't give a fuck who you vote for: our president is a self absorbed lunatic. Our politicians are too white, too wealthy and too old (and that includes people like Pelosi and Biden). The right is too far right and the left is too far left. 

And this is all ignoring the fact that we may very well be in the midst of irreversible environmental devastation.

The world is less transparent and scarier than it's ever been and the working class is fed up with the folks running the show. 

(plus Texas hasn't had a great season in over a decade)

Great post, I only really take issue with the bolded part. The overton window in this country has shifted so far right since 9/11 that people like Bernie Sanders, who would be considered center to center-right in Europe (possibly with the exception of the UK), is considered by many to be far left by the sole merit of wanting to fix our hilariously broken health care system. Hillary Clinton is a poster child of a right wing politician through and through, Biden is a senile wingnut, the list goes on. The Republican party has just become a crazy caricature of what it used to be. Prior to Obama's election, Trump would have been laughed out of office by now. Hell, we're at a point where fucking W looks like the adult in the room.

It's shifted so far right that the police in this country generally behave in an overtly fascist manner, but it's just brushed aside by half the country. The president has spent most of the duration of these protests attempting to viciously curtail the rights of peaceful protests while being cheered in by his base. It's completely insane.

[AUS-97HORN 11824]

35 minutes ago, WBT said:

This is where I am.  How is this much different than the Ferguson aftermath?

Not trying to insight a huge CR brawl here, but the Ferguson events had a lot more "issue is cloudy" views from both sides. 

No matter which way you saw the Ferguson events, it wasnt absolutely clear who's story fit the evidence.

 

This time its a 10 minute video from 10 feet away where you watch a maniacal cop squeeze the life out of a man because he may have passed a bad $20 bill.    All the while being told by multiple people that the guy had stopped breathing.

combine that with 2 months of quarantine, the fact the incident happened on Memorial Day, and it was the 3rd major Police/non-resisting POC death in less than 2 months, and you have the recipe for the pressure cooker to pop off, which it did.

 

I forgot to add that because the death has been universally decried BY ALL SIDES

I remember a poll from last week that said 96% of those polled felt the Minny police should be arrested from that incident. Folks there is nothing in this United States that 96% of us all agree on- period.  

it was a clear cut murder, and it still took the cocksuckers in Minneapolis FOUR days to arrest the primary suspect.     that gave the nation 4 full days to process the lack of action, pissing people off even more, causing more inaction, really pissing people off and finally, the guy gets arrested, but literally no one saw him get booked,  he was allowed to slink into the side of the jail for booking.   That also really pissed people off. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by AUS-97HORN

[Scheiss Meister 8413]

I don't pretend to be able to explain why "We" are only just now getting pissed.  I'm not a sociologist.  I can speak to why I am more energized than ever before.  I have always scoffed at the concept of white privilege.  I work at a sewer plant, and had to do it for a long time to work my way to a decent pay rate.  I live in a double-wide, and my wife and I drive our vehicles until I can no longer repair them.  Much of what I have is held together by string, bailing wire, and wishes.  I am deeply in debt from helping my daughter through UT.  I don't generally feel very privileged, so I couldn't relate to white privilege. 

Then I watched the video of George Floyd being murdered, slowly and cruelly.  I was screaming for someone to tackle that asshole and save Mr. Floyd.  Why were they yelling at the cops instead of knocking them off?  I always thought that would be my response in that situation.

At that point I realized that I was thinking like a white man.  The people videoing the incident and imploring the cops to let him live knew that they would be shot to shit, or beaten to death, or strangled just like George Floyd.  As a white man it would have never crossed my mind, but the black people there knew.  They live it every minute.  It hit me in a very visceral way that none of the other police murders have.  It made me realize, finally, what I have been missing, and why I am indeed privileged, through no action of my own.

Now I have to figure out how I can help make sure that everyone, whatever color, has the same privileges that I have, and no less.

[Brew 3049]

2 hours ago, Brew said:

No sports, no gatherings, no concerts, nothing to turn our focus too while we ignored the issues in front of us or made a quick drive-by post on Facebook in support. That combined with the pent up rage of being isolated for weeks and the overall political divide made this more real to people for whatever reason.

I feel like a douche quoting myself, but I want to add another couple component. The fact that people aren’t at work has contributed to the size and staying power along with canceling all kids activities. It’s been easy in the past to say, “ I should participate in that demonstration, but I have to work today” or “I should participate, but the kids have practice today.” The size of the protests have made corporate America take note which now keeps it playing on TV commercials, online, etc. The tone deaf response by some has pushed others to stand up when they might not have before. Finally, the length of the video and the content is the biggest straw on the camel’s back. It could not be ignored because there were no cutaways, stops, etc. I hope it’s different this time, but the lack of support at the top makes it difficult. 

[SHOOTER12 8836]

1 hour ago, immortal13 said:

Would you prefer a 12 paragraph Derka rant?

Sorry to say, I had Derka beat.  It was long, long, but very seldom am I able to string my thoughts and opinions together in a way that might make a difference and touch someone.

May not happen for another 8-10 years.

[mdmost 43059]

We finally don’t have an excuse to stop caring. Normally we fall back into routine and stop caring. With Covid, our routine was smashed. George Floyd and the 110,000 who died from Covid might be the martyrs for the cause that finally affected change in our country: 

[TexArcher 38080]

I think the amplified response to this has a lot to do with Donald Trump.  What happened to George Floyd has happened to others, obviously, but never with a president who publicly approved of the bad things that bad cops do.  And it's compounded by the cops' awful responses to the protestors.  The "few bad apples" bullshit is out the window, and combine that with the inflammatory and aggressive words from a would-be despot at the top, instead of the compassion that any normal leader would be showing, and the whole thing takes on a new sense of urgency.  We'd better stand up for each other, NOW.

[C-Man 27285]

4 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Two factors:

1. Covid-19: I think it’s a transformative event that is going to have long-term implications for us as a country, most notably is the divide in income inequality. It made the rich even richer and decimated already decimated segments of our society. People are out of work and angry. And that is going to get worse.

2. Leaders matter. Words matter. Hope and unity and a belief that together we can build a stronger future for our children matters. There is none of that, and it matters. I’ll leave it at that.

I think this sums it up pretty well. I was already cynical but now I'm fucking pissed off -- pissed at this country's "leadership" (on both sides) and everybody is playing an angle. There's right and wrong, man, and we're doing a lot of this shit wrong. The little guy is getting clobbered by COVID-19 yet corporate America gets richer.

Be a good fucking neighbor. Be a fucking good person, or at least try. Don't be an asshole. It shouldn't be that hard.

[Iceman 2726]

For me it has zero to do with politics.  It has everything to do with how the man was already subdued/ in cuffs and offered zero threat to the officer(s.)   And that brings up the contributing yet equally horrific factor of 3 officers being complicit in the direct abuse of a citizen.

George Floyd wasn't a model citizen and I don't care.  The police are not there to try and sentence a citizen.

I'd say for me, the Houston Five situation is what turned me at my own core beliefs and destroyed my denial on the corruption of the police; and had me already voicing my opinion that we should be going after the leadership of the police organization if we ever wanted the abuses to stop/ wane. The Floyd death was an exponential amplification of the extreme lack of accountability for police.

At work we have had no fewer than 6  'wellness checks' where the forum is opened and people just say what's on their hearts and minds regarding the whole past 8-9 days.  So many people are truly hurting/ scared/ angry.  I am an admitted flag waving sonofabitch, who has never hidden that.  Hell i think I have about 5 tshirts in my wardrobe that are not Army/ West Point/ Navy/ or Marines. On a couple of the calls I have shared how we say as a nation that "liberty and justice for all" is who we claim to be, yet we are so dreadfully short of that right now.  Both times I went there it was dead silence on the call, and I have no idea if people agreed with me or were shocked that i said it. I am very disappointed/ pissed off that we have citizens who don't feel protected by our laws, and it shouldn't take anyone having to convince them otherwise.  It should be an innate part of being an American.  That's where I am at these days.  It is a tragic situation, absolutely; yet, we are not a nation of perfection.  We never have been.  We can be a society that moves towards justice and what's right for our people.  We have to.  We have no choice.

Be who we say we are...

Edited June 10, 2020 by Iceman

[washparkhorn 9939]

20 minutes ago, Iceman said:

Army/ West Point/ Navy/ or Marines

Off we go, into the Wild Blue Yonder, Flying High into the Sky . . .

Thank you all for your service, hard work, and bravery. 

3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

They jumped on this quick, which is really odd.  I didn't expect so many companies to come out in support of BLM or whatever.

BLM is a respected brand that adds value for many corporations. 

[Iceman 2726]

Cannot edit, but wanted to add towards the OP's question, " Why now?"

I do believe that because there is no "yeah but..." in this situation, it doesn't allow for the typical excuses for abuse/ police violence.   Floyd wasn't reaching in his pocket for anything.  He wasn't fleeing.  He hadn't done something so heinous that there would be any remote justification for what the officers did to him.  There is no way the officers could say they or anyone else were threatened.

[Nicole44 22079]

2 hours ago, C-Man said:

I think this sums it up pretty well. I was already cynical but now I'm fucking pissed off -- pissed at this country's "leadership" (on both sides) and everybody is playing an angle. There's right and wrong, man, and we're doing a lot of this shit wrong. The little guy is getting clobbered by COVID-19 yet corporate America gets richer.

Be a good fucking neighbor. Be a fucking good person, or at least try. Don't be an asshole. It shouldn't be that hard.

This! I’d add some history to this but you summed it up quite well. Last three sentences.

[ztejas 43549]

8 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

Great post, I only really take issue with the bolded part. The overton window in this country has shifted so far right since 9/11 that people like Bernie Sanders, who would be considered center to center-right in Europe (possibly with the exception of the UK), is considered by many to be far left by the sole merit of wanting to fix our hilariously broken health care system. Hillary Clinton is a poster child of a right wing politician through and through, Biden is a senile wingnut, the list goes on. The Republican party has just become a crazy caricature of what it used to be. Prior to Obama's election, Trump would have been laughed out of office by now. Hell, we're at a point where fucking W looks like the adult in the room.

It's shifted so far right that the police in this country generally behave in an overtly fascist manner, but it's just brushed aside by half the country. The president has spent most of the duration of these protests attempting to viciously curtail the rights of peaceful protests while being cheered in by his base. It's completely insane.

You're right and thanks for the edit. I was just riffing. Now that I think about it our politicians are pretty centrist. Maybe I was thinking about the voice that people on both ends of the spectrum have been given with twitter/facebook etc.

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everyone got bored w/ joseph kony

[Fuck Tim Beck 3834]

I am glad that this time seems different, but I am not optimistic given the fact that the new norm in America seems to be pointing the finger at the other side while missing the point entirely. Neither side (politician wise) can get out of their own way. It seems like anyone in a position to change things for the better is only saying "what's in it for me"