Property damage and violence associated with mass events isn’t something this culture actually cares about from what I can see. If that was the case we’d be shutting up the police every time they damaged things while doing their jobs and ignoring them as we obsessed over broken windows and doors.
You care that it’s black people protesting. You care that it’s black people who have hit a limit in what they are willing to take. You’d do the same if it was other non-white groups. You’d do the same with other groups too America. But not with the people who are used to having power.
If we cared about property damage and violence we would be hyperfocused on any damage associated with the people protesting virus related limits on association and ignoring their message. We would have been endlessly focused on the damage done by the Bundy inspired invasion of a national park and ignored their whining about having to pay for public land resource use.
We would be calling every sports-fan related excess that results in property damage and violence a riot.
And I’m sure you could find some people doing the above but it’s not that widespread. It’s when black people protest about getting murdered and some hit understandable limits that we collectively hyperfocus on any nearby violence and conflate it with the protest. Americans are disgusting and nausea inducing people.
Looks like bigoted discrimination to me. Separating out black people as a group to ignore the protests of if there’s any violence happening nearby. It doesn’t even have to be their violence. We’re too racist as a country to make distinctions.
So fucking what if there’s violence and property damage? If I see anyone respond to a protest with an attention shift to violence that’s a cause for me to interrogate the urge. The reasons for protest are about violence, and I consider that attention shift caring about things more than people, or making excuses for primary violence that reasonably trigger rage.
If someone is worried about their life or the lives of their loved ones and you shift to property damage you are showing me what your priorities are. You’re showing me what kind of a person you are. I’ve no reason to think you won’t care about things more than me.
And if you ignore the murder that pushes communities to violent displays that signal they won’t just take such abuse, I think you’d do the same to me. Shut the fuck up and listen to the protestors. Shut the fuck up and fix the racism in our institutions.
In Latvia, whenever there is some large public event organized by LGBTQIA+ people, many people complain about how the crowd will obstruct transport and inconvenience the daily life of people who live or work next to the planned event.
Oddly enough, whenever similar inconveniences are caused by large sports events, public celebrations, even some silly military parades, then the same people no longer complain about how their daily routine is getting inconvenienced.
Some bigots like to hide their bigotry behind false excuses like blocked traffic or property damage.
Yes. I’ve seen the same people acting outraged at inconvenience. Literally describing themselves as victims.
I see it with native people’s issues, and race issues too. Most recently on facebook and race related protests.
I mock as best as I can. Protests are supposed to be inconvenient. That’s how disputes against society work.
Very well said.
Incidentally there’s a list of Black Lives Matter protests here including one in Adeklaide which I’m planning toattend :
https://www.gq.com.au/success/opinions/your-guide-to-the-black-lives-matter-protests-taking-place-across-australia/news-story/cc9b8f5064f069682f783d853ac582ff
As well as more details there on some of the appallling things that happen ot our black-skinned First Peoples here as well. Most -pretty much all – of the protests seem tobe taking place on Saturday June 6th here.
@ ^ Adelaide that’s meant to be of course. Sorry, I do suck at typing. 🙁
Protests are supposed to be inconvenient.
Even when they’re not they’ll still be absolutely condemned and the protestors denigrated and abused for speaking out against the comfortable privilged and racist. Remember Kaepernick’s extremely peaceful symbolic stand, well, kneel – and the response that got?
Source : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/sep/22/donald-trump-nfl-national-anthem-protests
Nor, of course, is that the first time and even before he was elected Trump’s response to peaceful protests at his own rallies was brutal violence and physical assault :
Source : https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-trump-campaign-protests-20160313-story.html
That being Trump of course he didn’t pay up.
Trump also once (or more?) requested that police be more brutal in their treatment of prisoners. Specifically when putting them in their cars years ago.
Incidentally, most of the rallies – though few of the ones seen on TV news and widely publicised have, indeed, been peaceful :
https://www.vox.com/2020/5/30/21275600/george-floyd-protest-photos-minneapolis-atlanta-new-york
Its also worth noting that a lot of the violence and property damage has been started and encouraged by White Supremacist infiltrators and undercover cops and the cops themselves.
Apologies for the multiple post Primate Cghes and hope this is okay.
Chess, dangnabbit, D’oh! 🙁
Just when I thought I’d finally fixed all my typos ..
Thank you for posting that. I encourage the posting of things that can help people.
Don’t worry about things you are practicing. Someone might offer a correction and you can set boundaries about some criticism (mockery of spelling and grammar error I don’t like and will critisize if I see it).