Running racism in America thread

Good retort, George Will.

 

More than 500 folks at the protest in my corner of Flyover Country. I’ve never seen that many people show up for local rallies.

 

Further Googling makes me think Cincinnati but I can't confirm.

I don't have a reliable link but this is the second reference I found

 

How dare they just . . . just SIT THERE and drink their beer! Didn't even overturn the table, throw chairs or anything.

 

We did not go to the rally. My wife was concerned about COVID and less so about safety. It would seem a bit odd to me to go to a protest a participant after covering similar events as an objective journalist, but as I said, that was in a previous life.

We’re leaning toward sending money to an organization that provided bail money for people who need it in Minneapolis. It was our son’s idea because he learned about inequities of the cash bail system in a government class.

As an overly self-centered personal aside as an older parent, it’s an ever-growing and changing lesson to hear our son’s perspective and, through him, the reaction of his friends.

 

It's the juxtaposition of all of it that serves as a metaphor for our country. Are they drinking beer because they are aloof to the cause? No. They probably just went out for drinks and a protest walked by, but it is an image of people who are comfortable in their lives versus those who are bringing attention people who are very much can't be because police disproportionately kill them.

 

But reactions to it are shaming them . . . for being, as you say, "comfortable in their lives."

That's something to be grateful for. It's not something to be ashamed of.

And once again, WE DON'T KNOW how comfortable they are. Maybe one of them recently lost his job and his friends were taking him out for lunch. Maybe they've seen very little of one another this spring because of the pandemic. The judgments we make about momentary images are disturbing.

 

They’ll live.

 

For what it's worth, I'm not sure what this means either.

 

I think the message is, we should be ashamed of everything we do. Nothing is good enough.

 

Maybe. They still have to get home. Who knows where the next arrow or bullet or tear gas canister will fall?

 

This is awfully judgmental of bunniboo.

Say a group of protestors marched past you as you were sitting around a table, having a drink and talking with friends. Would you really just jump up and join in?

Or would you pause, and have to think about whether you were going to step into something that could turn into mayhem, chaos and violence that you would want no part of? Choosing the second option does not summarily make you someone who does not care about wrong-doing, or whatever the cause may be. It doesn't.