Running racism in America thread

I don't think anyone really thinks those folks thought, "hey, this'd be a great seat for watching a march and downing a few." But it's a very vivid image of how an event has moved some people to anger and action and others not. The "nots" are a huge majority, BTW. Even in the cities where the protests have been greatest and/or seen the most vandalism and violence, most people saw it on TV if at all and were miles from the action. Cities are big places.

 

I don't know, I've barely given the coronavirus a thought the past couple of days, and wondered at that. Who would have thought something -- especially this type of stuff -- would supersede that? But I guess that's what it would have taken.

And, your son sounds thoughtful and interesting, and like someone to be listened to. I'd be interested to hear more of his and other young people's perspective.

 

Two weeks ago you were a hero if you Stay. The. Fuck. Home. Now you're an uncaring person full of privilege doing nothing. Sigh.

 

OK fair enough. I don't know anything about their lives and maybe they have fucked up backstories they are just trying to get through. The individuals in the picture aren't why I think it's a powerful photo. It is still an interesting juxtaposition of white people enjoying a beer (regardless of the backstory behind it) matched with people protesting police brutality of Black people. It is a metaphor of White Americans just sitting on the sidelines through things like "it was an isolated incident" or "that's not an appropriate way to make changes" or "that's disrespecting the troops" or "what was that guy doing there anyway" as Black Americans scream that the game is rigged against them.

I don't mean to project judgements on the individuals. For all I know, they are active members of their local NAACP chapter and actually fight injustice and were taking a night off. But it's not the point. I could blur their faces and still get the same message across that in this country, by and large, white people have easier lives and don't need to fight as hard as black people. These people were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time and happen to be in the middle of something they didn't want to be in the middle of. But that's kind of the point, no?

 

Yeah, Stay. The. Fuck. Home. would have worked very well last night, in cities all over the U.S.

 

This is true. And I believe most of us would be having very similar reactions as these guys. Then again, the minute I saw someone setting up to get a picture of me drinking a beer with a protest going by, I'm going GTFO quick because I don't want to be the poster child for white indifference.

 

The debate over this photo has shades of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer refused to wear a ribbon during a charity walk and got beat up for it.

 

Well, I get that, and it's too bad anybody even has to worry about that these days. But then again, most people, especially those who participate in much of social media, are not as smart or thoughtful as most of the posters here.

 

That systemic racism is hard to fix?

 

A picture with more relevance than the Cincinnati one, to me anyway, are the pictures of the overflowing donations to Minneapolis food banks today. Most people are still of goodwill, and here was a fine, nonconfrontational (most folks shy from confrontation, thank goodness) way to do good.

 

I thought Kareem got pushed to the edge because he had to drag Walton and Lanier up the court for 48 minutes?

 

It's the point, but it's directed at the wrong people/entities. These protests are about about police treatment, and that needs to be addressed and resolved within those departments, not put upon random, unrelated individuals who have nothing to do with the issue or problem beyond the fact that they are white.

And not that being a white cop automatically means you are trouble for, or are going to have trouble with, black people, either. There needs to be an element of personal responsibility, on the part of everyone, for their actions and reactions. But by and large, these issues need to be resolved by the entities/departments involved. Not much will change until that happens. That's why I asked all those questions regarding police recruiting in a post a few pages back. I think things need to start there. And the black community needs to respond in kind to any efforts made in a positive direction.

Individually, we all live the lives we live. The fact that we can't solve every other person's poverty or less-than-ideal circumstances shouldn't mean we have to apologize for our better lives, or have them destroyed or desecrated by others in one night of mayhem to make a point.

Individually, I doubt most whites -- hardly any, in fact -- would have ever done what was done to George Floyd, which is why connections shouldn't be made between those people sitting and watching and those protesting and joining in a scene that we now know turned sour and violent in most places.