[Purple Haize]

Since TH suggested it but didn’t create it, I figured I’d help him out. I guess he and ballcoach took the same computer competency class

I’m gonna start this thread of differently though. This. This is what we need to see more of out there. This didn’t just “happen”. This took a lot of work for months and years. He connects with his community and they respect him and he respects them. Hopefully more Sheriff’s etc will call to find out how he accomplished this

[thepostman]

PH the enabler

I have yet to be able to compile my thoughts on this to put out anything that resembles a coherent thought.

The main take away, for me, is we white people, myself included, are too quick to explain away racial injustices in very subtle ways. I think it is time to shut up and listen. This Sherrif is a good example of that.



I know there is a lot of anger but as you dig into this it is clear to see we just need to shut up and listen for a bit.

Disclaimer: This is not at all an endorsement of law breaking. People have been critical of peaceful protests for decades. Its generations of frustration boiling over (combined with some opportunists). But we've got to filer the noise and listen to what is actually being said.

That is all I've got for now. Please guys. Keep this thread classy. This topic can bring out some very strong emotions.

[Jonathan Carone]

I hate that the legitimate protests have been high jacked by the far right and the far left.

There have been some very great moments between the black community and the government throughout this. Some police departments have incredible relationships with their communities.

There have also been some disgusting things from police through this.

[TH Spangler]

Police officer crossed the line and should face justice. Seems to be a lot of legitimate peaceful protesters.

But who are the looters? Why are so many people from out of town ending up there? Is the violence being instigated by an organization? Are the out of towners causing the violence?

Do you think the current justice department will investigate and publicly answer these questions?

https://postimg.cc/ZB4bQLxd

[Jonathan Carone]

You cannot post MLK memes and quotes without actually understanding his full views on rioting.

[TH Spangler]

You cannot post MLK memes and quotes without actually understanding his full views on rioting.

What is your view?

[Purple Haize]

You cannot post MLK memes and quotes without actually understanding his full views on rioting.

Apparently you can’t say MLK anymore either because White Supremacy groups use it as a way to delegitimize him and his education. You must say Dr King Rev King or Rev Dr King. I’m legit not kidding. I had 2 people I know go off because people were saying MLK instead of Dr King. It’s that type of mentality that makes reconciliation difficult.
I agree with @thepostman that this is a time to listen. (Not that I’m an enabler, I see it more as preventing another thread from devolving ). It’s also a time to make sure you are well armed. Too many bad actors out there at the moment. Nothing wrong with being prepared.

[thepostman]

Anytime any organization simply posts a message about how black lives matter it is instantly overtaken by white people saying that all lives matter and the like. That is a big part of the reason there is still so much frustration in the black community with the white community.

But yes. I wish we as white people would just stop talking and listen. It actually part of the reason I didn't start a thread. Nothing I can say will actually help.

[TH Spangler]

One thing I've noticed on tv is much of the vandalism is being done by whites? Not minorities? I feel like someone is stirring the pot. I could be wrong? I read one article that accused white supremacist. Another antifa.

[Jonathan Carone]

You cannot post MLK memes and quotes without actually understanding his full views on rioting.

What is your view?

My view is the vast majority of protests started off as peaceful protests with no ill intentions. They were then escalated by either out of town people with an agenda (from both sides) or the police.

The first night of riots in Minnesota - while I do not agree with them or condone them - I understand why they happened. Just like the first night of Baltimore riots, they went after the places in their neighborhood that had treated them poorly. It was wrong. It should be condemned. But like MLK said, “ A riot is the language of the unheard.”

I also think there’s a lot of hypocrisy from white people. Kaepernick didn’t protest the “right” way. These peaceful protests aren’t the “right” way either. In the words of Trevor Noah, “it's never the right way to protest because that is what protest is. It cannot be right because you are protesting against the thing that is stopping you.”

I’m sad peaceful protests about a very legitimate and important issue have been overshadowed by groups with separate agendas. I’m disappointed in churches who have stayed quiet and denominations who have put out politically correct statements.

I’m hopeful for change because the generations after me get it better than my generation. I’m encouraged by churches who are stepping up to educate their people. I’m proud of pastors who are risking a ton to lead their people to confronting the sin of racism and injustice.

At the end of the day, I’m okay with disagreements. My frustrations come from the lack of empathy from white people - especially those in predominantly white communities - but I get it.

I live in a town that is 91.3% white. Most people here have never been exposed to the type of injustice and racism the black community is fighting up against right now. Until you see it first hand or get to know the people who have experienced it their entire life, it’s really hard to take it seriously. I was guilty of all the things I’m frustrated by today as recently as 5-10 years ago. Progress comes at a different pace for everyone. I just wish more people would try to understand what the black community is fighting against, even if they don’t agree with it or with the way they’re fighting.

[adam42381]

One thing I've noticed on tv is much of the vandalism is being done by whites? Not minorities? I feel like someone is stirring the pot. I could be wrong? I read one article that accused white supremacist. Another antifa.

Paid protestors by democrats.

Possibly. There are also protestors from the republican side that may have been paid. Some Proud Boys showed up in Portland dressed as Antifa. This isn’t about democrat or republican.

EDIT: I see that the post by @ballcoach15 was deleted/removed. Here is my response anyway.

[thepostman]

Admin note:

If speaking an opinion please do not share it ask fact. Make it clear it is your opinion. I will be moderating this issue more closely than most.

[TH Spangler]

Antifa has received the classification Domestic Terrorist group.

[lynchburgwildcats]

One thing I've noticed on tv is much of the vandalism is being done by whites? Not minorities? I feel like someone is stirring the pot. I could be wrong? I read one article that accused white supremacist. Another antifa.

Paid protestors by democrats.

Possibly. There are also protestors from the republican side that may have been paid. Some Proud Boys showed up in Portland dressed as Antifa. This isn’t about democrat or republican.

EDIT: I see that the post by @ballcoach15 was deleted/removed. Here is my response anyway.

The Boogaloo have been sighted in multiple locations as well, and there are recordings of some cops flashing white supremacist signs with their hands. And of course ANTIFA has been involved too.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Antifa has received the classification Domestic Terrorist group.

That’s actually not true. Trump said it but it’s not a thing. By federal law domestic organizations can’t be labeled as a terrorist organization.

And ANTIFA isn’t even really an organization to begin with. There’s really no organizational structure of any sort, it’s basically just a bunch of random people who self identify.

[thepostman]

Watched video throughout the night of DC on fire. Before the work from home order, I walked those streets regularly. I know there are bad people taking advantage of this moment but it is still so unbelievable how divided we are as a country.

It is sad to see so many people hurting. 2020 has been one heck of a year...

[lynchburgwildcats]

Pretty telling about the quality of man that Trump is that all he wants to do is encourage violence upon the protestors by using words/phrases with racist histories and violate the law to declare ANTIFA a terrorist organization instead of addressing the nation to help unify people and de-escalate then situation. A complete abdication of leadership.

[TH Spangler]

Pretty telling about the quality of man that Trump is that all he wants to do is encourage violence upon the protestors by using words/phrases with racist histories and violate the law to declare ANTIFA a terrorist organization instead of addressing the nation to help unify people and de-escalate then situation. A complete abdication of leadership.

He's handling it correctly. A trusted friend of mine that works for Homeland Security told me there is a whole lot more going on than the stuff the news is passing along / making up. I think we'll find out who is funding the violence before it's over.

Could be domestic or foreign money.

[thepostman]

Yes, there is a whole lot more going on. That isn't even being debated and is constantly being harped on. EVEN ON CNN!!

But that doesn't change the fact that some things should just be left unsaid and aren't helpful when trying to unify a country. If it continues these outside agitators are going to start gaining more sympathizers.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Instead of addressing the cause for the civil unrest - police brutality and white supremacy - he wants to address only some of the symptoms in ANTIFA. If you don't work towards fixing the root causes, the symptoms are just going to persist into perpetuity.

Instead of listening leadership ignores. This is why rarely anything ever changes in this country with race relations. And it's not just a problem with Trump, it's leadership throughout the country for the most part. All most want to do is give lip service for a few days or weeks (if they can even be bothered to do the bare minimum of that) when a major event happens then they just go about their business like there's not a problem anymore. You can only ignore it for so long before it comes back to bite you in the behind.

They protest peacefully and are told that's not how you do it, told to shut up/shut up and dribble, told they are being disrespectful. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They cause civil unrest without rioting and destroying property, told to shut up, go home, that's now how you do it. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They start rioting and told that's not going to advance the cause, you need to protest peacefully despite objetions to that as well when you do it, get called thugs, get threatened with violence, etc. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They get told to go out to vote to make change. Yet politicians gerrymander them to the point where their votes are largely negated outside of a Presidential election where gerrymandering is irrelevant, they see their polling places eliminated or moved away, they recently see politicians in Florida enacting poll taxes to try to deny them their vote (thankfully the law has been overturned in the courts).

They get told they need to just cooperate with the police and they won't get assaulted or murdered, yet they do and they still get assaulted and murdered.

At some point you have to admit that many find the message itself to the thing that is abhorrent, not just the expression of it.

[TH Spangler]

Instead of addressing the cause for the civil unrest - police brutality and white supremacy - he wants to address only some of the symptoms in ANTIFA. If you don't work towards fixing the root causes, the symptoms are just going to persist into perpetuity.

Instead of listening leadership ignores. This is why rarely anything ever changes in this country with race relations. And it's not just a problem with Trump, it's leadership throughout the country for the most part. All most want to do is give lip service for a few days or weeks (if they can even be bothered to do the bare minimum of that) when a major event happens then they just go about their business like there's not a problem anymore. You can only ignore it for so long before it comes back to bite you in the behind.

They protest peacefully and are told that's not how you do it, told to shut up/shut up and dribble, told they are being disrespectful. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They cause civil unrest without rioting and destroying property, told to shut up, go home, that's now how you do it. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They start rioting and told that's not going to advance the cause, you need to protest peacefully despite objetions to that as well when you do it, get called thugs, get threatened with violence, etc. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They get told to go out to vote to make change. Yet politicians gerrymander them to the point where their votes are largely negated outside of a Presidential election where gerrymandering is irrelevant, they see their polling places eliminated or moved away, they recently see politicians in Florida enacting poll taxes to try to deny them their vote (thankfully the law has been overturned in the courts).

They get told they need to just cooperate with the police and they won't get assaulted or murdered, yet they do and they still get assaulted and murdered.

At some point you have to admit that many find the message itself to the thing that is abhorrent, not just the expression of it.

And unfortunately members of the black congressional caucus go to Washington and get sucked into the elite establishment and get nothing accomplished. Their's no Doctor King in Washington now. Trump was well on his way to providing jobs and lifting everyone's boat. But it rocked the globalist boat .... they will fight back.

[lynchburgwildcats]

Instead of addressing the cause for the civil unrest - police brutality and white supremacy - he wants to address only some of the symptoms in ANTIFA. If you don't work towards fixing the root causes, the symptoms are just going to persist into perpetuity.

Instead of listening leadership ignores. This is why rarely anything ever changes in this country with race relations. And it's not just a problem with Trump, it's leadership throughout the country for the most part. All most want to do is give lip service for a few days or weeks (if they can even be bothered to do the bare minimum of that) when a major event happens then they just go about their business like there's not a problem anymore. You can only ignore it for so long before it comes back to bite you in the behind.

They protest peacefully and are told that's not how you do it, told to shut up/shut up and dribble, told they are being disrespectful. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They cause civil unrest without rioting and destroying property, told to shut up, go home, that's now how you do it. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They start rioting and told that's not going to advance the cause, you need to protest peacefully despite objetions to that as well when you do it, get called thugs, get threatened with violence, etc. Their message is dismissed and goes largely goes ignored in the long term.

They get told to go out to vote to make change. Yet politicians gerrymander them to the point where their votes are largely negated outside of a Presidential election where gerrymandering is irrelevant, they see their polling places eliminated or moved away, they recently see politicians in Florida enacting poll taxes to try to deny them their vote (thankfully the law has been overturned in the courts).

They get told they need to just cooperate with the police and they won't get assaulted or murdered, yet they do and they still get assaulted and murdered.

At some point you have to admit that many find the message itself to the thing that is abhorrent, not just the expression of it.

And unfortunately members of the black congressional caucus go to Washington and get sucked into the elite establishment and get nothing accomplished. Their's no Doctor King in Washington now. Trump was well on his way to providing jobs and lifting everyone's boat. But it rocked the globalist boat .... they will fight back.

Helping provide low wage jobs that don't pay a living wage is like taking someone that's drowning in 10 feet of water in the middle of the ocean and pulling them up to the surface then just leaving them in the water with nothing more than a life vest.

Sure, their condition has improved some, they aren't drowning anymore so death won't be coming within minutes. But how much have they really been helped when they are just floating around in the ocean desperate for help because they don't have what they need to make it out alive without a gigantic miracle.

[thepostman]

Dr King was disliked by most of the white community when he was alive (and then was murdered) and when there are peaceful activists they get attacked by a large majority of white folks. How do I know? I use to fall into that category. I have old rants, maybe even on here, where I make it pretty clear that I believed that they should be thankful for what they have and pointed out the fact that there was even a black president! Am I proud of those thoughts and rants? Absolutely not but it is why I have said on here and elsewhere that at this time we just need to shut up and listen to our black brothers and sisters.

I'd really like to hear from the people of color on this board and listen to what they have to say about this issue. We white folks could use feeling a bit uncomfortable for a while.

[RubberMallet]

as i said in another thread, you have loads of bored unemployed people all over the country. Many neglected communities acting out as their pre-covid squalor has been exacerbated greatly due to shutdowns. its a shame but many are being riled into such a destructive frenzy. their communities are being sent further into turmoil. But the way some communities are policed is not good. Its a vicious cycle that never seems to end.

looting and destroying property seems bad and not good from a societal standpoint. but JCPenny execs paid themselves millions of dollars of bonuses days before the company went bankrupt. one politician has already gotten off scott free for trading millions of dollars of stocks pre crash. the rich will have made 400billion dollars off the dip when this is all said and done. and the GVT handed them much of that money in the way of that disastrous bill.

They had hoped that a $1200 dollar check would solve the unrest. they were wrong and now are getting a dose of that reality. Notice hardly any of the leaders in these news conferences are wearing masks, socially distancing, etc etc.

[Purple Haize]

Dr King was disliked by most of the white community when he was alive (and then was murdered) and when there are peaceful activists they get attacked by a large majority of white folks. How do I know? I use to fall into that category. I have old rants, maybe even on here, where I make it pretty clear that I believed that they should be thankful for what they have and pointed out the fact that there was even a black president! Am I proud of those thoughts and rants? Absolutely not but it is why I have said on here and elsewhere that at this time we just need to shut up and listen to our black brothers and sisters.

I'd really like to hear from the people of color on this board and listen to what they have to say about this issue. We white folks could use feeling a bit uncomfortable for a while.

Lots of POC didn’t like MLK either