I appreciate what you say. You dont need my forgiveness, or to do better, I love this place in part for the disagreement. It might not come through in the constant arguing, but I do hold most people here in reasonably high regard, you included. Thank you for being here.
When's the right time? Anytime that it isn't the wrong time, I guess. The anthem kneeling was something I argued with friends and family about. People saw it as disrespect, I tried to explain that of course they appreciate the flag and anthem or it wouldn't be seen as a powerful message. That message didn't land, and the initial leader of that action didn't help his case much with words. And when it stopped bringing up discussion of the issue and turned into it's own issue, it became the wrong time.
And like now. Protesting this killing was great, then people started burning things, so now it's the wrong time again for other cities to have protests in solidarity with a riot. Wait for the literal smoke to clear. Its l like separating to corners in boxing, when things degrade we need to step back and catch our breath. Anytime is the right time until things degrade and people hurt their own cause by pushing harder against someone already locked into fighting.
But like, even if everyone trying to do right made every right decision, it would still not be a solved problem. Racial bias is going to exist likely effectively forever, against the best wishes of good people. No actions, no legislation will be able to prevent every tragedy like this one. Human nature defies clean answers to eternal problems like racism, murder, or abuse of power. We can do better. I'd say we do better now than a century ago. We progress. And progress doesn't have a finish line, you just keep working at it forever.
I agree with you that discrimination is just going to be here as long as humans are here. Not because it's right or something to be lauded, as I'm sure most of us agree with. But simply because of human need to feel special weighed with limited resources on this earth.
But the problem is how humanity accepts it. When you have to have your plight validated by an entire different culture for it actually to matter is the most dehumanizing thing there is. And that's what Blacks have to endure. Time in and time out. We have our protests, we have our walks, it gets a bit of news, and still nothing actually changes.
I don't agree with the damage, but I get it. There's a two sided coin here: How many protests will it take for people to stop being indifferent and realize that humans are suffering versus how many protest should people have before they realize they don't work? That they are busy work to make people feel like they are being 'heard' while those in power give hollow applause of "the American Spirit", but keep to business as usual.
This goes to my 'reign' comment earlier. The way the laws and rules are enforced just seems to be against blacks. I remember walking down the streets of Manhattan with
white people smoking joints and cops did nothing. And even in a city where they say
weed is basically decriminalized, last year
Blacks and Latinos made up for 94% of the arrest in 2019. Even by their own data, whites, blacks, and latinos are doing it at the same amounts. Yet predominantly the non-whites are the only people suffering.
Why be civil when in a world that is bound and determined to treat you like lesser?
And didn't smash anything.
Didn't start fires.
Didn't steal stuff
Didn't harm employees
Left even cleaning up after themselves lol
Does it? Cause it seems strange they can be heard in the footage yelling "Fuck CNN"
I mean,
they smashed each other. But that's fine, I guess?
That is the surface. The deeper matter is that we don't know how they would have acted if the lockdown was extended until the end of the year, because 52 days was enough to get them armed and boiling over with rage. Would it take 104 before the first shot was fired? And hell, on the surface, the protest worked.
The President Tweeted His Support of the Michigan Protesters. Even if he's following his own agenda, you can not get more heard than that.
But Counterpoint.
Black Lives Matter was 'founded' in July, 13, 2013. If you want, you can see the
number of protests they took apart of over the years.
It is staggering. For the same issue. And this is just one movement I picked from just recently in our lives. I could have gone back to Reverend Jessie Jackson. I could have mentioned when the
Black Panthers marched into a Government building in 1967, the state of California changed their gun laws overnight out of sheer fear.
So... yeah. Good to see the more things change, the more things stay the same, eh?
If the deck is stacked in another's favor, you shouldn't be surprised if the other players get enraged over constant cheating.