George Floyd / May 2020 USA Protests Megathread — Page 2

double

Updated On: 5/30/20 at 09:06 PM

Many of those business owners BACK the protesters, actually.

Ruhel Islam. "let my building burn,” he said. “Justice needs to be served.”

On Friday afternoon, after the fire stopped smoldering and the family came together, he repeated his support for the protests that had closed his restaurant. “We can rebuild a building, but we cannot rebuild a human,” said Mr. Islam, 42. “The community is still here, and we can work together to rebuild.”

By Monday morning, if not earlier, when he reevaluates his situation, Mr. Islam will be asking how do I feed my family? How are we going to pay the rent? I read it was a FEW family owned businesses that backed the protestors. It is actually irrelevant, because that is NOT the feelings of the MAJORITY of the victims.

Highland Guy said: "ArtMan said: "Well, tell that to all of the employees who are now out of a job because of the burned down Target. In addition to all of the other Target employees, temporarily out of a job, because Corporate closed them down. Or all of the other businesses that were burnt to the ground. Many were family owned businesses. Or the people who were planning to move into, ironically, affordable housing, when the apartment building was burned down. Is it fair, that all of these people now have to suffer?"



Is it fair that a Black man, a citizen of the United States, wasslowly and brutally murdered(tortured, really) by a uniformed police officer for the alleged crime of trying to buy a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill? Structures and jobs can be replaced. Human lives cannot.

"

Highland Guy, I normally agree with your posts. However. "Structures and jobs can be replaced" Really, in the middle of a pandemic? You're really reaching now.

It is actually irrelevant, because that is NOT the feelings of the MAJORITY of the victims.

The victims are the black people who are (and have been) brutally, systematically murdered IN FRONT OF OUR EYES with little to no consequences. And those consequences are forced by public outrage.

What we are seeing is an anger and fury that this CANNOT and MUST NOT be allowed to continue. It is a grappling with what this country is. It is so many things that must not be minimized or looked down on. 52 years later, we are right back in 1968 - and nothing has changed.

If you care more about a Target than about George Floyd, well then, I have nothing to say.

Updated On: 5/30/20 at 10:07 PM

ArtMan said: "Highland Guy, I normally agree with your posts. "



And I have appreciated your kind words to me in other threads. These are difficult days for everyone.

Sally Durant Plummer said

If you care more about a Target than aboutGeorge Floyd, well then, I have nothing to say."

If you think that I only care about a Target building then you are quite obtuse. I care about the families who can't feed their children, clothe them and put a roof over their head, all because individuals violently decided to burn their livelihood and homes in the middle of a pandemic. It isn't a Target, AutoZone, family restaurants that burned to the ground, that I care about. It is the families that you consider collateral damage. You should be ashamed. To answer your original question. Although I am saddened by what happened to George Floyd. I care about the families and especially the children more then about George Floyd. And if you don't even seem bothered by the hardship that is ahead of them,I have nothing to say to you.

Carlos, Thanks for the kind words. In the last 10 years, we've shared a lot of stories and a lot of laughs. To my knowledge we have never had a disagreement about anything. On that I thank you. We're do for a Carlos/Dame espanol interchange. Hopefully full of reads.

If you think that I only care about a Target building then you are quite obtuse.

I know that you care about more than just a Target building. But this is the same verbiage that gets thrown around over and over: "They could do more good if they were just peaceful...", "Martin Luther King Jr. would never have approved of these riots...", etc. And it leads nowhere. We just keep going around in circles debating the how and not the why.

Now, I'm not saying I agree with looting. I don't think it's right that owners have to put up signs saying "this is a black-owned business" to ask for mercy. I also don't like the video of the Target on Thursday where we can clearly see a bunch of white people just grabbing stuff off the rack and running. But I can't say I don't understand it.

And let's not ignore the fact that several government officials believe that much of the violence and looting is being perpetrated and driven by outside groups with other motives in an attempt to further deteriorate the situation.

But we also have to look at what this is: this is not JUST about George Floyd or (at least) four police officers blatantly suffocating a man in broad daylight. This is so many people - kids, parents, innocent humans - who have had their lives taken. And a system that is so abhorrent that it assists those who wish to cause harm. This is years, and decades, and centuries of abuse and murder. And THAT'S what all this is about. And it's not right that people are being hurt from the destruction - but the law is doing nothing. It's also not right that apparently ICE showed up in LA this evening in hopes to find any undocumented people protesting It's not right that the president is stoking the fury of the nation.

It's just not right. And that's what all of this is about.

The notion that peaceful protests don't work is not correct. Historically, they are the only ones that have worked. The only reason there are black owned businesses to be destroyed is because of men like Martin Luther King.

Clearly, blacks are still the victims of racism and murder but I would be curious to hear from blacks on this board whether they believe that the injustices they face today equal what their parents and grandparents faced in the 60's.

To me, Floyd's murder is not a justification for hundreds of people around the country to act in a criminal manner. And I suspect it's counterproductive in achieving equality and fairness.

"Clearly, blacks are still the victims of racism and murder but"

Does anybody else just shut down and retroactively disbelieve everything that came before the "but" and then not read anything that comes after?

dented146 said:


Clearly, blacks are still the victims of racism and murder but I would be curious to hear from blacks on this board whether they believe that the injustices they face today equal what their parents and grandparents faced in the 60's.


That you had the audacity to even type that is maddening. You have GOT to be kidding....SMDH

Impossible2 said: "FindingNamo said: ""Clearly, blacks are still the victims of racism and murder but"

Does anybody else just shut down and retroactively disbelieve everything that came before the "but" and then not read anything that comes after?

"

No, because until right wing nut job Dr Phil changed the meaning of the word 'but' and meaningful discussionwent out the window in favour of stop thinking and lose your ****, 'but' wasa word that meant 'I agree with you andI have some more valuable talking points I'd like to add to theconversation'...

But continue, I'm sure the other screaming heads will agree with you."


“But” has never meant that. It’s always been a conjunction used to present an exception or contrast. I’d like to think you’d know that, but here we are.

Updated On: 5/31/20 at 09:55 AM