Current Affairs George Floyd and Minneapolis Unrest

[Grinch]

I've seen it before. I don't care for it. And white people shouldn't be using the n-word, period.

Thanks captain obvious. Bad word.

 

[mill]

Did you watch it? And as someone who's mixed I didnt find it insincere.

I didn’t find it insincere. A part of me wonders whether he could have given more space to others though. There were parts that felt about him and his guilt, if that makes sense.

It’s something I’m trying to reconcile myself at the moment. The idea of being truly altruistic.

If I’m brutally honest with myself I like the idea of being open minded and I like the idea of standing up for people and I like the idea of being ‘woke’. And that perhaps I expect some kind of recognition for that (which is privilege in itself). About whether it is truly altruistic. Or whether that even matters.

So it sat a little uncomfortably with me because maybe it’s not about him and his guilt or tears. Maybe his platform may have been better used giving more space to voices that just don’t heard.

It’s the same with my view of the violence we are seeing. I hate violence, any violence. But then my voice has always been heard to a degree. I’ve never had to experience centuries of peaceful protest that has fallen on deaf ears.

I’m trying to educate myself to it all. to understand how it works. To appreciate my part in it. And to try and do it in a way where I don’t expect a reward or validation for it. That it’s just the right thing to do.

 

[ChesterBlue]

So in that case rather than "white prejudice" and all this racial focus...surely the issue is a class divide and lack of opportunities.

Except that the white people in those situations still have the privilege that they are very unlikely to be killed by the police for essentially nothing, unlikely to be harassed by police as much as someone from a BAME background, and won’t have to deal with the same difficulty of employment.

I know this isn’t going to be popular, but it’s a fact that if you are a straight white male, you are going to have a easier life than someone born into identical circumstances who is from a BAME background, is female, or is LGBTQ.

 

[coollino]

Oh god zat has arrived

 

[Deckard2049]

Redirect Notice

Tragic. Violence will only ever beget more violence and with it death.

 

[anjelikaferrett]

I must be missing something about this whole 'white privilege' thing...

lol

You are male and you are white. You are the most privileged group in society. Have you ever had your arse felt, your bra strap twanged, been told to "cheer up love", asked to change your what you are wearing because a man might get a hard on and you are distracting him, asked to resign because you got married (Civil Service 1950s). That's the male part. And that is small beer compared to what black people have to contend with.

Have you ever been pulled over by the police and thought you might die, have you been refused jobs because of the colour of your skin, have you ever been taught about your race in history lessons, have you struggled to find children's books that represent your race? It was only in the last year or so that ballet shoes were designed to match the skin tone of non white dancers.

And the most important question, as a white person would you be happy to be treated in society the way a black person is?

White privilege is a very real thing.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

You are male and you are white. You are the most privileged group in society. Have you ever had your arse felt, your bra strap twanged, been told to "cheer up love", asked to change your what you are wearing because a man might get a hard on and you are distracting him, asked to resign because you got married (Civil Service 1950s). That's the male part. And that is small beer compared to what black people have to contend with.

Have you ever been pulled over by the police and thought you might die, have you been refused jobs because of the colour of your skin, have you ever been taught about your race in history lessons, have you struggled to find children's books that represent your race? It was only in the last year or so that ballet shoes were designed to match the skin tone of non white dancers.

And the most important question, as a white person would you be happy to be treated in society the way a black person is?

White privilege is a very real thing.

Maybe

 

[Pittsburgh Footy]

Someone earlier mentioned watching a Netflix documentary to learn more about the race problem in America and one of them involved the Central Park 5 who were accused of a gang rape and sent to prison and were eventually found innocent.

I just remembered that in that documentary they mentioned Donald Trump paid some money to a newspaper and got them to publish his article basically wanting them to be executed and to bring back the death penalty

this man is now America’s president who has recently said that he will shoot looters

Trump is America’s biggest racist

View attachment 89456

The CP5 are one of the most famous of a LONG list of wrongly convicted people in the US of violent crimes. Yes, this happens to white people too, here. See no further than Steven Avery's "rape" (fully exonerated with DNA - he wasn't even in the same county when the rape occurred, but he was a poor white) and the questionable circumstances around his murder conviction. These just don't happen to the same extent that it happens to black people.

For anyone looking to understand further, just off the top of my head here are a few things you can look to

Netflix - The Innocence Files. It's an 8 to 10 episode Limited Series that will make your skin crawl

Just Mercy - I only have read the book. There's also a movie out there. As with anything, I'm sure the book goes much deeper, and it's a relatively easy read (except for the fact it's absolutely heartbreaking)

 

[Pittsburgh Footy]

So in that case rather than "white prejudice" and all this racial focus...surely the issue is a class divide and lack of opportunities.

Zat go back to around page 50 and start reading if you're serious about learning something

 

[SerenityNigh]

"and so the police rioted"

 

[SerenityNigh]

Redirect Notice

Tragic. Violence will only ever beget more violence and with it death.

Agreed, but we must not counter police violence with violence ourselves. We must confront it and stand strong, but not return their violence.

 

[jaycee]

You are male and you are white. You are the most privileged group in society. Have you ever had your arse felt, your bra strap twanged, been told to "cheer up love", asked to change your what you are wearing because a man might get a hard on and you are distracting him, asked to resign because you got married (Civil Service 1950s). That's the male part. And that is small beer compared to what black people have to contend with.

Have you ever been pulled over by the police and thought you might die, have you been refused jobs because of the colour of your skin, have you ever been taught about your race in history lessons, have you struggled to find children's books that represent your race? It was only in the last year or so that ballet shoes were designed to match the skin tone of non white dancers.

And the most important question, as a white person would you be happy to be treated in society the way a black person is?

White privilege is a very real thing.

I got my arse grabbed once,I was honestly gobsmacked,it was a shock to say the least * by a female

 

[bignev23]

But you prove my point yet again.

This is pretty much what you say. Hitler is gassing Jews , so here in the UK we are fighting for British Jewish rights for some reason even though we aren't gassing them.

And I'm not talking about doing nothing. How about as a nation we support Americans in their cause? It has nothing to do with our country and everything to do with America. So support THEM and not make it about us, much like the kopite thread is saying that about them, we are behaving like kopites by making an American issue about us.

But I don't see anyone here fighting against racism in other countries. Apparently China is rife with racism, no-one cares about them right now. Not a single mention of that.

So how about British people support the American cause without making it about them.

I don't recall much outrage or support for the Iraqi protesters when Iraqi security forces reportedly killed close to 100 people last October..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49946325. or again this January when more where killed when a protest camp was raided.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...al-people-in-raid-on-anti-government-protests they were killed for protesting against corruption,unemployment and poor public services.

 

[Pittsburgh Footy]

I don't recall much outrage or support for the Iraqi protesters when Iraqi security forces reportedly killed close to 100 people last October..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49946325. or again this January when more where killed when a protest camp was raided.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...al-people-in-raid-on-anti-government-protests they were killed for protesting against corruption,unemployment and poor public services.

What is your point?

 

[RAFUH]

I think it's much, much more than a reaction against police brutality towards black people in America. That was merely a trigger. This is about standing up against deep-seated, institutional racism and social injustice. Unfortunately that same deep-seated, institutional racism/social injustice applies here in the UK and other countries, therefore it's as relevant to these other countries, as it is to the US.

The killing of George Floyd lit the fuse worldwide

Very much this.

Add in that the pandemic is disproportionately effecting black communities (in the US) due to the negative impacts on social determinants of health that are a product of institution racism.