Current Affairs George Floyd and Minneapolis Unrest

[Ruairi77]

Cancelled Cops and LivePD on television. Cancel culture is the worst. Alienating cops. This country will go up in flames.

cops are doing a fairly good job of alienating themselves, never mind cancelling crappy tv shows.

 

[Ruairi77]

The north had slaves too... so maybe we need to change the American flag. Tear down every building ever built because some old geezer had ties to slavery. Or said something bad. Our whole country was built around this.

there's a difference between acknowledging Americas dark history and venerating it.

 

[Lanolin]

Which Confederate flag? You know what the battle flag looks like, but that's not the genuine Confederate flag. As a baseball little leaguer in the 60's I played for a team called the 'Cannon Rebels', sponsored by a local pol named Clyde Cannon. We had that battle flag proudly displayed on the left sleeve of the jersey, as we demolished every other team in the county on the way to an undefeated season. That was about 55 years ago.

We had a pitcher that went on to get a cup of coffee with the Oakland A's. He threw about a dozen no-hitters that year.

As that flag has become the equivalent of the hakenkreuz, you get a funny feeling in the pit of your stomach. I was 12. Was I the baddie?

Well there you go then. Even I, who studied American politics at Uni, don't know anything about the flag. You can be pretty sure that it's definitely the case for the majority of the population then.

 

[RAFUH]

The north had slaves too... so maybe we need to change the American flag. Tear down every building ever built because some old geezer had ties to slavery. Or said something bad. Our whole country was built around this.

It was and slavery was/is one (if not THE) of the greatest horrors the country has committed.
But the northern states were trying to change that and the southern states weren't having it to the extent that they became enemies/traitors to the US.

And although freed, it's not like blacks in northern states were suddenly treated on par with whites.
They still aren't - which is why this thread exists in 2020.

As a country we tend to see ourselves with rose-tinted glasses much to our detriment in my opinion.

 

[Grinch]

cops are doing a fairly good job of alienating themselves, never mind cancelling crappy tv shows.

I highly disagree. For every 1 bad cop, you have 100000 good cops. I cant wait till we cancel nurses, teachers, etc...

 

[RAFUH]

Generally speaking, British people would have no idea of the relevance of the confederate flag. I was just pointing out that the poster wasn't an idiot for not previously having been aware of it's connotations; the same would apply to a pretty big proportion of the population.

Fair enough. Giving y'all more credit than deserved

 

[mezzrow]

Well there you go then. Even I, who studied American politics at Uni, don't know anything about the flag. You can be pretty sure that it's definitely the case for the majority of the population then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America

I found this picture of Cherokee Confederates (I told you this was complicated) at the link. 1903.

 

[RAFUH]

it might be a bit of a PR own goal for the BLM movement.
Unbundle the police might be a better way to put it.
The police here have a whole raft of responsibilities that could be taken up by more suitable organizations.
They aren't properly trained for all their roles.
So someone should put together a proposal of how to deconstruct the police and better provide the services that stretch them now.
The problem is the police unions are too strong making enacting change almost impossible.

Agree "defund" isn't a good word. Makes it sound like you want to not have a police force at all.

 

[Ruairi77]

I highly disagree. For every 1 bad cop, you have 100000 good cops. I cant wait till we cancel nurses, teachers, etc...

for every 10 bad cop there's 1000 good ones but they dont report the 10 bad ones so actually there's 1010 bad cops.

 

[Grinch]

for every 10 bad cop there's 1000 good ones but they dont report the 10 bad ones so actually there's 1010 bad cops.

We shall agree to disagree.

 

[Ruairi77]

I highly disagree. For every 1 bad cop, you have 100000 good cops. I cant wait till we cancel nurses, teachers, etc...

If nurses and teachers went around killing the people they are supposed to protect and serve, we'd have to have a serious conversation about what's going on in their professions too.

 

[Ruairi77]

We shall agree to disagree.

nope, a cop who doesn't report a bad cop is also a bad cop.

 

[mezzrow]

Agree "defund" isn't a good word. Makes it sound like you want to not have a police force at all.

Motte and Bailey tactics.

1. "DEFUND THE POLICE" - you want to abolish the police? That's crazy.
2. "that's not what I meant. We should move some funds to social services."

Repeat ad infinitum until you get this:

1. "DEFUND THE POLICE' - *crickets* OR "Dang straight!"
2. Say goodbye to your police, and hello to the "Seattle Autonomous Zone"

I'm convinced that these people want to see more deaths and soldiers in the streets, because they know that's what it's going to take to get Trump out. Seattle is playing out the Evergreen State College scenario on the scale of a major city. Words cannot express how much I hate to see this.

 

[mezzrow]

for every 10 bad cop there's 1000 good ones but they dont report the 10 bad ones so actually there's 1010 bad cops.

Why IS it so hard to get rid of bad cops?

If nurses and teachers went around killing the people they are supposed to protect and serve, we'd have to have a serious conversation about what's going on in their professions too.

They wouldn't have to kill anyone. They'd just let people pass through the system without any teaching or curing going on, doing just enough to make sure they keep their jobs.

I know bad teachers. I bet folks in hospitals know who the bad doctors and other professionals are as well. I bet the winners on the Everton squad know who is holding them back too. What keeps all of us from talking and making a fuss about it?

 

[Ruairi77]

Why IS it so hard to get rid of bad cops?

unions and training.