Current Affairs George Floyd and Minneapolis Unrest

[ForeverBlue92]

No not necessarily. Its been that way for decades but there was always room for the middle ground. Hence why you had relatively sensible people like John McCain for example.

The problem has been the increasing prominence of extremes. For example, you're either a full on left wing socialist or a Tory - you can't be centre left Labour, because that's not "real" Labour; your just pretending - a red Tory.

Similarly, you can't just believe trans women are trans women and not biological women, because that's makes you "transphobic" - you either accept they are definitely women because they chose to be one or you are a bigot.

There's absolutely no middle ground on anything.

Spot on - worlds becoming a scary place.

Glad im not gonna be around forever!

 

[Tubey]

If you have two extremes pulling you in either direction, you will stay in the middle. I don’t think the two party system was originally meant to be this way, but it evolved over time into establishment turds getting blocked by Congress and nothing every really gets done. In some ways it’s good to have checks and balances, but you have to accept that both sides are designed to disagree on just about anything.

No that's not how it works mate. Two extremes pulling means the middle gets stretched thin and too many people are forced to choose an extreme or stay silent.

Compromise between two opposite views was the way in the past - so "legalise marijuana" became "well, we'll legalise it medically and see how it goes" as one example. But how do you compromise with "defund the police", "tear every statue down that has the slightest connection with slavery", "deport all Mexicans", "biological sex doesn't exist" and so on? It's just ridiculous.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

No that's not how it works mate. Two extremes pulling means the middle gets stretched thin and too many people are forced to choose an extreme or stay silent.

Compromise between two opposite views was the way in the past - so "legalise marijuana" became "well, we'll legalise it medically and see how it goes" as one example. But how do you compromise with "defund the police", "tear every statue down that has the slightest connection with slavery", "deport all Mexicans", "biological sex doesn't exist" and so on? It's just ridiculous.

That’s a big part of the reason why the majority are silent ala in the middle. Most have no enthusiasm for politics because you can’t reason or negotiate with people that are already heavily indoctrinated. It’s a power hungry loud minority that has hijacked the movement and they hide under the monikers ‘anti-racist’ and ‘anti-fascist.’

 

[Tubey]

That’s a big part of the reason why the majority are silent ala in the middle. Most have no enthusiasm for politics because you can’t reason or negotiate with people that are already heavily indoctrinated. It’s a power hungry loud minority that has hijacked the movement and they hide under the monikers ‘anti-racist’ and ‘anti-fascist.’

Spot on, and why I said there's a leadership void in Western democracy. Because in the past decent leadership would have read the mood of the country instead of the minority on Twitter. Instead, a good 90% of people are shaking their heads silently in disbelief at the state of things.

 

[zzr45]

Spot on, and why I said there's a leadership void in Western democracy. Because in the past decent leadership would have read the mood of the country instead of the minority on Twitter. Instead, a good 90% of people are shaking their heads silently in disbelief at the state of things.

It's bizarre really, the vocal minority really are dictating the way the world works. The problem is that there's such a disconnect between how they think and the population thinks, but the lazy researcher can now just jump on Twitter for a feel on how the 'world' is feeling.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

It's bizarre really, the vocal minority really are dictating the way the world works. The problem is that there's such a disconnect between how they think and the population thinks, but the lazy researcher can now just jump on Twitter for a feel on how the 'world' is feeling.

One example is to look at how quickly advertisers will pull the trigger on something (show, podcast, commercial, etc.) over an arbitrary complaint they receive from @Fredxd69lol. It’s lazy indeed

 

[sdk]

I just dont see why fat ignorant white Mericans walking on a road with assault rifles is seen as a normal or good thing.

The clip I posted isn't your garden variety group of white people done up militia style with all the guns and gear, but rather a rarer sight: a group of black people done up militia style with all the guns and gear. They're in Stone Mountain, Georgia, apparently counter-protesting a protest by a bunch of MAGA folk.

(Stone Mountain is the sight of a giant Confederate memorial; huge depictions of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Generals Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson are carved into the cliff face. Like most of the Confederate memorials in the USA, it was begun long after the end of the Civil War. It was started by the guy who'd go on to do Mt Rushmore but remained unfinished until the mid-1960s, the state having stepped in in the late 1950s to have it completed just as, and presumably as a reaction to, the Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs Board of Education put an end to legal segregation. As you may imagine, Stone Mountain tends to be a flashpoint in debates over the appropriateness of honoring the domestic insurrectionists who made war against the USA in order to continue holding people as slaves.)

 

[sdk]

People don't realise it yet but race relations are in the toilet and all progress made over decades has been flushed away.

You're calling people out for extremism yet look at what you're saying.

Race relations in the USA are bad but they aren't nearly as bad as they've been. When they were really bad they were uncontested. People typically don't like confronting race issues and that facilitates the continuance of systemic racism. I trust that for all the spectacle and stupidity accompanying current events, a lot of people who haven't had to think about racism in my society are presently giving it serious attention and trying to understand how we got here. As a historically minded person, I think that's a good and necessary thing.

 

[Shevin Keedy]

You're calling people out for extremism yet look at what you're saying.

Race relations in the USA are bad but they aren't nearly as bad as they've been. When they were really bad they were uncontested. People typically don't like confronting race issues and that facilitates the continuance of systemic racism. I trust that for all the spectacle and stupidity accompanying current events, a lot of people who haven't had to think about racism in my society are presently giving it serious attention and trying to understand how we got here. As a historically minded person, I think that's a good and necessary thing.

That is a good post.

 

[Ruairi77]

there are serious problems in the NYPD
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/14/nyregion/nypd-george-floyd-protests.html#g-top

 

[MarcAllen]

there are serious problems in the NYPD
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/14/nyregion/nypd-george-floyd-protests.html#g-top

It's what happens when a union gets out of control and effectively controls both the police commissioner and mayor.

The NYPD have always been treated like heros and gods by many. They can do no wrong. Especually given how many TV shows about them and how popular those shows are. They are probably the most recognized police force on the planet.

Sickening behavior by them.

 

[riddick]

It's what happens when a union gets out of control and effectively controls both the police commissioner and mayor.

The NYPD have always been treated like heros and gods by many. They can do no wrong. Especually given how many TV shows about them and how popular those shows are. They are probably the most recognized police force on the planet.

Sickening behavior by them.

9/11 completely made them in to heroes no matter what happened. Guiliani and his policies genuinely did clean up the city massively but it was totally a racist agenda. I have 2 family members who retired from the NYPD and myself and 2 other cousins got in to a relatively calm discussion about how weed really isn't that bad especially when both my mother and his mother were going through some terrible stuff that weed would have helped out with massively. He went all alpha on it saying how we know nothing of the world or etcetc. You just have to give up on people sometimes..

 

[summerisle]

 

[TheBigIguana]

9/11 completely made them in to heroes no matter what happened. Guiliani and his policies genuinely did clean up the city massively but it was totally a racist agenda. I have 2 family members who retired from the NYPD and myself and 2 other cousins got in to a relatively calm discussion about how weed really isn't that bad especially when both my mother and his mother were going through some terrible stuff that weed would have helped out with massively. He went all alpha on it saying how we know nothing of the world or etcetc. You just have to give up on people sometimes..

My family's go to is that I'm always out of touch with reality. There's really nothing to say at that point if me telling you facts is not within what you describe as reality. It's a shame.

 

[longers]