OT: Cops kill George Floyd

[Kampuchea]

Young lade lost her sister in the protests, was shot.

Watch on YouTube

[Kampuchea]

All lives matter guy points bow and arrow at people, gets beat and car trashed.

Watch on YouTube

Read on Twitter

He has posted violent things before, such as here to take out Obama and Clinton
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/05/31/man-with-bow-is-expected/

Here is his interview after the events

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/exclusive-interview-bow-and-arrow-man-from-slc-protests

[HarthorneWingo]

That dude is legit insane

Times like this I'm happy I got banned from Current Events for calling people bigots.

RealGM is a safe place for racist. I guess bigots “click ads too.”

@ E-balla

I got a lifetime ban from tsherkin for going off on police. Actually, he PM’d about a comment I posted on police which he didn’t agree with. So I told him to stick it. Then he banned me.

But I hear tsherkin is gone and we’re still here!

[Fat Kat]

Times like this I'm happy I got banned from Current Events for calling people bigots.

RealGM is a safe place for racist. I guess bigots “click ads too.”

@ E-balla

I got a lifetime ban from tsherkin for going off on police. Actually, he PM’d about a comment I posted on police which he didn’t agree with. So I told him to stick it. Then he banned me.

But I hear tsherkin is gone and we’re still here!

Glad that tsherkin is gone. What happened?

[E-Balla]

Times like this I'm happy I got banned from Current Events for calling people bigots.

RealGM is a safe place for racist. I guess bigots “click ads too.”

@ E-balla

I got a lifetime ban from tsherkin for going off on police. Actually, he PM’d about a comment I posted on police which he didn’t agree with. So I told him to stick it. Then he banned me.

But I hear tsherkin is gone and we’re still here!

Look at God.

[Zenzibar]

Very sad over what's going down, but hoping this unfolding tragedy will lead to the kinds of resistance that results in a stronger democracy down the road and a renaissance in this country.

Right now it looks like the pot is going to keep boiling as it should be expected to as long as Trump and police chiefs are basically gearing up to murder larger numbers of protestors. Most people want to protest peacefully, but that is getting distorted for political purposes since all Trump has got left to promote for November is this law and order BS

Several conversations I've had lately may shed some light on this situation, particularly the behavior of the police:

My nephew is a highly decorated green beret with combat experience. He now trains special forces. I asked him about Trump. He thinks he's a stupid, evil POS who has no business being in the WH and that roughly 50% of the military feels as he does. He said about 25-30% are hard core Trumpers and probably dedicated racists. About a quarter are just followers without an opinion.

Many U.S. police officers are now former military that did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't know the percentage, but it is going to be high in the 25-35 year bracket. This may be the greatest concentrated influx of ex-military filling the ranks of police forces in modern U.S. history.

We all know about the blue shield of silence. Well, that goes without saying for most ex-military as well. The brotherhood of soldiers is very intense and the highest value is keeping your unit alive and intact. The reasons you go to war, are sent on a mission, the politics of the leadership you fight for, they are all secondary to the bond forged in combat within your unit.

What I see going on is tons of ex-military in police uniforms acting out without any real regard for civil liberties and constitutional rights. Many of these guys simply don't relate to civilians any differently than they do to a random Iraqi or Afghani. It's all display force, no mercy.

And if you add on the reality of white nationalists now comprising a significant portion of the police force and what you get is complicity from other officers who may not be so inclined due to the ethos of having your fellow officer's back above all. This blue wall of silence is being compounded by the macho rough house tactics of guys coming out of war zones who act like they are fighting a horde of jihadis and not American citizens they are sworn to serve and protect.

So I think we're in a new era of police violence compounded by those factors plus the steady militarization of police forces into armies trained to fight insurgencies instead of merely keeping order.

Assuming the Democrats take back control, along with sweeping reforms they really need to deal with each police chief on a case by case basis and root out the facilitators of this mayhem in every damn city in the country. There are too many bad police chiefs unwilling to discipline their forces and they've got to go.

One encounter I had was with a neighbor who started screaming in my face and jabbing their finger at me that Biden was a pedophile. He got triggered because I said Tara Reade was completely dubious and some switch went off and he went at me. It was scary. He literally went insane. The next day he yelled at me that my boy Obama, my great black hope (yes he said that) was going down (um, yeah, Obamagate). He repeats whatever the Fox propaganda line is anyways. He said it was just the flu, then he backtracked. He said hydroxy would cure it all, then he backtracked. Anyway, I share that because Trumpland (I'm in the beating heart of it) is edgy as all fck now because they sense their fantasy world is crumbling. His violent outbursts just two weeks ago showed me they are losing it, so I expect the worst.

Another conversation I had was with my Trump friend I've written about before (life brought us together; in most other circumstances I'd have never gotten to know them since I loathe Trump so much). I agree with him on almost nothing at all other than some free speech matters where we can find common ground. But I really think he is the prototype for the high functioning (meaning he reads history books instead of watching Fox news) Trump cult member and when I get his viewpoint I'm pretty sure I'm getting a look inside the belly of beastly Trump cultism. He is clearly a white nationalist. He denies it, but I've told him what he is. He can't process it. I'm the deranged one according to him.

He actually believes Trump is the peace warrior and that Democrats have been stoking a race war for years and are now getting exactly what they want. Yeah, yeah, I know, but anyway ..... He does want the law and order response and Trump is going to at least act out these ideas for this base if not take full action (he doesn't have federal powers over governor's so it will probably be just posturing; I don't expect the Pentagon to back him).

Trump saying he wants people to be dominated and his numerous incitations to violence will likely continue as his only playbook item left is starting a war or stoking domestic chaos in the hope it draws straying Republican voters back into his voting lane because they're afraid of all those scary black people.

There is a danger he could win a squeaker on a law and order response, but I highly doubt it. I think he is going to lose even worse now because he is clearly an insane fascist with no respect for Americans and even previously duped people will see through this BS.

Overall, Trump is playing only to his remaining base now. He can't gain new followers, all he knows is the racists love him and he will appeal to their worst instincts every step of the way. Expect the worst, because he is the worst.

So, yeah, this confrontation is going to continue as long as cops keep lighting people up, police chiefs keep saying stupid crap and governors can't get the cops to respect peaceful protest.

We're seeing protestors starting to police themselves and that is very good. That needs to happen too for things to get stable while protesting and it seems it is happening now.

Dr. King and Gandhi fought with passive resistance. We need to keep that tradition alive. You can display a massive show of force without lifting a finger to harm a fly.

Please Protest Peacefully and Stay Safe everyone

VOTE!

I applaude you my Dude. Strong, from the heart post. The best I've read anywhere. No more needs to be added.

[E-Balla]

That dude is legit insane

Times like this I'm happy I got banned from Current Events for calling people bigots.

Same here lol. It’s amazing how realgm is a microcasm of the real world. Instead of taking on bigots and addressing their obvious racism, they ban the people that call them out thus never having to address the problem and continuing living in their own bubble.

They took us both off there at the same time when they shut the board down for a few days.

I guess they got tired of being called out for defending bigots while giving us warnings every time another black man got gunned down and unlike some other posters there we were the ones not stroking their egos and acknowledging the clear bad faith arguments being made because they didn't want to openly admit they just wanted us to die.

I'm still salty with every single mod there that it took lorak explicitly advocating for eugenics to get a ban, but everything he said leading to that was apparently cool.

[King of Canada]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

[Jeff Van Gully]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

how? there are too many of us. we're too individualized and reliant on individual (social media) streams. organization is a big enough challenge before the chaos. now, i don't know how you get collective messages out and effectively rally people at this point. i think your best best with organizing is still grassroots, person-to-person, in the community. kind of hard to pull that off in a lot of places now. and it requires time and strategy.

not trying to be a pessimist. trying to think through it.

[King of Canada]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

how? there are too many of us. we're too individualized and reliant on individual (social media) streams. organization is a big enough challenge before the chaos. now, i don't know how you get collective messages out and effectively rally people at this point. i think your best best with organizing is still grassroots, person-to-person, in the community. kind of hard to pull that off in a lot of places now. and it requires time and strategy.

not trying to be a pessimist. trying to think through it.

It can happen, and has to or all of this is for nothing. Leadership means building something that can last, otherwise the movement will be picked apart at the edges until it burns out.

[Pointgod]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

Don’t fall for right wing talking points and Russian propaganda. The two parties are absolutely not the same. Name me one Republican congressperson or Senator that has proposed or passed a bill to hold the police accountable.

[KnicksGadfly]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

how? there are too many of us. we're too individualized and reliant on individual (social media) streams. organization is a big enough challenge before the chaos. now, i don't know how you get collective messages out and effectively rally people at this point. i think your best best with organizing is still grassroots, person-to-person, in the community. kind of hard to pull that off in a lot of places now. and it requires time and strategy.

not trying to be a pessimist. trying to think through it.

I have a black friend who does activism for a living. One thing he's said over and over again...he looks up to the black freedom fighters in the past, but he knows what happened to them all. They died. It's not something he wants for himself, but it's the work that he does. I read an MLK biography a while back...it's not as sanitized as the history books make it. King was under a huge burden; he was hated; he had a hard time keeping the coalition together; he had so much help from capable people; he had to deal with so much politics and infighting. That was ****in insanely hard. I played video games with this guy in college. I don't want him to die. I wish I was exaggerating about his circumstances but I don't think I am.

I think the American people (and if I'm really being honest, white people) have that ability to help change things. And as a Christian, I think the church must step up. I think I have to do, too.

[Pointgod]

Biden is on live speaking right now. I suggest people watch him live instead of cherry picked clips.

[Zenzibar]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

You can't have just 1 leader. In the past they have taken off the head and the body dies. We need a headless protest, commonality in Heart and right energy. You can't kill energy.

[Zenzibar]

I'm shocked that nobody has stepped up and taken a leadership position. Somebody in a position of influence needs to step up and unify all of the protesters, whether it's a politician, celebrity, athlete, or really anybody that can capture national attention.

I don't have much hope that this is going to get better anytime soon or have any actual lasting impact on America as long as your political system remains the same. It's so ridiculous that one person has this much power, and just as ridiculous that America has to pick between two political parties that are going to have their own interest at heart 100% of the time over the good of the population.

how? there are too many of us. we're too individualized and reliant on individual (social media) streams. organization is a big enough challenge before the chaos. now, i don't know how you get collective messages out and effectively rally people at this point. i think your best best with organizing is still grassroots, person-to-person, in the community. kind of hard to pull that off in a lot of places now. and it requires time and strategy.

not trying to be a pessimist. trying to think through it.

I have a black friend who does activism for a living. One thing he's said over and over again...he looks up to the black freedom fighters in the past, but he knows what happened to them all. They died. It's not something he wants for himself, but it's the work that he does. I read an MLK biography a while back...it's not as sanitized as the history books make it. King was under a huge burden; he was hated; he had a hard time keeping the coalition together; he had so much help from capable people; he had to deal with so much politics and infighting. That was ****in insanely hard. I played video games with this guy in college. I don't want him to die. I wish I was exaggerating about his circumstances but I don't think I am.

I think the American people (and if I'm really being honest, white people) have that ability to help change things. And as a Christian, I think the church must step up. I think I have to do, too.

Well said.

For a non-black or non-hispanic or non-native American, it's equivalent to having an abusive parent growing up. A drunk Dad who gets violent when he comes home. Or a Mom with emotional issues that explodes on her kids whenever she's stressing and getting slapped for just asking for milk.

Too much, too long the abuse in America is nuts but the norm.

[Zenzibar]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

This is a setup folks. Wake the fk up. Stay strong, stay peaceful. Don't allow outsiders or insiders fall for it.

[Zenzibar]

Read on Twitter

[Blockwatcher]

how? there are too many of us. we're too individualized and reliant on individual (social media) streams. organization is a big enough challenge before the chaos. now, i don't know how you get collective messages out and effectively rally people at this point. i think your best best with organizing is still grassroots, person-to-person, in the community. kind of hard to pull that off in a lot of places now. and it requires time and strategy.

not trying to be a pessimist. trying to think through it.

I have a black friend who does activism for a living. One thing he's said over and over again...he looks up to the black freedom fighters in the past, but he knows what happened to them all. They died. It's not something he wants for himself, but it's the work that he does. I read an MLK biography a while back...it's not as sanitized as the history books make it. King was under a huge burden; he was hated; he had a hard time keeping the coalition together; he had so much help from capable people; he had to deal with so much politics and infighting. That was ****in insanely hard. I played video games with this guy in college. I don't want him to die. I wish I was exaggerating about his circumstances but I don't think I am.

I think the American people (and if I'm really being honest, white people) have that ability to help change things. And as a Christian, I think the church must step up. I think I have to do, too.

Well said.

For a non-black or non-hispanic or non-native American, it's equivalent to having an abusive parent growing up. A drunk Dad who gets violent when he comes home. Or a Mom with emotional issues that explodes on her kids whenever she's stressing and getting slapped for just asking for milk.

Too much, too long the abuse in America is nuts but the norm.

The church should be the one stepping up, its probably the only entity large enough and trusted enough to unify across party lines. So what do we do? Contact our pastors and tell them to reach out to other pastors across the region. But pastors were scared of putting people in danger of covid at church, would they be willing to put people in the line of fire at protests?

[frothbrain]

not many stores left to hit. residences next

[Jeff Van Gully]

I have a black friend who does activism for a living. One thing he's said over and over again...he looks up to the black freedom fighters in the past, but he knows what happened to them all. They died. It's not something he wants for himself, but it's the work that he does. I read an MLK biography a while back...it's not as sanitized as the history books make it. King was under a huge burden; he was hated; he had a hard time keeping the coalition together; he had so much help from capable people; he had to deal with so much politics and infighting. That was ****in insanely hard. I played video games with this guy in college. I don't want him to die. I wish I was exaggerating about his circumstances but I don't think I am.

I think the American people (and if I'm really being honest, white people) have that ability to help change things. And as a Christian, I think the church must step up. I think I have to do, too.

Well said.

For a non-black or non-hispanic or non-native American, it's equivalent to having an abusive parent growing up. A drunk Dad who gets violent when he comes home. Or a Mom with emotional issues that explodes on her kids whenever she's stressing and getting slapped for just asking for milk.

Too much, too long the abuse in America is nuts but the norm.

The church should be the one stepping up, its probably the only entity large enough and trusted enough to unify across party lines. So what do we do? Contact our pastors and tell them to reach out to other pastors across the region. But pastors were scared of putting people in danger of covid at church, would they be willing to put people in the line of fire at protests?

thank you all (including KOC) for coming together to talk about action plans.