Post#10 » by threrf23 » Wed Jun 3, 2020 2:24 am
We live in a country where, relatively speaking, public officials are rarely held accountable for their actions IMO. And if they are held accountable, it is usually in the form of bad press, a lost job, and/or fallout from a civil suit...whereas if they were treated like everyday citizens, they would often be facing large jail sentences.
If we are talking police brutality, IMO the problem isn't the relatively small percentage of cops who murder citizens, harass masses, and enact racist agendas. The problem is the system that enables, supports, and defends that small percentage of officers more often than not, and then has the gall to try and defend themselves and antagonize opponents when they are accused of such a thing. This effects all races, even if minorities and poor folk tend to be more affected for various reasons.
This whole George Floyd situation is perhaps a good reminder of all this, if not also a painful reminder for many. And what happened is well documented, so it's an opportunity to prove a point. But in the grand scheme, and in the bigger picture, nothing has really changed. This is not a new issue. In principle, there is little if anything that should be done today that should not have also been done yesterday. Either people should have also been doing it yesterday, or they should not be doing it today.
Now I'm white, and came from a middle class neighborhood. I am not as affected by systemic injustice as others are. I also understand that many others are less aloof, more emotional, and more extroverted than I am. Especially given the state of the country and world at the moment, I am in no position to judge anybody that might be letting their emotions get the better of them at the moment, nor can I necessarily judge whether they are letting their emotions get the better of them.
But many people are letting their emotions get the better of them, at least to some effect. And others making scenes, causing trouble, and buying influence have agendas that have nothing to do with social justice. Combined with everything else that's been going on, it makes me want to retreat from this world for a bit (and from this sort of discussion, so I'll probably be bowing out of this thread).
If we are talking protests, it should be mentioned IMO that we're still, supposedly, in the midst of a pandemic. If we aren't all immune, if Covid isn't seasonal, there will be related fall out from the large gatherings for protest that we've been seeing. Masks only do so much, maybe they are much more effective than I (and others) realize, but generally they are recommended where social distancing is not an option, and not as a substitute for social distancing. Masks or no masks, people have to breathe in and breathe out, their breath has to go somewhere, and short of an n95 mask or something I'm pretty sure the virus can and will go anywhere air can go. Large, dense gatherings of people in the same location over long periods of time will cause spread.
Don't get me wrong, short of a cure Covid is here to stay, we all have to move on with life at some point, a prolonged shutdown is unrealistic. I'm just saying, though. It shouldn't suddenly be out of the conversation.