Just Sad, "Chicago sees deadliest Memorial Day weekend in four years"

[bullsnewdynasty]

They haven't just 'happened before'. They've been part of nearly every significant social movement in this country, going back to the founders. I wish that it didn't have to be that way, but wishing doesn't make it so.

Which will continue to divide the country, because people don't think the same way you do.

Lots of people don't like riots. As in, the vast majority of the country.

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nothing to do with George Floyd.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Which will continue to divide the country, because people don't think the same way you do.

Lots of people don't like riots. As in, the vast majority of the country.

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nothing to do with George Floyd.

Stop ignoring 400 years of history.

[bullsnewdynasty]

Yeah, I can tell this isn't going to be very productive anymore, so let's leave it alone.

[DuckIII]

Which will continue to divide the country, because people don't think the same way you do.

Lots of people don't like riots. As in, the vast majority of the country.

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nothing to do with George Floyd.

No one is “defending” violence and looting. He’s explaining the dynamics, not cheerleading.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Yeah, I can tell this isn't going to be very productive anymore, so let's leave it alone.

Right on.

[nitetrain8603]

Which will continue to divide the country, because people don't think the same way you do.

Lots of people don't like riots. As in, the vast majority of the country.

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nothing to do with George Floyd.

Riots and looting are two different things. I ask that people look at the mom and pop shops and realize, you're tearing everything away from them. I ask those same people to look at their sick relative and think, "If i destory this, where will they get their medicine", then ask themselves "will my actions have an adverse effect" such as CPS shutting down their meal program that so many people depend on.

Looting isn't protesting. It's stealing and taking advantage under the guise of a premise that you honestly don't care for.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nothing to do with George Floyd.

Riots and looting are two different things. I ask that people look at the mom and pop shops and realize, you're tearing everything away from them. I ask those same people to look at their sick relative and think, "If i destory this, where will they get their medicine", then ask themselves "will my actions have an adverse effect" such as CPS shutting down their meal program that so many people depend on.

Looting isn't protesting. It's stealing and taking advantage under the guise of a premise that you honestly don't care for.

I actually think in many cases (though not all) looting is deeper than pure opportunism. I don't know that it's appropriate for me to condone it or condemn it. But I try to understand it.

Reposting an excerpt from an MLK speech (September 1967) I shared a few pages back.

Urban riots must now be recognized as durable social phenomena. They may be deplored, but they are there and should be understood. Urban riots are a special form of violence. They are not insurrections. The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions. They are mainly intended to shock the white community. They are a distorted form of social protest. The looting which is their principal feature serves many functions. It enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse. Often the Negro does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking. But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights.

Here's the whole thing if you care to read it: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/what-martin-luther-king-thought-about-urban-riots/

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Jesus. Trump just announced he's deploying the military to NYC, CHI, DC, ATL, Minneapolis and LA, apparently.

[Dominator83]

'Liking' riots isn't the point. They're about the powerless jolting people awake. You may not like what you see, but you can't ignore it.

Sure, lots of people get upset. But others get radicalized.

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nqothing to do with George Floyd.

Stop ignoring 400 years of history.

People now have nothing to do with what happened 400 years ago. Nobody currently walking this earth was around even 100 years ago.

And all the looting and destroying of businesses serves nobody but the looters themselves. You think they're doing black people a service? You don't think black people have jobs at these places? Or even own some of these places? Like, not every black person just sits at home, collects a government check, and commits crimes all day. Many have jobs to go to, many of which was already curtailed by the virus. And just as were about to start trying to get people back to work and back to collecting pay checks, people start pulling this crap. Further ruining an already bad economy serves nobody.

Ignorance is bliss man. That's why society will only get worse not better

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nqothing to do with George Floyd.

Stop ignoring 400 years of history.

People now have nothing to do with what happened 400 years ago. Nobody currently walking this earth was around even 100 years ago.

And all the looting and destroying of businesses serves nobody but the looters themselves. You think they're doing black people a service? You don't think black people have jobs at these places? Or even own some of these places? Like, not every black person just sits at home, collects a government check, and commits crimes all day. Many have jobs to go to, many of which was already curtailed by the virus. And just as were about to start trying to get people back to work and back to collecting pay checks, people start pulling this crap. Further ruining an already bad economy serves nobody.

People who've lived through historical riots still sit in Congress. We're not talking about ancient history.

I don't know what to say to the second paragraph that I haven't said already.

[Dominator83]

Stop ignoring 400 years of history.

People now have nothing to do with what happened 400 years ago. Nobody currently walking this earth was around even 100 years ago.

And all the looting and destroying of businesses serves nobody but the looters themselves. You think they're doing black people a service? You don't think black people have jobs at these places? Or even own some of these places? Like, not every black person just sits at home, collects a government check, and commits crimes all day. Many have jobs to go to, many of which was already curtailed by the virus. And just as were about to start trying to get people back to work and back to collecting pay checks, people start pulling this crap. Further ruining an already bad economy serves nobody.

People who've lived through historical riots still sit in Congress. We're not talking about ancient history.

I don't know what to say to the second paragraph that I haven't said already.

I could be misunderstanding you and if so I apologize for that. I just see little to no mention at all about how much worse this is going to further unemploy people, many of which are indeed black. I mean ****, it's one thing to loot some targets and wal-marts. The way they've cornered the retail market is a huge part of the problem in the 1st place. Plus they'll be fine. But destroying neighborhood businesses which can permanently go away along with the jobs that come with them, is beyond stupid it's unfathomable.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

People now have nothing to do with what happened 400 years ago. Nobody currently walking this earth was around even 100 years ago.

And all the looting and destroying of businesses serves nobody but the looters themselves. You think they're doing black people a service? You don't think black people have jobs at these places? Or even own some of these places? Like, not every black person just sits at home, collects a government check, and commits crimes all day. Many have jobs to go to, many of which was already curtailed by the virus. And just as were about to start trying to get people back to work and back to collecting pay checks, people start pulling this crap. Further ruining an already bad economy serves nobody.

People who've lived through historical riots still sit in Congress. We're not talking about ancient history.

I don't know what to say to the second paragraph that I haven't said already.

I could be misunderstanding you and if so I apologize for that. I just see little to no mention at all about how much worse this is going to further unemploy people, many of which are indeed black. I mean ****, it's one thing to loot some targets and wal-marts. The way they've cornered the retail market is a huge part of the problem in the 1st place. Plus they'll be fine. But destroying neighborhood businesses which can permanently go away along with the jobs that come with them, is beyond stupid it's unfathomable.

People are feeling those losses for sure. No one I know takes it lightly. But I think many would say that there are bigger fish to fry than unemployment and property damage to local businesses. We've reached a tipping point in this country. That much seems clear.

[Fantastik_Goat]

The president of the United States just had the police attack a peaceful protest with chemical weapons and rubber bullets to clear a path for him to walk across the street for a photo-op.
That just happened. I watched it on tv.

[dice]

you're certainly correct that athletes are more comfortable speaking out across the board. i'd love to see some Q rating data or whatever that suggests it's profitable though. tiger woods, for example, one of the most public image conscious athletes around, still plays things very close to the vest in terms of social issues. perhaps that's because he's in a white dominated sport, though

Sport definitely seems to matter. Think of Kaepernick and the NFL vs the anyone and the NBA as well.

a few other thoughts i had:

1) pro athletes in the major sports make exponentially more money than they did a few decades ago. i don't know if that makes the lebron jameses of the world more likely to protect their "brand" or feel more freedom to speak their minds because any backlash won't meaningfully change their lives. depends on the individual, i guess

2) colin kaepernick's estimated net worth is $20 mil. after earning $43 mil in salary as a player. it certainly didn't benefit him to speak out. including the avalanche of criticism. and he couldn't possibly have thought that kneeling during the national anthem would have blown up into what it did. so anybody who suggests he did what he did for personal benefit isn't making sense on multiple levels. it gives him an awful lot of credit, actually. because while i appreciate his stance, he frankly doesn't strike me as the brightest guy

3) lebron called the president a bum on social media (which i can't imagine is good for his brand). social media didn't exist decades ago. having a microphone in front of you is very different than being alone with your phone. there are a lot more people saying a lot more things that end up in the public sphere, often not well thought out

4) i don't recall there being as many prominent social justice groups being around even a decade ago, let alone in the late 20th century. they allow people to speak out to attach themselves to something and partially shield themselves from being singled out. maybe if craig hodges had a black lives matter to support rather than louis farrakhan, he would have lasted longer in the league

[dice]

the whole foods in lincoln park (an affluent, very white neighborhood on the north side) had to close today due to someone attempting to break their window with a rock. they had a couple of employees politely turning people away, though (one of whom is one of their few black employees - wonder if that was strategic). whereas the target store is completely boarded up with no employees nor signs explaining the situation. i assume that they will attempt to reopen quietly in the coming days

also a large protest in the center of the neighborhood where there are bars that depaul students frequent. i happened to see it from a block away on my daily walk. maybe should have checked it out up close to see how many people there were

[dougthonus]

1) pro athletes in the major sports make exponentially more money than they did a few decades ago. i don't know if that makes the lebron jameses of the world more likely to protect their "brand" or feel more freedom to speak their minds because any backlash won't meaningfully change their lives. depends on the individual, i guess

Agreed. Some will want even more, some will feel more freedom.

2) colin kaepernick's estimated net worth is $20 mil. after earning $43 mil in salary as a player. it certainly didn't benefit him to speak out. including the avalanche of criticism. and he couldn't possibly have thought that kneeling during the national anthem would have blown up into what it did. so anybody who suggests he did what he did for personal benefit isn't making sense on multiple levels. it gives him an awful lot of credit, actually. because while i appreciate his stance, he frankly doesn't strike me as the brightest guy

Hard to say. 43M as a player in salary? That means his take home was probably 26M. To have most of that left still seems like he's done okay. He had only a very brief stretch as a marketable player anyway. I think he would likely have 5-10M more if he hadn't done this. I do think he was blackballed for it. He also did seem to get at least some sponsorship for doing it too though, but probably not as much as he lost.

3) lebron called the president a bum on social media (which i can't imagine is good for his brand). social media didn't exist decades ago. having a microphone in front of you is very different than being alone with your phone. there are a lot more people saying a lot more things that end up in the public sphere, often not well thought out

I would imagine its great for his brand. I would imagine the vast majority of his market are not Trump supporters. You could stay neutral as Jordan, but I don't think it hurts you even a little bit to be anti-Trump as an NBA player.

4) i don't recall there being as many prominent social justice groups being around even a decade ago, let alone in the late 20th century. they allow people to speak out to attach themselves to something and partially shield themselves from being singled out. maybe if craig hodges had a black lives matter to support rather than louis farrakhan, he would have lasted longer in the league

I don't know, different groups have been around for as long as I can remember. The causes of prominence change as times change of course.

[dice]

Stop defending disgusting, criminal behavior that has nqothing to do with George Floyd.

Stop ignoring 400 years of history.

People now have nothing to do with what happened 400 years ago. Nobody currently walking this earth was around even 100 years ago.

the black community in america is still worse off than other communities because of what happened 400 years ago. make no mistake about it. it took 250 of those years before slavery was even abolished (WHITE culture in the south hasn't gotten over it to this day, let alone the black community). it took another hundred to secure nominally equal rights. there will probably still be residual effects 400 years from NOW. MLK said that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice. i see racial justice as an asymptote. not sure where we are along the curve, but we'll probably never quite get there unless unexpected and drastic measure are undertaken



unfortunately, the fight for true equality and the healing of wounds is a process that takes a long, long time. and then the scars remain as a reminder

[PaKii94]

This is where I stand on all of this. It's sad that small businesses/regular people are the ones that will have to face the brunt of the destruction

[Dresden]

I heard a comment on the radio today that I liked. Someone was asking if the protestors are to blame for all the destruction and violence that has erupted, and the radio host replied that really, it's our whole society that is to blame. I think that's true. You can't just blame the protestors for this. It's just as much the fault of that policeman who killed Floyd. Or his fellow officers who did nothing to prevent it. Or the police force that failed to properly discipline him the other times complaints were filed against him. Or the police union that stood behind him. Or the citizen's review board in MN that failed in their duties to oversee the police force. O the federal agency that had recommended changes be made in the MN police force, yet did nothing to follow up when their mandates were ignored. And on and on. It's the system we've been living in, and have let go on despite numerous warnings that things like this were happening. We didn't act fast enough, or strongly enough to address the problems, and as a result, we now have this on our hands.

[dice]

2) colin kaepernick's estimated net worth is $20 mil. after earning $43 mil in salary as a player. it certainly didn't benefit him to speak out. including the avalanche of criticism. and he couldn't possibly have thought that kneeling during the national anthem would have blown up into what it did. so anybody who suggests he did what he did for personal benefit isn't making sense on multiple levels. it gives him an awful lot of credit, actually. because while i appreciate his stance, he frankly doesn't strike me as the brightest guy

Hard to say. 43M as a player in salary? That means his take home was probably 26M.

and that's before his agent and others working for him take their cut. and possible some of the extravagent spending that rich athletes tend to engage in. also he's given quite a bit to charity

To have most of that left still seems like he's done okay. He had only a very brief stretch as a marketable player anyway. I think he would likely have 5-10M more if he hadn't done this. I do think he was blackballed for it. He also did seem to get at least some sponsorship for doing it too though, but probably not as much as he lost.

maybe he'd have a bit more money, maybe he wouldn't. regardless, his actions surely weren't with financial benefit in mind

blackballed is a very specific term that suggests some kind of collusion, which i certainly don't think happened. it seems pretty clear that in the first year or two he simply wasn't considered a good enough player to warrant the distraction and possible boycotts that would come with having him on the roster. and at this point nobody could reasonably expect him to even play at an nfl backup level. that public workout he had a while back was clearly for show

3) lebron called the president a bum on social media (which i can't imagine is good for his brand). social media didn't exist decades ago. having a microphone in front of you is very different than being alone with your phone. there are a lot more people saying a lot more things that end up in the public sphere, often not well thought out

I would imagine its great for his brand. I would imagine the vast majority of his market are not Trump supporters. You could stay neutral as Jordan, but I don't think it hurts you even a little bit to be anti-Trump as an NBA player.

think of the racial makeup at nba games. countless white people across america buy lebron jerseys, many of whom are indeed trump supporters. i think that a lot more people would NOT buy his merch because of his political stance than would buy it simply because of what he speaks out about

if my favorite athlete took a stance that offended me, maybe i wouldn't be a fan anymore. whereas if an athlete that i didn't care about said something that i liked, it's very unlikely i'd become a fan based on that alone. there are exceptions certainly. for example, i occasionally see someone in chicago with a kaepernick jersey, which i can't imagine would be the case if he was still known for football

4) i don't recall there being as many prominent social justice groups being around even a decade ago, let alone in the late 20th century. they allow people to speak out to attach themselves to something and partially shield themselves from being singled out. maybe if craig hodges had a black lives matter to support rather than louis farrakhan, he would have lasted longer in the league

I don't know, different groups have been around for as long as I can remember. The causes of prominence change as times change of course.

i remember malcolm x hats being briefly in fashion amongst athletes when spike lee's movie about him came out. but nothing along the lines of black live matter or 'i can't breathe'



guess the fashion statement and the fact that it was his buddy's movie outweighed the political aspect for MJ!