-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Protests happening in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge right now
- Thread starter GK86
- Start date
- Status
I have no idea who the Punisher is, let me see..
"The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his war on crime."
Welp! GG using that as a symbol. Holy shit!
EdibleKnife
Member
Yep. Not a single ounce of irony in their minds either. They sincerely identify with him.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
I guess I have mixed feelings about the protest today. On the one hand, it isn't very safe and makes it impossible for anyone to get anywhere, and irritates a lot of people. On the other hand, it's hard to get their message into the faces of everyone by staying out of the way and contained somewhere. I mean, I guess most people I know complaining about the delay never even have to think about the group because it doesn't affect them, and now it does. It was the same way with MoA. People were more upset that their shopping day was upset, but where would a good place be to protest that actually gets people's attention?
well... then you have ones like this.
south memphis police officer posted that to his snapchat. and "suspended"... meaning he will still be on the street as an officer!
America is just too PC and hates cops.
/s
And a Punisher logo? You own the night? Who the fuck are these guys?
The people today had signs that read 'disband the police' and it was almost exclusively white people. very odd.
Watching Donald Duck and Popeye play African Dodger is so fucking childhood ruining.
Why should they care if it irritates people? The whole point of protesting is to make people notice your cause, it doesnt matter if they get irritated or not. If protesters cared about that shit then the Civil Rights Movement never would have been successful.
OriginofHysteria
Banned
If they're gonna use Comic book personas, at least use Batman. At least he theoretically doesn't kill people and if he does, it's by 'accident'
And white allies continue to be tone deaf to what the majority of BLM stands for. They want criminal justice reform, not the police to be completely disbanded. They want justice for the thousands of lives that get harassed, beaten, or even killed because some cops can't resist beating down minorities and get hand waving phony trials and paid vacations afterwards.
FUBAR McDangles
Member
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
I don't understand these people that are doing this during the weekdays...don't they need to get to work too? Are they taking time off to protest during the workday? I also saw a Twitter saying that Black lives > white convenience. Pretty sure it's not only white people's convenience that you're disrupting (also, since when did this become a black vs white thing?).
Black people are dying, I don't think they give a shit if people, white black or whatever, can't make into work. Why is this such a hard notion to understand?
EdibleKnife
Member
The people out there have their lives and the lives of the people they love at stake. Some of those people have lost friends or family to the very thing their struggling against. To them, it's more than worth it to spare some days off of work. And it was a black v white thing when black people have consistently been underfoot in this country and have had to deal with these exact problems, where as only some white people have sympathized with the movement while the others invented All Lives Matter; an apathy that is not original in US history
That's the other thing I noticed from the pictures. It was very weird. Could you technically even classify this as BLM? There isn't really any central hierarchy so any group can basically claim to be apart of those protests.
EDIT: Supposedly a statement by Black Lives Matter Minneapolis (again, not really a central structure) claims it wasn't them but white and non-black allies acting in solidarity with BLM? So I don't know if this is really a "Black Lives Matter protest" as an ally situation acting independently. I'm not trying to belittle it, just trying to understand it more. Various news outlets either don't mention BLM or mention the group as solely BLM without calling it the "Wake Your Ass Up" coalition, so I don't really know between the lines here.
EdibleKnife
Member
BLM as a phrase was invented in response to George Zimmerman's murder of Trayvon Martin and subsequent acquittal. These particular protests were done by BLM chapters in response to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. 2 black men again killed unfairly due to police brutality. These are the events that spur on the protests and thus classify them as BLM protests.
SecretMoblin
Member
The statement (posted above) is ostensibly from the "Coalition to Wake Your Ass Up" but their contact person is Oluchi Omeoga from BLM Mpls, so I guess technically it was a BLM affiliate. Group affiliation is necessarily fluid and tough to nail down. Local media is calling them BLM sympathizers.
41 arrests this morning.
MNDOT camera shot gathered by the Strib, this is right near the University of Minnesota, just north of downtown:
Hickbilly Deluxe
Banned
Im surprised people dont just force their way through. Its not like they are all chained to the bridge itself.
Most people don't want to risk a murder or manslaughter charge for trying to run someone over to get to work.
Okay that clarifies it a bit, thanks.
I'd also like to add most of them, no matter how annoyed they are that they're late to work, would never go as far as to kill someone over it. Beat up, sure. But kill? Not likely. The reality that someone's death in your own hands is a disgusting and terrify thought and burden to most humans.
Hitting someone with a car is classified as assault with a deadly weapon, and your only two real ways to get out of that is to prove that you did it out of self defense or that it was unintentional to hit someone.. so unless you can say they were going to pull you out of your car, or that they ran into the road before you could brake, you're getting charged.
you're surprised people dont run them over?
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Are these not real people to you?
kopitarrulez_11
Member
We're you stuck in it fubar?
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
I need to get to work. I'm an hourly contractor and if I don't work, I don't get paid. There are many others like me and shutting down highways is obnoxious and is more likely to anger people than to afford their sympathy. Picket the capital building, malls, public attractions; fine, but stay off the highways. Do this not only for your safety, but for the safety of others. It only takes one crazed lunatic to say F it and just drive right on through.
I guess I'm de-sensitized as I live in a fairly affluent, non-black area. We have plenty of Indian and Somalians in our neighborhood, but we all commingle and blend together nicely. I really hope we can all come to some sort of resolution, and fast. All lives (black, white, blue, purple, whatever) matter.
Captin Quacker
Member
This is a really long post for you to basically say you don't give a fuck about black people's issues.
ArchedThunder
Banned
Poor you.
With you saying you're desensitized it sounds like you don't much care for the unjust murders of black men, women and children.
Pitiful. With an All Lives Matter comment to boot too. Not with what you said they don't.
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
Did you read it? I have to work to support my family. Empathy is hard to come by on NG, apparently. I feel for the struggle of everyone and hope all people on this Earth can coexist.
TestOfTide
Banned
Apparently to you black lives are less important to you than your money. If a highway protest actually made you late, your boss would know about the traffic and thus know he can't fire you for being late the same reason they can't fire you if a major accident made you late to work.
Numerous Civil Rights protests from the 60s involved the same damn thing.
If you actually cared you wouldn't be doing this "let's focus on everyone instead of the people being affected" bullshot.
EdibleKnife
Member
Cool. You need to get to work. These people need to survive. That's just the long and short of it. They consider this fight something that matters more than the every day drudgery. And there have been protests at places beyond just highways. There have been protests at capitol buildings and schools and in front of police stations. This has been going on for years (let alone decades including what black people had to go through to gain equal rights) and it will continue until something changes. They aren't stupid. They are well aware of the risks of marching where they march because it only takes one maniac to run over and slaughter them. What they're fighting for is worth the risk. By the way, if you've watched the same videos of black men, women and children dying at the hands of cops and seen the news of these cops getting excused for such negligent unprofessional policing and somehow a day of blocked traffic is enough to make you drop your support, you were never an ally in the first place. Period.
Black men and women want to be able to work and support their families too without being murdered for the color of their skin by corrupt, racist cops.
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
Desensitized was a poor choice of wording, my apologies. I'm...segregated, from it? Sorry, I'm at a loss for words right now. I feel this thread is becoming a bit hostile. So you don't think that all lives matter?
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
Glad we came to an agreement. We all want to live, work, and exist in a world without hate, murder, and violence against each other. I could not agree more.
Mammoth Jones
Member
Not a fan of shutting down highways for people trying to get to and from and shit. Blocking traffic isn't going to stop racism or galvanize people to a cause. It'll just make turn neutral folk and potential allies off.
Having that view doesn't mean someone doesn't care about the issues that a group engaging in such an activity is trying to bring up. That being said the real solution is to start dealing with racism so people don't feel the need to block traffic to begin with.
Thankfully the ranges I go to have a policy forbidding using human images/pictures as target practice. Just generic silhouettes.
Having that view doesn't mean someone doesn't care about the issues that a group engaging in such an activity is trying to bring up. That being said the real solution is to start dealing with racism so people don't feel the need to block traffic to begin with.
Thankfully the ranges I go to have a policy forbidding using human images/pictures as target practice. Just generic silhouettes.
TestOfTide
Banned
Why do you keep focusing on "all lives" instead of the lives that are getting murdered?
What do you mean "against each other"? White people are being killed by institutional racism.
Jmanunknown
Member
Of course all lives matter in theoretically but only people who look to minimize black lives matter use all lives matter. If all lives truly mattered than their would be no need for a black lives matter movement but in reality that is not the case.
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
I didn't realize this verbiage was being construed this way, sorry about that. Black lives matter. Period. Fight the good fight friends and stay safe!
My apologies if I came off as hostile, but yes, I do believe they matter. It's just that to many, black lives don't, and the point of the slogan and movement is to raise awareness of the racist, unlawful treatment and murders by law enforcement+the justice system of black communities. Their end goal is criminal justice and racial reform, whether through peaceful or disruptive means.
As I mentioned, many of the deceased had families too, that loved them and that they took care of before a bigoted cop came along and ended their lives, even after complying with an officer's orders.
Jmanunknown
Member
Its ok if you really did not understand but I see your frustration your just trying to get to work. It sucks that things are this way. I am sure a lot of people especially the people protesting wish all lives truly mattered then the country would not have to be going through all this turmoil.
All Lives but Black Lives have mattered for decades and that's the issue, Black Lives still don't matter today. As a white man your life is inherently be more worthwhile in media, in the work force, and so on and so forth.
I dont know it seemed to get the point across and work the last time they did it.
The Bus boycotts alone managed to sink at least 7 bus companies within a month.
Disruptive protests are for a reason, they are meant to cause disorder to an unjust system by means of peaceful protest.
EvilEvoVIII
Banned
No worries, it's good to have this forum to voice our understandings. I'm definetely learning a lot about this and I'm better for it. At this point, government needs to step in and take action. BLM is doing their part, it's time for government to setup up to the plate and take action.
- These officers need to be sanctioned and justice given to them to provide a precedence, that these actions will not be tolerated.
- More training needs to be given to all officers to allow them to know when to resort to their firearm (it's not your first tool to use).
- Screening needs to be done to weed out bigoted officers who obviously have their own agenda.
- And of course, more public awareness of all of this needs to be spread among the masses.
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
EvilEvo, you got lost when you assumed people are blocking public roadways to gain sympathy.
They want to disrupt your daily routine. They're tired of dying while no one cares. BLM has been going on for years at this point. The Civil Rights Movement has been going on for decades. No one is changing or listening no matter how much they pretend they are, so protestors are forcing the issue.
They want to disrupt your daily routine. They're tired of dying while no one cares. BLM has been going on for years at this point. The Civil Rights Movement has been going on for decades. No one is changing or listening no matter how much they pretend they are, so protestors are forcing the issue.
Mammoth Jones
Member
I dont know it seemed to get the point across and work the last time they did it.
The Bus boycotts alone managed to sink at least 7 bus companies within a month.
Disruptive protests are for a reason, they are meant to cause disorder to an unjust system by means of peaceful protest.
The bus boycott was a financial boycott. That's why it worked.
Sorry but stopping people from getting to their jobs does fuckall to convince them Black lives matter. Financial boycotts work far quicker. Hit those corporations pockets and you'll see change much quicker than stopping Timmy-Twelve-Dollars-Per-Hour from getting to work.
https://www.aclu-mn.org/resources/your-rights/your-right-protest/
I get that but it doesn't work. Been protesting for decades like you just said. Shit changing at a snails pace. Boycotts work far more effectively. Especially giving how much money we spend yearly as a group. But that's far harder to sustain than just marching one afternoon. Would require a huge sacrifice.
Just sitting back and hoping minds changes, people become empathetic and that our fellow American's start treating minorities of all sorts as people didn't work, AT ALL. I think its time to piss in their cheerios because pissing them off is more of a reaction than anything else that has been done the last few decades. Playing nice got no one anywhere and pissing people off seems to actually be getting the word out. People are doing a lot more talking about Black Lives and the state of Black America far more now than they ever were before and that's because black people and their supporters are getting up in peoples faces whether the like it or not.
- Status