Four years ago today. We all know what happened that day. I don’t know whether anything has really changed. Is it safer to be black in America? I’m gonna say ‘no’ to that. Did the protests make a difference? You tell me.
Trayvon Martin was murdered 12 years ago. I don’t think I was clueless before that, but what happened to him opened my eyes in a new way. Once you see that it’s open season, particularly on black and men and boys, you can’t unsee it. There’s no going back.
George Floyd was that, taken to infinity.
I am still not over the injustice and the horror of what was done to George Floyd that day. Damn, it’s hard to see what you’re typing when you are crying.
Let’s remember George Floyd today. And not in the gross “tributes to Sept 11” on the anniversary sort of way.
jame
Elijah McClain, a gentle soul
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
I’m not black. I’m a white guy who’s so pale that I get moonburned when I go outside at night. But, contrary to people belief, autistic people can feel empathy. My best friend of 25 years is black, and so is my sister-in-law. We’ve had many conversations about race and the discrimination black people still face (especially with regards to the police.) I’ve also read a ton of books such as Sundown Town and The Warmth of Other Suns.
If we’re ever going to heal, white Americans need to do the hard work of educating ourselves and making a commitment to the ideal that all people are created equal.
TheOtherHank
I used to live in Minneapolis. In one of the neighborhoods where I lived the streets are laid out in a numbered grid where most of the intersections are uncontrolled. A few years after I moved away a cop car was driving at high speed, late at night with no headlights on and t-boned a car at one of those uncontrolled intersections, killing the driver of the other car. Official response: “Oopsie”. Coincidentally, the precinct station that got burned down during the George Floyd demonstrations was the in that neighborhood.
H.E.Wolf
Our fundraiser for VAAC (Voting Access For All), an organization run by and for people of color, might be a good place to donate in George Floyd’s memory.
May he rest in peace and power. May we remember him in our actions in the months and years ahead.
MFA
I’m so old I remember Rodney King. It was the first instance I recall of outright, irrefutably racist police brutality on video.
RaflW
Stories have made their way thru Bsky this week of cops shooting and killing a mentally ill young man as well as a blind dog, so I’d say things have absolutely not changed for the better.
TBone
I’ve detested cops my for entire adult life, starting as a teenager. Saw some really bad shit done by cops over my lifetime. The supreme irony of my life is that my beloved Dad was a cop for so many years before becoming a college professor. And I actually worked for them: my favorite attorney that ever employed me represented all of the Fraternal Orders of Police of our county and five or six other surrounding counties. I still hate cops to my very core, with very few exceptions. I couldn’t participate in the BLM protests because I was on a year’s probation for punching a cop a few weeks before Floyd’s death! 😆😓
All that said, the BLM protests had many far-reaching effects, both good and bad. I was glued to live feeds of the Moms and a lot of other independent people posting live for weeks. The biggest takeaway for me was how Dotard showed his whole entire ass: (a) bunker bitch and extra fencing around the White House; (b) the upside down bible day of infamy; (c) using Gestapo tactics to disappear protesters with unbadged brownshirts; and (d) General Milley’s apology for allowing use of force against U S. civilians for a fucking photo op. He said he considered resigning.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/i-should-not-have-been-there-milley-apologizes-role-trump-n1229876
My brother said, during a visit to my law office, “I can’t believe that you, of all people, are working for the man!”
Baud
The over hyped, and somewhat manufactured, crime wave helped quell progress.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@MFA: I was in middle school when that happened. I recall my Mom telling my sister, “If that’s how they act on camera, imagine what they do when no one’s around.” My family has no love for fascists, including police.
TBone
I remember when BLM Boulevard was painted in big, yellow letters near the White House 🥰
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@Baud: But superpredators
TBone
Favorite meme of that time is how I lost a lot of local friends up here in the hinterlands (the garbage took itself out):
“No one is coming here to cousin fuck county to smash the windows out of or burn down your chicken coop. Settle down.”
We actually had a huge, supportive turnout all along the main drag for BLM in a neighboring tiny town. Wish I’d saved the video footage. They started out in front of the tiny police station. I was so happy to see it.
bluefoot
Did the protests make a difference? I think so. I have white friends who finally, finally understood what the stakes were, not just from seeing what happened to George Floyd, but how the peaceful protesters were treated, how *much* experience and feeling there was in the non-white communities. Some started getting involved politically or at work or at their children’s schools for social justice. For some non-politically active POC I know, they committed to being more active.
I decided I was done accommodating the feelings and comfort of white people, and became a lot more direct and vocal with the people in my life about my experience and what it’s like to live and work as a POC in the US. I was also one of those POC who became more active.
Maybe these changes are small, but I have to believe it spreads, that small changes lead to bigger and bigger change.
Today I will cry for George Floyd, and to quote Lincoln, “….that we here highly resolve that these dead should not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”
Baud
@TBone:
The other day, a post or comment here linked to an ad for some Republican running in West Virginia, and the ad was still using BLM to scare white voters.
TBone
@bluefoot: hugs
Baud
@bluefoot:
👍
TBone
@Baud: dumb people gonna dumb! I took the opportunity to explain fascism to a lot of clueless cletuses. I think I might’ve actually got through to one or two. Maybe.
OzarkHillbilly
The woman in Green- Baton Rouge, LA.
cain
@Baud:
They will use all the old favorites. Surprised they have not brought back D&D hate yet. I guess the target of that were greatest generation. But still plenty of targets like cosplay, non traditional hair colors etc
TBone
@OzarkHillbilly: oh, now I also remember watching Ali Velshi get arrested during his live TV broadcast too. That was all kinds of fucked up!
Thanks for sharing!
TBone
@cain: do I wanna know what “D&D hate” is?
TBone
May 28, 2020 email with my cousin in Michigan:
Are there any local groups there people should look into to donate money?
The Minnesota Freedom Fund. Black Vision Collective. Reclaim the Block.
My cousin is friends with a lot of people who were directly involved in helping and she had a bunch of orgs listed too.
ETA only the Black Vision Collective link still works.
Melancholy Jaques
I think of it as two steps forward, one step back. The usual way it goes.
Getting traitors statues taken down and their names taken off of the military bases that belong to the United States of America was definite progress.
thruppence
@TBone: Don’t know for sure, but I think “D&D hate” was this wild paranoia that teenagers playing fantasy games on a card table in the basement was opening the door to Sataaaan!. Did they believe it, or just a scam to whip up more evangelical donations for the megachurch? I wouldn’t have thought that people could be that gullible and stupid, but now that I’ve seen interviews with the MAGA horde I know that they can, and it is profoundly sad.
TBone
@Melancholy Jaques: I used to piss off a lot of people by telling them “Obama was President much longer than the Confederacy you claim is your heritage lasted.”
TBone
@thruppence: I immediately thought “Dungeon and Dragons” but then thought “that can’t be right!”
karen gail
I don’t believe that things will get any better until the US changes overall mindset; for many who are white still live in areas where it is rare to see anyone not white. I remember watching the beating of Rodney King; it changed nothing since we watched as white police piled on a black man killing him as the media watched.
When I moved here there was a family of blacks; a grandmother, two young men and 3 small children. They young men both worked two jobs and found time to spend time with the small children; the whole time they live in the place next door a cop car would be sitting in parking lot across the street watching. I asked one of the officers what they were doing, they claimed watching the local drug dealers. Unfortunately, the local drug deal was the white bread, good old boy who waved at police car every time he passed it.
Until law enforcement is punished rather than given a couple weeks of leave for killing a non white person the police are going to act like the slave catchers they once were, until local and federal governments reflect the true color of the people they are suppose to represent support and safety nets will continue to be cut and wealthy rewarded for their corruption.
artem1s
yes, say their names. next month Tamir Rice would have turned 22.
one of my friends self identifies as libertarian (she’s against any government interference of her rights such as Choice, but is solidly IGMFY when it comes to guns and keeping those people out of her neighborhood). early on in 2017 she tried to maintain that any POTUS doesn’t really effect anything in anyone’s daily lives. she was having to face her unquestioning support of the GOP’s claim that they do everything right – economy, crime, military, etc. she was experiencing some pretty heavy cognitive dissonance over TIFG and was full of excuses over having voted for Johnson (Hillary lost OH by almost exactly the number of Johnson voters in Cuyahoga County alone). she was making excuses for Tamir’s shooting by claiming no one really knew everything that happened that night (she has lots of cop friends) and it had nothing to do with the kid’s race neighborhood where it happened. the press and police union tried to claim it was the fault of the dispatcher who relayed the info that there was someone with a gun in the city park/playground. somehow that made it OK that the cop took all of half a second from the time the cop car screamed to a stop and when he opened fire. the mere presence of a gun made it perfectly acceptable for the cop to assume active shooter.
I called bullshit on her obviously after-the-fact invented excuse and pointed that thanks to her ammo-sexual libertarian party gun nut friends that Ohio is an open carry state and it’s perfectly legal for anyone to waive around a actual gun in public, even a 12 year old boy. so not knowing he was playing with a toy was no excuse. and more important I pointed out that she knew perfectly well that no 12 year old WHITE boy in the state of Ohio would ever have to worry about having the cops called because he was playing with a toy or even an actual loaded gun or rifle, let alone getting murdered by cops even if he was threatening people with an actual gun – the cops reaction in that case would be to deescalate.
saying their names, reminding ourselves and others of the outrageous nature of these murders is important.
TBone
Mission & Values (an inspiring quick read)
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/values
Ruckus
@TBone:
A couple of things to think about.
We need police. (We don’t necessarily need the police that we have, and even that is not everyone)
Not all police are bad people. Some are. Some are horrible.
We have a society that is still, at it’s core, racist. Not everyone for sure extremely likely not an overly large percentage, but enough to still create issues. Not nearly as large a percentage as we have had in my lifetime (and yes, I am an old fart) One of the things that has changed is that in at least many parts of this country we have people from all races employed as cops. Same as we do in our military. And this country has changed and become a better country in many ways and racism is one of them. Is racism gone? NO. Will it ever be gone? I doubt it seriously, but it will get better, as it has done in my lifetime. Will it get better still? Very likely yes, and yes it has a ways to go to be gone and likely never will – after all humans are involved. Some will say (likely not here…) that we’ve gone too far, but they are assholes – so they are full of shit.
Sure Lurkalot
@Baud:
As does copaganda, the featuring of mostly law enforcement takes in media stories about crimes and criming as well as the oversaturation of cop and detective shows on network and cable TV.
columbusqueen
@thruppence: You know, D & D hate drives me nuts. How a role playing game inspired by the writings of a devout Catholic is satanic is just crazy.
Geminid
@Ruckus: I saw that Los Angeles County elected a new Sheriff not so long ago. Do you have any impressions as to his work so far?
karen gail
@Ruckus: I am old enough to remember when police officers didn’t swagger around dressed for war. I doubt that there are any “good” police out and about since I am of the opinion that a “good” police officer wouldn’t either support or keep quiet about the “bad” officers.
Sadly, I doubt and it has gotten worse since I watched Roe vs Wade reversed and college administrations call in armed “troops” to deal with protests. I vividly remember Kent State and National Guard admitting they were given orders to “shoot to kill.” (I don’t know if that is true or not, but unarmed students were shot by armed forces who were the same age as them.)
Ruckus
@bluefoot:
I am an old white fart. I had exposure by my dad’s business being located just a few blocks from Watts and my grandmother living in the outskirts of Watts long enough for me to know her and visit her regularly. And by my Jr high and high school being integrated. And this was a rather long time ago as I’ll be 75 yrs old shortly. I’ve seen the change up close and personal, it’s a work in progress, and my all time favorite human being was a black woman who was a friend of my sister, but my favorite human being died of sickle cell.
In my lifetime it has gotten quite a bit better, there is still more than a small way to go, and a not so small number of humans that need to learn. Many of them likely never will. Hopefully many of their children learned or will learn better.
FDRLincoln
Just after the Floyd murder, I applied for a civilian clerical position with the local sheriff’s office. I was desperate for work, my family was nearly bankrupt, and no one else would hire a 50 year old. I didn’t get the job I applied for, but they found a different spot for me in the training division.
They hired me BECAUSE i had no law enforcement background, had teaching experience, am a civilian and a liberal one. They wanted my POV.
I do a lot of paperwork but I also teach classes to our deputies about the history of law enforcement and another on how to interact with the special needs population. I am now developing a class about the Bill of Rights. I am also involved with the screening process in hiring deputies, in peer support, and a few other things.
Observations from working with cops for 3 years:
There are good cops, bad cops, and a lot of mediocre, impressionable cops. The culture of individual departments varies wildly, and whether the good cops or the bad cops have the greatest influence on the mediocre ones depends on the department and the leadership.
Some departments are irredeemable. Even the best agencies have to be constantly vigilant to prevent abuses of power. I am doing what I can to make sure my agency is vigilant and does things the right way.
But it comes from the top and we have committed and humane leadership. A lot of places don’t. It helps that sheriff is an elected position and accountable to the voters. Most police agencies don’t have that accountability.
Ruckus
@karen gail:
I don’t disagree with your take in the least.
But.
Human change, especially human change for the better takes time and a desire of a large enough percentage to make it happen. Change for the worse is often easier because someone almost always has an advantage after that worse takes over. And because so many humans close off their minds to new and in so many ways, learning new is much more difficult. Many are curious but many are also taught crap. In my lifetime we had respect for cops, now we have, at best, acceptance. And a lot of that came to be because of cops being taught that they were always correct. And in charge. I’m not sure how or if that can be reasonably changed.
Ruckus
@FDRLincoln:
I think we are on the same wavelength here.
FDRLincoln
There is a lot of simple historical ignorance among our 20ish year old recruits. In my history class, I talk about slave patrols, the history of police corruption, civil rights abuses, and the various efforts at reform dating back to SIr Robert Peel.
In my last class, none of my 8 students understood the basic history of civil rights in the US.
6 of these 8 kids were high school grads and 2 were college grads! None of them are dummies but they simply had not been taught this stuff in any way that stayed with them. It is now a big focus in our training.
sab
@FDRLincoln: My husband is 72 and a midwestern city Catholic school product. He knows a lot of cops, some bad, some very good. What you say agrees with what his successful but still good cop (retired) friends say.
Mousebumples
I recently checked out a book called How To Raise An Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi.
Currently working my way through a different medical nonfiction/thriller (Wonder Drug, about thalidomide, which may only be interesting because of my pharmacy background), but that’s next on my reading list.
WaterGirl
@FDRLincoln: Really appreciate your perspective!