The US police misconduct thread

[Jimski]

That's not what he means, and you know it.

[DCI Harry Batt]

The problem with the ignore poster function is that when it looks as if someone has reacted to a post of mine in an unexpected way, I can't be sure if that's what's happened, or if there's a hidden post which would explain it better to me.

[Incandenza]

[URL="https://twitter.com/sherrifflucy/status/1267517085803966464"]https://twitter.com/sherrifflucy/sta...17085803966464[/URL]

The yellow storefront shown in the clip is a magic shop/theater were we've had our twins' birthday parties at before. I have no idea how they manage to stay in business, and I hope they can stay around.

[ursus arctos]

Inca, what's the theory behind a 1 pm "curfew" for the business district? Among a host of other issues, it is going to make the clean-up much more difficult.

[Hot Pepsi]

If white America were to genuinely see any black protest as "good" - at the time, not that nonsense that goes on with pretending MLK was "good", but actual right now stuff - that might make a difference, I suppose.

MLK was/is good. If you can’t see that, I can’t help you.

Lots of white people, especially young ones, are online lecturing everyone that looting and rioting is justified and good, and we’re not allowed to say anything against it. I don’t say that to make white people look better, just to point out that there seems to be a different attitude toward these kinds of protests among young white people than there was 25-30 years ago.

[Jimski]

The point is that protestors from the past are often seen as "good" now, but were demonised at the time. And this is true at any given moment. Including about protests now. Violent protest (or indeed often *any* protest) is condemned by governments when it happens, but the 60s civil rights movement or the suffragettes are now held up as positive examples. It seems to be an eternal double-standard.

[Bruno]

That's not what he means, and you know it.

Then feel free to tell me what he means, since he's too superior to lower himself to my level.

[Bruno]

The point is that protestors from the past are often seen as "good" now, but were demonised at the time. And this is true at any given moment. Including about protests now. Violent protest (or indeed often *any* protest) is condemned by governments when it happens, but the 60s civil rights movement or the suffragettes are now held up as positive examples. It seems to be an eternal double-standard.

TonTon referred to "white America" not "governments." White America is pretty heavily supportive of the current protests, but of course we're a nation divided.

[Jimski]

"White America" is the system that rewards certain people on the basis of their skin colour and punishes others because of theirs. Which is why despite protests and law changes over the years, we are still where we are. Reasons to call this "white America" should be pretty clear to anyone who observes the outcome.

[San Bernardhinault]

From where I'm sitting, White America is oh so very upset about a cop in Minneapolis killing someone, and is oh so very pleased that he's been sacked, and is kind of glad that he's facing the prospect of prosecution. But White America is also terribly concerned that there is due justice for the cop and is worried that he won't get a fair trial.

White America is, on the whole, very carefully detaching the single incident that was caught on camera from the long-term structural questions about the racism of the police, the racism of the state, the racism of the media, the militarisation of the police and so on. They don't want to think about or address those things because the answers might make them uncomfortable.

While White America "supports" the protests - in an abstract way, and as long as it remains about the single killing, but not supporting the actual protesters, White America has become much more concerned about the Thugs, Burning Our Cities, making the Cities uninhabitable. White America is very vocally concerned about the damage to black owned businesses in the riots, but rarely mentions how many Chase Banks or Walmarts or Targets are actually owned by black people.

There's a convenient piece of conscience whitewashing by expressing concern about George Floyd's death (never called murder...) and supporting the idea of the protests while really being much more vigorously concerned about the wellbeing of the local Target and hoping that your shopping for hard selzer isn't any harder than it was last week.

[Bruno]

"White America" is the system that rewards certain people on the basis of their skin colour and punishes others because of theirs. Which is why despite protests and law changes over the years, we are still where we are. Reasons to call this "white America" should be pretty clear to anyone who observes the outcome.

Okay. I heard it as a generalization of white Americans, that in general they're not up to speed on black protests. Because in context, that's what it was. TonTon was generalizing about retrospective white attitudes toward black protests. A "system" does not have a such a tendency except in so far as the people in it have that tendency. So it was a generalization about white Americans. So I offered my contradiction.

[DCI Harry Batt]

MLK was/is good. If you can't see that, I can't help you.

Sorry HP, I wasn't clear enough - Jimski strikes me as having explained it better. I didn't mean MLK wasn't good, I meant that he didn't qualify as "good" at the time, for white America. In retrospect, and with an awful lot of cherry-picking, it's a different story.

[Incandenza]

Inca, what's the theory behind a 1 pm "curfew" for the business district? Among a host of other issues, it is going to make the clean-up much more difficult.

I have no idea. News reports after 10pm last night showed people walking around, past National Guard troops, and they weren't being detained or told to leave. Not sure if the curfew is actually being enforced, or if it's just a message to tell people to stay home.

And the city-wide curfew was changed from 4pm to 1:30pm. I didn't get the text message alert until 1:32pm. Hope our dog will relieve himself in our yard, he normally won't unless on a walk...though honestly, I doubt how strictly a curfew is being enforced in single family home neighborhoods, and especially for people who look the white right way.

[Bruno]

From where I'm sitting, White America is oh so very upset about a cop in Minneapolis killing someone, and is oh so very pleased that he's been sacked, and is kind of glad that he's facing the prospect of prosecution. But White America is also terribly concerned that there is due justice for the cop and is worried that he won't get a fair trial.

White America is, on the whole, very carefully detaching the single incident that was caught on camera from the long-term structural questions about the racism of the police, the racism of the state, the racism of the media, the militarisation of the police and so on. They don't want to think about or address those things because the answers might make them uncomfortable.

While White America "supports" the protests - in an abstract way, and as long as it remains about the single killing, but not supporting the actual protesters, White America has become much more concerned about the Thugs, Burning Our Cities, making the Cities uninhabitable. White America is very vocally concerned about the damage to black owned businesses in the riots, but rarely mentions how many Chase Banks or Walmarts or Targets are actually owned by black people.

There's a convenient piece of conscience whitewashing by expressing concern about George Floyd's death (never called murder...) and supporting the idea of the protests while really being much more vigorously concerned about the wellbeing of the local Target and hoping that your shopping for hard selzer isn't any harder than it was last week.

I have to ask, what is your evidence for any of this? Finger in the wind? We can of course set aside white Republicans, who can't get as far as any of the indulgences you enumerate. But I know a lot of white people, and I don't know any who are like what you describe. Granted I'm in an academic environment and in a liberal district. But there are many millions of whites who are all the fucking way on board with what's going down right now.

But if we're just talking about how an abstract "system" called "white America" "feels" then it seems to me we're embracing the unfalsifiable.

[Nefertiti2]

https://twitter.com/inthesedeserts/status/1267576745013764097?s=20

[Incandenza]

Split-screen on CNN as Trump complains about Antifa as Washington police shove and tear gas peaceful protestors near the White House.

[Incandenza]

He specifically called out the Second Amendment as the rights that he's saying people are free to exercise.

[Incandenza]

Just one of the most loathsome people we've ever produced. An utter shitpile of a human being.

[Nefertiti2]

He specifically called out the Second Amendment as the rights that he's saying people are free to exercise.

Strange- i'd have thought his favourite Amendment would be the Fifth.

[Incandenza]

They're clearing the streets so Trump can walk off the White House grounds to St. John's church. This is not going to turn out well.

[Incandenza]

I want to throw up

[Bruno]

Maybe a bird will poop on him.

[Hot Pepsi]

Just one of the most loathsome people we've ever produced. An utter shitpile of a human being.

The mind boggles.

[Eggchaser]

Strange- i'd have thought his favourite Amendment would be the Fifth.

That would require him to keep his mouth shut, a physical impossibility when he isn't given the worship due to the God Emperor.

[Snake Plissken]

He specifically called out the Second Amendment as the rights that he's saying people are free to exercise.

Ain't that an interesting one?

So, we get to find out whether those stockpiling gun nuts genuinely do believe that they need protecting from an oppressive Government and will be standing side by side with the protesters, or whether it was always about a fantasy of a power trip where they could just shoot people, or when it comes down to it, are just a bunch of cowards playing soldiers.