George Floyd - US in meltdown

[Achtung Englander]

His death was absolutely shocking and disgusting. When the poor man in his late 40s was calling for his mum you know it must be bad as he could probably feel his life getting sucked out of him.

Why did it take 3 days to arrest the officer when video evidence was there for all to see ? Apparently in the US - that is classified as fast.

Anyway its interesting that people have responded to this quite graphically. Unlike the LA riots of 92 these are now affecting almost every state. Looks like the army will be coming out. I hazard a guess that an element of these riots is from desperation regards inequalities. All this in a middle of a pandemic. Wow.

[Mantis]

With possibly the absolute worst person they could have as President to try and defuse the situation. Everything Trump says on this matter is only going to inflame tensions further.

[Raid]

It feels like the George Floyd murder was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a truly shocking crime, but the riots don't seem to just be about that. The officer in question had already been arrested on a charge of murder, and I think the other officers nearby that should have stopped it are being charged also, prior to the widespread rioting last night.

America needs their police to change. It's not just a handful of racists, it's the entire system and it extends beyond just the confines of the police force. American police assume that *anyone* they talk to is carrying a firearm, and from what I've read, they're taught to always, always be in total control of a situation. This means threatening people with firearms when the situation doesn't call for it, or confining people in a way that escalates a situation when deescalation is surely the preferred method.

[Achtung Englander]

Where was Trump when white dudes with machine guns come out and close the legislator 2 weeks ago.

We can only hope a good old fashioned stroke comes soon. Than it will be Pence and he makes Quale look liked an intellectual

[Animalmother]

When you give idiots guns and train them to solve every situation with said gun this is what happens. You rarely hear of other countries that have armed police acting like this.

[Achtung Englander]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52868465

So much for social distancing - for fuck sake !

[Raid]

You have to wonder whether there's an element of people taking any cry for social distancing at these things as an underhanded way of preventing people from protesting. On the other hand the US has by far the most deaths from Covid of any country on Earth that's publishing figures. Honestly the US response to the pandemic has been bizarre anyway, from surprisingly large percentages of the population calling it a hoax to people desperate to avoid *any* sort of adherence to health guidelines because they see it as a curtailing of their personal freedom.

[Achtung Englander]

You have to wonder whether there's an element of people taking any cry for social distancing at these things as an underhanded way of preventing people from protesting. On the other hand the US has by far the most deaths from Covid of any country on Earth that's publishing figures. Honestly the US response to the pandemic has been bizarre anyway, from surprisingly large percentages of the population calling it a hoax to people desperate to avoid *any* sort of adherence to health guidelines because they see it as a curtailing of their personal freedom.

well we are not out of it....yet. Personally I am utterly confused. The overall percentage of cases feel low but the number of deaths is extremely high when compared to the national average. Scientists say it is still very real but everyone is breaking the social distancing rules out of pure boredom of it all. The superb weather is not helping.

We will know in 2 - 3 weeks time if cases go through the roof in the States but at the moment, per capita, we (UK) have had more deaths than the US. In fact we did a pretty piss poor job in keeping deaths low. That could partly be due to the fact we may be more honest in reporting Covid deaths. The implication of that is that the virus is actually doing more damage elsewhere than officially reported.

The fact Covid kills the young in very small numbers is a very good thing so these protesters have less to worry about.....so long as they stay away from their elderly relatives. Just looking at the news and twitter the virus has not stopped the protests in any way, so I am not sure what you are getting about Raid ?

[Raid]

Just to clarify, I didn't have an issue with your comment, I absolutely agree with it. While this is a major issue for which protesting is appropriate, you just can't hold mass rallies at the moment. I was merely wondering whether that's the argument the protesters would make if you told them to stop.

And yes, per capita we're one of the worst affected countries and I don't think our government has handled the crisis much better than the US. I was using the statistic for context as to why it would be odd for protesters not to be following social distancing advice.

[Rossell]

The videos of the NYC just ramming protestors isn't going to help much, still someone took advantage of the situation,

[Achtung Englander]

The US police have COMPLETELY LOST IT !



They are just a bunch of fascists now

[Wrathbone]

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/05/ ... eir-porch/

About 20 seconds in, the police fire paint rounds at the person filming from their porch. Not even a “please go inside, there’s a curfew”, just “light ‘em up!”

It almost feels like they’re trying to provoke the situation so that martial law can be justified. Or maybe it’s just that high tension + ‘Merica = unnecessary violence.

[eny]

There is so much in what is happening, so many layers and influences.

Bottom line: white america just does not have a clue, or real empathy for what it is like to be black, living your entire life looking behind you; trying to second guess what attitude or prejudice you might have to face next; not trusting that you will be trusted if you do anything around whites...not even birdwatching ffs, because you will get an hysterical woman, with her dog that she never exercises, so doesn't behave on a lead; going potty because she assumes "you are black and going to rape me" before any other thought as to his reason for being there gets processed by her blinkered mind.

Time after time, when black innocent men are shown excessive force and killed - because of a baseline psychology that one day you will meet "one" that will kill you, so use overwhelming force regardless - the consequences evaporate into nothing, no action! It is called qualified immunity and this is why Floyd's killers were not charged with anything immediately, only fired, even when his killer has 17 previous complaints, 3 involving suspect shootings. It defies logic, that you are armed and thus likely to eventually end up killing a suspect, but you cant immediately be charged for unlawful killing!

The rioting has been enabled, in part, by people like umbrella man at the Target store; pallets of bricks suddenly turning up outside a courthouse, where no construction is taking place nearby; agents provocateurs inflaming things; but the majority of protesters are angry, and moreso, because the "white" reaction and outrage only really starts when property is being destroyed, and the deaths get sidelined. Time after time blacks have been unjustly killed at the hands of police, and little ends up being done about it, it passes quickly from "white" conscience, it is easily forgotten about. Well, the time has come to violently express the anger this has built over the years.

[eny]

[Wrathbone]

There is so much in what is happening, so many layers and influences.

This. Absolutely this.

Also, this: