George Floyd protests

[JimC]

Well yeah, I'm not talking about Swaziland here.

Oh good, the Atlanta cops shot the dude twice, in the back. The death has been ruled a homicide. There were three shots fired, so somebody missed.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/rayshard-bro ... ck-autopsy

Gird your loins, Atlanteans, shit 'bout to get real.

Twice in the back argues for shot when running away...

"Hell, I ain't goin' to let some uppity nigger get away from me!"

[Seabass]

No, the guy should never have gotten hold of the taser in the first place. I don't know what happened when he got shot, if he was running away or not, that part isn't on camera (apparently). It's a shitshow for sure, but that's policing in the U.S.of A. Sometimes, anyway, and this shit seems far more prevalent in big cities. Almost all of which are run by Democrats for years and years. Why should any black (or anyone, actually) vote these people back in when they've had literally decades to fix these problems? Atlanta has had black, Democratic mayors almost exclusively since the early 70s. WTF have they been doing for the last 40 years? Minneapolis for 70 years, SEVEN decades of "progressive" politics and it's still a shitshow. But bring this up in polite company and you get.....crickets. You can't blame the GOP, you can't blame Trump, it's got nothing to do with them. Not for the actions of the cops, not for the racism in the police forces, not for the militarization of the forces - none if it, it's on the cities themselves. The Feds are not in charge, it's the mayors and city councils. I refuse to believe that the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years of police brutality are because Trump "enables" white supremacists via fucking Twitter. That's absolute bullshit. And yet somehow, magically, voting for Biden is going to fix this? Jesus. The vapid stupidity of the vast majority of ground apes is fucking breath taking.

Of course the GOP is to blame. Republicans are the reason we have more guns than people in this country. Our cops have a much more dangerous and stressful job than cops in developed countries do.

Moreover, Republican voodoo economics has led to obscene wealth inequality like we haven't seen since the days of railroad tycoons. More poverty means more desperation and more crime.

There's only so much you can do at the state and local level.

[Hermit]

No, the guy should never have gotten hold of the taser in the first place. I don't know what happened when he got shot, if he was running away or not, that part isn't on camera (apparently). It's a shitshow for sure, but that's policing in the U.S.of A. Sometimes, anyway, and this shit seems far more prevalent in big cities. Almost all of which are run by Democrats for years and years. Why should any black (or anyone, actually) vote these people back in when they've had literally decades to fix these problems? Atlanta has had black, Democratic mayors almost exclusively since the early 70s. WTF have they been doing for the last 40 years? Minneapolis for 70 years, SEVEN decades of "progressive" politics and it's still a shitshow. But bring this up in polite company and you get.....crickets. You can't blame the GOP, you can't blame Trump, it's got nothing to do with them. Not for the actions of the cops, not for the racism in the police forces, not for the militarization of the forces - none if it, it's on the cities themselves. The Feds are not in charge, it's the mayors and city councils. I refuse to believe that the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years of police brutality are because Trump "enables" white supremacists via fucking Twitter. That's absolute bullshit. And yet somehow, magically, voting for Biden is going to fix this? Jesus. The vapid stupidity of the vast majority of ground apes is fucking breath taking.

Of course the GOP is to blame. Republicans are the reason we have more guns than people in this country. Our cops have a much more dangerous and stressful job than cops in developed countries do.

Moreover, Republican voodoo economics has led to obscene wealth inequality like we haven't seen since the days of railroad tycoons. More poverty means more desperation and more crime.

There's only so much you can do at the state and local level.

You overplay your hand big time here, Seabass. You write as though the democrats had no hand in militarising the police, as if Democrat presidents were the heroes of the working class, as if there was not a gun for every US citizen before Trump even announced his intention to become POTUS... The list goes on.

Electoral shenanigans and foreign interference notwithstanding, Trump would not have won the presidency had the Dems not already been so much on the nose. If I were a voter in the US I would cast my vote in favour of the Democrats for one reason, and one reason only: They are the marginally preferable set of corrupt, self serving vermin and Wall Street shills. The best that can be said is that they are not fascist sympathisers, as overtly racist or as religious fundamentalist as the Republicans. Apart from that I can see little difference between them.

[NineBerry]

One problem is the cold war ideology. Having the communist Soviet bloc as nemesis forced the US into an overdrive of capitalist ideology.

[Seabass]

No, the guy should never have gotten hold of the taser in the first place. I don't know what happened when he got shot, if he was running away or not, that part isn't on camera (apparently). It's a shitshow for sure, but that's policing in the U.S.of A. Sometimes, anyway, and this shit seems far more prevalent in big cities. Almost all of which are run by Democrats for years and years. Why should any black (or anyone, actually) vote these people back in when they've had literally decades to fix these problems? Atlanta has had black, Democratic mayors almost exclusively since the early 70s. WTF have they been doing for the last 40 years? Minneapolis for 70 years, SEVEN decades of "progressive" politics and it's still a shitshow. But bring this up in polite company and you get.....crickets. You can't blame the GOP, you can't blame Trump, it's got nothing to do with them. Not for the actions of the cops, not for the racism in the police forces, not for the militarization of the forces - none if it, it's on the cities themselves. The Feds are not in charge, it's the mayors and city councils. I refuse to believe that the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years of police brutality are because Trump "enables" white supremacists via fucking Twitter. That's absolute bullshit. And yet somehow, magically, voting for Biden is going to fix this? Jesus. The vapid stupidity of the vast majority of ground apes is fucking breath taking.

Of course the GOP is to blame. Republicans are the reason we have more guns than people in this country. Our cops have a much more dangerous and stressful job than cops in developed countries do.

Moreover, Republican voodoo economics has led to obscene wealth inequality like we haven't seen since the days of railroad tycoons. More poverty means more desperation and more crime.

There's only so much you can do at the state and local level.

You overplay your hand big time here, Seabass. You write as though the democrats had no hand in militarising the police, as if Democrat presidents were the heroes of the working class, as if there was not a gun for every US citizen before Trump even announced his intention to become POTUS... The list goes on.

I said nothing about police militarization. With or without the military hardware, our police go to work on a war footing because of all the guns in circulation. It's no wonder they have itchy trigger fingers when every day could be their last. It is the Republican party that opposes any and all reasonable gun control.

I made no mention of Trump.

Electoral shenanigans and foreign interference notwithstanding, Trump would not have won the presidency had the Dems not already been so much on the nose. If I were a voter in the US I would cast my vote in favour of the Democrats for one reason, and one reason only: They are the marginally preferable set of corrupt, self serving vermin and Wall Street shills. The best that can be said is that they are not fascist sympathisers, as overtly racist or as religious fundamentalist as the Republicans. Apart from that I can see little difference between them.

You say that as if it's not a huge difference...

[Animavore]

[Hermit]

No, the guy should never have gotten hold of the taser in the first place. I don't know what happened when he got shot, if he was running away or not, that part isn't on camera (apparently). It's a shitshow for sure, but that's policing in the U.S.of A. Sometimes, anyway, and this shit seems far more prevalent in big cities. Almost all of which are run by Democrats for years and years. Why should any black (or anyone, actually) vote these people back in when they've had literally decades to fix these problems? Atlanta has had black, Democratic mayors almost exclusively since the early 70s. WTF have they been doing for the last 40 years? Minneapolis for 70 years, SEVEN decades of "progressive" politics and it's still a shitshow. But bring this up in polite company and you get.....crickets. You can't blame the GOP, you can't blame Trump, it's got nothing to do with them. Not for the actions of the cops, not for the racism in the police forces, not for the militarization of the forces - none if it, it's on the cities themselves. The Feds are not in charge, it's the mayors and city councils. I refuse to believe that the last 40, 50, 60, 70 years of police brutality are because Trump "enables" white supremacists via fucking Twitter. That's absolute bullshit. And yet somehow, magically, voting for Biden is going to fix this? Jesus. The vapid stupidity of the vast majority of ground apes is fucking breath taking.

Of course the GOP is to blame. Republicans are the reason we have more guns than people in this country. Our cops have a much more dangerous and stressful job than cops in developed countries do.

Moreover, Republican voodoo economics has led to obscene wealth inequality like we haven't seen since the days of railroad tycoons. More poverty means more desperation and more crime.

There's only so much you can do at the state and local level.

You overplay your hand big time here, Seabass. You write as though the democrats had no hand in militarising the police, as if Democrat presidents were the heroes of the working class, as if there was not a gun for every US citizen before Trump even announced his intention to become POTUS... The list goes on.

I said nothing about police militarization. With or without the military hardware, our police go to work on a war footing because of all the guns in circulation. It's no wonder they have itchy trigger fingers when every day could be their last. It is the Republican party that opposes any and all reasonable gun control.

I made no mention of Trump.

My reply was made specifically with the bits I coloured green in mind. Both, gun ownership and wealth inequality have risen inexorable at least since the mid 1970s at much the same rate regardless of whether the Dems or the Repugs controlled congress/the presidency.

Electoral shenanigans and foreign interference notwithstanding, Trump would not have won the presidency had the Dems not already been so much on the nose. If I were a voter in the US I would cast my vote in favour of the Democrats for one reason, and one reason only: They are the marginally preferable set of corrupt, self serving vermin and Wall Street shills. The best that can be said is that they are not fascist sympathisers, as overtly racist or as religious fundamentalist as the Republicans. Apart from that I can see little difference between them.

You say that as if it's not a huge difference...

Try parsing what I posted correctly. Hint: I listed three differences between the GOP and the Dems, then began the next sentence with "apart from that".

Be it as it may, the US voters evidently don't care so much about the listed differences as they do about the Dems' neoliberalism of the previous decades not having done much good for them. That is why enough of them backed the other horse to get it first past the post, at least technically. Hillary Clinton's series of well paid and unpublished speeches to the bankers evidently failed to inspire enough hope that she won't continue the neoliberal policies her husband became notorious for. Not enough anyway, to overcome the electoral college hurdle and other handicaps in the quadrennial steeplechase.

[Brian Peacock]

One problem is the cold war ideology. Having the communist Soviet bloc as nemesis forced the US into an overdrive of capitalist ideology.

They didn't need forcing. They're a nation created and fashioned by the merchant class.

[Animavore]

You don't think it's relevant, but then it is.

[laklak]

Please, seabass. The Feds have very limited authority over day-to-day local law enforcement. The crime bill of '94 was a huge factor and it was passed by a Democratic Congress and Democratic President, and co-sponsored by our very own Joe Biden.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Meanwhile, in small town Ohio, the damn antifa have coopted the local do-gooders into their villainous agenda. Luckily the Trumpists were there to stand up for what is right.

'"I saw a side of America that shamed me." BLM demonstrators and counter-protesters clash in Bethel'

Clashes erupted between groups during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Bethel on Sunday afternoon when counter-protesters rushed the demonstrators on Sunday afternoon.

Multiple people captured the events in videos that were later posted to Facebook.

Village officials say motorcycle gangs, back the blue organizations, and Second Amendment advocates tried disrupting the Black Lives Matter protest.

Alicia Gee, a 36-year-old substitute teacher, was inspired to hold the demonstration after seeing an Instagram post about a similar event in Hazard, Kentucky.

"I guess in my mind, we only think about protests happening in the city. I've always gone to cities to protest. And then to see that something was happening in Hazard — I was like, if Hazard, Kentucky can have a protest, Bethel can have something," Gee said.

Gee, who has lived in Bethel her whole life, is a member of an artist collective, with 15 other people that became her co-organizers for the demonstration.

Gee is adamant that the event was not about protesting anything, but rather a demonstration of solidarity with the Black community. This was her first time planning a demonstration, though she had experience with event planning as a former children's minister.

...

Around 2 p.m. Sunday, Gee received a call about a motorcycle gang lining both sides of Plane Street. The caller said they were all carrying guns. Gee tried to spread the word to the people she knew were coming and moved the demonstration two blocks down from its original location.

The counter-protesters found them by 3:30 p.m, leading to the scene captured in multiple Facebook videos: the demonstrators standing with signs on one side of the street, while counter-protesters waving American flags and chanting "USA" stand on the other side.

Gee said at first the counter-protesters largely remained on the opposite side of the street, with the exception of five or six people that walked up and down the sidewalk engaging in shouting matches with the demonstrators.

"I made it very clear to everyone that we were there to be peaceful. So when I saw (the counter-protesters) coming in, I turned around and walked ahead of them telling everyone, 'They're coming, clear the sidewalk, don't engage,' " Gee said.

...

[Andrea] Dennis, 36, grew up with Gee, and she attended the demonstration with her mother, Lois, 63.

"I was really scared because they were carrying guns and they were so aggressive," Dennis said. "They were grabbing me and grabbing my mom and they just seemed to have no respect for the law."

...

When the clash led to actual blows, Andrea Dennis and her mother started walking away. They had to pass through a group of counter-protesters to reach their car.

“I knew there were counter-protests but I never dreamed that grown men would grab our signs and our person. It felt like we were walking a gauntlet,” Lois Dennis said. “I saw a side of America that shamed me.”

Despite the experience, which Andrea Dennis described as one of the scariest things she's ever been part of, she said she would "absolutely" protest again.

"I think one of the biggest takeaways was that people in Bethel who care for Black Lives Matter, and care for the LGBTQ community and people of color, need to know that they're not alone. They have support and they can help grow this community," she said.

Gee agrees.

"Bethel was founded with abolitionist groups," she told The Enquirer. "We were a stop on the Underground Railroad. Our first mayor was Ulysses S. Grant's father. And clearly we have moved away from those groups. I just felt like it was time that we get back to them and demonstrate that we aren't filled with white supremacy and hate."

[Brian Peacock]

Jeez America. Get a fucking grip.

[laklak]

Everybody be crazy.

[Brian Peacock]

The voices tell me I'm the only sane one in the room.

[Seabass]

Please, seabass. The Feds have very limited authority over day-to-day local law enforcement. The crime bill of '94 was a huge factor and it was passed by a Democratic Congress and Democratic President, and co-sponsored by our very own Joe Biden.

I think you're confusing the '94 Crime Bill with the 1033 Program:

How America's Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program
https://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-p ... ram-264537

1033 is how our cops end up with all the surplus military gear. The '94 Crime Bill has no doubt contributed to mass incarceration, but nowhere near the level that the War On Drugs has.

1033 Program started with Papa Bush. Obama tried to undo some of it, but of course Trump came in and undid what Obama did.
War on Drugs started with Nixon and exploded under Reagan.
'94 Crime bill was Biden.


At the end of the day, however, our cops are lethal because unlike cops in developed countries, ours are tasked with policing a population that is more lethal than those in developed countries. It's the guns, man.