Black lives matter

I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that the BLM movement in the US has not only highlighted police violence against minority communities, but has also put a serious question mark over all US policing, regardless of race, colour or creed. On the few occasions I’ve encountered them when driving, once in San José and once in Connecticut they were pleasant and let me off whatever minor infringement I’d made. Was I just lucky or have things changed in the twenty years since my last experience?

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You were white, male and with a British accent.

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It isn’t just in the US, there is prejudice back in the UK too. I’m not saying they are throwing people to the ground but they have still discriminated and made people’s lives very uncomfortable. My first husband is mixed race and was a Police Officer. He left the army and moved into a Police hostel where he lived for a few months before he got a house. He was stopped several times leaving the hostel car park heading for work at another Police station. How humiliating! We were also stopped by the ever polite, traffic officer (“good evening wing commander” and “get your timpsons on the tarmac” crew) and breathalised. We’d been to a party and he could obviously smell alcohol. When my husband said he fully understood the procedure, the officer replied “Oh really, been disqualified before then?” His face was a picture when my ex told him why he knew what to do.

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Irish accent actually (with London over tones). :slightly_smiling_face:

Powerful performance from “Diversity” on BGT (I don’t watch the show so only just found this)

Apparently generated 15,000 complaints to OFCOM

So, that’s 15,000 racist p***** coming out of the woodwork to have a moan.

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I am not usually a ‘dance’ enthusiast, but this was brilliantly staged, and choreographed WITH a completely valid message!

I am stunned to think that 15,000 complaints should have been laid against it - presumably in the UK? (Britain’s Got Talent?)

What an indictment against a section of the UK population. I thought at first it was the usual knuckle draggers in the USA.

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I hadn’t seen it before either. I read a report on the record number of complaints, but it didn’t explain what the substance of the complaints was. And I’m still non-the-wiser!

No, I don’t know what the substance of the complaints was either - I’m guessing that it was mainly about putting a political message into BGT

However casual and targeted racism is a feature of the daily lives of many non-whites these days - it might be “political” but Diversity were making a point about experiences which were important to them; something which has been an inspiration for art, especially music, songs and dance, for generations.

I’m not clear what the moral distinction is between the “acceptable” blues songs depicting the daily hardships of southern blacks and this “unacceptable” choreography - I suspect there isn’t one.

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The irony is of course by complaining about a supposed political message the greater exposure that message gets.

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It is amusing though that people who think they may object to such entertainment find it online so they can watch it to confirm that yes they were offended by it!

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This is the same man that does these. Very funny. There are lots of them if anyone has a spare hour!
Izzy x

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Absolutely - I would not have come across it otherwise (as I say normally I find BGT pretty tedious and do not bother to watch it).

Sometimes the law of unintended consequences is beneficial.