Racism in all itâs forms is unacceptable - the killing of George Floyd could be the spark that starts a new era of equality in the US - but l seriously doubt it - Racism and Racists are among us and until such time that they are called out by the rest of us these dreadful incidents will never cease. F@*k Racist scum and f@*k racism is being screamed out loud and long across the world - When will we listen and give people of color and minority ethnic groups the rights, respect and equality they must have.
No doubt Trump will show his true colors which may lead to his defeat in November - we can only hope.
Totally agree, but what astounds me is the incredible stupidity , not to mention brutality of (some) the American police that are responsible for these killings. Do they not realise the implications of their actions? Maybe not thoughâŚ
I have seen a few things recently saying itâs a pity that the UK and US speak the same language because it leads people to think they are the same and they really arenât ,policing is probably one of the best examples of those differences
Wasnât it George Bernard Shaw who famously said âThe United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common languageâ, so I think that idea has been around since the 1940âs at least.
I agree, though, US and UK society is totally different.
I canât help thinking that every time a black man dies at the hands of a white policeman it seems to result in accusations of racism regardless of the circumstances. From what has been reported in this case so far (but I have not been following the story closely) Mr Floyd was not armed & indeed the actions of the attending police officers were extreme & unnecessary. But was it actually racist?
Could it not simply be that Chauvin was heavy handed & a bully anyway? A âbad appleâ? Some people put on a uniform & assume it gives them a right to abandon civility & social behaviour - Iâve met a traffic warden or two who feel that their uniform turns them into a kind of Judge Dredd.
In America about 3/4 of the population are âwhiteâ so it could be that 3 out of every 4 policemen are white too.
So if a crime is committed by a black man there is a good chance that the attending officer will be white & force may be needed to apprehend the criminal. Depending on circumstances & gun laws this can be fatal. Much of the time such instances result in the victimâs families accusing the police of racism therefore attracting media coverage. Immediately what might have been a legitimate response is turned into a racist move - even if it wasnât.
In this case the population has every right to be concerned & protest but stealing from local businesses & setting them on fire & smashing up the cities is not protesting - it is violent, criminal behaviour which will inflame any racist opinion rather than dispel it. If anger brings on this kind of reaction then how long will it be before such behaviour will make police expect every incident they are called to will be met with similar aggression so approach everyone with guns drawn?
I am slightly offended by the âBlack lives matterâ slogan, not because I am white, but because ALL lives matter.
Protesting is fine but why should criminal acts, often against people who might well support the protest, be seen as part of the protest? It isnât. It is the action of opportunists who donât give a stuff about George Floyd & are using it as an excuse to steal & vandalise.
The actions of the police in New York and I think Washington have been violent against both a BBC cameraman, he filmed himself being charged and knocked over and a Sun reporter who, despite being marked Press and wearing a Press lanyard was also physically charged, rolled to the ground, handcuffed and arrested,
He is being charged with illegal assembly.
There is definitely a concern regarding police violence in the USA, as there is in France.
Hard to say in an individual case but American cops are responsible for in the region of 1000-1200 civilian deaths per year and blacks are disproportionately represented among the victims.
That the president is racist is clear and it filters down.
Indeed.
Spot the difference, though, between the colour of the two sets protesters.
That is missing the point a bit, it is like saying yes but men are victims of domestic violence too when there is a campaign against wife and girlfriend-murdering.
Yes all lives matter, yes there are husband beaters BUT one colour and one sex are disproportionately represented among the victims and the other among the perpetrators.
So it is whataboutery Iâm afraid.
Also, the slogan is in part precisely an attempt to disrupt the complacent assumption that society always behaves as if all lives matter equally. It doesnât imply that any lives donât matter, but is saying âremember black lives matterâ - and letâs stop acting as if they donât
I agree totally with the opinions you share in your post, Dan.
But I suggest that the rights are not ours to give or to withhold . They are inalienable so can not by definition be given or taken away. Thatâs my understanding of it anyway.
I acknowledge that and @Dan_Woodâs admirable views, but I think it worth pointing out there may be assumptions in the minds of some others (not Dan) underlying the idea of our âgiving them rightsâ, âgiving them their freedomâ. Or similar haughty IMO bestowings.
The same point is very commonly made by black and other BAME commentators from James Baldwin, Martin Luther King onwards etc.
Being here in France, itâs worth reading the black American musicians and writers - Baldwin among them - that washed up in Paris after the war and were surprised to be treated as equals - at least in comparison with their previous experience - and mix a bit with the likes of Sartre and deBeauvoir - and how this helped them to see Americaâs endemic racism for what it was, and in turn feed this back into the American civil rights movement.
and now in FranceâŚ
Nice one, very helpful.
God, if he hasnât by nowâŚ!
Orange?
Hi Amanda - I posted this observation before he had made his divisive rose garden speech on Monday and violently cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square to enable his shameful photo op outside St Johns. I donât know how low this individual can stoop in order to pursue his re-election in November but l fear there is far worse to come.
just another brick in the wallâŚ
