Just saw people in Philadelphia taking things from cop vehicles because the police abandoned them. This is the stuff that makes the protesters look bad. The Floyd family has been pleading for this stuff to stop but no one is listening.
Player Discussion: Blake Wheeler on Situation in Minnesota - Read Mod note in OP
- Thread starter Derfel
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There will always be that element of people that’s just in it for the chaos and profit.
The important thing is to look past that chaos to the actual cause.
Unfortunately, it’s usually the looters, riots, and fires that are remembered.
- Jun 10, 2014
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Yes, interesting. The anarchy will draw votes to Trump. Reasonable or not, the Republicans are always seen as the Law and Order party, even if they do it all wrong. But the situation is also arousing a lot of other people. I hope it rouses them to vote.
Maybe prominent, rational white people like Wheeler will do some good there.
I think my acceptance speech will be about my wish for world peace.
- Mar 10, 2010
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Yes, interesting. The anarchy will draw votes to Trump. Reasonable or not, the Republicans are always seen as the Law and Order party, even if they do it all wrong. But the situation is also arousing a lot of other people. I hope it rouses them to vote.
Maybe prominent, rational white people like Wheeler will do some good there.
I think my acceptance speech will be about my wish for world peace.
I ......Mortimer Snerd.......would like to thank you all for Your votes........
on a side note when I won the election for school president in grade 12 it was on a very simple platform.......dum it down Mort and the world is yours!
- Jun 10, 2014
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Arthur Fonzarelli
"aaaaay"
Duke749
Savannah Ghost Pirates
Just got to Mrytle Beach, South Carolina and there’s a 6pm curfew tonight because people threatened the police apparently.
People should unite for the right things. Atlanta’s mayor made a very good speech Friday about what is happening in the city.
People should unite for the right things. Atlanta’s mayor made a very good speech Friday about what is happening in the city.
sipowicz
The thrill is gone
- Mar 16, 2011
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An excuse to riot, loot and destroy is wrong on every level. MLK did more through peaceful protests than any outcome that will come from this chaos!
Mrytle Beach? Hit a few shots for me.
What a beautiful area and tonnes of gorgeous golf courses. 
Atlanta's mayor said it perfectly on Friday.
KCjetsfan
Registered User
Remember the vitriol about peaceful protests by NFL players who were kneeling? I'm not sure the answer but there's a significant portion of society who will not accept protests by 'others' in any form.
I don't know what the answers are but what happened to Mr. Floyd and numerous other people of colour by the police and other institutions is appaling.
I definitely stand with those demanding societal change.
I definitely stand with those demanding societal change.
sipowicz
The thrill is gone
- Mar 16, 2011
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and meanwhile silence about the white police officer killed by a black male in a Grand Forks, ND last week!
The Rodney King incident happened 29 years ago and things really haven't changed much down there.
I have guided a lot of Americans over the years dating back to the early 90s and I have only met one or two groups that showed no signs of racism towards blacks.
I picked one up at the airport and was driving him back and I thought I would take him by Oak Hammock on the way to his room so he could see all the geese there. When we drove by the penitentiary he asked me if it was full of blacks...
I have guided a lot of Americans over the years dating back to the early 90s and I have only met one or two groups that showed no signs of racism towards blacks.
I picked one up at the airport and was driving him back and I thought I would take him by Oak Hammock on the way to his room so he could see all the geese there. When we drove by the penitentiary he asked me if it was full of blacks...
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I guess the guy asked you that because from what I've read from memory, the penitentiary's in the US are populated by about 75-80 % blacks, which is huge, and I believe they only make up about 15 -20 % of the population at large. I can understand why he'd ask you that. I guess he was wondering if the situation in Canada, was the same as the US .
You had to hear how it was said and blacks wasn't the work he used...he was from East Peoria, Illinois so not that far south. He was about 72 at the time. Wasn't racist against any other ethnicities that I detected (married to a Chinese woman) and I guided him for about 7 years. They are taught to hate at a young age. You know the saying, nobody is born a racist...
JetsFan815
Registered User
- Jan 16, 2012
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I currently live in a city in north eastern US and we had pretty bad rioting and looting here tonight. I thought we might have been off the hook since there was no violence on Friday/Saturday but tonight was bad.
What happened to George Floyd was awful, I haven't seen the video as I have no intention of watching a man be slowly killed for no reason but the descriptions of it are truly shocking. Wheeler is exactly right, this kind of stuff has gone on for far too long and I hope some positive comes out of it. Almost every black american I have heard from has expressed reservations about interactions with the police due to fear of overreaction.
I also hope that these looters don't get away with it when all this is said and done. Pretty cowardly to loot or vandalize small businesses (many of them which are minority owner) who are literally a family's livelihood and who were probably already suffering due to the pandemic. I hope folks can peacefully protest without the bad actors stirring things up. Following the curfew guidelines should go a long way in ensuring these stay peaceful, here the protests were peaceful and encouraging all day but turned violent right around the curfew time of 9 pm.
What happened to George Floyd was awful, I haven't seen the video as I have no intention of watching a man be slowly killed for no reason but the descriptions of it are truly shocking. Wheeler is exactly right, this kind of stuff has gone on for far too long and I hope some positive comes out of it. Almost every black american I have heard from has expressed reservations about interactions with the police due to fear of overreaction.
I also hope that these looters don't get away with it when all this is said and done. Pretty cowardly to loot or vandalize small businesses (many of them which are minority owner) who are literally a family's livelihood and who were probably already suffering due to the pandemic. I hope folks can peacefully protest without the bad actors stirring things up. Following the curfew guidelines should go a long way in ensuring these stay peaceful, here the protests were peaceful and encouraging all day but turned violent right around the curfew time of 9 pm.
Derfel
Everybody Loves Me
They have started arrests after the fact in some cities.
Nashville police arrest City Hall arson suspect
It blows my mind how for some people the prevailing thing they feel necessary to comment on is some looting of multi-million $ corporations. We get it, you’re worried your new iPhone or designer handbags will become more expensive as those companies squeeze more profits next season.
Care about what really matters - flesh not consumer goods. Stores can be rebuilt, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery cannot.
Shit needs to change.
Care about what really matters - flesh not consumer goods. Stores can be rebuilt, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery cannot.
Shit needs to change.
Don't own a phone or a purse, and don't care about prices going up. There has to be change, totally agree but why looting and setting shit on fire? Protest absolutely, peacefully . Some of the stores are owned and operated by just one guy, not all are Walmarts and Targets.
A good many of the stores that have been burned and looted have been independently owned mom and pop shops. You are right that you can't loose sight of the main issue of the protest but many other people are having their livelihoods destroyed by the arsen and looting.
ERYX
'Pegger in Exile
Let me say up front that I abhor racism and I abhor especially its manifestation in police who are supposed to serve and protect all citizens and therefore has an added layer of "breach of trust" to it. I've watched the fill video of Mr. Floyd's murder and it is absolutely appalling ... it's just inconceivable to me how a human being can just be so lacking in compassion to another human to do that to them. The coldness of it was chilling, it was no "heat of the moment" act.
But that said, in my view there is never any justification for the burning and looting that has been going on. None whatsoever. People can be angry and I certainly understand the anger and I get emotions boiling over ... but that doesn't make it right, and I also don't think it's right for police to set the horrible precedent of abandoning their police station and letting it get burnt down. That is a very dangerous precedent and a prelude to anarchy and the breakdown of law and order which could lead to much much more evil.
Therefore, I don't see what the government can do other than "escalate" by calling out the National Guard. Such wanton destruction cannot be allowed to continue.
If it is a different crowd out at night than during the day then they should crack down hard on the professional criminals that are out at night and leave the daytime folks alone.
Although there's a whole other layer with COVID-19 ... if COVID is as dangerous as people say, then shouldn't the protests be stopped to save lives? What is more people die because of an outbreak how does that serve the memory of George Floyd? I ask this a bit rhetorically ... I've stated elsewhere that I doubt COVID-19 is as dangerous as they say, but I am prepared to accept that it might be. And if it is, then these protests could ignite a new wave of death that far outweighs the first one.
ERYX
'Pegger in Exile
I agree that the "wall of silence" and the "blue line" is a huge problem among police and I think it is a big reason why long-standing issues are allowed to fester. Because the "good cops" always keep quiet because of "the code".
This "code" was on full display when three other officers stood by and watched as a fourth knelt on George Floyd's neck for over 8 minutes killing him. When they just watched as Mr. Floyd said he couldn't breath and begged for help, they didn't even do something minimal like saying "hey I think he's had enough maybe we should just put him in the cruiser". Instead they threatened bystanders with pepper spray if they got to close. These other cops are probably not "bad guys" in the rest of their life, but the whole police culture led them to be complicit in a murder.
I think that some if the good cops (not just a few chiefs of police) came out publicly against this, it might help calm things down a bit rather than making it an "us" vs. "them" battle on the streets.
ERYX
'Pegger in Exile
It blows my mind how people think that destroying other peoples' property is okay, so long as the "other people" are "rich".
This isn't about consumer goods, it's about the employees who depend on a job at that corporation to make ends meet who now don't have a job because their workplace was destroyed. It's about the inhabitants of the area who are terrified from having to live through that. As others have pointed out, it's about the mom-and-pop shops that were also victimized. It's also about the general rule of law in society. Trust me, you do NOT want to live in a society where people can just loot and burn with impunity because eventually they'll run out of "multi-million $ corporations" to burn and they'll come loot and burn your house or your neighbours'.
Things need to change, but I'm not in favour of them changing for the worse by allowing anarchy.
Royale With Cheese
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- Nov 24, 2006
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Agreed 100%.
I appreciate any celebrity / sports figure speaking out against systemic problems like racism and abuse of authority, but the weight behind it would be 100 times more if it were police departments around America doing it instead. The New Jersey police chief who marched with protesters IMO sent a powerful message to cops everywhere who may be afraid to speak out against their peers. I sincerely hope that act leads to some sort of change within the policing system in America.
What a lot of people aren’t getting or are just not willing to get is that there are 2 groups happening at the same time.
There is the completely justified protesting of how black people are treated in every aspect of society, which has included some violence and destruction, and then there is the opportunistic looting and rioting by those who are always on the lookout for a chance to cause chaos, profit from others loss, or just plain break shit and start fires.
These 2 things should not be held as a single combined mass, but ultimately, due to news coverage bias, political spin, or just plain ignorance, they will be.
Unfortunately, for those reasons, the damage and violence will overshadow the just cause.
There is the completely justified protesting of how black people are treated in every aspect of society, which has included some violence and destruction, and then there is the opportunistic looting and rioting by those who are always on the lookout for a chance to cause chaos, profit from others loss, or just plain break shit and start fires.
These 2 things should not be held as a single combined mass, but ultimately, due to news coverage bias, political spin, or just plain ignorance, they will be.
Unfortunately, for those reasons, the damage and violence will overshadow the just cause.
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