We’ve had quite the past couple weeks in the US. Only about 400 years overdue, but to hear some people talk you’d think Black people asking not to be killed by police is some sort of unreasonable request.
I’ve taken a couple weeks off blogging to give the attention to voices that need to be heard. I doubt it made much difference as I don’t have thousands of Instagram followers, but it felt like the right thing to do rather than posting black squares, or pictures of Eldridge Cleaver. Not that there’s anything wrong with posting pictures of Cleaver, but you’d get more out of reading Soul on Ice. Short book too- you could read it in an evening. Anyway, stepping aside felt like the right thing to do.
Locally, we had cops lobbing tear gas at peaceful protesters, a Black protester killed by a white bar owner, the National Guard in the streets of Omaha, a curfew, and very little change on the part of the police department. The overall tone coming from the city is that they just want things to go back to normal. But normal is centuries of systemic racism and we already know that’s the problem.
So that’s where we’re at. Oh, and Corona is still infecting and killing people but the state has opened everything back up because...well, red state. And late capitalism.
I did learn firsthand that you don’t need to be directly tear gassed to feel the effects. So that was a educational.
In other news, blogger updated their interface and I’m trying it out posting this from my phone. I expect issues, so let me know.
11 comments:
Phone post looks fine. Protestors are still marching here, and I'm totally supportive. We need massive change, not just a moment of silence in the city council meeting.
I think you're very wise, Goody. The UK is no less hypocritical. I'm sorry you have had such horrors in your state and town but change never comes easy.
Re the new Blogger; apart from finding it takes ages for the selected photos to appear on the post when you download them, it seems ok to me. Hope I've not jinxed it by saying that!
Take care and stay safe - not just from the damn virus either.
xxx
we have it in the news here and would it help you to say that in many big german cities (state capitals if you will) the masses demonstrated to show solidarity with the american black community and pointing at racism in our own sytems and heads... and TV & radio & print media do specials about racism???
in other news: people flock to crowded campsides, pools, shopping malls and attractions as if there is no tomorrow. even a - completely booked out - flight to mallorca (cheap white trash destination) has started on monday and more will follow.......
i stay at home mostly, walk the woods on secret paths, go to the mini-office where i work for a few hours a week and try to get the driving lessons done to a point where i can do the test. thats all.
all my best wishes to you! xxxxx
p.s.: i can see a picture - wahooo! xx
Sorry you're in the midst of it, Goody, it's bad for the blood pressure. Indy's local newscasts show we're not coping well, either. Our peaceful protests ended in the defacing of historic sites and destruction of what was left of the convention district. The mob scenes of protesters chanting made a disturbing companion to the charts of surging Covid-19 infections and deaths. Ditto the BLM clips juxtaposed with the soaring numbers of violent crimes, chiefly black on black. (Last year this time we had 60 deaths; this year, more than 90.)
I well remember the "burn, baby, burn" summer of '68, and I do NOT react well to some newly enlightened teenager of any race or combination thereof lecturing me on what I think or feel. If it makes them feel better to tell me what THEY feel (they don't seem to be thinking), that's OK. Happy to let them vent in a safe place. Safe places for youngsters on our streets are now in short supply.
The same thing is happening here. I worry about the ever-constant potential for violence and vandalism, even at the peaceful protests, because you never know when one bad apple will ruin things for the innocent bystanders.
More and more places keep opening up, or trying to, but I'm happy to keep on being a hermit.
I am so glad you are okay. Virtual hugs to you and the family.
@Shannon
Agreed on the need for change.
@Veronica
It is so frustrating. I mean, they had TANKS! Why does a small city police department require tanks? I stood and watched them heading down Dodge Street like they were headed into battle. They might have been better equipped than some Army units. What was the tear gas about? People were out after curfew. They only had riots after busting up peaceful protests. All the people that were arrested have now had the charges dropped so was it all for show? Just so the local police could assert dominance over people who dared to say they shouldn't be killing Black people?! I'm seriously angry that instead of dialogue, they just called for more weapons. Meeting protests about police brutality with police brutality isn't a good look.
I'm not ready to say we should get rid of the police department, but we sure do need better police. And maybe take away their tanks and rocket launchers.
@Beate
I'm glad you can see the photos!
I'm heartened to see the protests around the world. We have an opportunity now to learn from mistakes and right some wrongs.
I know the protests will get blamed for the spike in Corona but it was exactly two weeks after lifting restrictions that the cases started spiking locally. I'm sure the protests didn't help (You cough a lot when being exposed to chemical weapons)but they were still largely outdoor activities. I'm barely getting out, but that's fine. I'm glad you've been able to get your out of the way walks in.
Stay safe!
@Beth
I'm not going to judge anyone's anger boiling over, though it probably isn't helpful in the long run to burn shit down. I get it, but I can't condone it. As for Black on Black crime, people in poverty tend to commit crime where they live. We have a lot of white crime in Omaha because we have a lot of poor whites.
I get a lot of young people lecturing me, even the ones I agree with. I guess that's part of being young but I do think that the constant accusations are just going to result in outrage fatigue and alienation. I worry that over-zealous white young people are trying to take over a movement where they ought to be doing more listening than shouting. Anyway,I'm sure I was equally forceful in telling my parents what they were doing wrong when I was young.
Hope you're continuing to feel better and stronger.
@Emily
Hopefully we're past the vandalism stage (now that everyone's attention has been got)and we can start working on some real police reforms.
Hermit lifestyle is they way to go right now. Can you believe our pool is open?! No way would you get me in there. Hope you and your husband are staying well.
I'm sorry to hear that you're in the thick of it. As Vronni and Beate have already said, we're showing solidarity and support here for George Floyd and the other appalling injustices although the UK is hardly blameless.
I've tried the new blogging thingy, it's okay but I can't seem to work out how to enlarge photos, possibly as I use a PC? I'm sticking to the Legacy Blogger.
I'm all for attitudes towards minorities changing, I'm against familiar tech being changed! xxx
I am really amazed that the protests against systemic racism and police brutality in the USA took this long to erupt. I've been pepper-gassed, tear-gassed, and lathi-charged in my own home in Kashmir so I empathize fully with that experience. I was shocked one morning in the tiny town where I lived in California about 14 years ago when I saw tanks & rocket launchers being driven down the main street early one morning to bust a local biker bar for possible illegal weapons.
Lockdown is lockdone here in Nepal as we reopen in rarely enforced phases despite rising C19 cases. Quarantine centers along the Indian border are so filthy and overcrowded they are becoming incubators for C19. Not to mention the Nepali government doesn't even see fit to test asymptomatic persons after completing the required 14-day quarantine!
UGH!
I'm staying in hermit mode indefinitely.
Stay safe ny friend!
Like Bibi, I am surprised that these protests took so long to erupt! It must be scary to be in the thick of it, though. I'm all for peaceful protests - there have been several here in Belgium as well - but the violence and vandalism do scare me. Even here, things didn't always end peaceful, but I'm putting that down to a handful of hotheads who tag along for the sake of it, whatever the cause. These protests coinciding with Covid-19 does not sit well with me either. I did have to block one of my real life friends on Facebook and I'm still feeling shocked as I never expected her to post what she did. It's especially awkward as she used to be a very good friend ... We're no longer in lockdown here in Belgium and lots of restrictions have been released, but apart from my office days I haven't been out much, and I think I will be avoiding anywhere too crowded for a long time yet. As for the new Blogger interface, I did have a quick look, and I think it'll be fine. I don't like any technical changes, though, so I'll probably keep using the legacy one until I'm forced to to otherwise! xxx
I've also watch it in the news and tried to inform myself, so I've been reading some blogs and articles (and obviously I've had to block some despicable persons too, sigh!).
I've felt really sad about the lack of change, the lack of any redesign nor reconsideration of anything.
As our lockdown is finished, people are back to their business as usual, which usually means that they were queuing to shop fast fashion and stuff and that many people are going out in excursions, holidays or whatever. At least, most people wear a facemask.
But it looks like if any chance to try a different lifestyle was quickly discarded.
We have our own racism problems related to inmigrants (racism disguised as 'legal problems') but also to local ethnic minorities, and these problems are deeply ingrained in our country.
Hope you're ok and I'm sending you my support.
besos
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