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How this movement could have succeeded.


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While there might be some good to come from all this craziness, there has been a lot that has happened to drive us further apart. Especially when it comes to race. When you look at how we got here it's wild. This all started with an incident where everyone was on the same side. Now it has turned into finger pointing, blame, and acrimony. So where did this go off the rails?

 

Lack of leadership:

 

Too many cooks not enough chefs. I think that's the saying. Martin Luther King Jr was not the only voice of the civil rights movement, but he was arguably the face of it. He was a great speaker who could rally people both black and white. Who do we have now? Black Lives Matters? People know the term, they don't know the politics of it. Read the website. NBA and NFL players? That didn't work out before. CHOP? They can't settle on a name. The lack of a centralized figure leads to the next problem.

 

Lack of a real message:

 

If you ask 10 people involved in the protests what the goal is you'll get 6-7 different answers. Also if you want to implement change, you must have an attainable goal. Putting an end to racial injustice is a Miss America answer. There is a reason they don't say they wish for world peace anymore. Police reform and an end to police brutality is a reasonable goal. One that actually affects all people. Not just people of color. One protestor in Tampa actually told a reporter that they wanted free solar panels for the black community. Does that have anything to do with anything that's going on? You sound like you're reading off a Christmas list.

 

Everything is racist:

 

This is the one that has really divided people. Not everything is a matter of race. Rayshard Brooks was a black man shot by a white cop. Nothing in that body cam footage showed racism. Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, and some of the others often mentioned are cases that have yet to been proven that racism played a part in each tragedy. White people have taken offense to anything that happens against someone black being called racist. If you disagree, your racist. You can't keep calling people racist and get their support.

 

Cancel culture:

 

I will admit that the majority of this is coming from mostly white entities that are showing their wokeness. Uncle Ben's or Aunt Jemima have never offended me. I'm waiting for the Quakers to complain about oatmeal packaging. Gone With the Wind probably isn't offending those who have never seen it. Whoopi Goldberg said it best that if you're going to cancel GWTW, a movie that produced the first black female Oscar winner(Goldberg being the second, you have to get rid of the entire blaxploitation era. As those movies show blacks in mostly non flattering ways.

 

More statues coming down:

 

We're tearing down Abraham Lincoln statues now? Smh. Don't erect a statue to Colin Kaepernick because that won't last the night. Hell George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks don't pass these purity tests.

 

What did the Civil Rights movement have? Support from black, white, politicians alike. Many different people fighting for a common cause. MLK said he wanted people to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Now we've gone back to judging people by the color of their skin.

 

What would I do? I would have a realistic goal. I would work for police reform. I would talk to law enforcement heads about working to reduce police brutality. I would talk to them, not around them. I would steer clear of the systemic racism claims as the numbers don't support it. Now I'm sure that I would piss off the mob because I wouldn't be asking for a pound of flesh.

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Lets be clear: the racial divide on this topic doesnt exist. Whites support the protests and are open to change and the idea that racism exists.

 

Republicans have a problem, and they were never going to be in favor of reform. LAW & ORDER.

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I agree that a Central leader needs to emerge quickly. BLM is too grassroots still, they need to figure out how to move to the big leagues fast. Could they find a black politician to take up the mantle? Obama is hugely popular and mainstream but I think they need someone younger, a rising star.

 

I am not sad at all about the Confederate statues coming down. I admit fully to being a Midwest (Yankee) girl but I never understood why we built statues to the losers in the Civil War.

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Republicans have a problem, and they were never going to be in favor of reform. LAW & ORDER.

Please a little more context would be helpful.

The entirety of the last 4 years?

 

Republican outlets have been lionizing the police and the military for years now. A big part of right-wing patriotism is providing unwavering support to people who carry guns for a living, to make up for how the troops were treated after Vietnam. The people who have been using #BlueLivesMatter for years will never support any police reform proposal, their support refuses to acknowledge anything but perfection and criticism is unpatriotic. Considering there is a frightening cross-section in this group of white supremacists, and the main complaints about the police stem from the treatment of black people, well. I dont think this movement will get too far with them regardless of how its presented.

 

I agree that BLM needs a leader, or at least a committee of leaders, with a designated official spokesperson. Theyll have to step up knowing theres a huge possibility they could be assassinated. Thats heavy. And they need a unified message and list of actionable points.

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Basically what Katrina said, I was also thinking of Occupy Wall Street and the first iteration of BLM. Immigration reform has also taken a back seat since last summer. I feel like protesting is losing momentum and interest. People need to take Action other than just becoming "woke". Even just something like supporting more BIPOC for local, state, and national elections would be something.

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I am not sad at all about the Confederate statues coming down. I admit fully to being a Midwest (Yankee) girl but I never understood why we built statues to the losers in the Civil War.

I agree! Confederates lost the war. It doesn't make sense to me even having a memorial to insurrectionists. I can see memorials to battlefields that honor both sides, as they were all Americans from a historical and educational point of view, but why do we need to honor Jefferson Davis?

 

Now, I am more iffy on taking down the Jefferson Memorial. Because he once owned slaves? Jefferson was instrumental in the Declaration of Independence and revolution. He was the 3rd president of the US. Also, he literally doubled the size of the US with a stroke of a pen.

 

Would it not make more sense to maintain the Jefferson Memorial, but acknowledge the fact he was a slave owner. It could be an opportunity to show how far African Americans have come. Maybe modify or add to it as not only a way to display Jefferson's accomplishments, but also show the history and accomplishments of black Americans, including the first African American president, President Obama.

 

If we start cancelling everything that offends people, history will be forgotten, and sooner or later, it will be repeated.

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BLM has a pretty clear set of goals but I agree, they could use a visible spokesperson. Some demands are being met now, unfortunately, some things happening seem to be knee-jerk and may not help in the long run.

 

On the Confederacy-I never understood the whole suck up to the South deal. Once the century turned, ALL of the remnants, including pandering to the 'Southern way of life' should have been unceremoniously tossed, IMO. Why do we continue to look at all fondly upon a big section of this country who decided if we wouldn't allow them to continue to own human beings, they'd GO TO WAR with US? They were traitors, why didn't we treat them as such?

 

"CHOP? They can't settle on a name" ONE change so we could dump the "autonomous" portion and look here-YOU seemed to grasp the change!

 

"If you ask 10 people involved in the protests what the goal is you'll get 6-7 different answers." But maybe those people aren't involved in the implementation of goals. All this is indicative of is a CROWD.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I think this is crystal clear. Police should stop killing Black people and getting away with it. How to do this? Hold them accountable. Why is this so hard? I have an attitude right now, I'll admit it. I've seen too many people whining about this on social media. "But what do we do and how?"

 

You just STOP being racist.

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1. Lack of leadership:

 

Too many cooks not enough chefs. I think that's the saying. Martin Luther King Jr was not the only voice of the civil rights movement, but he was arguably the face of it. He was a great speaker who could rally people both black and white. Who do we have now? Black Lives Matters? People know the term, they don't know the politics of it. Read the website. NBA and NFL players? That didn't work out before. CHOP? They can't settle on a name. The lack of a centralized figure leads to the next problem.

 

2. Lack of a real message:

 

If you ask 10 people involved in the protests what the goal is you'll get 6-7 different answers. Also if you want to implement change, you must have an attainable goal. Putting an end to racial injustice is a Miss America answer. There is a reason they don't say they wish for world peace anymore. Police reform and an end to police brutality is a reasonable goal. One that actually affects all people. Not just people of color. One protestor in Tampa actually told a reporter that they wanted free solar panels for the black community. Does that have anything to do with anything that's going on? You sound like you're reading off a Christmas list.

 

3. Everything is racist:

 

This is the one that has really divided people. Not everything is a matter of race. Rayshard Brooks was a black man shot by a white cop. Nothing in that body cam footage showed racism. Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, and some of the others often mentioned are cases that have yet to been proven that racism played a part in each tragedy. White people have taken offense to anything that happens against someone black being called racist. If you disagree, your racist. You can't keep calling people racist and get their support.

 

4. Cancel culture:

 

I will admit that the majority of this is coming from mostly white entities that are showing their wokeness. Uncle Ben's or Aunt Jemima have never offended me. I'm waiting for the Quakers to complain about oatmeal packaging. Gone With the Wind probably isn't offending those who have never seen it. Whoopi Goldberg said it best that if you're going to cancel GWTW, a movie that produced the first black female Oscar winner(Goldberg being the second, you have to get rid of the entire blaxploitation era. As those movies show blacks in mostly non flattering ways.

 

5. More statues coming down:

 

We're tearing down Abraham Lincoln statues now? Smh. Don't erect a statue to Colin Kaepernick because that won't last the night. Hell George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks don't pass these purity tests.

 

What did the Civil Rights movement have? Support from black, white, politicians alike. Many different people fighting for a common cause. MLK said he wanted people to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Now we've gone back to judging people by the color of their skin.

 

What would I do? I would have a realistic goal. I would work for police reform. I would talk to law enforcement heads about working to reduce police brutality. I would talk to them, not around them. I would steer clear of the systemic racism claims as the numbers don't support it. Now I'm sure that I would piss off the mob because I wouldn't be asking for a pound of flesh.

Rational post. You have pointed out--with stinging accuracy--why this latest round of unrest is not moving anything forward, and likely never will.

 

1./3. The problem with present day "leadership" (of any group) is that it starts from the position of accusation to outright hatred (Al Sharpton, for one example), and that is not going to inspire anyone walking in the middle to support the confused cause. Instead,those in the middle might end up standing in opposition to it because no normal person will support anyone accusing them--with blanket charges of generational racism, yet they're supposed to donate flesh, energy. etc. It does not work that way.

 

2. The message iand "movement" is not so genuine, as BLM has been long co-opted by other groups among its leadership, including gay rights groups, immigrant groups, etc, which robs the unique experience and plight of black Americans from the conversation, and any legislation that might come from said conversation.

 

For kneejerk white liberals who love virtue signalling their support of BLM, they would do themselves a favor and listen to black activists and entertainers who reject this "movement" and many of its goals hardly apply to them at all--

 

@ 3:35 - Lord Jamar: I don't Support Black Lives Matter, it's Not Our Movement.

 

@ 9:38 - LGBT Is the New Black, and So Is People of Color.

 

@ 9:17 - Tariq Nasheed: Undermining Black Movements.

You will never hear any of the most vocal, "we support BLM!!" white liberals ever acknowledge what people like the three in the links continue to observe and expose. The same applies to the mainstream, left-leaning news media, and its not due to a lack of knowledge, as there is a relationship--a shared agenda between the media and those who have attached themselves and their own causes to BLM. the biggest reason why there will never be a modern day sociopolitical "black" movement that is only focused on the history, life and legacy of black Americans. Infiltrators will never let that happen.

 

 

4. Cancel Culture has never been populated by the exceptionally bright. Scream, ban, censor and tear down everything that they consider offensive--that's the answer. Historical context / educational value be damned. For once, Goldberg is correct--if Gone With the Wind is ripped from history, so too must every Blaxploitation film,as most were not at all "empowering", but mass marketed a wealth of vile stereotypes that are still celebrated / used to this day, to the point where random people on the street (and a hack filmmaker I will leave nameless) will use, quote lines and/or mimic behavior from those films as if they took it was sourced from real black culture. Robert Townsend's brilliant Hollywood Shuffle (1987) was a teaching tour de force on just how destructive the entertainment industry had been in rewriting black people and their history into a sea of the very kind of offensive stereotypes found in the Blaxploitation genre. One must remember that this genre ran its course in the post American Civil Rights Movement 1970s, yet after all of the movement's fight for dignity as well as rights under the law, this film genre often turned black people into shameless caricatures with very few exceptions.

 

Where is the outcry to ban those films? Nowhere, and the fact no one--specifically white liberals in the seat of political and social influencing power--is calling for that genre to be wiped from the face of the earth illustrates selective outrage, and a misconception that somehow, Hattie McDaniel's character is more damaging than endless portrayals of pimps, hookers, drug addicts, random criminal types, prison populations and barely literate jive types. To the offended--specifically white liberals, one is tied to what they see as American Conservatism (therefore its evil incarnate), while the other is post-modern chic...part of a "cool" culture, which is absolute BS on their part.

 

5. A wealth of truth that would be ignored by those who think they know better than you.

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If only there was some system where we could elect officials who would then take care of the concerns of the community.

 

No, too crazy. It would never work.

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Republicans have a problem, and they were never going to be in favor of reform. LAW & ORDER.

Please a little more context would be helpful.

 

Years of Republicans giving full throated support to any and all actions by the police, demanding increased militarization, and attacking anyone who thinks that maybe we could change anything as being soft on crime and not a patriot? The fact that Trump has huge support among Republicans even though he has called for police to be more brutal.

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Most of the incidents people like to reference happened under the Obama administration. If I wanted to I could play the party card. You know the cities with the worst crime rates have been run by Democrats for a while. That would be ignoring a mindset though. Not all cities are policed the same. Different strokes for different folks.

 

I'll use Tampa as an example because I live here. On the first night of protests our Mayor walked with the protestors as a show of unity. As soon as her part was done, the shit hit the fan. Close to a thousand "protestors" started getting violent with the police. The University Mall was almost looted. UPD and TPD were on the scene to block of the entrances to the mall and they chased everyone out. This played out on live TV for 5-6 hours. The cried know they weren't getting anywhere so the went across the street and looted the shops there. They burned a fifth of the plaza the ground. The Tampa Sheriff was on the phone on television calling for all surrounding units to get there. Within five minutes cops were everywhere. Now the Mayor(a democrat who I voted for) was the previous chief of police. She laid down the law the next morning and all attempted violence that Sunday was put down in a hurry. Why? A former police chief coordinated with her counterparts and put a quick end to it. Mayor Castor is no Trumper. She said her city was not going to burn. In other democratic led cities the mayors are telling the cops to stand down.

 

This didn't start with Trump. This started with the advent of the cell phone camera. We get worked to because we're seeing some of these things happen. Stats don't prove that the police are a brutal racist force in this country. Almost the contrary. Bad situations happen, because unfortunately some of these cops are human. Which means they make bad mistakes or are bad people.

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Nobody is saying it started with Trump. Im saying that Republicans worship someone who calls on police to be more brutal.

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