Riots in the USA - just an excuse to let off energy? (1 Viewer)

[Pat Hartman]

Maybe he got kickbacks from Clinton and Biden

It was a question, not an accusation. I have no facts to share. Why do people who make declarative statements that are supposed to sound like fact (because the statement is coming from someone who should know the "facts") rather than supposition (as mine was) require NO supporting evidence before they are spread by the media as Gospel? I'm still waiting to see the "evidence" that Schiff insists he has of the President "colluding with the Russians? Transcripts of closed door interviews recently released all confirm that the people who were supposed to KNOW, said there was no there, there and yet Schiff, and several other highly placed Democrats still stick to this position. Why not ask them for their facts? The media sure won't.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Why will no liberal ever admit that the film of the open mic of Obama speaking to the Russian representative -

Tell Vlad that I'll have more flexibility after the election

relates to the Russian action two years later to annex parts of the Ukraine? Do you think the Russians would have invaded if they thought for a minute we might try to stop it?

Obama just let it happen. The Ukrainians begged for help. Obama sent blankets.

 

[Isaac]

Hmm. Well just to play devil's advocate, if you can see your way clear to interpret Donald Trump's call very mafia-like call with Ukraine as "well gee, he may have been referring to anything", then it seems one could do the same with Obama's statement. He certainly could have been referring to anything.
Hot mic accidents are fun, though. I bet you could just youtube a series of them...very embarrassing for people.

 

[Jon]

I took a little online test. You can see it below and my guess verses the right answer.

How did I arrive at my figures? Well, I considered that reality has nothing to do with it! It was mostly about political ideology. America is split roughly down the middle, with 50% Democrat and 50% Republican. It has been like this for many decades. So, 95% of blacks are Democrats and therefore would support the usual view of everything is racist. That is the ideology of the left, as I see it, and so shared across all skin colours. When it comes to the white population, there are more white's relatively speaking in the Republican party. That is why I chose 50%.

You could argue that the phrase "race was a major factor" is ambiguous. A better question, in my view, would be if they thought the police brutality in this case was due to racism, where there is no evidence. You could say that prior oppression (and some will argue current too) of blacks has led to poverty. More poverty, more crime. More interactions with the police. Greater chance of encountering police brutality. I can buy that argument. So, if that is how I was going to answer the question, from that perspective, and I wasn't talking about other respondents, my personal view would be that race is a very large factor. If you have one group of any colour in frequent contact with the police, the risk of police brutality goes up.

If George Floyd was white, living in a wealthy middle-class neighbourhood, the chances of him having an encounter with the police would be much lower, and under those circumstances, race would be a major factor. I hope my drivel made sense!

Some of you might like the list of tests here, which show what people are thinking: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/racism-polls/

 

[NauticalGent]

So...I am married to a devout Christian who goes to church EVERY Sunday which means I go to Church every Sunday. I am not a Christian and I still have not figured out if I beleive in God or not...

I do enjoy the service however and look forward every Sunday to spending quality time with my wife. The church is very diverse and I have always sensed a genuine good will when i attend. Two Sundays ago, the pastor (who is white) addressed the George Floyd issue and the racial undertones we have discussed here. At the end of the service, he announced that the next Sunday he would allow the Campus Pastor (who is black) to handle the sermon. Not only that, he decided to let the entire service be handled by people of color - no whites allowed!

His name is Kyle and he is a good man but I rolled my eyes anyway for a couple of reasons. Reasons i would be happy to share, but that is not the purpose of this reply.

So...this Sunday I went and was prepared to be disappointed...funny thing is I had no idea why I felt this way, but I did.

Turns out it was totally awesome and I actually got a little misty. POWERFUL message for everyone and absolutely germaine to where this thread has taken us. Do yourself a favor and have a listen. Kyle's sermon starts at 45 min in if you want to skip the normal BS and get to the heart of it all...
Destination Church

 

[AccessBlaster]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing NG.

 

[ColinEssex]

I had to laugh. This whole thing about different groups banging on about their lot is just getting stupid. First blacks, then poofs, then trans something, then lezzies and those that are mentally deranged.
On the news yesterday was the team called 'Washington Redskins' are going to change their name because it upset a few Red Indians. (I'm not sure if they are baseball team or football team, and care even less) I just couldn't understand why this is being done, I'm sure most Red Indians couldn't care less as they sit on their reservations in wigwams wondering why they live in poverty killing animals with bows and arrows, and the white man doesn't. I'm sure Washington is a million miles from the wilds of some obscure state like Montana or something.
Col

 

[Isaac]

Hmm yes, just as crazy I heard they are vandalizing or covering statues of Winston Churchill in London. Shouldn't we mostly be thankful for him?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Col, you have seriously, almost comically, betrayed your ignorance of Native Americans. First, this problem has been going on for over 80 years because the Cleveland baseball team (like your cricket) is the "Indians." Other teams in college have Native American names, as for example the Florida Seminoles. The Washington Redskins team plays USA-style football that is closest to your sport of Rugby. You can easily be forgiven for not knowing that. Some USA football teams have visited London and played a game there, at least twice in Wembley Stadium. I know it was televised for your folks.

Your comments about "wigwams" and "killing animals with bows and arrows" are simply hopeless. You can find Indian reservations in 34 states in the USA broken up into over 570 separate reservations or tribal areas. Native Americans live in houses, trailers, apartments, ... you name it. But wigwams? NOBODY uses those any more. If they REALLY wanted to "rough it" they would go to WalMart and buy a waterproof nylon "rip-stop" tent with springy ribs that make assembly easy.

It might come as a shock to you but they don't hunt with bows and arrows except for special sporting events. It happens that Native Americans are allowed to buy and own guns. Nowadays, if we wanted to play "cowboys and indians" the indians can shoot back.

 

[Steve R.]

A Washington Post survey done in August 2019. A survey explores how Native Americans feel about the name Washington Redskins. No, it’s not that survey. This one is new.

The majority of Native Americans still aren’t offended by the name of the Washington Redskins.

Given the rabid hysteria of the left today, anyone publicly citing such a survey will be immediately and violently ostracized.

We also have spineless CEO's who simply acquiesce to these irrational prejudicial demands by the left. We need more CEO's, like the Goya CEO (Robert Unanue) to blatantly refute the left's hysterical irrational demands.

 

[ColinEssex]

I admit I was a bit light hearted about your Red Indian population. But I was trying to highlight that it seems these days, any group of people moan on - or at least a few of them and then the rest of us normal people are not allowed to refer to them in case the little dears get upset, then they wack out the ole racist or discrimination chant. I guess next it will be the one-eyed, one legged, tree hugging vegetarian lesbian crank.
I've seen a bit of American football, that's where the men line up facing each other and rush at each other and fight, even if you haven't got the ball.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I've seen a bit of American football, that's where the men line up facing each other and rush at each other and fight, even if you haven't got the ball.

Col,

Yes, I've been to other games like that. We have a saying, "I went to a fight last night and a hockey game broke out." I've also seen collisions on the soccer pitch where people walk away bleeding. Sports can be violent.

And let's get down to the critical issue: I absolutely and categorically AGREE with you about the whiners and moaners who try to use perceived insults as grounds for taking control over you in some obscure way. Islam and blacks are both remarkably sensitive about it. Don't even THINK about insulting a transvestite because he'll hit you with his purse and grind his high heels into your groin.

Your reference to the "next crank" made me laugh because it brought back a memory. Some years ago, even before the Navy job, the group I managed was analyzing regulations because we were working a job for the U.S. Coast Guard. If you take government money, you have literally reams of regulations to try to understand about equal opportunity and similar topics. My group got to talking about an employment ad we had filed for people with some level of programming skills and how difficult it was to find ANYONE, much less someone who would fit the regulations.

Things got crazy because some of the people who applied were total dolts, abject idiots, and thumb-fingered imbeciles. We were getting more than a little bit disillusioned with the ability of some people to see just HOW abysmally stupid they were. The boss gave us a "pep talk" and warned us about trying to avoid bigotry in any decisions. After that lecture, we had a lot of steam to blow off. We decided the advert should have read, "Help wanted: Must be able to reliably add 2+2 and come close to 4; must be able to spell 'programming' without using a dictionary; the ideal candidate will be a black Jewish lesbian vegetarian over age 50 with either a bad cataract or a missing eye, any missing limb, and a harelip."

When the laughter died down, we got back to considering candidates. For the record, the next person we hired was a Taiwanese immigrant lady with decent but not perfect English skills - but an IMMENSE ability to pay full meticulous attention to details. Thirty years later she was still in the programming business but working at the Navy site. She may have been the best hiring recommendation I ever made.

 

[ColinEssex]

Actually, being serious for a change. I suppose when I was growing up I never experienced racism in the current sense. Yes, we had the odd black person at school but very rarely.
I and my wife first encountered true racism when we lived in Australia. First we had an interview in England where they openly admitted it was to check we weren't black. At that time (1973) no coloured people were allowed to emigrate to Australia. When we got there and got settled with jobs and a flat (apartment) we realised how horrible the white people were to aborigines. They were literally treated like scum. There is an area in Sydney near where we lived, and quite a few aborigines lived there almost in squalor. Me and Mary were totally confused by their treatment, yet as this area was near a nice beach we liked so we went there quite safely because it was obvious we were English. The stories the aboriginal people told about their treatment was just unimaginable even at that time.
It seemed that the aboriginal people had no rights at all, their children were taken away for practically no reason, they were entitled to no money so crime was the last resort, or worse, like prostitution and the murky sex industry, even for the children. The customers of course were white.
As we had no children because we we not long married, I was offered for sale, an aboriginal child by a white man to keep as our own, obviously we declined the offer.
It's sad really, because many aborigines are nice people and we had interesting chats about their history etc. But, it is the white man who forces them to crime etc, then the spiral is downward only and this alienates them even more from a normal life, they have / had no chance of a job, even if they applied, they never got to interview stage.
In my opinion, Australia is very racist, and I think it is still the same as it was when we were there. I hope I am wrong.
Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Col,

While I am sad to hear your story, I am glad in a way to have learned it. I know that the USA's "Old South" is no fun for blacks, but I'm glad to hear that at least we are not unique on that point. The Old South has no lock on bad behavior. But then, neither does Minneapolis and Detroit, two northern cities in the USA.

 

[AccessBlaster]

Including California

 

[Isaac]

Actually, being serious for a change. I suppose when I was growing up I never experienced racism in the current sense. Yes, we had the odd black person at school but very rarely.
I and my wife first encountered true racism when we lived in Australia. First we had an interview in England where they openly admitted it was to check we weren't black. At that time (1973) no coloured people were allowed to emigrate to Australia. When we got there and got settled with jobs and a flat (apartment) we realised how horrible the white people were to aborigines. They were literally treated like scum. There is an area in Sydney near where we lived, and quite a few aborigines lived there almost in squalor. Me and Mary were totally confused by their treatment, yet as this area was near a nice beach we liked so we went there quite safely because it was obvious we were English. The stories the aboriginal people told about their treatment was just unimaginable even at that time.
It seemed that the aboriginal people had no rights at all, their children were taken away for practically no reason, they were entitled to no money so crime was the last resort, or worse, like prostitution and the murky sex industry, even for the children. The customers of course were white.
As we had no children because we we not long married, I was offered for sale, an aboriginal child by a white man to keep as our own, obviously we declined the offer.
It's sad really, because many aborigines are nice people and we had interesting chats about their history etc. But, it is the white man who forces them to crime etc, then the spiral is downward only and this alienates them even more from a normal life, they have / had no chance of a job, even if they applied, they never got to interview stage.
In my opinion, Australia is very racist, and I think it is still the same as it was when we were there. I hope I am wrong.
Col

Who are you and why have you hacked ColinEssex account?

 

[deletedT]

Sometimes I can't believe my eyes when I see what's happening in US.

http://instagr.am/p/CCuXIYnFeqM/

 

[Pat Hartman]

Does it occur to you that the clip might have been edited to make you think that the police were attacking the man in the wheel chair? Did you notice that the police officers dealing with the man in the wheelchair were also black? Do you actually think that police in America wantonly attack people in wheelchairs who are simply minding their own business? If so, you probably believed the posed pictures of small children in dog cages that were floating around a couple of years ago as the left tried to blame Trump for an illegal immigration situation that was actually created by Obama and since real pictures wouldn't portray the "horror" the left felt, they had to create posed pictures to convey their dismay and to try to convince us that President Trump was the Devil incarnate as we were expected to give President Obama a pass for the same thing.

I'm not saying that the cops did nothing wrong. All I'm saying is that the person who posted that clip wants you to think that the cops are at fault so given that, I question the whole thing.

The election is rapidly approaching. The Marxists have doubled down on their efforts to besmirch America and Trump.

 

[Isaac]

@Tera
Finally I saw the video (not something I wanted to watch on my work computer).
I must say, I'm unclear as to the point you're making, but I do thank you for sharing the video, it is really something (though I'm not sure what).

I saw a man in a wheelchair topple backwards, I didn't catch that anyone pushed him, but who knows. (edit: I just watched the video a 4th time and I think it was actually the force of him pushing people around/in front of him that literally pushed him backwards).
Then I saw the man in the wheelchair.... Instead of trying to get up, he rather started trying to grab hold of the officer's baton! Rather forcefully so, and credit to his muscular build, he hung on for quite a long while. After that point I saw two police officers begin actively "restraining" that man, while he continued to try to push them away and grapple with them a bit, and they continued to get control of him--without administering any hitting, kicking, punching, or otherwise forceful/painful maneuvers. I don't have any information on why the man from the wheelchair decided to start grabbing the officers' baton, it's hard to make that judgment from the video so maybe he had a good reason I'm unaware of.

Like Pat said, we have no idea what the officers, wheelchair-man, or others had been doing prior to the start of the video, and it's possible that these events have something to do with the video content portion. Who knows. I certainly did not see anything that would lead me to say "Wow, such-and-such was definitely wrong no matter what". Even wheelchair-man grabbing/holding at the baton, it seems wrong, but I won't judge him not knowing what other context I might be missing. If I was to continue making assumptions, I'd have to guess he was fighting for that baton because he intended to use it (as a baton is not a very desirable souvenir), but out of grace I might choose to give him the benefit of the doubt that perhaps for another reason.

Your actual viewpoint on this comes across cryptic for me - I cannot tell what it is, but would be curious.

If you just meant, sort of, "wow - this is crazy" in a very general way, then I'd most certainly agree with that! These are certainly troubled times here. Police officers are being attacked in very significant numbers, and sustaining many injuries as a result. They are pretty "wary" of swarming, shouting crowds at this point. I would be too, if I was being paid $50,000/year to be involved in daily fights and generally not allowed to return any hostile actions "in kind", and anytime I proceeded beyond "gentle" I was met with a crowd-controlled local prosecutor convinced I needed to be the next BLM's example made of..
Of course, I am able to imagine another world (that doesn't exist here), where police officers could be gentle & dignified acting all the time, if only they had a gentle "clientele". Unfortunately, this country has many "wild childs" types who enjoy nothing more than a good brawl. Realistic police responses to these situations just doesn't involve much handshaking or bowing. And, as Soul Asylum said in a favorite song of mine "Black Gold", - Nothing attracts a crowd, like a crowd.

 

[deletedT]

I'm really out of words. You know? It seems like when somebody stands somewhere it smells bad. At first the smell is horrible. But then he get used to it and doesn't feel anything. It's our nature. Our brain simply discards the signals coming from our nose. It's a way our brain manages to make our life easier and be able to stand there.
But then when someone new comes there, he can feel the smell.

You've seen these kind of events daily over decades and centuries. Police brutality (against blacks and whites) is not something new for you and no matter how I explain it, you can't see how ugly this (and these kind of clips) is. I'm not talking about a white is killing a black. Or a black is attacking an officer. I'm talking about a lost humanity here. What happened to the humanity? To our respect for each other? To the kindness?
Yes, you don't see the ugliness in it.

Because you're getting used to "You don't know the whole story." "You don't know what happened first". "Who did start it first?"
Does these kind of questions really matter? Yes, you're right. I don't see the story from its start. But what I see is the story ending and it's way out of the humanity that I believe in. Who on earth will do that to a man on a wheel chair? Does it justify it if the officer is black too? Or does it comfort you if you know the man in wheel chair is a murderer and resists being arrested?
@Isaac a man in wheel chair tried to grab the baton, and you're telling me he deserves to be behaved this way? And you don't see the ugliness here?

@Isaac @Pat Hartman I'm only saying US has sever problems and you won't be able to solve it unless you stop blame it on your neighbor. Because the man on the other side of the fence feels the same about you. The only way out of this situation is simply to accept your wrong side, stop blaming each other and talk to each other. But it won't happen? Will it?
You may be able to cover it and stop this riot for now, but you will face it again several years later, with something else to trigger it again.

Now it's your turn. Blame Democrats or Republicans and start the whole "I don't belong to the wrong side."
Or shut me up with your country is not perfect too. (God knows how many times you've told me this. Or maybe he has lost the count too)