A rare bit of good news from my hometown of Flint, MI:
A rare bit of good news from my hometown of Flint, MI:
The peaceful march in Flint Township started at 6 p.m. with a small group of about eight people, but quickly grew to hundreds. The group blocked I-75 southbound on- and off-ramps along Miller Road.
After more than two hours, the march was led to the Flint Township Police Department, where protesters were met with a line of Flint Township officers and Genesee County Sheriff’s deputies wearing riot gear and holding batons.
Protesters initially sat down to show their peace, and after conversations sparked between police and protesters, common ground was found. High-fives, hugs and fist bumps were exchanged.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson took his helmet off and put his baton on the ground as a sign of peace.
Swanson and other Flint-area police officers ultimately joined the march, which continued back past the Genesee Valley Mall onto Miller Road to the Target parking lot.
About damn time. THIS is how you put these riots to bed. Join them, don't fight them. They are a lot less likely to get up to mischief with the good officers in the mix, and everyone with a...
About damn time. THIS is how you put these riots to bed. Join them, don't fight them. They are a lot less likely to get up to mischief with the good officers in the mix, and everyone with a smartphone can film the troublemakers who destroy property so that they can later be arrested.
Asking from the perspective of one who lives over the pond; were you present? How were the protests in Flint? What's the general perception of your local PD like? I'm really confused by what I've...
Asking from the perspective of one who lives over the pond; were you present? How were the protests in Flint? What's the general perception of your local PD like?
I'm really confused by what I've been seeing on Reddit. Granted I'm aware it's a cesspool of hate filled bullshit - I've only seen very polarized extremism of both factions on the frontpage, and I really can't make out to what extent the media/political groups and so on are putting a spin to the stories or astroturfing...
What's the take of Americans not from Minneapolis taking part or reading about the protests?
I'm not currently in Flint. I live in Los Angeles where things got a little crazy over the weekend. Most reasonable people I know (which probably skews white, liberal, college educated), think...
I'm not currently in Flint. I live in Los Angeles where things got a little crazy over the weekend.
Most reasonable people I know (which probably skews white, liberal, college educated), think that the police have too much power and are too militarized, and that we need some serious changes to get cops to stop killing black people. There's a lot of institutionalized racism in our system, but getting it out is quite difficult.
On the news here in LA, they made it pretty clear what's actually happening. During the morning and early afternoon, the protesters are mainly people who actually care about the issue and want systemic change. These are groups like Black Live Matter, and individuals who want a more just system.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the protests start getting inundated with 2 other groups: 1) white supremecists trying to get people riled up so they do something violent so they can later point to it and say, "Look! They're not peaceful protesters! They're violent thugs! We shouldn't have to put up with this!", and 2) criminal organizations (gangs, mafia, etc.) looking to loot merchandise and make a buck from the ensuing chaos. My guess is that these tactics will work to reinforce people's beliefs, especially as they're amplified by Fox News and related outlets.
There's a lot of support outside of Minneapolis for reforming policing and rooting out institutionalized racism. But there's also a lot of pushback from right-wing groups who know how to manipulate conservatives.
People keep saying, "this time it's different", "this time, things will change". I've been listening to people saying this since Rodney King ... hell, since Dr. Martin Luther King ... details are...
People keep saying, "this time it's different", "this time, things will change".
I've been listening to people saying this since Rodney King ... hell, since Dr. Martin Luther King ... details are different, but no, it isn't really different. Cops are fighting back and/or hunkering down, waiting for the latest storm of outrage to blow over, so they can go back to "normal" policing, same as it's been for centuries.
THIS. This article is the first thing I've read that feels different. When we're seeing 100s and 1000s of cops marching in protests against police brutality, alongside the civilian protesters, that's when things might start to change.
A rare bit of good news from my hometown of Flint, MI:
About damn time. THIS is how you put these riots to bed. Join them, don't fight them. They are a lot less likely to get up to mischief with the good officers in the mix, and everyone with a smartphone can film the troublemakers who destroy property so that they can later be arrested.
Asking from the perspective of one who lives over the pond; were you present? How were the protests in Flint? What's the general perception of your local PD like?
I'm really confused by what I've been seeing on Reddit. Granted I'm aware it's a cesspool of hate filled bullshit - I've only seen very polarized extremism of both factions on the frontpage, and I really can't make out to what extent the media/political groups and so on are putting a spin to the stories or astroturfing...
What's the take of Americans not from Minneapolis taking part or reading about the protests?
I'm not currently in Flint. I live in Los Angeles where things got a little crazy over the weekend.
Most reasonable people I know (which probably skews white, liberal, college educated), think that the police have too much power and are too militarized, and that we need some serious changes to get cops to stop killing black people. There's a lot of institutionalized racism in our system, but getting it out is quite difficult.
On the news here in LA, they made it pretty clear what's actually happening. During the morning and early afternoon, the protesters are mainly people who actually care about the issue and want systemic change. These are groups like Black Live Matter, and individuals who want a more just system.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the protests start getting inundated with 2 other groups: 1) white supremecists trying to get people riled up so they do something violent so they can later point to it and say, "Look! They're not peaceful protesters! They're violent thugs! We shouldn't have to put up with this!", and 2) criminal organizations (gangs, mafia, etc.) looking to loot merchandise and make a buck from the ensuing chaos. My guess is that these tactics will work to reinforce people's beliefs, especially as they're amplified by Fox News and related outlets.
There's a lot of support outside of Minneapolis for reforming policing and rooting out institutionalized racism. But there's also a lot of pushback from right-wing groups who know how to manipulate conservatives.
People keep saying, "this time it's different", "this time, things will change".
I've been listening to people saying this since Rodney King ... hell, since Dr. Martin Luther King ... details are different, but no, it isn't really different. Cops are fighting back and/or hunkering down, waiting for the latest storm of outrage to blow over, so they can go back to "normal" policing, same as it's been for centuries.
THIS. This article is the first thing I've read that feels different. When we're seeing 100s and 1000s of cops marching in protests against police brutality, alongside the civilian protesters, that's when things might start to change.
... just my privileged white male dos centavos.