Daily thread for news/updates/discussion of George Floyd protests - June 2

The woman being quoted there, Gini Gerbasi, also made this post on Facebook yesterday, describing her experience. I'll copy-paste it here:

Friends, I am ok, but I am, frankly shaken. I was at St. John's, Lafayette Square most of the afternoon, with fellow clergy and laypeople - and clergy from some other denominations too. We were passing out water and snacks, and helping the patio area at St. John's, Lafayette square to be a place of respite and peace. All was well - with a few little tense moments - until about 6:15 or so. By then, I had connected with the Black Lives Matter medic team, which was headed by an EMT. Those people were AMAZING. They had been on the patio all day, and thankfully had not had to use much of the eyewash they had made. Around 6:15 or 6:30, the police started really pushing protestors off of H Street (the street between the church and Lafayette Park, and ultimately, the White House. They started using tear gas and folks were running at us for eyewashes or water or wet paper towels. At this point, Julia, one of our seminarians for next year (who is a trauma nurse) and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was coughing, her eyes were watering, and we were trying to help people as the police - in full riot gear - drove people toward us. Julia and her classmates left and I stayed with the BLM folks trying to help people. Suddenly, around 6:30, there was more tear gas, more concussion grenades, and I think I saw someone hit by a rubber bullet - he was grasping his stomach and there was a mark on his shirt. The police in their riot gear were literally walking onto the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with these metal shields, pushing people off the patio and driving them back. People were running at us as the police advanced toward us from the other side of the patio. We had to try to pick up what we could. The BLM medic folks were obviously well practiced. They picked up boxes and ran. I was so stunned I only got a few water bottles and my spray bottle of eyewash. We were literally DRIVEN OFF of the St. John's, Lafayette Square patio with tear gas and concussion grenades and police in full riot gear. We were pushed back 20 feet, and then eventually - with SO MANY concussion grenades - back to K street. By the time I got back to my car, around 7, I was getting texts from people saying that Trump was outside of St. John's, Lafayette Square. I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN'S - a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day - SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!

I am deeply shaken. I did not see any protestors throw anything until the tear gas and concussion grenades started, and then it was mostly water bottles. I am shaken, not so much by the taste of tear gas and the bit of a cough I still have, but by the fact that that show of force was for a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. The patio of St. John's, Lafayette square had been HOLY GROUND today. A place of respite and laughter and water and granola bars and fruit snacks. But that man turned it into a BATTLE GROUND first, and a cheap political stunt second. I am DEEPLY OFFENDED on behalf of every protestor, every Christian, the people of St. John's, Lafayette square, every decent person there, and the BLM medics who stayed with just a single box of supplies and a backpack, even when I got too scared and had to leave. I am ok. But I am now a force to be reckoned with.

Agreed.

In 2016, during his campaign, in one of his debates with Clinton, Trump refused to say that he would accept the results of the election. Even after the moderator pushed him and reminded him about our long history of a peaceful transition of power, he wouldn't commit. His line was, quite ominously, "I'll keep you in suspense."

This was before he held the office. This was before he had all the power that comes with that. He could not concede to the will of the people even in a hypothetical situation, before the position was even his. His demonstration yesterday, where law enforcement tear gassed a peaceful protest in order to produce a propaganda film, shows how much more power he now holds, how he is choosing to wield it, and how little he values the American people.

I think we need to start very seriously considering the potential that, even if he is legitimately voted out of office, he might not give up power. The thought of this chills me to my very core.

I'm worried that's where we're going too, but I'm not at all worried about the outcome. I'm going to indulge in a rant here because this is starting to piss me off.

We've done this a dozen or more times in US history. It's always the same story. A bunch of protesters die, the guns come out, a shitload of law enforcement and military die in response, we realize we're all blood drunk and stupid, then we get back to voting the parties/people in power out of office with landslide results.

The new guys don't sleep as well as the old guys did because they get reminded who they work for - crazy people with guns. They get shit done, and life goes on. The guns get put away until the next time the government gets snarky and we go through it again.

That's the difference between American protests and the rest of the world. We're armed to the teeth and proud of it, and when you come to kill a crowd, that crowd shoots back... and the crowd is probably in better shape and better at shooting than the 'tough guys' in the police force.

The US military is more likely to turn on their commanding officers than to fire on protesters. They are all Americans, you're asking them to kill their own brothers and sisters. This is why private military is a red line - they don't have that reluctance. They aren't bound to serve American ideals and held to our military standards of justice. They just shoot people for money.

I live so far out in the boonies the world could end tomorrow and I'd be saying, 'what was that noise?' Yet even here, where there are no protests at all in the smaller nearby cities, I'm hearing more weapons fire from my neighbors target shooting than I've ever heard in my life. Everyone is cleaning and practicing with their guns right now, and the new guy on this road has quite an impressive fireworks stash he likes to set off every evening since this started. We're warming up.

That may scare the hell out of some people, but not me. I know these guys. We talk when we're mowing our ridiculously large lawns every weekend, they come over for picnics and parties. Salt of the earth, sensible people. When we talk politics, they are just as disgusted with the current system as anyone here, and just as worried about it. None of them are racist.

I don't buy the 'new civil war' line. The liberals and conservatives combined make up what, 35% of the country? They aren't anything like a majority, they are just loud as hell. They might want a war with each other but the rest do not, and would be happy to shoot at both of them until there are none of either group left if that's what is required. Violence on a large scale may put both of those political ideologies to bed forever.

I put all of this squarely on Trump's shoulders for exacerbating an already dangerous situation. He's trying to get himself assassinated at this rate, and I have doubts there are many in the secret service willing to take a bullet for that asshat. I sure as hell wouldn't.

I will say this - we're over the line now. This is not going away until it burns itself out. This time is definitely the real deal. I think we're about to see the largest protest in American history. We invented them, perhaps it's time we show the rest of the world how it's done again. If Trump tries to live out his dictator/warlord fantasy, he'll spend the rest of his days hiding in a rathole.

It'll be up to the state governors to bring peace to the madness. It always falls to them, the separation of powers still works. They've been working together like never before with the governor's council and the covid pandemic, so in a way, we're positioned to make quick work of this problem just by random luck.

We've never had the internet in America during one of these major historical moments. That's something new. It'll change the nature of the conflict and resolution. Hopefully for the better.

So, keep your head down, join the fight if you must, keep your family safe, and remember to vote - incumbents out, fresh young voices in, and party lines be damned. It's probably a good idea to get the hell out of major cities for a while if you can. The wheel is turning. We've been here before, we'll be here again someday, and life will go on. It's not the end of the world, just the end of an era of racial injustice and dereliction of civic duties.

I feel the same way now, only the sense of impending doom is that between now and November we're headed for true widespread civil unrest / civil war.

I'm not really sure. While the left has shown itself to have some teeth in the riots and lootings the vast majority of protests have been peaceful and I'm willing to bet quarantine is what's allowed at least 85% of these people to actually come out. The left just doesn't like the violent alternatives to electoralism.

I found this on reddit repeatedly now:

5 demands, not one less.

1 ⁠⁠Establish an independent inspector body that investigates misconduct or criminal allegations and controls evidence like body camera video. This civilian body will be at the state level, have the ability to investigate and arrest other law enforcement officers (LEOs), and investigate law enforcement agencies.
2 ⁠⁠Create a requirement for states to establish board certification with minimum education and training requirements to provide licensing for police. In order to be a LEO, you must possess that license. The inspector body in #1 can revoke the
3 ⁠⁠Refocus police resources on training & de-escalation instead of purchasing military equipment and require encourage LEOs to be from the community they police.
4 ⁠⁠Adopt the “absolute necessity” doctrine for lethal force as implemented in other states. Use of force is automatically investigated by #1.
5 ⁠⁠Codify into law the requirement for police to have positive control over the evidence chain of custody. If the chain of custody is lost for evidence, the investigative body in #1 can hold the LEO/LE liable.

These 5 demands are the minimum necessary for trust in our police to return. Until these are implemented by our state governors, legislators, DAs, and judges we will not rest or be satisfied. We will no longer stand by and watch our brothers and sisters be oppressed by those who are meant to protect us.

Seems to me to be mostly in line with the scientific view presented by @Gaywallet , and it's specific enough.

Damn, I hadn't heard that yet and now I can't stop laughing. :D

Yeah, he's toast. So is the police commissioner. Cuomo's patient explanation that yes, he actually can fire a city mayor was the icing on the cake of today's briefing.