Daily thread for news/updates/discussion of George Floyd protests - June 10

I think it is absolutely fair to not participate in protests due to virus concerns. We are invariably going to see a spike due to this, and I don't think its selfish to consider that when deciding whether to go. I felt the same way - I went to a protest finally last weekend, and while it did feel good to be 'out there', I am still very nervous about the exposure I had. If you're worried, don't go. There are multiple lanes to fill in movements like this as you acknowledge.

Going to chime in here with some perspective from someone in medicine, data science, and is closely tracking the spread of this disease in my community. Here's some things we know:

• Policies mandating that people wear a mask helps reduce the transmission of the disease.
• Outside transmission is not a significant vector for transmission. It has never been confirmed as a vector for transmission when the 6' rule is observed and people are wearing masks (theoretically it could be if someone sneezed on you from >6' but still within range of a sneeze).
• Areas which have began to open up the economy have been seeing a spike in spread, including places that began to re-open prior to the protests.
• It is unknown at this time how much protests could be spreading the disease, but given that most people are wearing masks and they are outdoors, we suspect that this will spread the disease to some extent, but the impact is estimated to be low and almost certainly much lower than re-opening the economy.

I have the same feeling as well. I'd like to think that I would be out there participating, even though I've never been to a protest in my life. COVID feels like both a legitimate reason, and a flimsy excuse given the scale and duration of suffering that the protests are about. For now, I'll stay home and donate what I can.

I really weighed whether I should go or not over concern from COVID-19, but ultimately I chose to go. The recent protest I attended was outside on a day with 86 F/30 C weather, light breeze, 99% of the people attending wore masks, and I stayed on the outside edge of the protest march the best I could the entire time.

Ultimately, this is an extremely important cause, a huge show of support, and will be a major part of history that our kids/younger generations will ask us about. I felt it was very important to attend.

If it weren't for COVID-19 I would have attended. I'm incredibly afraid of it and have been quarantining at a level that is probably too cautious. Some of it has to do with the fact that last year I got a respiratory illness that made me the sickest I've ever been in my life. I had to take a full week off of work because of it, and it was absolute misery from start to finish. When news about COVID-19 started coming up and its symptoms sounded like what I had -- only way worse and potentially fatal -- it nudged me into the "absolute avoidance" camp which I am lucky and privileged enough to have been able to do for months now. As much as I support the cause of the protests and feel morally obligated to join them, personal fear is keeping me indoors and separate from everyone. I haven't even been to the grocery store yet.

I haven't gone, but then again I don't normally attend protests. (I've been thinking about protests for quite a while but that hasn't resulted in action.)

I'm curious about this "missing out" feeling. Partially this is me being contrarian and partially this might just be an excuse for doing nothing, but I'm often looking for ways to contribute that are overlooked, rather than doing the same stuff everyone else is doing. It seems like these protests have attracted many more people than any protests have for many years; the scale is vast. Wouldn't that suggest that one more person being there is less important than for most other protests? Assuming protests are your thing.

It seems like the feeling of "missing out" might be coming from somewhere other than trying to have the most impact in what you do?

As I commented elsewhere a few days ago, I just hope it doesn't peter out. There is such an amazing energy right now.

Thanks, seems like a great channel. (The YouTube recommender did something right?!)

I just watched through a few of his recent ones, and this one was great too: Let's talk about a march in a small southern town....

Beau is wonderful. He's not quite as radical as I would like, but with the things he does believe he fucking means it and is frequently out there giving meaningful support. He manages to be angry and demand real change while also really fleshing out his ideas in a well-reasoned way that pulls from relevant perspectives. Usually I have to look to different places for the two sides of that coin.

I haven't kept up with his videos on these protests, so thanks for reminding me to go in and watch em soon.

How tone-deaf is this head of the International Association of Chiefs of Police? And how incapable of introspection are these cops to have such a petulant response.

“Law enforcement is the only profession where you get rocks, bricks and molotov cocktails thrown at you merely because you’re in the same chosen profession as someone else who did something horribly wrong thousands of miles away,”

Really? If there were teachers across the country killing students every couple of months, I am sure people will be protesting against all teachers and schools, especially if the government gives them immunity and turns a blind eye.

People are protesting because of the wide-spread actions of police departments across the country.