Evan
Member
I don't think he instigated anything. My understanding is that the gentleman who was shoved by the officer is someone who the officers know quite well as he's a frequent peaceful protester.
Shoving him was absolutely uncalled for. He wasn't a threat. He wasn't armed.
Notice what happened RIGHT AFTER the shove and subsequent injury was documented on camera. A different officer runs up to the journalist (NPR) standing on the stairs and starts loudly demanding that they move back. We've seen multiple times in the current protests where the police intentionally target journalists with violence for merely being present and doing their job.
I'm sorry. When did we decide that the police have a right to control and question people doing their jobs, but no one can question them when they do theirs? Police action isn't listed in the Bill of Rights. A free press and free speech both are.
I said it in a previous post. I'm 0% supportive of violence and rioting. The police have an incredibly tough job. Part of that is because they keep arresting and assaulting members of the media, and shoving old men who are simply trying to talk to them.
Things like this don't help. In 35 states, a police officer can "consensually" have sex with someone they have in custody.
I'm not anti-police. A close family member is a police officer. He has even less tolerance for bad, lazy, or corrupt cops than I do.
On another note, I find it ironic that some Conservatives were calling the police gangsters and oath-violates for enforcing laws/orders related to COVID, but the minute things become about a social issue on the other side they turn back into Thin Blue Line supporters. It's the same hypocrisy seen by hyperventilating liberals who insisted that ANY public gathering like a funeral or wedding was absolutely OFF-LIMITS due to COVID, but protests are just fine (just not protests against stay-at-home orders).
I'm just sick of the hypocrisy and polarization. We have bad cops out there. But, we can't even agree as a society on what to do because some idiots want to "defund the police" which is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard -- while others start screeching about law and order (unless it pertains to an order or law passed by a Democrat).
Our nation deserves what it is about to go through. 2020 is going to be a historic year for all the wrong reasons. We deserve it as a people because we've rejected every single potential unifying event and have instead continued to try to exploit the divisions in our politics and in our society. These protests and societal unrest were triggered by a lot more than just George Floyd. They were triggered by wealth inequality, the repercussions of the COVID pandemic, stagnant wages, divisive politics, etc -- not to mention that we have a blithering fool as President.
Is there a single person here who is willing to say they think Trump is the right person to unify our country? Or that he's the right person for this moment in our history? Can anyone even say that Trump hasn't exacerbated yet another crisis with his poor leadership and completely tone-deaf response? I'll give you every single President of the past 100 years. Would ANYONE pick Trump to be our leader during the current crisis versus one of them? What about picking Trump over any of our last five Presidents? Would anyone take Trump?
Have a blessed day.
