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National Protests are Still a Thing Because of [Police Brutality]
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I honestly don't know why Confederate apologists keep bringing that up, but at least it's been since the 90's since I've heard that he got them baptized, too, and that's also supposed to count for something.
Because they think it’s a goddamn miracle because they’re scum
Because they’re Confederate apologists, Avy
But almost all of them barring a very select few went up in the 40s and 50s. They are explicitly monuments which say nothing other than, "We want you to remember that people who aren't white are second class citizens". There's no reason for them to 'be'. If it didn't go up within 25 years of the end of the civil war. Pull it down.
The reason I feel this is a problem is because a lot of people don't KNOW this about all the confederate monuments. And there is a real argument to be had about the merits of removing real historical artifacts etc. If you tear down the past without thinking, then should we pull down the pyramids? Or bulldoze versailles? It gets you into a position where the racists can claim that oh, they are protecting statues of Napoleon, or Winston Churchill or Lord Nelson and that those historical artifacts are the same as these tinpot monuments to hate. Maybe they are. But thats a VERY hard argument to have. And you don't need to have it.
I doubt any real thought went into this other than "I want to go to that statue and cause a dramatic scene with my 36 year old white knight in tow." It's pretty funny though that he was too lazy to scrounge up his own civil war reenactment gear.
Lee was a particular focus of the Lost Cause, to the point that "Leeaboo" is A Thing.
Two off-topics don't make an on-topic.
I'm sure she felt quite smug about getting to appear calm when confronted with anger. I would not condone her being punched in the mouth, but I would understand the impulse.
Taking a christmas vacation, public condemnation. A bunch of good ol boys raping girls? Silence.
No, you're supposed to slap her. Especially if you're an older, land-owning male.
Enlist in Star Citizen! Citizenship must be earned!
Oh dude there are huge swathes of the South where the dog whistle of "Make America Great Again" is absolutely returning to the Antebellum South. And when you try to discuss with these folks that that means re-instituting slavery you'll quickly find that the disinformation of Confederate apologists has done it's job. No, the South rebelled for their freedoms, and the tyrants of the North would do well to remember that they will rise again.
I mean real talk when we moved back while I was in high school my mom was like, "Hey, don't tell people you're related to General Sherman on your dad's side." And sure as hell I didn't think anything of it and mentioned it in a history class and totally got my ass kicked in the locker room by a bunch of boys wearing Confederate flag belt buckles.
Basically the huge issue that this is illuminating is that the whites in the South who aren't racist as fuck are delusional as fuck. Although after the last few weeks, I'm starting to wonder if that problem is exclusively beyond the Mason-Dixon line.
Alternatively just smart enough to realize that dressing as Johnny Rebel might lead to him getting the tar beat out of him.
If you wish to discuss things that are not covered in this particular thread, you are welcome to create another thread.
You are allowed to have multiple threads discussing different related aspects of a larger issue. We're cool that way.
Robert E. Lee was scum. His family have hidden his papers for decades, and the glimpses historians have seen are of a harsh and brutal slave master. The kindly general is just another lie:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/529038/
I'm afraid the racist are gonna keep escalating until general racism is the topic. Not that we aren't going to follow mod guidelines or seek to accelerate the change, I just think it's bound to happen.
NK Jemisin is a many-times award winning SF author living in NYC.
Just an anecdote, but from pictures and other anecdotes all over it seems protesters are being pretty good about masking up and being as sanitary as possible while in mass protests during the goddamn global pandemic.
(reporter)
I think the people who are interested in protesting for a progressive issue and people who take a public health issue seriously are very overlappy.
*Actual location was updated to be Bethel, Ohio
The cops really are just showing their true colors more and more these days. They are plenty happy to defend angry mobs with guns, so long as those angry mobs are pointing their aggression toward peaceful protesters trying to stop discrimination.
Here's the text of the ordinance. Looks like it broadly covers sprays, tear gas, sonic weapons, less-lethal projectiles, focused energy emitters, water cannons, and a few others. There appears to be a carve-out for OC (pepper) spray as long as it is not deployed at demonstrations, rallies, or first amendment-protected protests - if a cop uses it against someone committing a criminal act or posing an imminent danger to others, OC can be used as long as it does not get on anyone other than that person.
body
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle supports the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as essential democratic rights; and
WHEREAS, on May 25, 2020 officers of the Minneapolis Police Department brutally killed George Floyd, while he was handcuffed and in their custody; and
WHEREAS, in Seattle and in cities across the country, people joined a protest movement against this and other police violence, particularly protesting the police violence disproportionately targeting African American people; and
WHEREAS, in Seattle, tens of thousands of community members have joined mass demonstrations for black lives and against police violence on May 30, 2020 and on subsequent days; and
WHEREAS, the SPD has responded to these protests against police violence with crowd control weaponry including lachrymator agents commonly known as tear gas and pepper spray and explosive devices such as blast balls and stun grenades; and
WHEREAS, Seattle’s Office of Professional Accountability reported on June 3, 2020 that they had received 15,000 complaints of police misconduct related to the SPD’s response to these protests; and
WHEREAS, testimony from protestors and other protest witnesses, along with video evidence has shown the SPD instigating and escalating violent confrontations with these protests; and
WHEREAS, the use of tear gas in war is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, which set forth agreements signed by nearly every nation in the world, including the United States; and
WHEREAS, infectious disease experts warn that the use of tear gas and other lachrymator agents will increase the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, research shows that tear gas increases the risk of respiratory infection; and
WHEREAS, an open letter signed by over 1,000 healthcare professionals opposes, “any use of tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants, which could increase risk for COVID-19 by making the respiratory tract more susceptible to infection, exacerbating existing inflammation and inducing coughing”; and
WHEREAS, studies into the impacts of policing at protests have determined that escalating force by police at protests leads to increasing violence; and
WHEREAS, during public comment at the Seattle City Council meeting on June 1, 2020, and the meeting of the Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee on June 3, 2020, members of the public attested to being prevented from joining George Floyd protests out of fear of violence at the hands of the Seattle Police Department; and
WHEREAS, a June 1, 2020 release from the Seattle Office of Professional Accountability notes that misconduct complaints stemming from the George Floyd protests include:
i. Pepper spraying a young girl;
ii. Punching a person on the ground who was being arrested;
iii. Placing a knee on the neck area of two people who had been arrested;
iv. Covering up badge numbers;
v. Failing to record law enforcement activity on body-worn video;
vi. Pepper spraying peaceful protesters;
vii. The use of flashbangs, including causing a significant thumb injury;
viii. Failing to secure rifles in the rear of a patrol vehicle;
ix. Punching a person on the ground who was being arrested; and
x. Officers breaking windows of a Target store; and
WHEREAS, a June 5, 2020 letter to Mayor Durkan and Chief Best from the Seattle Office of Police Accountability, Seattle Community Police Commission, and Seattle Office of the Inspector General for Public Safety recommends the immediate cessation of CS gas, otherwise known as tear gas; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. A new Section 3.28.146 of the Seattle Municipal Code is added to Subchapter I of Chapter 3.28 as follows:
3.28.146 Prohibition of the use of crowd control weapons
A. Unless exempted or excepted, no City department shall own, purchase, rent, store or use crowd control weapons.
B. Law enforcement agencies operating under mutual aid agreements are prohibited from using crowd control weapons while rendering aid to the Seattle Police Department or acting in an official capacity within Seattle.
C. As used in this Section 3.28.146, “crowd control weapons” means kinetic impact projectiles, chemical irritants, acoustic weapons, directed energy weapons, water cannons, disorientation devices, ultrasonic cannons, or any other device that is designed to be used on multiple individuals for crowd control and has the potential to cause pain or discomfort.
D. Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray is not a crowd control weapon for purposes of owning, purchasing, renting, or storing under subsection 3.28.146.A. Use of OC spray is prohibited under subsection 3.28.146.A if:
1. It is used in a demonstration, rally, or other First Amendment-protected event; or
2. When used to subdue an individual in the process of committing a criminal act or presenting an imminent danger to others, it lands on anyone other than that individual.
E. A person shall have a right of action against the City for physical or emotional injuries proximately caused by the use of crowd control weapons against that person.
F. Absent evidence establishing a greater amount of damages, the damages payable to an individual for injuries proximately caused in violation of this Section 3.28.146 shall be $10,000, added to attorney fees and court fees.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2020, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
President ____________ of the City Council
Approved by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2020.
____________________________________
Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
Numerous protestors were assaulted, not just the person in the embedded video. Cops did nothing in all cases.
Edit: oh, the MAGA chuds were there because of a chain email Facebook rumor that the demonstration was organized by antifa...it was organized by a substitute teacher who’s apparent sweetness may only be matched by her naivety /shrug
Just a friendly reminder that there is supreme court precedent that cops are not required to pursue violations of the law any more than DAs are.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
If only we could rely on the police to follow the law.
It’s nice to see an ordinance that makes police brutality illegal though.
They can still beat people with their clubs/nightsticks.
Also, reading the wording real close... How are kinetic impact projectiles restrained by the ordinance? The definition they use for what constitutes a "crowd-control weapon" is something that is designed to affect multiple individuals. A "kinetic impact projectile" is only going to affect a single person per trigger-pull. It seems that rubber bullets may still be on the table regardless of the ordinance.
All I see are Klan members but wearing MAGA shit instead of hoods. Feeling so comfortable they don't have to hide their face anymore.
That is horrifying.
Learning to deescalate even more so but hey it’s a start.
Has the Seattle City Council said anything on the CHAZ/CHOP?
The problem is that if the ordinance is written in such a way, rubber bullets wouldn't fall under the category of "crowd control weapons." Yes, teargas (except the OC pepper cannisters) will be made illegal. Chokeholds are also illegal, yet people are still being choked out by police.
Teargas is an object, not a move all humans are capable of. Bit harder for SPD to cover up.
No. Rule of the last antecedent -- grammar construction. "or any other device that is designed to be used on multiple individuals for crowd control and has the potential to cause pain or discomfort" modifies only the last element in the series, not every element in the list. Kinetic Impact Projectile is the jargony industry term for rubber bullet. It is not restricted by terms modifying the general term at the end of a series of specific elements.
NNID: Hakkekage
Does that read as intentional on the city council's part? To me this reads like the city council trying trying to legislatively side with the protestors, but failing to pass something comprehensive.
IT IS COMPREHENSIVE
On this the day of Gorsuch textually interpreting Title VII to encompass sexual orientation, you come to me with amateur statutory construction
NNID: Hakkekage
Am I reading this wrong, or
If a cop sprays pepper spray on someone committing a criminal act but also gets himself with a bit of spray, the criminal gets to sue.