> The executive board of MLK Labor, the central body of labor groups which represents more than 150 unions and 100,000 workers in the Seattle, Washington, area approved a resolution Thursday giving an ultimatum to the Seattle Police Officers Guild: Address Seattle Police Department’s systemic racism or face potential expulsion.
Fuji Bike, an American company that owns the 121-year-old Japanese brand, declared on Friday that it will suspend sales to police forces in the U.S.A. after the use of bicycles against George Floyd protestors around the country cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/…
@Unionhawk I see the barricades, but I don't see any police officers around.
"I can't breathe" is a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase is derived from the words of Eric Garner and George Floyd, two African-American men who died of asphyxiation during their arrests in 2014 and 2020, respectively, as a result of excessive force by white police officers. The phrase is used in protest against police brutality in the United States.
== Eric Garner ==
The phrase originated in the July 2014 death of Eric Garner, who was put into a chokehold by a New York City Police Department officer. A video of Garner restrained by multiple...
> Edward Colston statue pulled down by BLM protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol. #BlackLivesMattters #blmbristol #ukprotests t.co/JEwk3qKJx2
> The police chief in Salem, Oregon, has apologized after a viral video showed one of his officers telling a group of armed white men protecting a store to shelter inside to avoid being arrested for violating a curfew so officers “don’t look like [they’re] playing favorites.”
> The message we have received is a concern that we are treating people differently. For that I tell you, I’m sorry — sorry there is even a thought that this department would treat some different than others.
> In the video shown to council members, a man approached two officers, one of them female, as they guarded the perimeter of a crime scene. When asked to move back, he launched an X-rated tirade, shouting the B-word, the C-word, the F-word and other obscenities for about 20 minutes as his camera rolled.
They were upset that the man called the police The Bad Words and decided it was purely because he was filming
It does sound like this guy should screw off, since while I don't care about him insulting police, provoking them so he can profit off state violence seems Not Great too!
My Dad just got off the phone, wherein he said that the US complained of NI police and RUC of doing the very things (~40 years ago) that the US police are now doing
@TimStone I don't want to pretend to know the answers, but what's supposed to be the alternative to a police force? A dozen specialized task forces that each can handle a distinct situation that's currently handled by the police?
Because I might be cynical here, but I think it's an utopian dream that all problems can be solved by such task forces without violence. I'm not even talking about lethal or near-lethal violence. for example, how are you going to stop a desperate maniac who converted a construction vehicle to what's essentially a tank and is rampaging across your city?
That's a situation that has already happened several times, I might add
@Nzall I suppose this one is my job since I'm the only one versed in this sphere, abolitionist theory has been developed by a lot of good thinkers like Angela Davis, but this piece in Rolling Stone is a decent primer: rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/…
I will say that I don't think it's necessarily reasonable to use killdozer as a counterexample given that Granby Police didn't stop him, he kind of just got stuck and that was the end of it
How would Granby have stopped a bulldozer anyway, department of defense equipment?
@Unionhawk Plus like if someone doesn't want to install a proper sewage system maybe just get ahead of whatever additional bad behaviour might follow while you can
@TimStone He will now move on to his true calling, making Boomer memes of images he doesn't understand
Despite it not getting approval yet, which will be interesting considering Barr will clearly bring the DoJ to bear if it contains something they don't like
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@Unionhawk they got merch and somehow this isn't a parody?
@Nzall For a start, police don't necessarily have to carry round firearms. Once you've done that, would a majority of the US population still consider them 'police'?
A lot of people say that the best thing to do if it looks like you're going to end up in a fight is to run away. This is sort-of wrong: the best thing to do if it looks like you're going to end up in a fight is to de-escalate the situation, if possible. Unlike running away, which isn't always preferred e.g. defence of another could be a valid reason to not run away, de-escalation is always preferred
(I guess I should clarify that by saying that's just my opinion, but hmm, while it is my opinion, it's also advice I've been directly given by people who know more than me)
(maybe it gets complicated if it's a case of if you try to de-escalate, you won't get a chance of running away, I don't know)
@skillpatrol The world has changed since then. Why shouldn't constitutions get rewritten every century to keep them up-to-date with modern thinking? It's not like we have workhouses any more (in the UK), so I seriously don't get the US obsession with 'the constitution is right because it's the constitution'
I'm pro gun-ownership in the UK - what this means is that I think if someone wants a gun, they should be allowed to apply for a permit and if they pass the relatively stringent requirements, then should be entitled to own a gun, kept securely locked away at all times, except when being used at a range
If someone asks if you're pro-cars, you (I presume) don't say 'I think everyone should be allowed to drive a car, with no experience and no questions asked'
@skillpatrol I'm just a randomer from half-way across the world :P who hasn't had more than a five minute conversation with anyone in real life for months now :P
“They’re saying we should’ve gone through the proper channels to get im down. Well we tried that for years and were ignored, so now e’s in the proper channel.”
@skillpatrol All the more reason to ensure the people with access to the things that make it easier to kill people are checked to see that they're not likely to try and kill someone, I'd say. Alternatively, 'people kill more people with guns than without guns'
@Unionhawk Yup, sounds 'bout right. Is this recorded somewhere?