I value your opinions and your supporting facts/evidence.
If the argument is POC have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, then going to a crowded rally with no social distancing aggravates and contributes to the problem.
The scenes in Boston last night were surreal. Looting completely out of control, people pulling up in cars to the closed mall and making multiple trips inside to grab stuff. Completely destroying a walgreens, wrecking several places in downtown crossing, and marching along newbury st breaking windows and looting.
They were setting fire to police cruisers, garbage pails, and dumpsters. These people were carrying gas canisters so this was planned.
My daughter lives in Boston, so I know all of these places that were hit very well. Breaks my heart. Many small businesses who are already suffering with the pandemic may be closed forever as this will be the last straw for some.
Social media coverage made this very real, seeing on twitter people running into Saks and grabbing stuff. I also followed the people radio for about an hour, they just couldn’t be everywhere at once. Extremely sad.
It was a very sad weekend for all of us.
I agree.
Moreso, what a sad week.
A sad week initiated by the horrific murder of a handcuffed man at the hands of a policeman who should have never been awarded the honor to serve and protect the public. That vile, evil act by a vile evil man (and other recent acts like it perpetrated by other vile evil men) was the catalyst for this sad week.
I hope we all never forget why this week of protests started in the first place. 
Unfortunately the looting and riots are detracting the main message.
My younger daughter is dating a very nice/intelligent black man. They are thinking about getting married in the next few years. Therefore I do think about what the world would be like for my grandchildren some day.
There was looting last night in my burb of Chicago. One store hit is within an easy walk of my house.
I’m worried about going to work today. Supposed to be in the office until after 7 pm.
I saw the video of the Minneapolis police firing the paint canisters at people sitting on their front porches. Why the heck were they doing that?
There is something very, very wrong in law enforcement in this country and it is systemic, not just a few bad apples.
“Demonstrations continued across the United States on Sunday as the nation braced for another grueling night of unrest over police shootings and the death of George Floyd, amid growing concern that aggressive law enforcement tactics intended to impose order were instead inflaming tensions.
Videos showed police officers in recent nights using batons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists, often without warning or seemingly unprovoked. The footage, which has been shared widely online, highlighted the very complaints over police behavior that have drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the United States.
In Salt Lake City, officers in riot gear shoved a man with a cane to the ground.
In Brooklyn, two police S.U.V.s plowed into a crowd of protesters.
In Atlanta, police officers enforcing a curfew stopped two college students in a car, fired Tasers on them and dragged them out of the vehicle.“
“And in Minneapolis, where there have been six consecutive nights of protests and clashes, a video appeared to show officers yelling at people on their porches to get inside and then firing paint canisters at them. “Light them up,” one officer said.”
I think this is both true and not so true.
It is very true that the media has almost completely transferred its attention from the murder of George Floyd to ceaseless coverage of the protests. And the American public has followed the media’s lead and become more interested in the looting than the murder of George Floyd.
However, personally, I can’t forget why the protests started. It’s the same reason athletes started taking a knee four years ago.
And just like four years ago, the majority has a difficult time discussing the underlying issue, yet has a very easy time becoming distracted and discussing something else. I bet most people can’t even name the murdered people four and five years ago that led to Colin taking a knee. Yet many people can remember their rage at him taking a knee. Similarly, more people are now outraged at the protests than at the underlying issue.
Until more Americans refuse to be distracted by the shiny baubles, more vile evil murders will occur. And as long as more vile evil murders occur, frustrated minorities will try to plead for help from the general public any way they can. Sometimes that plea comes in the form a song like “Strange Fruit”. Sometimes that plea comes in the form of a professional athlete taking a knee. Sometimes that plea comes in the form of a march.
We are pleading for everyone to be outraged at the murders. More. We are pleading for everyone to care enough to stamp out these types of vile evil murders and the vile evil systemic problems that allow the murders in the first place. Yet, it seems most people want to be outraged at the shiny distractions.
CONGRATULATIONS! Finding true love is a great thing.
This is what should be happening. People need to come together in a positive way to deal with the issues that caused the riots. They need to speak, and be heard.
Why is twitter allowing Antifa to plan their destruction on their platform?
Keep in mind that 35-40MM people are out of work due to SAH orders. They have nothing to do but clash with police if they choose. Tuesday may as well be a Saturday. The protests are over but the rioting is not.
Looting overnight in chicago suburbs.
Disagree @emilybee . Yes, the problem with police in systematic, but the majority of the 800000 officers in this country do the job well.
Also, one could easily argue that the situations across the country were inflamed because of a police response that wasn’t strong enough at the start.
Have there been instances of police aggression? Absolutely.
Have there been instances of great restraint on their part? Absolutely.
Some areas in our country have greatly improved policing. Near me, Camden, NJ has always been a hotbed of violence and poverty. It has a national reputation for lawlessness. They’ve handled this national crisis without looting or violence. The police are peacefully marching with protesters and having dialogues. It can be done.
I’ve seen images of compassion, strength, respect and hope amongst both the police and protesters.
Perfectly stated!!
Did those protesters do anything to warrant tear gas, like torching the town?
Completely justified. Those “protesters” had no business gathering around the police vehicles.
That’s great for Camden and there are always exceptions.
But we have a big problem in our law enforcement agencies and it’s been going on for decades.
George Floyd isn’t an isolated instance an neither is the behavior of law enforcement officers re the protests or the riots/looting.
They should be using tactics to deescalate, not tactics that do nothing but incite further rioting/violence.
Local leadership determines police tactics and training, As we see, in some places like Camden and Houston, that has great results.
@emilybee How should law enforcement react to Molotov cocktails, looters stealing rifles from police vehicles and criminals setting fire to buildings?
Similar protest here, in the state capital which is a historic, tourist town. It was organized by young people in my area, but they were joined by the mayor, clergy, other elected officials and our local police department. The protesters were diverse and from the photos and videos I saw, 99% of people were wearing masks.
I hope any protests here remain peaceful. The only destruction of property occurred a day or two prior to the protest, when five white youths, all caught clearly on videotape, sprayed graffiti on six historic buildings downtown.
My BIL is a San Francisco police officer. While I am 100% supportive of the (peaceful) protesting, it is also eye opening to hear his experience on the front lines. He worked from 11am Saturday until 4am Sunday morning, hour after hour of being spit on, having objects thrown at him, every insult imaginable hurled at him. He expected it, of course, and was not complaining, just describing how exhausting and mentally challenging it was. He was supposed to take a leave of absence starting this week to take his family on a lengthy trip to care for his wife’s out of town mother who was just diagnosed with cancer. All leave for the department has been canceled. He has two young children so now trying to figure out if his wife is going to go without him and have to find care for his kids while she is gone.
I also have a biracial sister, a black sister-in-law, black niece and several biracial nieces and nephews. My sister and her boyfriend were victims of racial profiling 30 years ago. My niece was a victim of racial profiling 5-6 years ago. Both at the hands of police who pulled their cars over simply for “driving while black” (in my niece’s case, it was because they were driving in a mostly white beach community. Of course, these are just a couple of examples of things they have experienced in their lives due to the color of their skin. Sadly nothing has changed.