dimitrig said:

---

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

The fact that the NFL, Amazon , Netflix basically most people that want to sell anything are making statements of support should tell people something.

---

---

The point isn't that these companies are going to do much to change things themselves, it's that these PR efforts are a strong indication of where the public mood is. Politicians will follow the public mood, as is their nature, and they can actually make meaningful changes.

---

The public has a short memory, which is MY point.

Everyone was up in arms when the Rodney King verdict was read and...?! It keeps happening. I don't see any indication anything is different this time.

---

"Everyone" was not, not in the way they are now. The black community was. White people remained largely in favor of the police. It's not like that this time.

Do you remember the NFL taking a stand on Rodney King?

---

I got another e-mail from Instacart saying they are investing $1M in change.

Why do Petsmart or Instacart need to make statements at all?! I certainly don't expect them to and the fact that they are feels like pandering.

BLM is the movement du jour following Occupy Wall Street, #metoo, etc, etc. I am sure there will be a new one soon.

---

I will leave you to your cynicism.

BearForce2 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

Many of my conservative friends seem very confused. (So you have many conservative friends, good for you, btw they're not confused just because they don't agree with you, you're confused.) Not just here on BI but even yesterday at my local lake, I overheard a conservative friend talking current events and exclaiming, "none of this makes any sense". I thought about that and some of the posts I'm seeing here on BI and I started thinking a 2020 explainer is in order, for my confused conservative friends. (please tell your conservative friends why you're confused and why you disagree)

Here's the short version: You conservatives are screwed. (I heard this before, Democrats lost the election and lost on the impeachment, You guys got screwed.) Young people hate your politics and worldview. (Young people liked Bernie's politics but the mainstream media and DNC screwed him over) They own the future, they are active, they are diverse, and they are numerous. (The 1st amendment isn't popular with college kids anymore, if the majority believes this, we're all screwed.)

Here's the longer version (But your shorter version didn't make any sense):

The Pandemic - At the beginning of 2020 the coronavirus began spreading around the world. A competent Federal government would have begun stockpiling testing and PPE equipment, and begun researching and implementing mitigation plans. Our Federal government did not do any of this. On March 15, 6 Americans died of coronavirus. On April 7, 1,928 Americans died of coronavirus. During that timeframe much of America's most productive states shut down (these are typically democratic blue states) cratering the economy. New Jersey and New York lost over 1 out of 1,000 residents (somebody posted to help with the math - this is 0.1%). I know 3 people with a death in the family. NYCGB knows 6. If replicated nationally, that would be about 300,000 U.S. deaths. We are currently over 100,000 deaths or 340 deaths per million. New York and New Jersey are about triple that rate - which would be the worst in the world if a country (Somebody will complain about Cuomo, but keep in mind his nursing home order was in compliance with Federal CDC guidelines). That death rate puts the United States #11 globally and #5 if you just look at countries with populations above 20 million (if numbers are to be believed which is a whole other story). Clearly we, as a nation, have failed. We have also, to this point, stopped trying so the future remains uncertain.

Many have complained that we should not have shut down the economy. This thinking is like drugs for the simple mind. Daily deaths explode from 6 to 1,928 in 3 weeks and now that we are only having about 700 daily deaths people are saying, why did we ever put ourselves through this? How many daily deaths would we have if we took no action? How many deaths are acceptable to you for economic reasons? Now that things have stabilized and are trending in the right direction with regards to the virus, states are opening up. These are reasonable actions. You have to be a fool to think when the virus was skyrocketing up we should have done nothing. And we should still be taking some social distancing actions. This thing is not over. We do not know it's future path.

Black Lives Matter - The George Floyd murder really changed things, but things that were coming eventually anyway. The initial days of protest and some rioting and looting did not surprise me. The endurance of the now peaceful protests and the support they are receiving has really surprised me. I believe conservatives are making a mistake if they look at this narrowly with charts about how many blacks have been killed by the police (look, all us old white guys know deep down justice in this country is not equitable racially). No, the George Floyd murder is a catalyst that has prompted young people (who are incredibly diverse) to express their complete rejection of the conservative worldview and policies that have dominated this country and dominated them. In particular, it is the rejection of Donald Trump and his white identity politics. They are taking the reins, with or without the assent of the government (which is not derived from the will of the people anyway due to the Electoral College and the Senate). The polls show that the public is with them.

Is it conflicting for people to support a pandemic induced lockdown and massive protests at the same time? Well, is it really the same time and is it the same people? The pandemic is moving in the right direction so most people are more comfortable going out now. The lockdown was a top down government remedy and the protests are a bottom up movement, so don't expect the two to be consistent and coordinated. Democratic mayors are letting them protest because they have to - the kids will be out there protesting anyway. If you try to use force to shut them down you will only make the movement and the protests bigger. The protests are not a Democratic governance action. This is a new generation taking the destiny of their future away from you and putting it in their hands. Are they increasing the risk of coronavirus being resurgent? Yes. If it isn't resurgent does that mean the lockdown was a mistake? No, because as deaths were exploding we did not know the future (we still do not know the future).

I hope this helps conservatives understand how screwed they are due to the incompetence of their President and the rising maturity of the younger generations that reject them, so they don't have to exclaim, "none of this makes any sense". It all makes sense. Sometimes life is not straightforward.

---

Identity politics is you guys, including the white variety. Do you think this country and its institutions are systematically racist?

---

Trump is the biggest identity politician since George Wallace. And, this country has a historical and pervasive problem with racism that frequently includes many of its institutions and is frequently systemic.

dajo9 said:

---

BearForce2 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

Many of my conservative friends seem very confused. (So you have many conservative friends, good for you, btw they're not confused just because they don't agree with you, you're confused.) Not just here on BI but even yesterday at my local lake, I overheard a conservative friend talking current events and exclaiming, "none of this makes any sense". I thought about that and some of the posts I'm seeing here on BI and I started thinking a 2020 explainer is in order, for my confused conservative friends. (please tell your conservative friends why you're confused and why you disagree)

Here's the short version: You conservatives are screwed. (I heard this before, Democrats lost the election and lost on the impeachment, You guys got screwed.) Young people hate your politics and worldview. (Young people liked Bernie's politics but the mainstream media and DNC screwed him over) They own the future, they are active, they are diverse, and they are numerous. (The 1st amendment isn't popular with college kids anymore, if the majority believes this, we're all screwed.)

Here's the longer version (But your shorter version didn't make any sense):

The Pandemic - At the beginning of 2020 the coronavirus began spreading around the world. A competent Federal government would have begun stockpiling testing and PPE equipment, and begun researching and implementing mitigation plans. Our Federal government did not do any of this. On March 15, 6 Americans died of coronavirus. On April 7, 1,928 Americans died of coronavirus. During that timeframe much of America's most productive states shut down (these are typically democratic blue states) cratering the economy. New Jersey and New York lost over 1 out of 1,000 residents (somebody posted to help with the math - this is 0.1%). I know 3 people with a death in the family. NYCGB knows 6. If replicated nationally, that would be about 300,000 U.S. deaths. We are currently over 100,000 deaths or 340 deaths per million. New York and New Jersey are about triple that rate - which would be the worst in the world if a country (Somebody will complain about Cuomo, but keep in mind his nursing home order was in compliance with Federal CDC guidelines). That death rate puts the United States #11 globally and #5 if you just look at countries with populations above 20 million (if numbers are to be believed which is a whole other story). Clearly we, as a nation, have failed. We have also, to this point, stopped trying so the future remains uncertain.

Many have complained that we should not have shut down the economy. This thinking is like drugs for the simple mind. Daily deaths explode from 6 to 1,928 in 3 weeks and now that we are only having about 700 daily deaths people are saying, why did we ever put ourselves through this? How many daily deaths would we have if we took no action? How many deaths are acceptable to you for economic reasons? Now that things have stabilized and are trending in the right direction with regards to the virus, states are opening up. These are reasonable actions. You have to be a fool to think when the virus was skyrocketing up we should have done nothing. And we should still be taking some social distancing actions. This thing is not over. We do not know it's future path.

Black Lives Matter - The George Floyd murder really changed things, but things that were coming eventually anyway. The initial days of protest and some rioting and looting did not surprise me. The endurance of the now peaceful protests and the support they are receiving has really surprised me. I believe conservatives are making a mistake if they look at this narrowly with charts about how many blacks have been killed by the police (look, all us old white guys know deep down justice in this country is not equitable racially). No, the George Floyd murder is a catalyst that has prompted young people (who are incredibly diverse) to express their complete rejection of the conservative worldview and policies that have dominated this country and dominated them. In particular, it is the rejection of Donald Trump and his white identity politics. They are taking the reins, with or without the assent of the government (which is not derived from the will of the people anyway due to the Electoral College and the Senate). The polls show that the public is with them.

Is it conflicting for people to support a pandemic induced lockdown and massive protests at the same time? Well, is it really the same time and is it the same people? The pandemic is moving in the right direction so most people are more comfortable going out now. The lockdown was a top down government remedy and the protests are a bottom up movement, so don't expect the two to be consistent and coordinated. Democratic mayors are letting them protest because they have to - the kids will be out there protesting anyway. If you try to use force to shut them down you will only make the movement and the protests bigger. The protests are not a Democratic governance action. This is a new generation taking the destiny of their future away from you and putting it in their hands. Are they increasing the risk of coronavirus being resurgent? Yes. If it isn't resurgent does that mean the lockdown was a mistake? No, because as deaths were exploding we did not know the future (we still do not know the future).

I hope this helps conservatives understand how screwed they are due to the incompetence of their President and the rising maturity of the younger generations that reject them, so they don't have to exclaim, "none of this makes any sense". It all makes sense. Sometimes life is not straightforward.

---

Identity politics is you guys, including the white variety. Do you think this country and its institutions are systematically racist?

---

Trump is the biggest identity politician since George Wallace. And, this country has a historical and pervasive problem with racism that frequently includes many of its institutions and is frequently systemic.

---

So we can agree to disagree since I don't believe that to be the case. Glad that was cleared up, there should be no confusion anymore.

dimitrig said:

---

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

The fact that the NFL, Amazon , Netflix basically most people that want to sell anything are making statements of support should tell people something.

---

---

The point isn't that these companies are going to do much to change things themselves, it's that these PR efforts are a strong indication of where the public mood is. Politicians will follow the public mood, as is their nature, and they can actually make meaningful changes.

---

The public has a short memory, which is MY point.

Everyone was up in arms when the Rodney King verdict was read and...?! It keeps happening. I don't see any indication anything is different this time.

---

The difference being people excused that as an isolated issue with LAPD. That is not what is going on now.

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

The fact that the NFL, Amazon , Netflix basically most people that want to sell anything are making statements of support should tell people something.

---

It actually doesn't tell me anything unless they make a meaningful change such as in their political donations.

I am not cynical about the motivations of individuals. I think people putting up signs really do want justice. I am just not sure they are willing to actually do very much about it.

However, I am very cynical about the motives of corporations.

I got an e-mail from Petsmart of all things which states in part:

Right now, we are working on actions including:
[ol]

$1 Million scholarship fund to support all associates of color to advance their educational aspirations.

Grants from PetSmart Charities support pets and pet parents in under-represented communities.

Enhanced development and recruiting to improve black representation at PetSmart.

[/ol]
When I read this I didn't think: "Wow, that's really great!" I thought: "You have GOT to be kidding me! Some marketing person met with some diversity and inclusion person in HR to come up with those talking points, most of which were probably in place anyway. Why am I getting an e-mail about police brutality from Petsmart?"

And the NFL - of all organizations - has no leg to stand on after the Kaepernick fiasco.

---

The point isn't that these companies are going to do much to change things themselves, it's that these PR efforts are a strong indication of where the public mood is. Politicians will follow the public mood, as is their nature, and they can actually make meaningful changes.

---

Yes. Dmitrig misses the point. The NFL doesn't give a damn about kneeling, the anthem, or BLM. A couple years ago they decided to protect their product they needed to throw their players under the bus. Now they decided that to protect their product they need to apologize and get on board.

Commercials have gone from in these troubled times we are here to get you through COVID to we are here to support BLM. It is crass commercialism, but the point is these people know what they need to market and not only are they no longer afraid to market BLM, they are scared not to. Follow the money. It tells you where the public is at.

dajo9 said:

---

BearForce2 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

Many of my conservative friends seem very confused. (So you have many conservative friends, good for you, btw they're not confused just because they don't agree with you, you're confused.) Not just here on BI but even yesterday at my local lake, I overheard a conservative friend talking current events and exclaiming, "none of this makes any sense". I thought about that and some of the posts I'm seeing here on BI and I started thinking a 2020 explainer is in order, for my confused conservative friends. (please tell your conservative friends why you're confused and why you disagree)

Here's the short version: You conservatives are screwed. (I heard this before, Democrats lost the election and lost on the impeachment, You guys got screwed.) Young people hate your politics and worldview. (Young people liked Bernie's politics but the mainstream media and DNC screwed him over) They own the future, they are active, they are diverse, and they are numerous. (The 1st amendment isn't popular with college kids anymore, if the majority believes this, we're all screwed.)

Here's the longer version (But your shorter version didn't make any sense):

The Pandemic - At the beginning of 2020 the coronavirus began spreading around the world. A competent Federal government would have begun stockpiling testing and PPE equipment, and begun researching and implementing mitigation plans. Our Federal government did not do any of this. On March 15, 6 Americans died of coronavirus. On April 7, 1,928 Americans died of coronavirus. During that timeframe much of America's most productive states shut down (these are typically democratic blue states) cratering the economy. New Jersey and New York lost over 1 out of 1,000 residents (somebody posted to help with the math - this is 0.1%). I know 3 people with a death in the family. NYCGB knows 6. If replicated nationally, that would be about 300,000 U.S. deaths. We are currently over 100,000 deaths or 340 deaths per million. New York and New Jersey are about triple that rate - which would be the worst in the world if a country (Somebody will complain about Cuomo, but keep in mind his nursing home order was in compliance with Federal CDC guidelines). That death rate puts the United States #11 globally and #5 if you just look at countries with populations above 20 million (if numbers are to be believed which is a whole other story). Clearly we, as a nation, have failed. We have also, to this point, stopped trying so the future remains uncertain.

Many have complained that we should not have shut down the economy. This thinking is like drugs for the simple mind. Daily deaths explode from 6 to 1,928 in 3 weeks and now that we are only having about 700 daily deaths people are saying, why did we ever put ourselves through this? How many daily deaths would we have if we took no action? How many deaths are acceptable to you for economic reasons? Now that things have stabilized and are trending in the right direction with regards to the virus, states are opening up. These are reasonable actions. You have to be a fool to think when the virus was skyrocketing up we should have done nothing. And we should still be taking some social distancing actions. This thing is not over. We do not know it's future path.

Black Lives Matter - The George Floyd murder really changed things, but things that were coming eventually anyway. The initial days of protest and some rioting and looting did not surprise me. The endurance of the now peaceful protests and the support they are receiving has really surprised me. I believe conservatives are making a mistake if they look at this narrowly with charts about how many blacks have been killed by the police (look, all us old white guys know deep down justice in this country is not equitable racially). No, the George Floyd murder is a catalyst that has prompted young people (who are incredibly diverse) to express their complete rejection of the conservative worldview and policies that have dominated this country and dominated them. In particular, it is the rejection of Donald Trump and his white identity politics. They are taking the reins, with or without the assent of the government (which is not derived from the will of the people anyway due to the Electoral College and the Senate). The polls show that the public is with them.

Is it conflicting for people to support a pandemic induced lockdown and massive protests at the same time? Well, is it really the same time and is it the same people? The pandemic is moving in the right direction so most people are more comfortable going out now. The lockdown was a top down government remedy and the protests are a bottom up movement, so don't expect the two to be consistent and coordinated. Democratic mayors are letting them protest because they have to - the kids will be out there protesting anyway. If you try to use force to shut them down you will only make the movement and the protests bigger. The protests are not a Democratic governance action. This is a new generation taking the destiny of their future away from you and putting it in their hands. Are they increasing the risk of coronavirus being resurgent? Yes. If it isn't resurgent does that mean the lockdown was a mistake? No, because as deaths were exploding we did not know the future (we still do not know the future).

I hope this helps conservatives understand how screwed they are due to the incompetence of their President and the rising maturity of the younger generations that reject them, so they don't have to exclaim, "none of this makes any sense". It all makes sense. Sometimes life is not straightforward.

---

Identity politics is you guys, including the white variety. Do you think this country and its institutions are systematically racist?

---

Trump is the biggest identity politician since George Wallace. And, this country has a historical and pervasive problem with racism that frequently includes many of its institutions and is frequently systemic.

---

Since you believe this country is systematically racist, if a black person doesn't believe he or she is oppressed by the system or doesn't support BLM, is this person a racist?

dajo9 said:

---

Trump is the biggest identity politician since George Wallace. And, this country has a historical and pervasive problem with racism that frequently includes many of its institutions and is frequently systemic.

---

OaktownBear said:

---

Yes. Dmitrig misses the point. The NFL doesn't give a damn about kneeling, the anthem, or BLM. A couple years ago they decided to protect their product they needed to throw their players under the bus. Now they decided that to protect their product they need to apologize and get on board.

Commercials have gone from in these troubled times we are here to get you through COVID to we are here to support BLM. It is crass commercialism, but the point is these people know what they need to market and not only are they no longer afraid to market BLM, they are scared not to. Follow the money. It tells you where the public is at.

---

Sounds like you agree with me.

The public is fickle.

There is a big difference between trying to enact real change and pandering. I know when I am being pandered to.

I think "liberals" (and I use that term in quotes because today's liberals are anything but liberal in the classical sense) will eventually lose the culture wars because their traditional foot-soldiers are waking up in increasing numbers. You can't keep blacks on the plantation forever, despite what LBJ promised. Right here are two great examples of independent thinkers within the black community (who, incidentally, seem rather pissed off). They are people you might call "organic influencers" in today's jargon:

https://bearinsider.com/forums/6/topics/96002

This is the single greatest threat to "liberals" and it will spread rapidly for the simple fact that it is the truth. People who have been fed lies their entire lives tend to gulp down the truth when they taste it. Candace Owens is another great example. Sorry, my loony BI lefties, but truth always prevails. Propaganda is never permanent.

White leftists are shoving oppression BS down the throats of black lives. You are oppressed, yes you are! And guess what, I'm here to help you!

White leftists you say? In my opinion, the white liberal is the worst enemy to America, and the worst enemy to the black man. The liberal elements of whites are those who have perfected the art of selling themselves to the Negro as a friend of the Negro. Getting sympathy of the Negro, getting the allegiance of the Negro, and getting the mind of the Negro. Then the Negro sides with the white liberal, and the white liberal uses the Negro against the white conservative. So that anything that the Negro does is never for his own good, never for his own advancement, never for his own progress, he's only a pawn in the hands of the white liberal. The worst enemy that the Negro have is this white man that runs around here drooling at the mouth professing to love Negros, and calling himself a liberal, and it is following these white liberals that has perpetuated problems that Negros have. If the Negro wasn't taken, tricked, or deceived by the white liberal then Negros would get together and solve their own problems.

Just my opinion.

BancroftBear93 said:

---

White leftists you say? In my opinion, the white liberal is the worst enemy to America, and the worst enemy to the black man. The liberal elements of whites are those who have perfected the art of selling themselves to the Negro as a friend of the Negro. Getting sympathy of the Negro, getting the allegiance of the Negro, and getting the mind of the Negro. Then the Negro sides with the white liberal, and the white liberal uses the Negro against the white conservative. So that anything that the Negro does is never for his own good, never for his own advancement, never for his own progress, he's only a pawn in the hands of the white liberal. The worst enemy that the Negro have is this white man that runs around here drooling at the mouth professing to love Negros, and calling himself a liberal, and it is following these white liberals that has perpetuated problems that Negros have. If the Negro wasn't taken, tricked, or deceived by the white liberal then Negros would get together and solve their own problems.

Just my opinion.

---

That's some pretty decent satire!

BearForce2 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

BearForce2 said:

---

dajo9 said:

---

Many of my conservative friends seem very confused. (So you have many conservative friends, good for you, btw they're not confused just because they don't agree with you, you're confused.) Not just here on BI but even yesterday at my local lake, I overheard a conservative friend talking current events and exclaiming, "none of this makes any sense". I thought about that and some of the posts I'm seeing here on BI and I started thinking a 2020 explainer is in order, for my confused conservative friends. (please tell your conservative friends why you're confused and why you disagree)

Here's the short version: You conservatives are screwed. (I heard this before, Democrats lost the election and lost on the impeachment, You guys got screwed.) Young people hate your politics and worldview. (Young people liked Bernie's politics but the mainstream media and DNC screwed him over) They own the future, they are active, they are diverse, and they are numerous. (The 1st amendment isn't popular with college kids anymore, if the majority believes this, we're all screwed.)

Here's the longer version (But your shorter version didn't make any sense):

The Pandemic - At the beginning of 2020 the coronavirus began spreading around the world. A competent Federal government would have begun stockpiling testing and PPE equipment, and begun researching and implementing mitigation plans. Our Federal government did not do any of this. On March 15, 6 Americans died of coronavirus. On April 7, 1,928 Americans died of coronavirus. During that timeframe much of America's most productive states shut down (these are typically democratic blue states) cratering the economy. New Jersey and New York lost over 1 out of 1,000 residents (somebody posted to help with the math - this is 0.1%). I know 3 people with a death in the family. NYCGB knows 6. If replicated nationally, that would be about 300,000 U.S. deaths. We are currently over 100,000 deaths or 340 deaths per million. New York and New Jersey are about triple that rate - which would be the worst in the world if a country (Somebody will complain about Cuomo, but keep in mind his nursing home order was in compliance with Federal CDC guidelines). That death rate puts the United States #11 globally and #5 if you just look at countries with populations above 20 million (if numbers are to be believed which is a whole other story). Clearly we, as a nation, have failed. We have also, to this point, stopped trying so the future remains uncertain.

Many have complained that we should not have shut down the economy. This thinking is like drugs for the simple mind. Daily deaths explode from 6 to 1,928 in 3 weeks and now that we are only having about 700 daily deaths people are saying, why did we ever put ourselves through this? How many daily deaths would we have if we took no action? How many deaths are acceptable to you for economic reasons? Now that things have stabilized and are trending in the right direction with regards to the virus, states are opening up. These are reasonable actions. You have to be a fool to think when the virus was skyrocketing up we should have done nothing. And we should still be taking some social distancing actions. This thing is not over. We do not know it's future path.

Black Lives Matter - The George Floyd murder really changed things, but things that were coming eventually anyway. The initial days of protest and some rioting and looting did not surprise me. The endurance of the now peaceful protests and the support they are receiving has really surprised me. I believe conservatives are making a mistake if they look at this narrowly with charts about how many blacks have been killed by the police (look, all us old white guys know deep down justice in this country is not equitable racially). No, the George Floyd murder is a catalyst that has prompted young people (who are incredibly diverse) to express their complete rejection of the conservative worldview and policies that have dominated this country and dominated them. In particular, it is the rejection of Donald Trump and his white identity politics. They are taking the reins, with or without the assent of the government (which is not derived from the will of the people anyway due to the Electoral College and the Senate). The polls show that the public is with them.

Is it conflicting for people to support a pandemic induced lockdown and massive protests at the same time? Well, is it really the same time and is it the same people? The pandemic is moving in the right direction so most people are more comfortable going out now. The lockdown was a top down government remedy and the protests are a bottom up movement, so don't expect the two to be consistent and coordinated. Democratic mayors are letting them protest because they have to - the kids will be out there protesting anyway. If you try to use force to shut them down you will only make the movement and the protests bigger. The protests are not a Democratic governance action. This is a new generation taking the destiny of their future away from you and putting it in their hands. Are they increasing the risk of coronavirus being resurgent? Yes. If it isn't resurgent does that mean the lockdown was a mistake? No, because as deaths were exploding we did not know the future (we still do not know the future).

I hope this helps conservatives understand how screwed they are due to the incompetence of their President and the rising maturity of the younger generations that reject them, so they don't have to exclaim, "none of this makes any sense". It all makes sense. Sometimes life is not straightforward.

---

Identity politics is you guys, including the white variety. Do you think this country and its institutions are systematically racist?

---

Trump is the biggest identity politician since George Wallace. And, this country has a historical and pervasive problem with racism that frequently includes many of its institutions and is frequently systemic.

---

Since you believe this country is systematically racist, if a black person doesn't believe he or she is oppressed by the system or doesn't support BLM, is this person a racist?

---

Weird. You responded to me twice. Once very rationally and once with a willful misread of what I wrote in a vain attempt to pursue some stupid point.

There is no doubt that democrats have not been able to do enough to help african americans and other people of color.

To say that people of color would be better off with republican leadership is intentionally counter-factual. Conservatives don't want to address racist police brutality until there are no murders in chicago (that is my understanding based on the prevalence of that non-sequitur being raised in discussions with conservatives).

Conservatives love to mention the handful of people of color that see things their way as if they should somehow be elevated above the 90%+ who see republicans for what they are: 100% invested in reducing taxes by any means necessary. Conservatives know that reducing spending is one of the ways they can support reduced taxes, so they fight any spending focused on communities they don't care about (eg any community with people of color) and the rest is history. Any intellectual curve-fitting to pretend to help people of color is disingenuous. They don't really think that the Republican party has answers to help the African American community. It's like healthcare in this country: they promised repeal and replace but it was really only about repeal. They don't even pretend to have a "replace" for communities of color.

Unit2Sucks said:

---

There is no doubt that democrats have not been able to do enough to help african americans and other people of color.

To say that people of color would be better off with republican leadership is intentionally counter-factual. Conservatives don't want to address racist police brutality until there are no murders in chicago (that is my understanding based on the prevalence of that non-sequitur being raised in discussions with conservatives).

Conservatives love to mention the handful of people of color that see things their way as if they should somehow be elevated above the 90%+ who see republicans for what they are: 100% invested in reducing taxes by any means necessary. Conservatives know that reducing spending is one of the ways they can support reduced taxes, so they fight any spending focused on communities they don't care about (eg any community with people of color) and the rest is history. Any intellectual curve-fitting to pretend to help people of color is disingenuous. They don't really think that the Republican party has answers to help the African American community. It's like healthcare in this country: they promised repeal and replace but it was really only about repeal. They don't even pretend to have a "replace" for communities of color.

---

https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2020/6/8/21281998/chicago-violence-murder-history-homicide-police-crime

18 murders in 24 hours: Inside the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago

Quote:

---

"We've never seen anything like it, at all," said Max Kapustin, the senior research director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

---

Mayor of Chicago - black women, DEMOCRAT
Governor of Illinois - DEMOCRAT
........DEMOCRATS everywhere and yet.......you want to blame Republicans, taxes....don't be silly, open your eyes and repent for your role in this.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisladd/2017/10/06/ten-lies-distort-the-gun-control-debate/

Quote:

---

Lie #6: Chicago has tight gun restrictions and mass gun violence. Ergo, gun laws don't work.

Chicago's seemingly intractable problem with gun violence is one of America's fondest fascinations. It's also a myth. Chicago has more gun murders than other large cities like New York and Los Angeles, thanks mostly to its long, unsecured border with North Alabamastan (sometimes called Indiana). However, Chicago's murder rate still lags far behind the nation's leaders, many of which are in red states with loose gun restrictions.

America's capital of gun violence is in deep-red Louisiana. New Orleans suffers from four times the rate of gun murders as Chicago. Such terrifying urban hellscapes as Kansas City, Memphis and Atlanta all rack up much higher rates of gun violence than Chicago. Expand the inquiry beyond crime, to include accidental gun deaths and suicide, and Chicago simply recedes from the frame. The obvious conclusion also happens to be an empirical fact: states with high levels of gun ownership have higher levels of gun death.

With its supposedly restrictive gun regulations, why should Chicago even show up on the list? Only through a determination to avoid the obvious can one struggle with this question.

A Chicagoan can walk across a street into Indiana and purchase firearms from an unlicensed seller with no tracking of that transaction. That person can then walk back across the street into Chicago and commit a crime. This is a common practice. Most of the guns used in a crime in Chicago are originally purchased in Indiana or Mississippi. And of course, Indiana's rate of gun deaths is roughly a third higher than in Illinois.

---

That article is from 2017, so maybe Chicago has had a great increase in its murder rate since then? Nope.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/us/chicago-murders-drop-2019/index.html

OaktownBear said:

---

The fact that the NFL, Amazon , Netflix basically most people that want to sell anything are making statements of support should tell people something.

---

It does. It tells me they want to pretend they care about this movement so that people will forget about all the ****ty things they do to make money.

Amazon pretending that black lives matter is the funniest thing ever when you stop and think about what their labor practices were during the pandemic.

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

sycasey said:

---

dimitrig said:

---

OaktownBear said:

---

The fact that the NFL, Amazon , Netflix basically most people that want to sell anything are making statements of support should tell people something.

---

---

The point isn't that these companies are going to do much to change things themselves, it's that these PR efforts are a strong indication of where the public mood is. Politicians will follow the public mood, as is their nature, and they can actually make meaningful changes.

---

The public has a short memory, which is MY point.

Everyone was up in arms when the Rodney King verdict was read and...?! It keeps happening. I don't see any indication anything is different this time.

---

"Everyone" was not, not in the way they are now. The black community was. White people remained largely in favor of the police. It's not like that this time.

Do you remember the NFL taking a stand on Rodney King?

---

I got another e-mail from Instacart saying they are investing $1M in change.

Why do Petsmart or Instacart need to make statements at all?! I certainly don't expect them to and the fact that they are feels like pandering.

BLM is the movement du jour following Occupy Wall Street, #metoo, etc, etc. I am sure there will be a new one soon.

---

I will leave you to your cynicism.

---

No one on this board is a bigger cynic than you.

BancroftBear93 said:

---

https://bearinsider.com/forums/6/topics/96002

This is the single greatest threat to "liberals" and it will spread rapidly for the simple fact that it is the truth. People who have been fed lies their entire lives tend to gulp down the truth when they taste it. Candace Owens is another great example. Sorry, my loony BI lefties, but truth always prevails. Propaganda is never permanent.

---

https://newsone.com/3848636/candace-owens-receipts-con-artist/amp/