Protests following the killing of George Floyd

syrian_scholes

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How exactly does defacing the cenotaph in London and attempting to set the flags on top of it on fire bring justice for someone killed by a cop in America?

What exactly do Britain's war dead have to do with it?
Have you maybe thought they are protesting something wrong in Britain as well not just in America? Or do you think Britain is racism free?
 

Tiber

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Have you maybe thought they are protesting something wrong in Britain as well not just in America? Or do you think Britain is racism free?
Have you maybe thought that even if that is true it has feck all to do with memorials to our war dead?
 

saivet

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How exactly does defacing the cenotaph in London and attempting to set the flags on top of it on fire bring justice for someone killed by a cop in America?

What exactly do Britain's war dead have to do with it?
It's not all about police brutality, and it's certainly not all about America.

It's certainly raised some awareness that Britain has a 'hero' that has said and done some horrible things.
 

PepsiCola

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So wait... you're more angry over a statue being defaced than centuries of racism, oppression, genocide, etc....
 

Cloud7

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You have no idea how people centuries from now will view us. We eat meat. We kill animals for fun. We lock people away for life sentences. We drive around in polluting cars and happily buy TVs brought across the world on oil burning container ships.

It's very arrogant of us to think we are doing it the right way now, and look down at those who lived in a different time. They thought they were doing it the right way too.
First of all I’m vastly opposed to hunting as a sport. Secondly, the things you describe there can be viewed as bad through a subjective lens, whereas the subjugation and enslavement of other humans is objectively bad. There is a huge distance between that and the things you describe.

Again I ask, if those people thought they were living the right way, then how were there people that existed in those very times that viewed these events as wrong, in the same way that we do now?
 

Foxbatt

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As a brown person myself, I'm not defending Churchill but does that mean we bring down Queen Victoria's statues too? I'm sure she was far worse in her half decade of looting and pillaging. And all the other kings and queens and prime ministers? All that achieves is diluting the real cause which is the message that BLM.
I am not calling for anything to be pulled down. Neither am I equating him with either Hitler or Stalin.
Everyone including the Germans and the Russians accept that both murdered millions of people.
What I am saying that it should be taught in the UK what Churchill did that's abhorrent. Most of the British either don't know or don't accept that Churchill did anything wrong. I am calling for the education of the people.
 

Tiber

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It's not all about police brutality, and it's certainly not all about America.

It's certainly raised some awareness that Britain has a 'hero' that has said and done some horrible things.
Once again. What does disrespecting our war dead (especially one day after D-Day) have to do with any of this?

I have now been sent numerous political one liners in response, but not a single answer to the question.
 

PepsiCola

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Once again. What does disrespecting our war dead (especially one day after D-Day) have to do with any of this?

I have now been sent numerous political one liners in response, but not a single answer to the question.
Few defaced memorials are nothing compared to centuries of racism, genocide, systemic injustices and inequality.
 

PepsiCola

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Ah ok. So two wrongs make a right then? Excellent argument
That's a rather juvenile view of things.

It's a protest. Couple things get broken.

Its nothing compared to thousands of lives lost.

Edit - okay not thousands, COUNTLESS lives lost.
 

Foxbatt

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I have to arrest you one one element here. The gas in question was tear gas. Not gas chambers, which you make it sound like. Also, in all these sudden attacks on everyone, where do we stop? Do we go back 200 years? 1000? 2000? Should Nelson Mandelas statue in London be teared down due to the bad things Mandela did also? Should we burn down the Colosseum because slaves were made to fight there for the entertainment of the Romans?
As for the " tear" gas it's not what the National Archives have documented. Churchill calls it poisonous gas which in turn makes people sick. Yes they didn't use it because the cabinet refused to go along with it.
 

Garethw

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Burning the cenotaph flags. If you hate this country so much then fecking leave!
 

SilentWitness

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Few defaced memorials are nothing compared to centuries of racism, genocide, systemic injustices and inequality.
Of course not, but there is a difference between the cenotaph and the statues. The statues aren’t erected in honour or respect of the individuals death but for the things that they did i.e in the slavers case the things they brought to the community or Churchill’s case - what he did in WW2. I would not argue against these statues being defaced because of the things that these men did individually in terms of enslaving others/their abhorrent racism.

The cenotaph is honouring and respecting those that have died in wars, from all races and backgrounds. You are right that it’s just a bit of paint/whatever and it can be easily fixed and erased but I can understand a bit more why someone would feel a bit upset about that, especially if their close relatives have fought and died in wars.
 

PepsiCola

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Of course not, but there is a difference between the cenotaph and the statues. The statues aren’t erected in honour or respect of the individuals death but for the things that they did i.e in the slavers case the things they brought to the community or Churchill’s case - what he did in WW2. I would not argue against these statues being defaced because of the things that these men did individually in terms of enslaving others/their abhorrent racism.

The cenotaph is honouring and respecting those that have died in wars, from all races and backgrounds. You are right that it’s just a bit of paint/whatever and it can be easily fixed and erased but I can understand a bit more why someone would feel a bit upset about that, especially if their close relatives have fought and died in wars.
Yup it can be cleaned and repaired.

Lives cannot be brought back.

It's an act of protest.
 

Tiber

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That's a rather juvenile view of things.

It's a protest. Couple things get broken.

Its nothing compared to thousands of lives lost.

Edit - okay not thousands, COUNTLESS lives lost.

Yea, I'm the juvenile for thinking that the primary national monument to the men who gave their lives fighting the Nazi's (among countles other dead souls - a great many of whom were not white) is more than 'a couple of statues' which should be considered meaningless.

When your peaceful protest starts to disrespect those who died to ensure such protests are legal? Something has gone wrong.

I'm done this thread. fecking disgusted with some of the posts.
 

PepsiCola

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Yea, I'm the juvenile for thinking that the primary national monument to the men who gave their lives fighting the Nazi's (among countles other dead souls - a great many of whom were not white) is more than 'a couple of statues' which should be considered meaningless.

When your peaceful protest starts to disrespect those who died to ensure such protests are legal? Something has gone wrong.

I'm done this thread. fecking disgusted with some of the posts.
Is being hurt over the BLM movement really the side of history you want to be on?

It's a protest, in anger of countless of lives lost over centuries of genocide, racism, injustices and social inequalities.
 

Garethw

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There are videos out there of black police being attacked. I guess those black lives don’t count?
 

sammsky1

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Ah ok. So two wrongs make a right then? Excellent argument
You just equated the removal of slave trader's statue with centuries of racism, genocide, systemic injustices and inequality.

Just pointing that out to you.
 

Tiber

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You just equated the removal of slave trader's statue with centuries of racism, genocide, systemic injustices and inequality.

Just pointing that out to you.
I thought I was done with this thread.

But I didn't think I would need to point out that the national Cenotaph to our war dead in London has nothing to do with some statue in Bristol that I had never heard of until today

Just pointing that out to you.
 

sammsky1

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I thought I was done with this thread.

But I didn't think I would need to point out that the national Cenotaph to our war dead in London has nothing to do with some statue in Bristol.
Its gets even better .... You just equated the vandalism of one symbolic war memorial with centuries of racism, genocide, systemic injustices and inequality.
 

Foxbatt

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The Cenotaph was not defaced according to Reuters. It was the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that was.
 

roseguy64

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But what exactly do you expect to happen in societies where majority of population is white? Is "black privilege" not a thing in African countries? I am genuinely curious about it.
No. White privilege still applies. Hence colourism. Additionally, foreign folk who are sometimes less qualified will get the job than the local black person.

Then that privilege switches in majority-black countries also where someone from a poor, violent area is less likely to get a job. Lots of them have to put different addresses when applying to be able to get interviews and the like.