Black Lives Matter Movement

[Leyva]

What are your views on this movement? Do you guys support them? Or do you dislike what they represent in terms of sociaL justice for their communities? This movement has expanded in different countries like England, France, Canada, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Canada just to name a few

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I support it. Police brutality is getting out of control, while at the same time they don’t seem to be doing their jobs of protecting people (unless they’re rich).

I don’t get why “black lives matter” is such a controversial statement. They’re not saying black lives are better, just that they matter... like, matters, like “meh”.

 

[Carlito's Way]

I support it as well, for the most part, the ones I see against it are white americans which i dont understand, but then again, they have this sick obsession of oppressing at all cost the black race, and for blacks to have rights just as them must be a horror story

any POC who is against this movement is just weird as hell, and are automatically an enemy of the POC community in my eyes
one would have to be a sick fuck to be against black people being treated like human beings

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

the ones I see against it are white americans

That has changed. A majority of white Americans support it now according to polling.

 

[Carlito's Way]

That has changed. A majority of white Americans support it now according to polling.

its usually the white youth making those changes, I am really happy they are not following what the media portrays the movement to be
the older white americans are different (not all of course) but they are the ones that try to portray BLM as a hate group against white people

i just hope that we all make a difference in the polls, but its such a hard pick now with the accusations of Biden not to mention Trump being a pedophile, but ive never been a fan of either anyway, this country is screwed with either one

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

its usually the white youth making those changes, I am really happy they are not following what the media portrays the movement to be
the older white americans are different (not all of course) but they are the ones that try to portray BLM as a hate group against white people

i just hope that we all make a difference in the polls, but its such a hard pick now with the accusations of Biden not to mention Trump being a pedophile, but ive never been a fan of either anyway, this country is screwed with either one

From my observation, I am seeing older white people change their minds.

Since the COVID-19 lockdowns, I have only been hanging around with white people. No disrespect to people of colour, it's just we are limited in how many people we can allow in our "bubble" and I obviously, chose relatives and still only talk to my friends who are not white online or on the phone.

(I have indigenous relatives too, but they live far away and I think I might skip my annual summer visit this year due to the pandemic)

The older white people I know, were not necessarily hostile, they were more like "meh" about it. I dunno, I think the video of George Floyd really bothered a lot of white people. I mean, when a guy is screaming out for their mother while dying, that would bother any normal person regardless of race or political persuasion. Hell, I even heard a white right-wing politician on the radio today talk about the need to take systemic racism seriously.

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I have to admit I am loving the way public opinion has shifted and how there have been several killshots fired in the culture wars these days... and right-wingers are taking the L very hard. It’s hilarious.

Anyway, this isn’t about right vs left, white vs black, conservative vs liberal anymore... it’s humanity vs whiteness (I mean whiteness as a political ideology, which is completely distinct from white people).

 

[Carlito's Way]

From my observation, I am seeing older white people change their minds.

Since the COVID-19 lockdowns, I have only been hanging around with white people. No disrespect to people of colour, it's just we are limited in how many people we can allow in our "bubble" and I obviously, chose relatives and still only talk to my friends who are not white online or on the phone.

(I have indigenous relatives too, but they live far away and I think I might skip my annual summer visit this year due to the pandemic)

The older white people I know, were not necessarily hostile, they were more like "meh" about it. I dunno, I think the video of George Floyd really bothered a lot of white people. I mean, when a guy is screaming out for their mother while dying, that would bother any normal person regardless of race or political persuasion. Hell, I even heard a white right-wing politician on the radio today talk about the need to take systemic racism seriously.

I think its different in Canada, I always found white Canadians less racist than white americans, and I have seen videos of even African Americans who move to Canada and also say the same exact thing

the vibe is just different between white canadians vs white americans, im sure you have seen it as well since you have been to the USA
i also found white euros less racist than white americans, at least based on my experience living in Europe (netherlands), thats not to say there is no racism in Canada or in Europe but the experiences were a lot more different, and for the most part, whites in Canada and Europe were more welcoming

but you know more than me since you live in Canada, and you know more about the issue of racism in Canada compared to the USA

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I think its different in Canada, I always found white Canadians less racist than white americans, and I have seen videos of even African Americans who move to Canada and also say the same exact thing

the vibe is just different between white canadians vs white americans, im sure you have seen it as well since you have been to the USA
i also found white euros less racist than white americans, at least based on my experience living in Europe (netherlands), thats not to say there is no racism in Canada or in Europe but the experiences were a lot more different, and for the most part, whites in Canada and Europe were more welcoming

but you know more than me since you live in Canada, and you know more about the issue of racism in Canada compared to the USA

There is racism everywhere. I find European racists to be the worst racists because they're the ones who made it scientific and still have those kinds of messed-up beliefs, whereas North American racism isn't as "sophisticated", it's usually ignorance or hate in North America. And most people are not sociopaths.

Racism in Canada, as well as Europe, can get paternalistic, though.

Honestly, I think the thing that explains the shift among white people is the fact that the coronavirus lockdowns have given them time to notice and reflect on these things. I mean, I'm white, I live in that world, and before COVID, I was so busy all the time that I didn't have time to lick my lips, let alone think about racism. And that's by design: whiteness was literally invented to divide workers, so that they wouldn't rise up against the rich people overworking them. But now most white people are at home, either not working, or working from home so they don't have stressful commutes and stuff, that gives them more time reflect. Maybe that's why George Floyd's death hit people whereas other ones didn't, since they had time to watch and really think about it.

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I think its different in Canada, I always found white Canadians less racist than white americans, and I have seen videos of even African Americans who move to Canada and also say the same exact thing

the vibe is just different between white canadians vs white americans, im sure you have seen it as well since you have been to the USA
i also found white euros less racist than white americans, at least based on my experience living in Europe (netherlands), thats not to say there is no racism in Canada or in Europe but the experiences were a lot more different, and for the most part, whites in Canada and Europe were more welcoming

but you know more than me since you live in Canada, and you know more about the issue of racism in Canada compared to the USA

Actually after I posted that last response I was listening to a podcast where the black host asked some white people “why now”, and there was a mix of responses, some that I did outline in my previous post (COVID lockdowns, etc) but another response I found quite interesting and I can see it:

White people are no longer afraid to speak out. They admitted they were thinking this for a long time but never said anything because they were afraid of being hurt by other white people.

I get it, you can get death threats if you challenge white supremacy and white solidarity (I have not only gotten death threats for speaking out, but my mother has as well)... and especially acute in the USA I guess where all the racists are armed... I mean, I am afraid of white Americans, more than other Americans, or white people anywhere else. White Americans scare me, they really do. And I’m white.

So yeah, these protests got big and more white people are showing up so they’re now emboldened.

Could also be a function of the fact that more liberal/progressive/left-leaning whites own guns now too. It’s not just the white right-wingers stocking up, so the racist right can no longer use guns to intimidate their critics into silence. Since 2016, gun sales in North America have been the highest in history and it’s been all racial minorities, LGBT, and liberal/progressive/leftist whites buying them... that’s why the NRA has been going bankrupt at the same time as this bump in gun sales, because progressives won’t have anything to do with the NRA.

And yeah, even in Canada which has pretty strict gun laws, gun sales have been the highest in history, and it’s not conservatives buying them. It’s your leftist cousin buying that shit.

I’m loving the other conversations going on too, like this bullshit notion of “journalistic objectivity” which just gave racists and other wingnuts time in the media which they shouldn’t get.

Admittedly, I love this backlash. I’ve been waiting for it for a long time.

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

Even NASCAR has abandoned the chuds. I love it!

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

OK, the media is totally trying a new method to turn white people against these protests (they must be threatened by the fact that 70% of white Americans, and 90% of white Canadians, support the Black Lives Matter movement).

They're doing things to make BLM look petty.

For example:

Hulu removed an episode of Golden Girls where they were doing facials, because the clay masks are black, and that might me racist (no, charcoal masks != blackface)

The Chronicle Herald in Halifax, Nova Scotia put a trigger warning on their front page, because a Canadian flag appeared on page 9.

Particularly pissed about the second one because I live in Halifax and a white backlash has already started. Mainly by outsiders now, but I don't want the right-wing flying monkeys in my city again. A couple years ago, the city had to remove a statue (which to be fair, should have been removed) because they were afraid of the debates over the statue causing this city to become Charlottesville North.

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I more wholly support it now (I always wholly supported it but now I appreciate the movement). They are going to help me out in seeking justice for my incident with the police.

I'm not black. I'm actually white.

 

[MINARDOWICZ]

I more wholly support it now (I always wholly supported it but now I appreciate the movement). They are going to help me out in seeking justice for my incident with the police.

I'm not black. I'm actually white.

I agree. The police are becoming like thugs... The true thugs! I support law enforcement on the individual level, so if one is actually trying to do good. The majority of them are not. I have had mostly bad experiences. I totally understand BLM and it is not black people's fault that they were forced to be here and subjected to a bad system. I know SSA was not great and still is not, but still.

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

I agree. The police are becoming like thugs... The true thugs! I support law enforcement on the individual level, so if one is actually trying to do good. The majority of them are not. I have had mostly bad experiences. I totally understand BLM and it is not black people's fault that they were forced to be here and subjected to a bad system. I know SSA was not great and still is not, but still.

I know. You should see the power trip Canadian cops are on when enforcing the COVID lockdown. I had a gun pulled on me by one. That is why I contacted BLM.

And I only contacted BLM to ask them if they knew who I could contact for advice, so I was surprised when they responded "Us! We will help you!" So yeah.

Here's what happened to me:

When entering New Brunswick via Quebec, you have to fill out an online form to request permission to enter New Brunswick (this is actually against the Canadian constitution). I tried to fill out the form with my phone but it kept throwing errors when I tried to submit it, even though I had entered all the required information. I tried to explain this to the police officer but he started to get very belligerent. I work in the tech industry, so I knew what exactly was wrong with the website and knew it would take the people who maintain it a few hours to fix it, so I offered to show him proof that I am a resident of Nova Scotia in the form of the deed to my house which I brought with me in case I ran into a problem like this at provincial borders. I reached for the glove compartment to grab it and immediately, his gun was in my face.

For trying to go home.

 

[MINARDOWICZ]

I know. You should see the power trip Canadian cops are on when enforcing the COVID lockdown. I had a gun pulled on me by one. That is why I contacted BLM.

And I only contacted BLM to ask them if they knew who I could contact for advice, so I was surprised when they responded "Us! We will help you!" So yeah.

Here's what happened to me:

That is NUTS!

 

[SavannahCatGiannis]

That is NUTS!

Yup. And I am being intimidated into keeping quiet about it, actually threatened with 5-15 years in prison for spreading misinformation about coronavirus if I do.

I thought Canada was a free country.

Anyway, I think they are doing this because they know they fucked up, and because of who I am: I'm an upper middle class white woman who works a white collar job, drives a Toyota, and donates to the Liberal Party. Typical white Canadian middle class, the type of person the media and the general public would have sympathy for. The public outcry would be huge.

Not so much if I was say, black or indigenous, and/or poor. If that was the case, well, the cop would have already pulled the trigger so wouldn't be speaking, or there would be less public outcry if I did.