Riots in Missouri - Part 2

[Schlosser85]

Blocking traffic when people are trying to get to work and keep their jobs is not affecting positive social change, it's making life harder for a bunch of people who had nothing to do with what you're protesting.

 

[Schlosser85]

If I got my way to work blocked by a bunch of bums standing in the street "protesting" something neither I nor anyone else on the road had zip to do with, I'd be fuming pissed. Not exactly the way to get anyone to sympathize with you.

That, and it's incredibly arrogant.

 

[The Question]

Blocking traffic when people are trying to get to work and keep their jobs is not affecting positive social change, it's making life harder for a bunch of people who had nothing to do with what you're protesting.

1: Would anyone get fired for being late for work because of something so completely outside of their control as a protest blocking traffic? Companies can get sued for firing people over something like that.

2: Can you think of a form of protest that does not in some way inconvenience the day to day activities of society? Because I can't.

 

[The Question]

If I got my way to work blocked by a bunch of bums standing in the street "protesting" something neither I nor anyone else on the road had zip to do with, I'd be fuming pissed. Not exactly the way to get anyone to sympathize with you.

That, and it's incredibly arrogant.

1: Why do you refer to protestors as bums?

2: Why did you put protest in quotes? They are protesting something, that's not really debatable.

3: They're trying to fix an oppressive system. I'm sorry, but some things are more important.

4: Parades and sporting events block traffic all of the time, and yet people only seem to really get mad when it's because of people protesting social injustices.

5: I'm not sure where I see the arrogance.

 

[SuperJediHero]

Now, some are die-in on train tracks... MORONS!!!

 

[The Question]

Now, some are die-in on train tracks... MORONS!!!

Because it's not like trains know in advance when there's something blocking the track oh wait no they totally do.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

Celebrating culture is celebrating the differences between people and the different viewpoints they bring to the table.


We tell ourselves that there are biological differences between races so we can stereotype and try to use science to back up prejudices.

We also use those differences in culture to hate each other based on nothing more than minute details. Americans didn't hire Irish immigrants in the early 1900s cause of what exactly? Liking potatoes? Nah, they were "foreigners" in a land of immigrants. Catholics in a land of Protestants.

.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

That is a very poor example to back up your argument.

I'm German and there were (few) members of my family that were part of the Nazi party. I am not a Nazi, nor do I agree with their ideas. If a Jewish person came up to me and got mad at me because some relative of mine was a Nazi, I would be hardpressed to care. The sins of my relative are not mine to bear or apologize for.

I'll bet a lot of people here have European ancestors, but should they go to Africa/Asia/South America and apologize to the people there for the sometimes brutal colonization of their ancestors?

At some point, you have to let go. You just contribute to a vicious cycle of hatred if you continue to blame the sons of a generation who wronged you.

No of course not. But you don't deny that your ancestry possessed those wrong views.

I had nothing to do with the genocide against Native Americans in America, but I understand it's my responsibility to not allow those same mistakes to rear their ugly heads again. Just because I'm not force marching them from their lands, doesn't mean I shouldn't recognize my responsibility to not further their oppression by supporting laws that oppress them.

Many times (not saying you) when people make that "i had nothing to do with it" argument, it's a way of distancing themselves from having responsibility for something else. As if this if first time they've become aware of the problem, so the past doesn't count.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

So you feel if someone in your family does something bad past, present, or future you should share in that blame? Even if there's no proof that your family did anything wrong but because their the same color of people that did do bad you should still share the blame? If that's the case everyone is guilty of wrong doing which makes everyone hypocrites and should quit pointing fingers.

If my brother kills someone then yeah, that's his fault. Not mine. I can choose to look after the victim's family, but that's a personal choice.

If my country goes into South America and floods an entire country with guns and 20 years later the entire country is a narco state, then yeah, as an American it's my responsibility to not vote for someone who would continue those policies. Or to help the people of that country and not pretend that America didn't play a part in creating the violence in that country just because I was six at the time.

This isn't a issue of blame, it's about acknowledging that the way things are now is based on past actions. "Rome wasn't built in a day". If you don't like the way things are now, then simply acting like the past doesn't matter isn't how you fix systematic injustice like Ferguson or NY.

Cops make mistakes. They are human. Individually, none of these cases mean anything more than mistakes, but put them together and you see that something is fundamentally wrong. A justice system that allows cops shooting someone in a store selling guns for holding a gun is insane.

 

[SuperJediHero]

1: Why do you refer to protestors as bums?

2: Why did you put protest in quotes? They are protesting something, that's not really debatable.

3: They're trying to fix an oppressive system. I'm sorry, but some things are more important.

4: Parades and sporting events block traffic all of the time, and yet people only seem to really get mad when it's because of people protesting social injustices.

5: I'm not sure where I see the arrogance.

Are you serious?

First, parades and sporting event were well-organized usually that people know ahead of time for days. Plus, it's almost always smaller roads than major highways! In fact, I can't even remember a single Entertainment event causing a highway to shut down!



It is not more important than someone's job or their major life events that they have to attend. Or perhaps someone with a life and death emergency at the time that the damn traffic is conveniently blocked!

Yes it IS arrogant! If not that definitely inconsiderate/selfish. Just because it maybe your #1 issue and you do it with a passion doesn't mean it's also everyone else's #1 issue in their life and they stop their life to join this cause that some of you ERROROUSLY feel is everyone's #1 priority.


I have NO respect, nor sympathy for you if you feel this way.

 

[SuperJediHero]

Jeez Republicans, I don't see how you can blame all these unrests solely on President Obama. Do you always just blame Obama on everything?

There are a lot of you (Republicans) in this nation, if you are that fed up with the protests maybe you can do something about it. Did you forget that the recent election was won by Republican overwhelmingly?

If all of you can't do something, instead of blaming Obama, then that's just lame!

But blaming Obama? It's not like he said "YO I am pissed off, my fellow citizens burn this b**** down". Yeah he sympathizes with the protestors, but I heard he clearly said that he wants peace!

 

[Docker2.0]

No of course not. But you don't deny that your ancestry possessed those wrong views.

I had nothing to do with the genocide against Native Americans in America, but I understand it's my responsibility to not allow those same mistakes to rear their ugly heads again. Just because I'm not force marching them from their lands, doesn't mean I shouldn't recognize my responsibility to not further their oppression by supporting laws that oppress them.

Many times (not saying you) when people make that "i had nothing to do with it" argument, it's a way of distancing themselves from having responsibility for something else. As if this if first time they've become aware of the problem, so the past doesn't count.

If my brother kills someone then yeah, that's his fault. Not mine. I can choose to look after the victim's family, but that's a personal choice.

If my country goes into South America and floods an entire country with guns and 20 years later the entire country is a narco state, then yeah, as an American it's my responsibility to not vote for someone who would continue those policies. Or to help the people of that country and not pretend that America didn't play a part in creating the violence in that country just because I was six at the time.

This isn't a issue of blame, it's about acknowledging that the way things are now is based on past actions. "Rome wasn't built in a day". If you don't like the way things are now, then simply acting like the past doesn't matter isn't how you fix systematic injustice like Ferguson or NY.

Cops make mistakes. They are human. Individually, none of these cases mean anything more than mistakes, but put them together and you see that something is fundamentally wrong. A justice system that allows cops shooting someone in a store selling guns for holding a gun is insane.

Great posts!

Jeez Republicans, I don't see how you can blame all these unrests solely on President Obama. Do you always just blame Obama on everything?

There are a lot of you (Republicans) in this nation, if you are that fed up with the protests maybe you can do something about it. Did you forget that the recent election was won by Republican overwhelmingly?

If all of you can't do something, instead of blaming Obama, then that's just lame!

But blaming Obama? It's not like he said "YO I am pissed off, my fellow citizens burn this b**** down". Yeah he sympathizes with the protestors, but I heard he clearly said that he wants peace!

Agreed but sadly Dems and Repubs are playing the game to keep us all at each other's throat. We are fighting over this stupidest crap while the "real leaders" of this country are just twirling their mustaches. It's like you can feel something about ot happe in the air.

 

[The Shape]

1: Would anyone get fired for being late for work because of something so completely outside of their control as a protest blocking traffic? Companies can get sued for firing people over something like that.

Is that not besides the point? What if people WANT to get to work on time because they have **** they need to get done? What if someone needs to get home for a family emergency or gathering and are late because of this? What if some of the drivers are in sales and paid commission, and by being an hour late to work they miss out on making money that could be feeding their family?

2: Can you think of a form of protest that does not in some way inconvenience the day to day activities of society? Because I can't.

There are ways to publicly make your opinions heard without disrupting the daily life of civilians as much as these people have. I hope you don't think this is the only way to do that.

 

[chaseter]

Jeez Republicans, I don't see how you can blame all these unrests solely on President Obama. Do you always just blame Obama on everything?

There are a lot of you (Republicans) in this nation, if you are that fed up with the protests maybe you can do something about it. Did you forget that the recent election was won by Republican overwhelmingly?

If all of you can't do something, instead of blaming Obama, then that's just lame!

But blaming Obama? It's not like he said "YO I am pissed off, my fellow citizens burn this b**** down". Yeah he sympathizes with the protestors, but I heard he clearly said that he wants peace!

It's politics 101. The left blamed Bush for everything and even did so 2 years into Obama's first term. The next President will get blamed for everything too. It's our stupid two party political system.

 

[Destructus86]

Jeez Republicans, I don't see how you can blame all these unrests solely on President Obama. Do you always just blame Obama on everything?

There are a lot of you (Republicans) in this nation, if you are that fed up with the protests maybe you can do something about it. Did you forget that the recent election was won by Republican overwhelmingly?

If all of you can't do something, instead of blaming Obama, then that's just lame!

But blaming Obama? It's not like he said "YO I am pissed off, my fellow citizens burn this b**** down". Yeah he sympathizes with the protestors, but I heard he clearly said that he wants peace!

And that's why things never get done. We're too busy blaming the other side but no one actually wants to DO anything...because that would require too much effort and more importantly money.

A nation divided CANNOT stand.

 

[The Shape]

3: They're trying to fix an oppressive system. I'm sorry, but some things are more important.

They're certainly trying to make it known that they want something fixed, though it doesn't seem like they're actively trying to fix anything by annoying people and disrupting daily life. The looting, rioting, and non-peaceful protests back in Ferguson certainly weren't trying to fix anything. In fact, they did more harm than good and further perpetuated the stereotype it seems most black people want the police to avoid in terms of profiling.

4: Parades and sporting events block traffic all of the time, and yet people only seem to really get mad when it's because of people protesting social injustices.

You can't be serious. Parades are planned in conjunction with cities. Citizens are given advance notice, police are heavily involved in directing or re-routing traffic, detours are indicated, etc.

As for sporting events blocking traffic, I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean when there is traffic on a major highway because of people trying to get to a football stadium for a game? Or when a sporting event lets out and there is traffic and congestion on highways? Because there is a signficant difference between traffic that occurs naturally and somewhat regularly due to road congestion...and traffic literally being blocked by a group of people with an agenda.

My point is that there has to be another way for this "movement" to gain footing, other than annoying people and protesting. Frankly, I'm surprised at the somewhat weak presence of this movement online. In this day and age, the internet is probably the greatest way to get a message to the public, and to get strangers all around the country invested and involved in your cause. Get creative. Be clever.

 

[Schlosser85]

They're certainly trying to make it known that they want something fixed, though it doesn't seem like they're actively trying to fix anything by annoying people and disrupting daily life.

Exactly. Do you really think something, somehow, is magically going to get fixed because you block traffic and piss off a bunch of motorists? Do you really that's going to make people sympathetic to you, or want to listen to anything you have to say?

 

[antsman41]

Blocking traffic when people are trying to get to work and keep their jobs is not affecting positive social change, it's making life harder for a bunch of people who had nothing to do with what you're protesting.

That's why the person running over a protester in Minneapolis was pretty funny.

 

[Victarion]

Unfortunately, there's no way to bring about positive social change that is universally convenient for everyone.

Especially for the protestors unfortunate enough to get in front of someone more worried about their job than the academicians the believed blocking traffic was a good idea...that only happened that one time, right? Someone posted a YT vid of it in the last thread.

 

[SuperT]

How sad for you that your life was inconvenienced for a few hours one day, must have been really hard to deal with. Now think about the minorities who are protesting that are inconvenienced on a daily basis by police or authority figures simply because they're minorities.

 

[Victarion]

How sad for you that your life was inconvenienced for a few hours one day, must have been really hard to deal with. Now think about the minorities who are protesting that are inconvenienced on a daily basis bypolice or authority figures simply because they're minorities.

Well, if you stand in front of a busy intersection or street...I think that speaks for itself. Employers do like their workers to be on time though. Playing devil's advocate here (in case you didn't know).

 

[Flint Marko]

How sad for you that your life was inconvenienced for a few hours one day, must have been really hard to deal with. Now think about the minorities who are protesting that are inconvenienced on a daily basis by police or authority figures simply because they're minorities.

So two wrongs make a right? Eye for an eye? What a ridiculous justification. There are much better ways to protest and voice your frustration, that much is obvious.

 

[Howlett]

Exactly. Do you really think something, somehow, is magically going to get fixed because you block traffic and piss off a bunch of motorists? Do you really that's going to make people sympathetic to you, or want to listen to anything you have to say?

Here is a video of a bunch of Ferguson protesters doing even more harm to their "cause." This kind of behavior is actually going to create even more racism and contempt than just blocking the streets.

Now I realize the people in the video are not representative of ALL of the protesters, but man, this is just really bad.
Edit: nevermind really bad language

 

[Schlosser85]

How sad for you that your life was inconvenienced for a few hours one day, must have been really hard to deal with. Now think about the minorities who are protesting that are inconvenienced on a daily basis by police or authority figures simply because they're minorities.

And once again, how is standing in the middle of the street and accomplishing nothing but pissing off a bunch of motorists, supposed to do anything productive to change any of that?

That isn't accomplishing anything except being annoying and making people less sympathetic to whatever you're talking about.

So step down off your soapbox and try actually doing something constructive to fight social injustice instead of standing in the middle of the street or doing a "die-in" in a store and basically accomplishing nothing except A) disrupting the lives of people who had nothing to do with what you're angry about, and B) getting yourself on camera.

 

[Howlett]

1: Would anyone get fired for being late for work because of something so completely outside of their control as a protest blocking traffic? Companies can get sued for firing people over something like that.

2: Can you think of a form of protest that does not in some way inconvenience the day to day activities of society? Because I can't.

How about voting?