Starstream Think Tank

DarkGemini24601

DarkGemini24601

Well-Known Member
ShadowHounder said:
so... more racist cops committing crimes and going unpunished leading to riots (at least that's my assumption)...

Why can't people be peaceful and logical about this shit ;-;
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Thing is, it gets more complicated than that. To begin with, the incident was a white cop pressing his knee down on the neck of a black cop that was his former co-worker, and the guy died - I've gotten mixed information on whether it was due to his airway being blocked or a heart attack that prevented him from breathing. Either way, brought on by the cop, he mishandled the situation and is getting punished for it by due legal process. It's unclear at the moment whether it was racially motivated, a personal grudge, a mistake - and stuff like that is why people shouldn't jump to conclusions just because the victim and the perpetrator are the same race. It may come out that it was a hate crime, and people would be somewhat justified in peacefully protesting, but ultimately that's a matter for the courts - which should never be ruled by public opinion.

As for the riots that have broken out, it's also complicated. Some of the rioters are ideological, sure - the burning of the Minneapolis Police station definitely was. They and their ilk are the type that are "down with the system, it's broken." I don't believe that it's time for 1776 Two Electric Bungaloo, but if those people act on that sentiment, they're going to fail because the majority of the population is not going to back them.

Then you have the looters, who are by their nature motivated by opportunistic gain rather than a desire for justice, since they're harming people who are completely unrelated, like shop owners (at least one of whom I know of was African American, and had spent his life savings setting up his bar - thankfully a gofundme has raised a whopping 190K for this guy to rebuild). I don't think there's any situation in which vandalism and theft are a legitimate form of protest, nor do I think that's their goal anyway, and they should be prosecuted accordingly. They're just criminals.

Finally, as I mentioned before, some of the crime that's going on may be opportunism by organized groups (gangs for profit, the Antifacists for ideological reasons) that are taking advantage of the police being overwhelmed. A police force that, by the numbers, is not evil. Our justice system has this idea that crimes should only be punished after they occur, not preemptively. What happened to that female police officer is an example of why mob justice doesn't work - when there's no trial or due process for someone, they get lynched based on the emotions of the crowd. Even if that woman did something wrong - which I severely doubt she did - it is not the right of individual citizens to take matters into their own hands. We have lawsuits, courts, juries, and so forth for that sort of thing.

All of this to say is that this whole thing has morphed from a set of peaceful protests to an outbreak of violence. I'm sure that there are plenty of peaceful protesters who are appalled by this - in fact I've seen a couple of videos to that effect - but the fact is there is a large number of criminal activities using a dead man as a shield, and I find that pretty despicable.
 
ShadowHounder

ShadowHounder

Well-Known Member
DarkGemini24601 said:
Thing is, it gets more complicated than that. To begin with, the incident was a white cop pressing his knee down on the neck of a black cop that was his former co-worker, and the guy died - I've gotten mixed information on whether it was due to his airway being blocked or a heart attack that prevented him from breathing. Either way, brought on by the cop, he mishandled the situation and is getting punished for it by due legal process. It's unclear at the moment whether it was racially motivated, a personal grudge, a mistake - and stuff like that is why people shouldn't jump to conclusions just because the victim and the perpetrator are the same race. It may come out that it was a hate crime, and people would be somewhat justified in peacefully protesting, but ultimately that's a matter for the courts - which should never be ruled by public opinion.

As for the riots that have broken out, it's also complicated. Some of the rioters are ideological, sure - the burning of the Minneapolis Police station definitely was. They and their ilk are the type that are "down with the system, it's broken." I don't believe that it's time for 1776 Two Electric Bungaloo, but if those people act on that sentiment, they're going to fail because the majority of the population is not going to back them.

Then you have the looters, who are by their nature motivated by opportunistic gain rather than a desire for justice, since they're harming people who are completely unrelated, like shop owners (at least one of whom I know of was African American, and had spent his life savings setting up his bar - thankfully a gofundme has raised a whopping 190K for this guy to rebuild). I don't think there's any situation in which vandalism and theft are a legitimate form of protest, nor do I think that's their goal anyway, and they should be prosecuted accordingly. They're just criminals.

Finally, as I mentioned before, some of the crime that's going on may be opportunism by organized groups (gangs for profit, the Antifacists for ideological reasons) that are taking advantage of the police being overwhelmed. A police force that, by the numbers, is not evil. Our justice system has this idea that crimes should only be punished after they occur, not preemptively. What happened to that female police officer is an example of why mob justice doesn't work - when there's no trial or due process for someone, they get lynched based on the emotions of the crowd. Even if that woman did something wrong - which I severely doubt she did - it is not the right of individual citizens to take matters into their own hands. We have lawsuits, courts, juries, and so forth for that sort of thing.

All of this to say is that this whole thing has morphed from a set of peaceful protests to an outbreak of violence. I'm sure that there are plenty of peaceful protesters who are appalled by this - in fact I've seen a couple of videos to that effect - but the fact is there is a large number of criminal activities using a dead man as a shield, and I find that pretty despicable.
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thank you for explaining this to me, Gem. I had only learned about the death of George Floyd today so there are large gaps in my knowledge on the subject. Hopefully everything can be handled peacefully in the future and no good cops get harmed while we wait for word from the court working on the case.
 
Black0ut

Black0ut

Well-Known Member
Dahlexpert said:
Well outside of the nation burning, how is everyone?
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Ehhhh... I'm good. Can't go outside, more because of the twitchy fingers of my neighborhood than Covid, but... I has video games and was already antisocial. It does not matter to me, at least for the moment. :)
 
DarkGemini24601

DarkGemini24601

Well-Known Member
Black0ut said:
Ehhhh... I'm good. Can't go outside, more because of the twitchy fingers of my neighborhood than Covid, but... I has video games and was already antisocial. It does not matter to me, at least for the moment. :)
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In the same boat honestly. The only real shitty part of being stuck at home is that I got denied most of the last semester with my upperclassmen friends.
 
ZombieSplitter53

ZombieSplitter53

Game Master
Staff member
My back is killing me! Lower back, spot just above the left side of my waist. Like a knife in my back!

Other then that DREADFUL PAIN!!!, I'm okay. Finally uploading another video after procrastinating. Most of the problems in my state are downtown, so I've been spared most of it.
 
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ZombieSplitter53

ZombieSplitter53

Game Master
Staff member
That moment when you finally try and use a sick day... and your work says no...

Sad-Girl-GIF-Sad-Girl-Anime-Discover-Share-GIFs.gif
 
ZombieSplitter53

ZombieSplitter53

Game Master
Staff member
If I stop responding at any point today, it is likely because I either passed out or I banged my head into the wall in frustration until I knocked myself out.
 
ZombieSplitter53

ZombieSplitter53

Game Master
Staff member
In so much pain. Luckily, the building manager didn't like hearing they didn't let me call in despite doing so early enough and let me go home. Now I just have to wait for the doctor to call me back and hope I can get an appointment during all this madness...
 
Dahlexpert

Dahlexpert

Well-Known Member
ZombieSplitter53 said:
In so much pain. Luckily, the building manager didn't like hearing they didn't let me call in despite doing so early enough and let me go home. Now I just have to wait for the doctor to call me back and hope I can get an appointment during all this madness...
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Well at least your home now and hopefully hear from a doctor.
 
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