Will black lives ever matter?

[RockLock]

So another killing of a black man Ahmaud Arbery by 2 white men (Father and son) in US. They nearly got away with it calling it a citizen arrest and self defence. Father was a retired policeman.

They followed him, armed with guns and shot him.

Prosecutors tried to cover it up until the video emerged.
Ahmaud’s crime? He was going for a jog.

Will black lives ever matter?

@lockeddownandcrazy I call bullshit - you can’t possibly believe that those men would have profiled a white runner in that way and felt that it was somehow APPROPRIATE to follow and shoot him? Because they thought what they were doing was right and OK. You’re being wilfully blind to the fact that this was racially motivated.

You also appear to be saying that the police stopping and searching people because of the colour of their skin is OK. It absolutely isn’t. If a black person is not doing something suspicious, they should never be stopped and searched. To do so without good cause is actual discrimination.

Sometimes I feel like giving up... it’s like some people see black people as a subspecies, prone to violence and drugs and without human emotions. Makes me sick.

How to argue with a racist by Adam Rutherford - does a great job of scientifically undermining all the traditional arguments about how black people are “different” and “other”.

OP, I saw this on the news and Ive been thinking about it ever since.

Thank you for posting about Ahmaud.

@SimonJT thats pretty much rascism against police officers by saying they are all the same then....

Do their job and get spat at, abused, threatened, kicked etc on a daily basis.....? No didnt think you would

@lockeddownandcrazy apt username. You ARE crazy.

Or just a goady fucker

It happens - could as easily have been a white person.

I think statistics would show otherwise.

I feel so sad that he went out for a run, and two men followed him in a car with guns.

He couldnt even go out for a run

YANBU op. The majority of Mumsnetters here are white, so I suspect you would get a lot of YABU's.

I feel sick to my stomach by some of the responses. So clueless, so ignorant. So dismissive

I agree. The US is a sickeningly racist county. Visiting the US is a very different experience to living there.

Bad things happen to white people yes, nobody disagrees.
Some bad things happen to black people, and are not racially motivated, nobody disagrees.

But black people suffer. Many black people die at the hands of racists, or suffer prejudice because of skin colour.

Their chances are not the same chances as white people.

To not recognise racism is wilful ignorance.

I hope so, one day. Never give up.

It happens - could as easily have been a white person.

No it couldn't have, that's precisely the fucking point.

I cannot believe the vote. God almighty.

This is like arguing there is no pay gap because some women earn more than some men.

AKA it's a fucking dumb argument.

@twelvemonkeys great analogy. I’m going to plagiarise it if that’s ok!

lockeddownandcrazy Well I guess it would suit you for people to not see racial prejudice, don't want them see you as you are. We do see you.

@SkinRash Would you be happy to have a calm conversation with someone who followed you with a gun?!

People posting that "all lives matter" is the same as posting about a woman's rape saying "men get raped too!"
It minimises everything and wildly misses the point.

This man was killed because they believed they could kill him, that his life mattered less, and they would be free from prosecution because he was a black man and they were white.

I am white, I come from a very white part of the country, I have never directly expierenced any racism but have heard enough casual racism to understand that it's a fucking awful and endemic problem in our society.

People who deny racism and derail debate with whataboutery really need to educate themselves and recognise their own knee jerk reactions.
It isnt about you. It isnt about white people. It's about promoting equality and safety for BAME people in our society.

Until the full facts are released I'll remain open minded about the circumstances of the story.

Ahahahahahahahahahah... yeah sure

Why did he react violently when approached?

Are you seriously asking this? Seriously? Two armed men drove up to him and yelled at him to stop. They are not police, they are just two men in a truck with guns. At first he tried to run, as anybody would. But they followed him. And then one of the men, carrying a shotgun, jumped out of the truck. Of course he tried to fight back.

If they were concerned theyd called the police not grab their guns and followed him. Or just followed him without the guns! It was obvious why they did and what the outcome would be.

@SkinRash and what right did those 2 men have to follow him armed with guns? What right did they have to shoot an unarmed man at point blank range?