To not be guilted into going to my cities BLM protests?

[PublishedEgg]

I have relatives who I'm close to that are black. They are obviously really devastated about everything that is going on, we all are. I've been speaking with them a lot in the past few weeks and listening to everything they have to say. We're having lots of conversations.

However, one family member in particular is saying if we don't attend protests that have been organised, we obviously don't care about her and she wants nothing more to do with us as we clearly don't put actions to our words.

AIBU to not feel guilted into going to this? I am very supportive of the BLM movement, I care about my family members a great deal and have been doing various things to support it, both generally and in my own life. However I don't feel comfortable going to a mass gathering right now in the middle of a city centre (I am also pregnant, early though). AIBU?

*for the tide to finally turn

A protest in the middle of a pandemic?

Nope. You don't have to justify yourself. There are many other ways to support.

@Smileyaxolotl1 thanks.

I am still annoyed though, they could have bloody waited, if they stop the easing of the rules due to this then I’ll be starting a protest of my own!

I am really worried that these BLM protests are going to badly affect our infection rates. I can understand the anger but we are in the middle of a pandemic and it’s not the responsible thing to do. The Chinese govt must be rubbing their hands with glee at this. The spotlight is off them & their part in the release of the the virus and their hardline crackdown in HK.

Same here, they want to get their point across more than they want the UK back to normal.

What fucking next?!

I was due to see my best friend on Tuesday (in her garden) but her OH has gone to the BLM march in London today. I'm behind the reason for the protests but mixing with thousands of other people at the moment just seems crazy. Its prime breeding ground for a virus! I'm still seeing my parents for childcare reasons so I've cancelled our plans. The bubble would just be too big now.
You ANBU OP. I wouldnt have gone either today. I really hope we don't see a massive spike in 2 weeks now.

Will these protestors get charged with a crime, like mixing with more than 6 folks?

As I understand it, the BLM protests are about standing against and dismantling a system which disproportionately negatively affects black people. So I guess the protests are more significant to people than the threat of covid 19. This IS life or death. 'society back to normal' is pretty irrelevant when you're in a society where the game is rigged against you.

However, op, you must not feel pushed to go along. Especially when pregnant.

Our towns protest was a few days ago and I didn't hear about it until after the event - it seems there was NO social distancing!

I agree BLM and fully support the issue but I feel Trump and those like him will sadly get what they want if more BAME people contract covid as a result of going to protests without adequate social distancing.
Is that paranoia? Maybe?
But the hard fact is that we are in the middle of a deadly pandemic!!

I've set up a DD to donate to an antifa group I strongly support. I challenge racism when I hear it. So I feel I'm doing my bit.

I think sadly that if rates do rise now in the BAME population people will be blamed for putting themselves at risk even if they were not in the crowds. It may backfire. Yesterday in the briefing it was mentioned BAME are more vulnerable therefore especially important to take care.

Maybe point out that BAME people are significantly more affected by C19, so an increase in infections likely to result from these mass gatherings will negatively affect BAME people more.

This.

What's the point of all this? Bad stuff happens in another country. Peeps arrested will face trial. End of.

orangeblossom
Don’t disagree. Are the majority Of protestors actually BAME though?
Also I believe it is Bangladeshi people who are at highest risk rather than Black.

Peeps arrested will face trial. End of.

Have you seen the state of the US justice system? Particularly when police are involved? Saw a programme today about Armandou Diablo, a young black unarmed man, shot 41 times on his doorstep by the police. Case moved from the Bronx to Albany, all 4 officers acquitted. Then there was Anthony Hill, a naked black man with his arms up in surrender, shot by an officer who said he felt threatened, acquitted. Treyvon Martin, his murderer acquitted. A big part of the protest is that people know there is a good chance these officers will not face any consequences of this.

*Diallo. Not Diablo.

I am white. My brother is black. I am clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 and have been practicing very stringent social distancing. My brother doesn't expect me to attend the protests in London today. Ordinarily I would, but the pandemic means it just isn't safe for me to attend. He would much rather I stay safe.

No-one should be shamed for not attending a protest during a pandemic. Vulnerable or not.

YANBU.

mintymabel
I’ve done quite a lot of research on this recently. Agree it’s as much the justice system as the police. In the Trayvon Martin case, the killer Zimmerman was specifically told to not follow him but did it anyway.
It’s also about poorly trained officers who shouldn’t be allowed to carry guns as they get jumpy. I do think most were scared when they shot innocent people but many are allowed to carry on as armed officers. Either they were scared and jumpy or they were racist murderers. Either way they should not remain in the force.

No-one should be shamed for not attending a protest during a pandemic

No-one should be shamed for doing so either.

Hang on a minute OP. In what other scenerio would you allow this relative to tell you what to do and where to go? Who does she think she is? God Almighty?

I'd ignore her messages. Regardless of the colour of anyone's skin, she's threatening you: go to the protest or I will not speak to you. Well, I'd just ignore her message and be happy that a dictatorial twat like that didn't want to talk to me any more.

Why would you tell her you're pregnant? That's a lovely piece of news/surprise for people who actually give a shit about you. Not someone who tells you what to do and threatens to cut you out if you don't do as they say. Do yourself a favour and cut HER out!

Either way they should not remain in the force.

I read a quite the other day where the suggestion was if the rules of policing changed significantly the would struggle to get many recruits. What an awful thought.

If you go on this march you break the law. if you stay at home you do not break the law. We tend to prefer people who stick to the laws in the Uk rather than picking and choosing which laws you prefer to follow particularly where attendance could mean a lot of deaths, more deaths than the 1000 a year or people killed with and without justification by police in the USA. it is not wise to gather in large groups at the moment. It is not a kind nor lawful thing to do.

I fear there may be backlash against Black Lives Matter and protests/protestors if there's an infection spike in the next fortnight... even though there's been a lot of mixing in recent weeks which will no doubt also be contributing! Yet without track and trace, we'll only be guessing... and we all know how politicised speculation is!

medusa it's inevitable that people will question the protests which involved mass gatherings, if there is another spike. It's quite likely now there will be another spike.

mintymabel
Unfortunately that doesn’t surprise me about the police recruitment.

I'd like to respectfully disagree. It's just taken the family of Sheku Bayoh 5 years to get an inquest into his death at the hands of the police - in Scotland. Two of the officers involved have history for being racists and a black man, very much in the minority in the area we live in, dies while being apprehended.

I think you are proving my point that the US and Uk are different. One case of death in custody of a black man in Scotland out of 14 since 2013. I'm not looking it up but the number is probably in the hundreds at least in the usa.