To be utterly disgusted by the protests today.

[SoggySocksAgain]

Am I alone here?

I am utterly disgusted by what I have seen in the news.

That coin you speak of MyoMy, it is not the same currency as that of the peaceful protestors. In fact you can't even exchange it for that currency, however much it would suit you to do so. If we are to be disgusted by the violence of 1%, can you not find the pride for the 99% who protested peacefully? Again, ask yourself why this is? You do not need to share the answer publicly, it might violate Mumsnet chat guidelines, but it is important to at least ask yourself the question.

Livingoffcoffee, thank you. When it is so confronting to be asked to acknowledge the proportion of people protesting peacefully, we see the true outrage.

@pam290358, check your history books. I think you'll find it was Neville Chamberlain who declared war, not Churchill.

Theres only 1 reason why right wing cunts some people are happy to conflate the protesters with the rioters is to dehumanise the protesters and their message, so when the police begin they hope to escalate violence against the 'rioters' they can justify it to their already warped conscience, why does POC people having the same rights and respects as you offend you and scare you so much?

It probably wont make the slightest difference to your own life if your white but it will make a huge difference in the lives of POC people

The problem is that racists do not care about the lives of POC,. I hope that these protest will make a real change, it is long overdue.

In my opinion we are all being encouraged to squabble amongst ourselves rather than focus on other problems in society.
Keep everyone busy with arguments about things done way back in history, or in a different country, and get people at loggerheads about things their long-dead ancestors might have done or had done to them.
Divide and rule.

Hopefully this comment will make it past the censors.

Papatron, if you read this thread, you'll understand that racism is very much alive, today, in this country. If equality is not a priority issue for you, you should ask yourself why that is.

Ok, let's say you're right. What do you want the Government (or me for that matter) to do about it?

Papatron, thank you for inviting that question. It takes courage to all the right questions. On a personal level; keep challenging yourself to prioritise equality, this has to go beyond a belief. You will need to know yourself, to recognise whatever privilege you hold, to acknowledge that others may experience a very different world to yours. Read everything you can get your hands on to become educated about the struggle against racism. This article below is simply beautiful:

www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2017/09/08/my-white-friend-asked-me-on-facebook-to-explain-white-privilege-i-decided-to-be-honest

Next, to understand the emotion of this struggle, watch Kimberly Jones' impassioned explaination of the protests across America.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=3FfFj_to7fU&feature=youtu.be

Here's the link for Kimberly Jones.

I think it’s pretty clear anyone hitting police or horses are the thugs, irrespective of colour. I can’t see how anyone can justify that type of behaviour

And then papatron, the real work starts. Once you know what racism is in all it's subtlety and whispers, you must become an advocate for equality. You must make it part of your identity, part of your being, a vow of self respect to never tolerate racism. Whenever you see it, whenever you hear it and from whomever that comes from, accept this may on occasion be yourself too, call it out with conviction and without apology. Know when you do so you stand with a strong, proud community of people, every kind of person and they will hold you up high above that hate and ignorance.

Fluffy71, can you praise the 99% of people who protested peacefully? Can you say thank you to those 99% for protesting against racism, for standing up for equality?

@BristolProud I just wanted to say that your post felt to me full of warmth and understanding. Thank you for the link you posted.

Thank you C130. We could all do with more warmth and understanding right now.

This is beautiful and so full of hope:

Interview with Professor Cornel West

BristolProud I personally can praise and thank the people who demonstrated peacefully and for a cause that I as a white woman agree with and have supported ever since I walked from Hyde Park to Brockwell Park on the Rock against Racism march in 1981, whether or not it was the 99% you mention I really don't know and unless you have statistic's, evidence to back that figure up, I am sorry but neither do you. But I cannot un see a bike being thrown and hitting a horse, or missiles being thrown at the police - it happened. However I will not call the people who did it thugs, because the real thugs are coming, the Football Alliance and others of their ilk have threatened to protect monuments and statues and when that happens it's going to kick off big time and people are going to get hurt, innocent peaceful protestors as well as well as the more militant ones, and then what happens to the message that you and 1 and millions of people want heard. And who will be the ones on the front line, trying to restore order the Police who have been abused, called names and attacked

Oldsu, that's wonderful that you can praise those peaceful 99% of people. You can do so with confidence because that statistic comes from the figures quoted by the home secretary after the London protest. She said on Monday, in parliament "137,500 people attended the protests and there were 135 arrests". To be fair it was, 99.9% of people protesting peacefully. Take great pride in your long standing support of equality, the journey continues but the destination is closer.

@Bristolproud Intake your point re having more empathy and calling out racism. Ok. However both the article and the video you shared are from America. I can't help but feel we are importing problems from the US, which has a more recent and far worse history than the UK in this respect. I fear that this constant focus on race is counterproductive in the UK and will ultimately divide people, not bring them together.

@BashStreetKid. Sorry - the joys of not proof reading before you post ! That sentence was supposed to read ‘Churchill was elected after he (Chamberlain) declared war because he was the visionary, not Chamberlain. My point is that had things turned out differently it would be a very different world and we shouldn’t forget that Churchill resisted surrender in the face of fierce opposition from his own party.

There needs to be some balance in this debate. I fail to see how civil disobedience, tearing down statues, etc is going to solve anything. All it does is give the government an excuse to refocus the debate, and the message is lost. Public statues can be re-examined at a later date and maybe put in museums where they can be given the context of the attitudes of the time. But we can’t change history. All we can do is learn from it. I will say one thing though. Over the last few months during the lockdown, this country seemed to be uniting in the face of so much loss due to Covid 19. Support for the NHS, huge sums raised for charity, selfless acts of kindness. It gave me hope that things would change and some good at least would come from such tragedy. I hope that’s still the case and even though I thought the protests were irresponsible during a lockdown, I hope that a change in systemic racism in this country will be one of the things to change.

I think we can import solutions too Papatron. A good advocate of equality can reside anywhere. However, if you're keen for British educators, we have a rich pickings! I'm going to point you in the direction of Akala the first instance. Following him on Twitter is probably the best access for a current view point on recent events. Here is an article:

www.anothermag.com/design-living/12572/akala-natives-race-class-ruins-empire-book-interview-2019

Or, if you prefer, a video of an interview:

A very Bristol reference here to an excellent organisation:

www.cargomovement.org/

Papatron, if you want more, please say!

Thank you for your openness and willingness to educate yourself. This is the change we need.

@pam290358, 99.9% of people protesting (London) did so peacefully. Can you say thank you to those 99.9% for protesting against racism, for standing up for equality? That is the balance needed.

@bristolproud
You have been great on here, steadfast & positive throughout.

@Papatron
I would welcome you to look at UK stats too ( ONS, the Met etc). 4 x more likely to be stopped and searched if you're black. 2 x as likely to die in police custody. BAME 2 x as likely to be in prison and over 3x as likely to be in a young offenders institution. We need to look at why this is the case ( not just individually but systemically) & look at how to go about changing this.

@BristolProud. I understand why people were protesting and regardless of whether those protests were peaceful or otherwise, I don’t agree that they should have taken place under lockdown. So I think I’ve already answered your question. I’ve just seen a scientist interviewed on TV who said that the environment made it virtually impossible to socially distance to any effect - shouting and yelling propels the virus and close proximity to others means the protests will inevitably mean more cases, as on average one in every thousand people is infectious. The interviewer put this to someone who had taken part in the protest and her response was that she had put her health at risk by protesting and she resents the government for putting her in a position where she had to do so. Sorry - I don’t agree. She wasn’t just putting her own health at risk, she and everyone else who protested put others at risk too, and it’s causing some resentment, which will inevitably be called racism. I know I’m also inevitably going to be called a racist for my views here because that seems to be the norm with anyone who has even a slightly different point of view. But for better or worse that is my opinion. This is not the time for this kind of protest - I understand the urgency and I don’t for one moment try to diminish what happened to Mr Floyd, or what it represents. Black Lives Matter. But so do the lives of the thousands of people who have died from coronavirus, and their grieving families. So do the lives of the NHS and the scientists battling to stop the spread. As a nation we have a duty to protect what has already been done and to continue to help stop the spread. And in that respect, the protests did not help.

Right back at you YankeeinKingArthursCourt. Important statistics there that really help those unfamiliar with the realities others face. I have known a lot of well meaning ignorant people and have seen them educate themselves and become vocal advocates for equality. Privilege knows not what it has. Realisation is a powerful truth.