Why now in UK?

[LaceCurtains]

The murder in America was appalling and I absolutely understand the rage there.

I'm not so sure I understand why now is the right time in UK when there has been no specific atrocity here.

I absolutely agree change is needed, police and other attitudes need to change but policing here is different, even if not different enough.

Why is now, in the middle of a pandemic, the right time to protest? I'm afraid it's clouding the issue and the public response is more one of outrage at the prospect of protests increasing the spread rather than sympathy for the cause.

Why now and not 6 months ago for example?

It’s humane to see something like that and protest with all your might. I am glad it’s happenibg wherever it’s happening.
You only have to look at the threads here that ask if you have experienced racism (something like that, don’t remember the exact title). It’s far more pravalent than you imagine.

@cdtaylornats

Lots of white people protesting in Glasgow. What good they think they are doing only they know.

A more practical demonstration would be each of them sending £10 to the ACLU. But that would be more practical and less fun than a day out.

Not the ACLU - they fight against woman’s rights

Not the ACLU - they fight against woman’s rights

Evidence?

There have been 1,741 deaths in police custody or otherwise following contact with the police since 1990

The problem with that statistic is that, in the vast majority of cases, the death was unrelated to the fact the individual was in police custody or had been in contact with the police. Most died through substance abuse (predominantly alcohol), pre-existing medical conditions or injuries that they received prior to police involvement.

According to Wikipedia, police forces in the UK have killed 220 people in the last 150 years. Three were killed in 2019 and one in 2018. In comparison, the US police killed 1,098 people in 2019. Of course, some of that disparity is due to the availability of guns in the US.

I am not saying there isn't a problem. Of course there is. It is still the case that far more likely to be arrested if you are black and you are likely to be discriminated against in many other ways. But misleading statistics don't help.

@prh47bridge

Not the ACLU - they fight against woman’s rights

Evidence?

Evidence

After reading most of the replies I’m reading here, I think it’s self explanatory why the protests are now.
The language used in your posts pretty much use ‘they’, ‘ them’ or ‘ the black community’ . With use of those adjectives you are saying it’s nothing to do with you, not your struggle to solve.
That’s exactly why it’s about now - there’s a public slaughter of a man, highlighting an issue and people are still turning their backs and saying ‘ nothing to do with me mate, it’s their problem’.
Until everybody sees it as their own issue not ‘theirs’ - that’s not equality.
Until ‘them’ and ‘us’ disappears , again that’s not equality.

You're far more likely to be arrested if you are black

Yes young black men are more likely to be searched or arrested in places like London, but that's because young black men are more likely to be involved in gang-related activity. The police only have limited resources and if they were searching / arresting equal numbers of black and white people then they'd be less effective and we'd have more criminals on the streets.

When there's a rapist on the loose it's not sexist to only arrest men.

Instead of focusing on perceived racism in the police we should be focusing on why so many of these young black men join gangs and providing them with opportunities for better things.

@WaitingForSeptember perhaps more young black men are arresting because they are perceived to be more likely to be criminals? Perhaps that’s not the truth at all? Perhaps the white kids are more likely to get away with it? That seems a much more likely scenario, given what we know about racism rife in our institutions.

@Tadpolesandfroglets You really think that there are predominantly white gangs operating in inner city areas that are getting away with it just because they're white? It just doesn't happen. All of the evidence suggests the majority of gang members are black (or mixed race) - not just police reports but for example self-reports of gang members themselves.

It’s not just gangs that are involved in crime for starters and yes, of course there are ‘white gangs’, whatever makes you think there aren’t? Just like there are white sex traffickers, drug dealers, rapists...

@WaitingForSeptember - If you believe that the majority of gang members are black you will arrest mainly young black men. Then, guess what, your statistics will show that the majority of gang members are young black men.

Research shows that gangs tend to reflect the ethnicity of the areas in which they appear. In Edinburgh, for example, gangs tend to be exclusively white. Only a tiny minority of gangs in England and Wales are exclusively from ethnic minority groups. Self-reports of gang members do not confirm the picture you want to paint - quite the opposite - see, for example, the Offending Crime and Justice Survey conducted by the University of Manchester and the Home Office. Among gang members who stated that their gang was from a single ethnicity, 60% were exclusively white, 3% were exclusively black and 5% were exclusively Asian.

Other research has found that police and community groups tend to regard gun crime and gangs as being a particular problem within black ethnic minority culture even in areas where it is clear that gun crime and gang activity are not the preserve of ethnic minorities. The researchers in one study reported constantly being guided towards ethnic minority groups in their research into gangs even though there was clear evidence of white youth gangs forming in predominantly white areas and using guns.

The reality is that gangs tend to form in deprived areas and reflect the ethnicity of those areas. You are right that we need to provide young people in those areas with better opportunities but wrong to suggest that this is a particular problem for young black men.

@prh47bridge I stand corrected, thanks for the info

As was said in another context, another time - if not now, when?

I think it's the right time, heaven forbid we wait until someone is killed. It does have an impact on people's lives in the UK, and the sooner we deal with it the better.

I am not in favour of our lockdown laws but I am following them as should protestors. If we start breaking hte law it tends to go badly. However we should treat people the same whatever their skin colour (unless it is a medical issue where people are differently affected).

the UK is 3% black and 50% female so from a personal point of view I would rather concentrate on discrimination against 50% of people in the Uk rather than 3% in order to achieve the greater good in a numbers game

the UK is 3% black and 50% female so from a personal point of view I would rather concentrate on discrimination against 50% of people in the Uk rather than 3% in order to achieve the greater good in a numbers game

Why can’t there be equal rights for both black people and females?

What about black women? what category do they fall under?

I’m assuming you’re a white female which is why you’re more concerned with your own rights over anyone else’s.

This is the exact problem we have regardless of whether you are female or black etc - white males only thinking about their own rights.

We are just quite short of resources so equaling things out for the 50% of the UK who are female rather than the tiny % (3%) who are black may be the better use of limited resources. However I want everyone treated equally and if Asians and Chinese get more places at university than whites because they do work a lot harder that is absolutely fine by me.