What do you think of Lammy's comments on taking the knee?

[ForSnappySwan]

David Lammy has said he wouldn't take the knee for Nowak as it's just symbolism.

He was asked why did he take the knee for George Floyd, and he said it was different then because we were in a pandemic.

What do you think? I think he's right about the first point but don't understand what the knee has got to do with the pandemic.

There was another Labour MP on Newsnight this week who's clearly embarrassed that she took the knee and said something like "it was right then but that's in the past now and we shouldn't go back to it"

No one should take the knee

Taking the knee was originally an American thing related to racial injustice generally. It was perhaps adopted more in response to Floyd being murdered by a US Police Officer but it came to prominence initially in the NFL c2016.

I suspect the suggestion of taking the knee for Nowak is not made in good faith.

No one should do it but no idea why the pandemic makes it different.

It seemed pointless and performative at the time and it would be pointless and performative now.

I think the bit he didn’t say was “it the pandemic so we all went mental and did mad inadvisable shit”. Which is a fair point.

They were outraged at the time of anyone said they wouldn’t take the knee for GF. Nobody should be taking the knee for anyone, as PP said, but god knows who is advising Labour; I don’t understand why they can’t see the optics of their hypocrisy. They’re just serving themselves up for ridicule now.

true …

The police fucked up in the Henry Nowak case, undoubtedly, but they did not kill him. George Floyd was murdered by a serving policeman. The two situations are not directly comparable.

No -the two situations are not the same.
George Floyd was not an innocent man, unlike Henry Novak .

So he won’t do it now because there is no pandemic?

What's your point exactly?

It would have been a brave person who at the time had said, “No, I’m not taking the knee for a hardened, violent criminal. The manner of his death has relevance in the US with a history of civil rights issues. But we are not the US and jumping on a bandwagon will serve no positive purpose in this country.” They would have been annihilated.

It was all madness then, but people should own it and admit they were cowed into following the issue du jour.

It was more than fucking up, it shows a systemic problem. It looks like Henry’s sad and senseless death will be a catalyst for change.

I think his decison whether he should kneel or not is based entirely on the victims skin colour.

Which makes him a racist piece of shit.

This in a nutshell

Nothing surprised me by his comments, he is part of the establishment that can't comprehend why people are angry.

Sounds like the typical muddled thinking that characterises David Lammy.

They did kill him. Had they provided medical assistance as soon as they arrived. He may have survived.

What I find weirder is that politicians don’t want other countries politicians commenting or getting involved now. But they took the knee for a murder that happened in the US?

I do think there was a collective madness during Covid and people lost a sense of proportionality. Gestures are meaningless without action

He was a hardened criminal whose own actions also contributed to his death.

Not according to the medical evidence given in court, but don't let the facts get in the way of your political agenda.

This

He was murdered. Are you suggesting that it was his fault? That his killing was in any way justifiable?

She doesn’t have an agenda. No more than anyone else posting. Your opinions are political too.

Take a knee? Ffs, are we in some medieval reenactment? It was absurd then and it's absurd now.

Still, that doesn't excuse the hypocrisy from Lammy. Not that I'm particularly surprised tbh. It's remarkable how concerns about racial injustice often seem to flow in only one direction. Either equality matters for everyone, or it's just selective outrage.