TDB promoted the Black Lives Matter protest yesterday and I personally salute all those who protested and did us proud by putting our disgust at what is happening in America on the global media map.
The horror of the casual violence used by American Police on their own citizens in a liberal progressive democracy is an abomination BECAUSE we are supposed to be better than authoritarian regimes.
We have to be held to the highest standards precisely because that’s the freedom, liberty & human rights protection that democracies promise.
When those promises are so cruelly broken, protest and solidarity is the only response.
So I supported the protest, but personally didn’t go for 2 reasons.
The first is that I can’t get sick because I have financial responsibilities to family and with no guarantee of social distancing at the protest, I decided personally not to risk that. The second reason I didn’t go was because I felt it would be a slap in the face to those who are suffering economically under Level 2 and I didn’t want to disrespect those NZers struggles – B-U-T – I support those who did decide to protest.
Of course we all wish American Police would kill unarmed civilians when we didn’t have a pandemic, but unfortunately the American cops just love killing civilians so much that it’s difficult to plan our collective outrage around them.
Of course it would be best if the protests hadn’t happened, and of course it was bad to have so many people close together but to compound a moment of public outrage against police brutality by sending in the Police to break up this protest would have been attempting to put out fire with gasoline.
I understand people’s outrage at what is happening in America, and I won’t condemn them for breaching level 2.
Those who protested must now do their best to quarantine for 14 days or take extra precautions because that must be the cost for protesting during Level 2.
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The social distancing aspect, well that’s another sort of irony right there but that’s not what this is about. I am 100% in support of the George Floyd protests, what happened is a tragedy.
We’re very lucky in this country that it didn’t devolve into pro communist and anarchist groups infiltrating peaceful protests and setting ablaze communities.
Thanks protestors you have almost certainly moved us to level one next week, something that was “ignorant” when called for just days ago.
Also thanks for the layers of irony re lives matter etc.
Sincerely
KCCO
I would ask you to read or watch just 1 minutes worth of Martin Luther King to understand who’s shoulders those revolutionaries were standing on in Auckland the other day. When the police anywhere can murder someone like it was Jim Crows 1930’s, literally no one is safe.
What is even more absurd is that the revolutionaries would be characterised as a pack of selfish thugs or what ever for having the guts to stand up for everyone. It’s not easy protesting during a pandemic and the worst economic crises in history because that requires an aware, knowledgeable and motivated citizenry to go against those who are mercilessly married to the neoliberal health and jobs environment.
Only those who are recession proof and aren’t surrounded by weekly bills can objectively assess the the market environment and navigate it properly.
“I can’t breath.”
Heard all around the world, in every Intensive Care unit, at the moment.
And look at the resources that we are prepared to dedicate into fighting the cause of that asphyxia.
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