Can't believe it!

Our son was a bit lively when he was a teenager particularly where his car was concerned, and yes he was stopped by the police on more than one occasion ! Our daughter was never stopped. I think young men do tend to draw adverse attention to themselves, usually with one eye on the latest girlfriend! He is now a respectable, responsible, loving 55 year old who can't quite believe that he once behaved so irresponsibly!

American security forces have also begun targeting journalists during the riots. Do you also think that is right, JenniferEccles? Are journalists also prone to crime?

If it is the case that one section of society seems criminalised at a higher rate than others then surely we should be looking at understanding why that is. Most people with an inkling of American history will, of course, know full well what has led to their society is so deeply divided.

You're right Sue.
We in Europe should remember that it was from our African colonies that these poor 'slaves' were bought by American landowners, mostly from Europe themselves, to work on their cotton fields in America.
Now their descendants are trying to assert their rights to part of America's current prosperity. Why not?
As a Jew, we have also been persecuted when things go wrong but then we can pass ourselves off as gentiles
We haven't got the 'handicap' of dark skins.
Then what about the Chinese, the Mexicans etc?

David,
The cop is being charged with 3rd degree murder. Not manslaughter. Because it was murder.

Jennifer,

Targeting A whole sub section of the population because of a few bad apples is terrible, and I can’t believe you are saying it like it’s a perfectly normal thing.

Lynne,
Please read some books and educate yourself on white fragility. Please.

I have just got in from work, so gave just caught up on this thread where I left off.
I cannot believe some of the racist remarks I have seen on here.
My parners son drove in America, watched his speed, and was pulled over. He was was accused of speeding, and the officers were goady.
I am embarrassed at what 2 posters have written and one in particular needs to watch the footage again and apologise for getting it so wrong.

I have been asked why there were no protests last year when a black Minnesota policeman shot and killed a white woman last year who had approached him for help.
Perhaps it didn't matter because she wasn't American.

He, at least, was convicted of manslaughter and murder and is in prison.

This policeman should also face the justice system.

A friend of mine did a house and job swap with an American family. He took his family over there and went to the teaching job, but after a couple of weeks he returned to the UK saying there was no way he would bring up a family in such a gun-ridden racist culture. The contract he had signed left him with no job and no home for a year. He was very clear that there was no way he was staying there with his family in spite of the hardship it caused to them to return to UK.

I too have read a couple of these racist posts in disgust.

Re the ‘riots’ ... the vast majority of the protesters are protesting peacefully. Their leaders have condemned the few who are burning and looting. You get that element in every society.

What is apparent is the excessive force being used against those who are protesting peacefully. Even reporters being handcuffed and led away - black ones of course. I get the impression many of the police are actually enjoying this and deliberately try to provoke a riot. I’m pleased to see quite a few white people coming out to protest too.

Did anyone see the footage of that huge truck being driven deliberately into the crowd?

I have been asked why there were no protests last year when a black Minnesota policeman shot and killed a white woman last year who had approached him for help.

I remember that case. I think she was Australian and had moved to the US. The police had been called out, by her, and one of them ended up shooting her. Very sad case as well.

I think the difference with this case is that it was filmed. 6+ minutes of witnessing a policeman killing an unarmed man who had used a fake $20 bill

To see this was so shocking.

So I imagine that could be why there's been such a reaction.

The collective response to his murder goes much deeper than police brutality but leads back hundreds of years through the lengthy history of brutality and inequality towards all people of color-

That said, I think we are reaching a tipping point of this experiment called the United States- The richest country in the world for a small group of people, which is something that hasn't changed since the forming of this nation-

The stimulus packages that were hastily cobbled together during this pandemic to save the economy grossly benefited some, leaving all the rest financially vulnerable- The same pattern as the past-

The medical examiner has declared George Floyd's death homicide-

And tonight Trump has spoken. His answer to the violent protests is...more violence.

rosecarmel I fear for your country. Take care please

A similar experience (not murder but arrest etc) can be told in the U.K.
Mark D. McCoy
@m_d_mccoy
George Floyd and I were both arrested for allegedly spending a counterfeit $20 bill. For George Floyd, a man my age, with two kids, it was a death sentence. For me, it is a story I sometimes tell at parties. That, my friends, is White privilege.

I so wish I could post videos on here.

There is an extremely powerful one in real time (yesterday) of two policeman simply approaching a young man and arresting him because they said he was someone else!

The chap said I’m not who you think I am, I promise you. At no time did the police ask for evidence.
They simply cuffed him.

The young man then suggested that they look in his pocket and lo and behold the young man turned out to be FBI.

The young man was black.

Pure racial profiling and nothing else.

This is being repeated everywhere.
We cannot treat people like this and expect to get away with it long term.

On the news last night it said the policeman concerned had 17 previous bad conduct marks on his record. Why was he still employed ?

The medical examiner has declared this homicide rosecarmel that covers several categories, doesn't it? From murder to justifiable death.

There have been two conflicting autopsy examinations.

One by the county medical examiner found no evidence of asphyxiation.

The family ordered another and that did find evidence.

Confusing.

I wonder what we were watching for 9 long minutes then? And after as an unconscious body was taken away in an ambulance?

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your own ears and eyes. It was their final, most essential command”

What can old British ladies do about it?

Answer: we can rejoice that America is waking up.

3rd degree murder, is only used in 3 states, Minnesota is one of them. To convict an offender it has to be proved that he acted with some kind of bias or hatred. The past behavior of the officer accused will be examined and if he has had previous warnings he will likely be convicted. If the police officer in question was negligent or careless in the arrest of Floyd the offence would be Involuntary Manslaughter.
The police were certainly negligent because a life was lost.

In my experienced the police are much less prejudiced than the general population who are very intolerant of other cultures or lifestyles. In the UK we have stop and search of those behaving suspiciously, that causes offence to certain groups known to be associated with terrorism or drugs and other crimes.

How else are the police expected to prevent crime if the can’t search and arrest suspects, of do we expect them to only stop and search according the the population profile. Which means that Gransnetters would have to be treated in the same way.

phoenix, thanks for starting this thread, which I only found this morning.

It's a relief to. see so many posts from people who understand that the legacy of slavery underpins the marginalisation and disadvantage so many African American's live with. I'm shocked by the casual racism displayed by a few posters but I suppose sadly, unsurprised.

I am white British. I can't claim to understand the lived experience of BAME British people. I hope though that I can understand what white privilege means. What racism is.

According to this article, the white population of America is just as likely to use illegal drugs as the black population but black people are more than twice as likely to be arrested for it.

African-Americans are five times as likely to be imprisoned as white-Americans and also account for nearly a quarter of fatal police shootings despite making up less than 14% of the population.

How anyone can defend these statistics is beyond me.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52877678

Nothing has changed since the riots of the 1960's.

So much for Martin Luther King's dream.
We thought that, with the election of Barack Obama, civil rights would progress but it has all gone badly wrong again now.

One mayor claimed that the rioting was caused by out of state paid protesters/ANTIFA- After he said it, mayors of other cities jumped on the bandwagon claiming the same-

The arrest manifest that was released thus far from a nearby city in my state is proving that the above isn't the case- The arrested are residents of that city, surrounding counties, and other parts of the state-

Few individuals that did damage were arrested, and they were residents of the city and towns nearby-

My guess is the rest of the cities mayors will discover similar and that their collective claims are predominantly false-

The police in their cities are using military force against unarmed, peaceful protesters-

Meantime ..

Trump walked from the white house to St John Church for a photo op- He stood in front of it awkwardly holding a bible -- or some other book he never read!