Just remember black lives matter.

[Vintage Claret]

Some years past on a cruise holiday we met a London bus driver and his wife, who were black but a very friendly and charming couple. During the time we spent together on that cruise she told us of some of the things that had been done or said to her on the streets of London which I found to be distasteful at the very least. This lady had lived in London since her early ****age and worked until she was at retirement age.
We met them again a few years later, we noticed throughout that holiday that they always appeared to be on a table of their own even when the venue was full. People would rather stand than sit with them, I think that had these people made an effort to speak with them they would have found out what nice people they were.
When we docked in the Florida, we had an afternoon ashore with them and the attitude of the people running the bars, café & shopping mall left something to be desired, yet they probably spent more money in those shops than most of the other customers but were definitely not treated with respect.
This is the only time I have seen racism, or colour prejudice, first hand and I was not pleased with what I saw. I think that irrespective of race, religion or colour of the skin people deserve to be respected as I like to be treated with respect myself.

Do not understand why a am unable to use T E E N A G E on this message board.

[Supersub6]

Well said Vintage.

[alfinyalcabo]

Yes,well said vintage,over the years I've worked with quite a few black/ Asian guys and found all of them to be good guys ..I actually went t school with a few in the sixties .

[army88]

I came across this anonymous message, presumably written by a black citizen of the US, during a time of Trump ordered violent opposition to the US citizens who are protesting against the police brutality exerted in the murder of George Floyd...

All Our Lives
All lives matter.
Yes, I hear you.
Yes, no life is more important than any other.
I get that.
We get that.
All those of us who aren’t doing any killing out here,
we get that.
We get that the life of a white cop is as valuable
as a black college student, or...
No, please, let me finish,
you’ve had your say.
We know how it goes.
We get the gist.
We get that the life of a white victim of crime
is as tragic as the victim of a black victim of crime.
No one here is arguing anything different.
As far as I know no one ever has.
No, please don’t point that at me.
I’m unarmed, defenceless except for my resolve.
There’s nothing to fear from me,
except my words.
If all lives matter,
How come a man, a black man, is asphyxiated under the knee
of a white cop while three others watch him die,
yet no one’s charged, then after public outrage one man’s charged
but not the other three who look on and do nothing,
and how come that takes another eight days of protests
and national shaming across the entire the world.
How come, if all lives matter,
Ahmaud Aubery, a black man, is gunned down while out jogging
and for two months his killers walk free,
and police and officials take no action against the killer ex-cop
who also happens to be a friend of the justice department?
If all lives matter,
how come all this reminds me of Eric Garner in 2014
who also said “I can’t breathe!”
And Travorn Martin in 2012, and Rodney King in 92,
and how far back do I have to go?
To the Edmond Pettus Bridge in ‘65?
To the four little girls in Little Rock Alabama in ‘63
To Emmet Till, lynched in Mississippi aged four**** years old in 55?
To Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit in 1939?
Maybe back through entire history of segregation, Jim Crow and slavery
and the blood and bones of millions of Africans
upon which the wealth of this country was founded,
and from whose suppurating flesh the rank smell of brutality
and racism still rises and stinks out the institutions of this democracy
and the polluted ideologies of its agents and functionaries.
No! Get your hands away from my body
and stop shouting in my face.
Kill me if you want.
I am not scared of you.
No, that is not true.
Of course, I am scared, who wouldn’t be scared?
But I am staying right here, and I’m saying right now
that I’m exerting the same rights you claim to be proud to
uphold and defend.
And I believe that I believe more than you do.
You, who stands before me in the debased name of law and order,
have a question to ask yourself.
You need to ask yourself if you really do believe that
it’s self-evident that all men are born equal, and women too.
Or is it just some men and women,
specifically, the ones who look like you.
Because if you don’t then we have a problem.
America has a problem. America has many problems,
including the one who bunkers down in the White House
while he calls State Governors cowards, and preens
for the camera and doesn’t realise the rest of the world
regards him as the fool that he is. A rich fool, granted,
a rich fool who fronts up for other rich men who secretly
despise him for his crass ignorance even as they bow to him
in cynical and unabashed deference.
But this here is another problem, one that was here before him
and will likely be here after he’s gone.
And the solution to this problem requires of you
that you open your eyes and your mind,
and understand that if all lives matter,
that if life is a sacred gift to be cherished,
a property of our very being,
the very awareness of which sits at the core of our humanity,
then the killing of black people, with such consistent disregard,
and with such an absence of remorse or atonement,
cannot be tolerated.
If you do not...
take your hands off me! No, I will not get in the house.
I am staying right here. This is my street...
if you do not see that, if you refuse to understand that then you
are as guilty as the three officers who stood by
and did nothing when George Floyd was killed.
Live with that. That is your legacy.
Being here, on the street, saying ENOUGH,
that is our legacy.
And understand this too,
since we have nowhere else to go,
we are going nowhere.
Not until the day when justice is ours,
and all lives, including black lives, truly do matter.

All as I posted originally BT , the question I asked is and this is relevant all the blacks that were killed - murdered by each other across America in the previous week and months were never even mentioned especially nationally.

So here’s my thing you and the rest of the world and media jumped on it like a rash because the guy was murdered by a white policeman, that’s where the problem for me is,

I never want anything to happen to anyone in situations like this and I get the feeling your not condoning the black youth protests ( well violence and looting etc - I mean they attacked a black policeman and hospitalised him).

Surely if black lives matter as well as whites and every other colour creed known they shouldn’t be attacking firstly policeman and especially not black policeman.

I still think Trump will get in again , yes he has his moments but he’s done nothing but good for his country.

[Norder]

.


lets see - what could be causing some of the upset ?


Unsettling content.

[Vintage Claret]

The murder of anyone regardless of race or religion is something abhorrent to me, but this is especially so when the murderer is a serving police officer, whilst his colleagues look on and do nothing to stop the murder.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising when people protest, initially at the inaction of the local police commanders. I can not and no one should condone a peaceful protest turning into a riot. At the same time when a peaceful protest is dispersed by violent means so an unstable leader like Donald Trump can pose for a photograph does nothing but bring the office of president into disrepute. I have seen the video’s showing the use of tear gas, and there was no sign of the protesters being violent at that time, but I cannot guarantee the authenticity of that video but as it was shown by several news agencies it is likely to be genuine.
If I was to take a cynical view, I would think that the protests are likely to be seen as a godsend for a president who suffering poor political rating due to his handling of the CV19 pandemic. If he can stir up racial tension especially in the southern state’s he stands a better chance of re-election. He has already set the ball in motion spouting that he is the president of law and order. Which does make one wonder why he supported and is still supporting several people who have admitted breaking the law while they were employed by his administration.
I have to agree with Army that he is likely to win the election in November I am just glad I do not live in the USA.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

If Trump wins the next US election my faith in humanity will be eradicated forever. He is a despicable egomaniac who creates chaos and division at home and abroad. He will not prevail, he cannot prevail.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

All as I posted originally BT , the question I asked is and this is relevant all the blacks that were killed - murdered by each other across America in the previous week and months were never even mentioned especially nationally.

So here’s my thing you and the rest of the world and media jumped on it like a rash because the guy was murdered by a white policeman, that’s where the problem for me is,

I never want anything to happen to anyone in situations like this and I get the feeling your not condoning the black youth protests ( well violence and looting etc - I mean they attacked a black policeman and hospitalised him).

Surely if black lives matter as well as whites and every other colour creed known they shouldn’t be attacking firstly policeman and especially not black policeman.

I still think Trump will get in again , yes he has his moments but he’s done nothing but good for his country.

George Floyd was murdered in cold blood by men who are paid to protect him. A man was asphyxiated to death with images that really are unsettling to say the very least army88.

If I was you I would worry about the "Law and Order" demonstrated on both sides of the Atlantic in response to what started out as peaceful protests. I have no idea why anyone could condone widescale looting and that just gave Trump the excuse to fall back on his default position. "If the looting starts, the shooting starts". He is President of the US and will wilfully kill his own citizens without a moment's deliberation.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Some years past on a cruise holiday we met a London bus driver and his wife, who were black but a very friendly and charming couple. During the time we spent together on that cruise she told us of some of the things that had been done or said to her on the streets of London which I found to be distasteful at the very least. This lady had lived in London since her early ****age and worked until she was at retirement age.
We met them again a few years later, we noticed throughout that holiday that they always appeared to be on a table of their own even when the venue was full. People would rather stand than sit with them, I think that had these people made an effort to speak with them they would have found out what nice people they were.
When we docked in the Florida, we had an afternoon ashore with them and the attitude of the people running the bars, café & shopping mall left something to be desired, yet they probably spent more money in those shops than most of the other customers but were definitely not treated with respect.
This is the only time I have seen racism, or colour prejudice, first hand and I was not pleased with what I saw. I think that irrespective of race, religion or colour of the skin people deserve to be respected as I like to be treated with respect myself.

Do not understand why a am unable to use T E E N A G E on this message board.

Sadly Vintage your tale demonstrates vividly just how racism is alive and kicking on both sides of the Atlantic. If you want further proof, just look how one English MP who has the largest single majority in the House of Commons is treated.

Attachment 15966

[The Bedlington Terrier]

The murder of anyone regardless of race or religion is something abhorrent to me, but this is especially so when the murderer is a serving police officer, whilst his colleagues look on and do nothing to stop the murder.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising when people protest, initially at the inaction of the local police commanders. I can not and no one should condone a peaceful protest turning into a riot. At the same time when a peaceful protest is dispersed by violent means so an unstable leader like Donald Trump can pose for a photograph does nothing but bring the office of president into disrepute. I have seen the video’s showing the use of tear gas, and there was no sign of the protesters being violent at that time, but I cannot guarantee the authenticity of that video but as it was shown by several news agencies it is likely to be genuine.
If I was to take a cynical view, I would think that the protests are likely to be seen as a godsend for a president who suffering poor political rating due to his handling of the CV19 pandemic. If he can stir up racial tension especially in the southern state’s he stands a better chance of re-election. He has already set the ball in motion spouting that he is the president of law and order. Which does make one wonder why he supported and is still supporting several people who have admitted breaking the law while they were employed by his administration.
I have to agree with Army that he is likely to win the election in November I am just glad I do not live in the USA.

Trump on George Floyd, who was killed by Minneapolis cops: "Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying, 'this is a great thing that's happening for our country.' This is a great day for him."









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