Beth Macbain

Last night, the protesters starting marching around 6pm, I think. Curfew was 9pm. There were people among the crowd of protesters with bats, Molotov cocktails, and other weapons what were being monitored from the police helicopter overhead (I was listening on the scanner as I watched). The police and National Guard did nothing but monitor and stay put well away from the protesters. The agitators couldn't start anything because they couldn't blame it on the police because they were no where around. A couple that tried to get rowdy were escorted away from the protesters by the local BLM leaders. Curfew came and went... police stayed away. The marchers went past the big lot where the police and National Guard were staging around 11pm. The police and guard cleared a lane of traffic so they could march and not worry about cars. They were still marching at midnight when I had to turn it off and try to get some sleep. It was really beautiful and peaceful and stirring in all sorts of good ways that made me think we just might be okay after all this.

I think I might now why, but since it’s not from them, I’m not going to speak for them. I am going to ask this question of our local BLM chapter. If I get an answer, I’ll post it, but they’re a little busy these days.

Also, someone needs to effing decide if it’s being a bully to be part of the group-speak, or to speak up against group-speak, because it seems to change depending on who is pulling the bully bee crap out of their butt. JFC. Get TF over it.

You just had to, didn’t you? It’s like... no, actually, is is a sickness in you. SIUYAYSFC. See if that one is on Urban Dictionary. Sorry, I’ve not been here to defend you, @Gatogateau. I’m both watching my city’s so-far peaceful protest and listening to the police scanner and stressing because the cops see (white) people with weapons and aRe going to have to step in soon and the peaceful protesters have no idea. No, Gato is mostly definitely not racist nor was she intentionally dog-whistling. She’s a very good kitty.

Honestly? In my opinion, it's however many days it takes for us to be able to hear the black voices above the din of white voices telling them what they should do instead of asking them what they'd like us to do.

You made perfect sense. Thank you.

You mean the one that was also in Minnesota where the cop was prosecuted, found guilty, and sent to prison for murdering the pretty white woman (rightfully so) but the cops that killed Jamar Clark (no charges filed) and Philando Castile (acquitted) got away with murder, and it remains to be seen what happens to the four police officers that murdered George Floyd? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/us/minneapolis-police-noor-verdict.html Might not be the best example under the circumstances.

My apologies. I didn't realize you weren't still in Canada.

I mean this in the gentlest way possible because I know damn good and well your heart is in the right place, and that right now you are feeling targeted and beat down and attacked. Please think about that for a moment - how you're feeling right now. I know you are enraged. I know you feel like you aren't being heard. I know you want to grab certain people in this thread, me for sure, and shake us and demand we hear your words. Now jump over to the other side for just a sec. Every time a black person hears "but all lives matter!" how do you think that makes them feel when they are trying to be heard? This isn't about you. It's not about me, and it's not about Scylla, and it's not about the other people in this thread except for, I beileve, Kimmi, who is the only black person that lives in the US that has contributed to this thread - and she was pretty much ignored. Think about that for a minute.

Tomorrow. Today is not our day. The conversation comes after we listen. Please read this: Why You Need to Stop Saying "All Lives Matter"

The fact that this thread is full of mostly white people from countries that aren't the US is really illustrative of the problem. If you aren't black and living in the US, you don't know what it feels like (and neither do I) to be a black person in the US. LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE SPEAK. Listen to the stories. Believe the stories. If the people on this thread can't even agree that racism in America is a real thing, a systemic thing, and a deadly, dangerous thing, then we've not even taken the god damn first step. For today, it does not matter what the reasoning and neurological makeup of racists is. For today, it does not matter that, of course, all lives matter. For today, white voices need to STFU, including mine. Today we need to listen and learn. No buts. We need to shut our damn mouths and listen to the black community in the US and their truths. After that, maybe we can start fixing things.

I'd ask all who are equating BLM and rioting/looters, to please read this thread and watch the posted videos. There are threads like this from all over the country. Twitter Thread

OMG, Fairre... please stop. It isn't just in Chicago and Louisiana. In Kentucky, where less than 10% of the entire population is black, 18% of COVID deaths have been black people, and that's not just a funny coincidence. Oh, wait, no... here you go. Why Coronavirus is Deadly for Blacks in Los Angeles You live in a bubble. I get the impression that you have never been outside LA County. Were black people hosed down in Alabama 40 years ago? Yes. Are they now? No. That doesn't mean that racism isn't alive and well. I do not think you actually know what racism is. It's not as simple as burning a cross in a black family's yard. It's not as simple as a white cop literally crushing a black man to death beneath his knee. If it were that simple, we wouldn't be having these conversations. Since you believe racism isn't deeply ingrained in Los Angeles, I ask you to start Googling and education yourself, please., or stop making these bizarre anecdotal statements. Here's your first lesson. Black, Homeless, and Burdened by LA's Legacy of Racism.

Unsurprisingly, I've got a lot to say. I'm still reading through this thread and trying to decide if I'm going further engage here at all. I do want to point out, though, that the DA, when announcing this charge, plainly stated that the charges are likely to be amended. They could quickly and easily charge him with 3rd degree murder so they could arrest him. This is not, and likely will not be the final charge. This may well be upgraded to 1st degree murder, and I suspect there will be a whole host of other charges added as well.

It isn't?

Racism is alive and well in Los Angeles. Look out your front door. It’s right fricking there. Turn on the news. As to your question, @Scylla Rhiadra, I can’t even think about logging inworld. I live in the city where Breonna Taylor was killed. Last night another black man was killed by the police. I can hear the mortars and flash-bangs from my couch. My beloved city is being torn apart. I stand with BLM. I also have a good friend on the force who is on the front lines, and has been for 5 nights in a row now. I know his heart. I know he is being torn in two as well. I’ve been glued to screens for 5 days and nights except for a few hours of sleep. I’m afraid of what will have happened while I slept. And the biggest thing I’ve noticed is the white “protesters” that seem to be at the forefront of the violence happening in every single city. I would be willing to bet my life, literally, that these are not Antifa. My bet is on a who group called the Boogaloo Bois who’ve already made their presence known in Kentucky. But to answer your question, nothing. I need to take RL action, and for me that’s donating to bail funds, and listening to our black community and doing as they wish. They’ve got the lead on this, and the best thing I can do is whatever they ask of me to support the changes they want and deserve. And vote. Vote in every single election no matter how big or small.

Yes, it's called the mainland.

So I both did and didn't answer the question? And, yes, I had read further when I wrote that, but I got stuck on the question you posed. To phrase it another way, what are the advantages to having LL enforce a covenant on the mainland vs. leaving it as is and letting the estates offer land that is both covered by a covenant and enforced by themselves or their employees? I'm honestly not trying to be difficult here. I'm genuinely curious why a few people want the mainland gentrified (and that's really what we're talking about here) as opposed to moving someplace where they can have what they want? Yes, there are large swathes of empty mainland. Is that because everyone thinks the mainland is a garbage dump, or is there another reason? I have my own theories, but I'm curious what others think, and what they base that on.

I've found that over the years, telling people that there is something wrong with them is not a good way to make friends.

My pet peeve is alt-right groups like the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys showing up at peaceful protests, instigating violence and looting, and then disappearing into the shadows so Trump and the rest of the White Power trash can point at the black communities and say, "Look what they did! Bad black people! Bad!"

But why NOT mainland? If the covenant-restricted land is so valuable, why wouldn't estates have... Oh wait. Mainland is mainland. I bought land there because there is no covenant. If one rule gets created, then someone else is going to demand another, and another, and another, and then suddenly mainland has the same covenant as Bellisseria and the Uppity Citizens Brigade will start going around taste-policing, and then it's going to be like living in a gated community governed by a Nazi Home Owner's Association, and no thank you.

I’m pretty glad Huck sat still and let me take this super cute close up of his boop snoot. He says you may boop once, but no more unless you want bites with your boops. He’s kinda tired, though, so you might be able to sneak a second boop.

Alarm bells start going off for me when anyone feels like they have to say they’re proud of their race. I’ll explain more tomorrow if need be as to why that sets of the alarms for me. Right now I’m turning my attention to the cops in my city firing tear gas at protesters. Two people have been shot. I can hear the flash bangs from my house. And now we seem to have our first fire. 😢

You’re right. Went back to see how this got revived. The timing is questionable and I’m suspicious of the motives behind someone going back two years to find a thread about racism and bringing it back to life with an inflammatory post then disappearing.

Removed - not feeding the sock-puppets tonight.