This is America: Being Black gets you brutalized, being white earns you a pass

[Auburn85 432]

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2021/01/this-is-america-being-black-gets-you-brutalized-being-white-earns-you-a-pass-opinion.html

 

 

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – So, this is America.

Imagine thousands of people in Washington, D.C. supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, protesting the wrongs that have been inflicted upon Black people for decades. You may not believe in their message. But you can see the conviction in their eyes.

How long would it take for the National Guard to show up? How long before the military sets off explosives, fires sting balls and gas at crowds? How long until the president declares them a “mob,” condemning their actions as a “disgrace”?

We know the answer. That’s exactly what happened last summer as people gathered peacefully in Lafayette Square in front of the White House to protest the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who had his neck knelt on for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by a police officer until he could no longer breathe.

 

One of the questions that arrived after those June protests and after many demonstrations focused on Black Lives Matter is how authorities would have reacted if those protesters were white. We now have an answer to that, too.

 

On Wednesday, the country witnessed thousands of domestic terrorists, the overwhelming majority of whom were white, storm the US Capitol. Not only were they not condemned by the president. They received his approval. And even when Donald Trump eventually came out and called for his supporters to leave in peace, he made sure to tell those wreaking havoc that “We love you.”

This is America. Where gathering to call for equal justice and peacefully fight back against police brutality gets you hit with rubber bullets. But if you’re white and violently try to shut down the government and go against the democracy millions of Americans have fought for, you get sweet words from the president and a selfie with the police.

 

On Wednesday, police did deploy tear gas and hold a line against rioters. But those instances were matched by images of officers talking calmly with domestic terrorists who had already broken the law, threatened democracy and destroyed government property. It was stunning to look on for hours without seeing the same military presence that has accompanied so many Black Lives Matter protests.

 

And if you’re of the mindset that calling these people “domestic terrorists” is a stretch, it was the phrase used by President-elect Joe Biden in condemning their actions.

 

“No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” Biden said. “We all know that’s true, and it is unacceptable.”

 

For Black Americans, Wednesday’s siege was especially painful to watch. We can’t help but think back to the footage of peaceful protesters being sprayed with fire hoses or attacked by police dogs during the Civil Rights Movement. More recently, we watched Black Lives Matter protestors have to face off against military vehicles, seemingly moments away from a peaceful demonstration turning into something tragic (in some cases, it did).

This is America. Where if you shout “Black Lives Matter!” and throw a water bottle, the military will swiftly take you down. But if youopenly plan a riot on social media and follow through on threats of chaos and jeopardize the safety of our nation’s leaders, you get a pass.

 

Sadly, many of us saw this coming. President Trump has done everything he can to create a divide in America, culminating with his tweets during the siege. The president added fuel to the fire by criticizing Vice President Mike Pence and continuing to call the election fraudulent.

 

“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” Trump wrote. “Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

 

As if we needed more proof, this is what happens when you’re Black and try to fight against an unjust system that has beaten you down in every way imaginable. But that fight must continue.

People of all races must acknowledge we live in two Americas and take drastic steps to ensure that racial inequality is eliminated. We need to come together as one.

 

Otherwise, even with a new president and Democrats in control of the Senate, 2021 will look a lot like 2020. And I don’t think anyone wants to deal with that again.

 

 

[homersapien 11,362]

Apparently,  a peaceful protest on racism is worse than an actual violent insurrection by white supremacists.

'Murica- what a great country!

[Grumps 3,704]

I thought a white woman was shot by a LEO.