It’s amazing how many people (intentionally?) ignore this. The easiest way to stop a riot it to never allow the conditions necessary for one to form. If a riot is actually occurring the easiest way to stop it is to directly address the underlying issue. Politicians begging for peace and/or average citizens insulting the protestors aren’t effective strategies. By the time a group of people start rioting, they feel as though they have exhausted every legal resource (and they probably have). They are done with talk. They want action. I’d be willing to bet that simply arresting the former officers would go a long way to restoring law and order. If an average citizen is captured on film killing someone they sit in jail until a determination is made (generally speaking). The protestors of Minneapolis want to see the same happen in this situation.
Many people ARE rich because they are good at stealing. Many people remain poor because it is not in their character to steal.
I'm sure some of these people will have the ability to introspect but I'm not hopeful for the majority of these people who b****ed about kneeling.
Exactly. Showing the people of this community that a police officer is an average citizen,w andgand will be held accountable as one, would go a long way.
Channel frustration and anger into local and federal election votes. Become single-issue voters on police brutality and systematic racial inequality. Massive turnout to get people in office that can make small incremental regular changes toward defeating a culture of police brutality and systematic racial inequality.
Probably. Knowing how Bob Kroll operates, the union will inevitably file some sort of grievance. Just to add to this. Minneapolis is not Ferguson, Missouri. There is no entrenched conservative government here that is willing to ignore African Americans. The city council is represented entirely by the DFL and the Greens. The city council was already close to taking direct control of the MPD last year. Also last year, Minneapolis was the first major city to completely redesign zoning to address the impact of redlining. Racial justice issues do matter here. You will find support throughout the government for reforms but the community needs to spell out what those reforms should be. And now is the moment to take the time to construct concrete proposals to overhaul policing and the MPD. Make some demands and protest until those demands are met. At the state level, the DFL has a decent chance of a trifecta this year and our governor has been very receptive to this sort of stuff already. Minnesota could well pass some of the strongest reforms in the country if we channel our energy correctly. The momentum and the political leadership is there. But the community needs to come up with real proposals. If we had sustained peaceful protests, my neighborhood (which is nearly all white) would probably be out there too. But this stuff radicalized so fast that now everyone is terrified.
Yes these are optimal desires to change the situation but how do you get there? It just seems like sporadic violence is an inevitable outcome due to the human condition given the context here.
Thats a great solution moving forward but it does nothing to address the current issues. Unless they are simultaneously holding elections for every political office in the city voting isn’t an option currently.
I took out this phrase "it requires strong leadership" from my post, realizing that's the hardest next step to take and is a bit depressing given the current environment. Someone need to lead or a group of leaders. Imagine a "Lincoln Project" type focused on this with funds and efforts to drive turnout for candidates that committed to resolving these grievances.
I am trying to stay on topic and that poster going off on Rockets J for something that he misunderstood does not help. No I am not trying to have a meta conversation I am to pissed at what is happening now, there are plenty other threads to have a meta conversation. Why do you always try and get into a semantics debate?
So you think Rockets J is a closet racist? He obviously meant the people who were destroying property and all those people were not black, you need to check yourself and understand everything needs context. The protestesters and the looters are not all the same people.
A peaceful protest would barely be covered by the media at all. It would send almost no message. I do believe that protests should be peaceful. I'm not advocating violence. But don't pretend like most folks would pay attention for more than millisecond if the protests were peaceful. The 60's marches were not peaceful. There was violence against the protestors and they were blamed for not following the direction of the authorities. There were riots in LA, Detroit, and other places. The authorities and those that support the status quo have always faulted and criticized the way that African American protestors and those protesting for equal rights have protested. The way they protest has always been blamed, criticized, and faulted including Martin Luther King's protests.
When did I, or anybody else, suggest it was? If you don’t have any answers, that’s fine (obviously the Minneapolis elected officials are out of answers) but don’t be obtuse. The Minnesota National Guard is likely going to have to step in and restore order because the civilian leadership has completely, and utterly failed to do their job. The fact that they STILL can’t “read the room” is extremely surprising.
