As all y'all know I live in Minneapolis and my neighborhood is where the epicenter of the rioting was at the 3rd Precinct. The street that the precinct was on is called Lake Street and it's a major commercial corridor that runs the east to west across Minneapolis. It starts at the Mississippi River and the upper middle class blocks along the river. It ends in the Uptown area a tony shopping district. In between it passes through some the most diverse and poorest neighborhoods in the State of Minnesota. George Floyd was killed 8 blocks south of Lake St. but he worked, and also LEO Chauvin, at a nightclub on Lake Street. Many of the riots have gone up and down Lake St. The worst damage that many of y'all have seen on TV was along Lake Street. Even though businesses were looted in Uptown those weren't torched. The vast majority of businesses that have been looted and burned along Lake Street were minority businesses and businesses that employed and served minorities. The killing of George Floyd makes me angry.. The burning of Lake street makes me angry. I will not justify, excuse or rationalize the burning of Lake Street by citing the the murder of George Floyd. That there has been systemic racism and unequal treatment is no justification for the destruction and suffering that is being dealt to other poor people of color. I emphatically condemn both.. I've seen many people quote MLK "Riot is the language of the unheard". That comes from his speech "The Other America". Before he says that though he said "Let me say as I've always said, and I will always continue to say, that riots are socially destructive and self-defeating. I'm still convinced that nonviolence is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice. I feel that violence will only create more social problems than they will solve. That in a real sense it is impracticable for the Negro to even think of mounting a violent revolution in the United States. So I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this is not the way. And continue to affirm that there is another way." I challenge Clutchfans D&D to help rebuild Lake Street. I specifically say to those who have been quoting "Riot is the language of the unheard" to then speak with another voice. Thousands of Minnesotans have come out the last few days to help clean up Lake Street and other parts of the city destroyed. Thousands have donated food, money and other resources to the communities affected by the rioting. I just made a $100 donation to the Lake Street Council which is the organization for Lake Street businesses. I'm going to make more donations in the coming days to other local groups helping to rebuild this city. If you believe like MLK did that there is another way then join me in helping to rebuild this crisis. You don't have to donate to the Lake Street Council but can donate. to other organizations including organizations in your own cities that have been affected. https://www.welovelakestreet.com/
Thanks RayRay10. Every little bit helps. If your city has suffered damage and you have time check to see if you can help with cleanup.
Done. You know 99ers got your back Unlike these cheapskates who yap all day on Clutchfans and don’t even contribute a penny to it
Will do. My cousin lives at 48th and Portland Ave. Close to that area. I've visited a few times and love the area. I know there was some looting on Chicago Ave, just 2 blocks from him. He has bags and provisions packed from him and his wife and child just in case they needed to bug out.
I'm familiar with that area. It's beautiful right off of Minnehaha Creek. There has been sporadic looting all through the Twin Cities including in some of the suburbs. The real property damage is along Lake Street and also in North Minneapolis along Broadway. Hope your cousin stays safe. FYI the area Leroy is talking about is 10 blocks of south where George Floyd was killed.
I agree with majority of your sentiments. You should be angry about the destruction of your neighborhood. That is a natural human right of yours. But the quote regarding MLK that people bring up is not a quote making a moral claim about rioting. I've said this to you before I believe. It's simply a claim that a group of humans are statistically more prone to rioting when their community experiencing certain socioeconomic conditions through centuries of injustices. That is the point of the quote from MLK. I don't think anyone who posted that quote is stating a moral justified for rioting. They are posting that quote as a message that we are experiencing the human condition. Doesn't mean we don't arrest these rioters and condemn them.
Donated Judoka. It’s up to almost 3.5 millions now, I hope this money will help those hardworking business owners rebuild their dreams. Let the healing begins!
donating today and I'll buy you a beer/coffee/tea if/when make it up that way when all this mess dies down.
I made a suggestion getting something for Judo to help him with his excellent report and he did request that we give something something to Clutch in Judo’s honor, this is a great place for us to vent and to bond, but it takes money to keep it going like all things.
Done. I used to travel a lot to MN on business about 5yrs back. mostly to Eden Prairie. loved the city.
I have mad respect for you @rocketsjudoka and I've always felt that your thoughts resonate my thoughts. I'm definitely happy to donate to the cause. I'm tired of the MLK quote being misused by others to pretend that all this violence was justified and that we should not be angry about it. I had to argue with a few people to interpret the quote for them, because somehow they believed that Dr. King was okay with rioting towards the end of his life. Considering that Dr. King, even in his last speech, spoke for peaceful protest, I think it was total bullshit that this quote was being used out of context in many cases. I interpret that quote as sympathizing with the people that have been pushed to the limit and that eventually emotions will erupt and violence will occur. I'm glad you interpret that quote correctly @fchowd0311, but I've come across way too many people using it to advance their own narrative and agenda. We are all angry right now and I sympathize with those that have suppressed their trauma for far too long and had to act out in some way. I remember being discriminated by LEO when I was in college and it made me so damn angry but I restrained myself from acting out (otherwise I would of likely been killed). My hope is that this stops, that a message has been sent and now it is time to comeback to being peaceful and heal. We need to do a better job of getting people to vote and we need to hold our leaders accountable. I've talked to friends and family about what is going on and told them that they do have a voice in this country, you just need to actually use it and not go under the assumption that only the rich can influence politics. State and local governments are just as important, if not more important than federal government because these can have an immediate effect in our lives (how they respond to disasters, how they respond to immoralities by LEO, etc etc). People need to get out of the mindset that we have no ****ing voice and actually stop being lazy and start voting. We need to also hold our country's leaders accountable to stop trying to suppress voting with their idiotic laws.
