[King Lear]

Biases will kick in anyway and much more harshly if it's enforced harshly. Black people are charged and sentenced disproportionately anyway. Black looters, black protesters, black cops WILL be disproportionately punished. White looters, white protesters, white cops WILL be disproportionately pardoned. It's baked in at this point.

Besides, who will scrutinize the police? How will this scrutiny be enacted? Who is going to have oversight over the police? The head of the federal government wants people to be shot in the street! The police's violent response to protests are happening because the protesters are agitating for increased police scrutiny.

The police aren't beating people because they're rioting, people are rioting because the police are beating them. All over the country same story plays out - a peaceful protest turns into a riot after police start hurting people. Just like last time. You can't solve that by removing people's right to protest and infringing on their right to movement, and harsh penalties infringes.

A couple of cities implemented curfews without prior warning, and then arrested people who couldn't get home because they'd also blocked the streets off. Curfews don't make night time jobs disappear, and guess who's disproportionately more likely to not be working 9-5?

[amphibian]

Basically, "get the police off the streets and under control" is a better tactic than getting protestors or rioters off the streets.

[Gust Hubb]

I am growing genuinely worried America will go into a police state condition with this president. And once there, can he really be removed from power? I mean, he can't be held accountable currently for any number of criminal acts while in office. And if the military obeys him (instead of refusing to go out in to America to forcibly lock everything down), what is next?

[Cause]

Jesus! He is threatening to call in the military? I though that was not allowed? Posse commitus act?

This president is a moron. Given a minor problem he manages to turn it into a calamitous disaster

[QuickTidal]

So yeah...that’s martial law in not so many words.

Fucking hell. This is about to get so much worse.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

I mean, he essentially said he'd invade US states with the US military if the states don't do what he wants.

[QuickTidal]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 02 June 2020 - 01:10 AM, said:

I mean, he essentially said he'd invade US states with the US military if the states don't do what he wants.

Anybody else think he’s purposely pouring gasoline on the flames of this to start his coup to stay in power?

Like before today I still assumed you all would have elections in November...but now, I’m really not sure.

I’m pretty scared for you all right now.

Technically, the military is supposed to refuse orders to attack us citizens...but there’s a LOT of MAGA hats in the military...so it’s concerning.

[HoosierDaddy]

There will be elections in November. It'll only be a coup if he loses an election and attempts to stay in power. It is still extremely possible he WINS an election in November. I cannot state it emphatically enough that he still has a legitimate chance to win a non-rigged election.

It makes me sad but there are a lot of really ignorant people. And LOTS of them are those I'm speaking about above who view ALL the protesters in the same image as those looting and rioting and acting stupidly. Less flame fanning on both sides otherwise more idiocy like this becomes possible.

I've got lots of stupid reasons to die. Fighting for the republic ain't one of them. That is a worthy hill.

QuickTidal, on 02 June 2020 - 01:16 AM, said:

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 02 June 2020 - 01:10 AM, said:

I mean, he essentially said he'd invade US states with the US military if the states don't do what he wants.

...
Technically, the military is supposed to refuse orders to attack us citizens...but there's a LOT of MAGA hats in the military...so it's concerning.

Quoting a dude I was working with yesterday: "Keep it up and then bring in the troops and that's when the machine guns open up!" He's ex-army. Self-described "Republican." HD described moron. But there are lots of them and so I try to keep things reasonable when talking about these things.

This post has been edited by HoosierDaddy: 02 June 2020 - 02:24 AM

[QuickTidal]

Active duty troops from Fort Bragg have reportedly been deployed into DC.

[HoosierDaddy]

DC is a unique situation here because of its status as the District of Columbia and not a state. Weird quasi situation. He has that power. He shouldn't use it, but he has that one.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

[Aptorian]

That is a stupid picture. The officer is clearly not pointing the gun at the man or the child, the angle is off. You cannot see the situation behind the protester.

Also I think that guy is an incredibly irresponsible parent.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'police threw him to the ground, with several officers climbing on top of him in order to restrain him and force him into handcuffs. [...] "The whole time I was being arrested, I was shouting that I was press and showing them my Foreign Press card but they just didn't seem to care.

I get that in the heat of the moment you might get pushed or grabbed, but as soon as you say that you're press, it normally stops, there but not this time.

I've worked in many other countries doing work like this and never has it gone as far as this, I couldn't believe it."

Despite showing a press pass issued by the US State Department at the UN Plaza, Gray was arrested and put into a police vehicle.

[...] police were removing masks from protesters and not returning them as they sat in close proximity to other people in holding.'

https://uk.news.yaho...qnCix5CIyPa00Ji

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 02 June 2020 - 03:57 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

https://www.facebook...&type=3

And $1000 fine.

Refusing to return keys when there's a curfew....

[amphibian]

The videos online of dozens of police squads all across the country attacking people on their knees over and over again, driving cars through people, shooting tear gas point blank into their faces, and more should tell you that the police squads have been generally happy to do this.

https://twitter.com/...5926557696?s=19

https://twitter.com/...7723296768?s=19

The joint chief head is walking the DC streets as the military obeys Trump's orders to suppress the protests. That's a dumbass move on so many levels.

This is beyond fucked up and straight into this is white supremacy removing any veils from itself.

[amphibian]

How do those blue angel fly overs for healthcare workers look when the cops and national guard are shooting people and especially journalists and medics?

This is why the pageantry is stupid and I am having a hard time staying civil about this when people on this forum said I was being too alarmist or too mean about certain things.

[amphibian]

The cops in Boston appear to be planting piles of bricks prior to protests: https://twitter.com/...3579937793?s=19

[Aptorian]

Huh, my immediate thought was that they were transporting bricks of cocaine or heroine. I think I've seen too much The SHIELD.

[Gust Hubb]

This is all getting bad way too fast. Congress has too many GOP bootlickers to stop Trump. It is basically becoming a state versus federal issue since the federal system is maimed by a term of puffed up inaction and failed attempts to maintain the balance of power. We now have a president who can use his militarized DC police to clear the way through peaceful protesters at a whim and waltz up to a church to use as a propaganda stunt. And nobody can do anything about it. I feel like we are so screwed right now. The Trump/fascist/white supremacy side plays dirty, so even when protests are peaceful, they throw in some staged violence or the police decide things aren't hot enough and escalate, and boom, protest derailed. And the media is barely keeping up, moths to the flames of tasty visuals and sound bites. How do you win that fight? I mean I am still hopeful that the protests will hold strong, pick up momentum (I am strongly considering joining a daytime march) and keep the pressure on till Trump and company finally sets someone off kore important than an Episcopalian bishop, but shit, American Christians eat up this end time shit. Sooner the rapture happens and they get a ticket outta here. We are so well primed for what is happening all it took was a dumb fuck of a president with no morals to light the match and smile as he dropped it into the gasoline drenched dumpster that America has made itself. I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop, whether it is martial law, militias finally saying they will take care of things for the president, or just exhaustive collapse of society in general as the virus blooms into our broken, burning country.

This post has been edited by Gust Hubb: 02 June 2020 - 06:32 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

Hope springs eternal.