On Protests and Police Brutality · 9:23pm Jun 4th, 2020
I was going to post a new critique today. But it seemed distasteful, to let everything going on pass without comment. I generally try and limit what I say on FIMfiction to...well, things related to fiction. But fiction exists to reflect and comment upon life. And there is no shortage of things to reflect and comment upon these days.
I'm an American. I thought I could not be any more ashamed of my country, after watching the debacle of how we handled the pandemic. Watching people actively endanger others by calling for an end to safety measures and social distance.
Oh, how wrong I was. I've seen countless videos of police pepper-spraying, shooting, beating, killing people... Seen our "president" sic police on protestors, like the petty dictator he is. Seen senators and members of congress baldly lie and misinform to toe their party line. It's despicable, disgraceful.
I feel powerless. Just sitting here, watching all this unfold. I lost my job, since all the schools do not need subs right now. And I live with family, which includes my grade-school niece. I've been clinging to social distancing precautions, for fear that I might accidentally endanger her. And then her mom outed herself as an anti-vaxxer, and I just had no words to react to that...
But despite all that, I'm also proud. Proud of all my fellow citizens who are standing against fascism. Those standing up to corrupt police and broken government. I don't know how all this is going to turn out. But if fiction has taught me anything, it's that hope is an important force.
I've intentionally never posted anything overtly personal on here. I'm sure I've tried and failed to be eloquent. I'm sure I will alienate some of my followers by posting this. But to ignore what is going on would not sit right with me. FIMfiction is not merely about fiction. Fiction is a reflection of the real world.
To those who bothered to read this, thank you.
Thank you for having the courage to say this. I share the sentiment.
I've been very hesitant to join in protests, due to my very poor eyesight and also worrying about COVID-19 making my experiences with brocnhitis look like strolls on a calm summer day by comparison. But... I've been supporting in my own way, donating, spreading the word, supporting black art (which you should always be doing anyway), and that's gotta be better than nothing.
Don't wanna think we're totally powerless, right?
You're right. Hope is important, especially in dark times like these.
To those who can, keep standing against injustice and making your voices heard.
To those who can't do that right now, hold on to that hope for a brighter tomorrow. Things have been this bad before, and things got better after. And remember that trying to be a good person is its own way of fighting the darkness.
5276271
It is absolutely better than nothing.
Peaceful protesters who were exercising their right to assemble were forcibly disbanded so POTUS could have a photo op in front of a Church he never visits, while brandishing a Bible like a prop.
I've never been more skeptical about the authenticity of Jesus in my life.
I will not tell you to sit down and shut up.
You have a right to be heard and you should be heard.
I will not tell you that what had happened that eventful day was okay.
Because it was not and never will be.
But, the one thing I will not tolerate the burning of buildings, the stealing of property, and the destruction of innocent lives.
For that, I will not stand for.
I will not tolerate the violent destruction of our nation in the name of ending racism.
We are so, so much better than this.
I will stand with protestors and I fill fight by your side.
But I will stand against rioters and I will fight against you.
5276271 5276293 5276295 There's a statement I've been seeing copied-pasted around twitter a lot;
Now more than ever, it's an important thing to remember.
5276328
One of the last lessons Jesus taught before his death was about the importance of non-violence when he healed a guard that Peter had attacked when the guard arrested Peter.
Trump has never even once behaved in a Christ-like manner and people ate it up because it gave them political power. It's shameful.
5276337
Thanks. I really needed to hear that today.
5276344
That's why this whole thing has me skeptical.
There is still a lot of Christian support for a man who just performed an act akin to what they say is normal in authoritarian countries without Religious Freedom.
5276370 5276344 Sadly, most Christian politicians these days are only concerned with the power and accessibility religion grants them. They want to play to the evangelical right. They pay lip service—at best—to the original ideals of Christianity.
There's an interview where Trump is asked "what is your favorite bible verse?" And he deflects and avoids the question. It even became a minor meme on twitter. At least before it was pushed out by the next stupid thing Trump said.
Arguably, Christianity as a whole is like that; more concerned with power than ideals. But that's a more complicated topic.
5276336 Protesters and looters are not the same thing. Looters are opportunistic criminals who are taking advantage of the situation.
The vast majority of protests have been peaceful. That's the truly disgusting thing; police are the ones escalating these situations into violence. Police are the ones using vastly over-excessive force.
I used to think we—as a species—were better than this. I really did. Being proven wrong breaks my heart.
5276521
You're correct, they are not the same thing.
Which is why I say yet again;
I will stand with protestors.
And I will stand against rioters.
There is a protest in my home town. To which has been very peaceful and the police have done nothing but occasionally drive past. Tomorrow, now that I actually have the time, I will go down and stand with them. But if any of them seek destruction and violence, that I am not going to tolerate.
5276337
That's real good. Whew.
5276521
According to the FBI reports, nearly all of the looters are white supremacists using the protests as cover, and trying to start a race war.
There is also video evidence of undercover, plainclothes police committing vandalism and looting, even setting their own old police cruisers on fire, in order to fabricate "evidence" against the protesters and justify brutality against them.
5276828
Not to mention those convenient piles of bricks "randomly" placed where protests are going to be held.
5276845
Yeah, that was more than a little suspicious; considering there was no construction or road repair going on anywhere near them.
5276336
Not sure why you got the dislikes but I share your sentiments
5276828 There's also white supremacists bragging about "infiltrating" various protests/protest groups. Not to mention the white supremacists showing up to peaceful protests with bats and guns and threatening/attacking people (which police have overlooked or even encouraged).
5277404
Yup, and quite a few news outlets have caught this.
Twitter says fake "Antifa" account was run by white supremacists
When Covid hit, and our government responded the way it did, and we had people holding out on closing, wanting to reopen before it was safe, it was shameful. I felt ashamed to be an American.
Seeing the peaceful protesters be taken advantage of by opportunistic criminals and watching our own federal law enforcement officers open fire on peaceful protesters, made me sick to my stomach.
Seeing politicians hold up an anti-lynching law, hearing people spout off that “all lives matter,” as if black people were somehow being selfish for wanting the same rights as the rest of us, to live free and not be marginalized and persecuted... It makes me feel like we’ve lost far more than life. We’ve lost our soul.
This had better bring about real change.
5277803 I was watching some of the footage yesterday, and I cried. Not a lot, and not necessarily because of the footage itself. I cried because of the situation. As I said below: I used to think we—as a species—were better than this. I really did. Being proven wrong breaks my heart.
I'm still ashamed. This is the first time in my life I've been truly ashamed of my country. And it's not like we had a shortage of shameful things before.
But I still stand by what I said. I'm proud of the Americans who are standing up against this. If there is any hope to be had here, it is that there are people standing up against this. All this filth and scum being dragged out into the open is bad, but maybe it will give us the chance to clean up.