Protests in the US

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Long story short, when I was 5 I had to go & live in a foster family that was black & lived in Hackney, they had a little boy same age as me & 40 years later we are still good friends. I was there for 3 years & was the minority where we lived & at School, I didn't see black or white but people that loved & cared for me as it was very upsetting being away from my own parents.
We had a red cortina estate that we used to go out in (it was the 1970's) but I remember being stopped by the police several times & questioned why there was a white boy in the car, I vaguely remember my foster parents arguing about it.

I'm not saying I understand how it feels to be a minority because l don't, but it's why I don't see black or white.
The problem I have is the white people that are falling over themselves to ban films, remove statues & change road names are just doing it for a box ticking exercise which wasn't the problem in the 1st place.

Take a knee will only serve broadcasters with an opportunity to wax lyrical about black lives matter when what the black community really want is the same jobs & opportunities that white people get.

Listen to BBC radio 2 and it's white people on every single show, Vanessa Feltz, zoe ball, Ken Bruce, Jeremy Vine,
Steve Wright, Sara Cox, Tony Blackburn, Gary Davies & then ferne cotton. This is what in my opinion the problem is.
I think you'd have been right about it being a box ticking exercise had it been a governmental decision or had this happened some 30 years ago but this feels much more genuine; much more passionate. It feels like young people are craving a lasting change and I can only applaud that. Its like I said before, I do agree with some of the things you, BN and other posters have said about the deletion of history or entertainment but each case should be judged on its merits. There are some decisions that look to be being made on a whim but there are also programmes that should never resurface and statues that should be torn down.

Thanks for giving us a window into your experiences, it was a really interesting read and it's always good to hear a different perspective.
 
Because they may well feel that they are being deprived of the same rights and privileges as their counterparts in other community groups.
That doesn't make them disenfranchised, unless the meaning of the word has been changed.
 
I think you'd have been right about it being a box ticking exercise had it been a governmental decision or had this happened some 30 years ago but this feels much more genuine; much more passionate. It feels like young people are craving a lasting change and I can only applaud that. Its like I said before, I do agree with some of the things you, BN and other posters have said about the deletion of history or entertainment but each case should be judged on its merits. There are some decisions that look to be being made on a whim but there are also programmes that should never resurface and statues that should be torn down.

Thanks for giving us a window into your experiences, it was a really interesting read and it's always good to hear a different perspective.
I hope you're right & things change for the better this time, I don't like talking about my past as it's hard, but thanks for the appreciation.
 
I come in peace to bring a link to a podcast that I have just listened to. I've been trawling the media for the last week seeking rational responses to what's happening in America and failing. Until now.

One or two people on this thread have said that they don't feel informed enough. I aim this at them. It's almost two hours but I really think that it's a good use of your time. For others, well you can just be relieved that I won't feel the need to work out my thoughts in this thread any longer.

Sam Harris walks a tightrope here and I've no doubt that he'll be hammered by the left and right for it. But he aligns exactly with what I feel and he explains things far better than I can.

 
Sam Harris walks a tightrope here and I've no doubt that he'll be hammered by the left and right for it.

Indeed he does bravely walk the line, picking his way through, and in fairness he does it carefully and also tries to back it up with facts and figures (some of which quite surprised me in honesty) It wasn't an easy listen and I did find myself reacting knee-jerk-like on ocassions in gut-felt opposition... which is exactly what he's hoping to achieve. He's pretty much asking us all to think about why we think what we do, and to question it - because it's not at all simplistic as it might seem.

A very good listen, thank you for posting it.
 
London seems to suggest the UK has some racism and facism issues of its own to deal with.

As for for Harris, his alignment with Andrew Sullivan tells me a decent amount about what to expect on that pod.
 
What concerns me about box-ticking hashtagging is that it's all very easy to do and gives the semblance of caring. It's lip service and arguably does as much damage as it does good. Particularly at corporate level when a BLM tweet or facebook post is a damned sight easier than actually reviewing/addressing your work place practices or hiring and promotion policies.
 
As for for Harris, his alignment with Andrew Sullivan tells me a decent amount about what to expect on that pod.

Harris and Sullivan disagree profoundly about many issues and have debated publically and quite fiercely in the past. To their credit though, they do speak and they do attempt to find common ground and have succeeded in some areas over recent years. That's how progress gets made. For the record, I agree with Harris much more often than Sullivan but I do find Sullivan interesting on some topics.

Dismissing someone who is very slippery to align politically (Harris) because he puts his intellect first and his politics second is a shame. If we refuse to listen to views that may challenge our own, how will we ever get anywhere?

In addition to Harris, I have been listening to many others. Right now, I'm listening to the British Labour politician Dawn Butler to try to understand where her interpretation comes from. It is a very different view to Harris but I am really trying to understand it.
 
Indeed he does bravely walk the line, picking his way through, and in fairness he does it carefully and also tries to back it up with facts and figures (some of which quite surprised me in honesty) It wasn't an easy listen and I did find myself reacting knee-jerk-like on ocassions in gut-felt opposition... which is exactly what he's hoping to achieve. He's pretty much asking us all to think about why we think what we do, and to question it - because it's not at all simplistic as it might seem.

A very good listen, thank you for posting it.

You're welcome. Thank you for listening. You're right, it isn't easy but it is important because such a perspective is almost entirely absent from social media or wider media.
 
What concerns me about box-ticking hashtagging is that it's all very easy to do and gives the semblance of caring. It's lip service and arguably does as much damage as it does good. Particularly at corporate level when a BLM tweet or facebook post is a damned sight easier than actually reviewing/addressing your work place practices or hiring and promotion policies.
Call of Duty in particular have scored an absolute Frank Sinclair of an own goal.
Weeks of Black Lives Matter in between in each game, only to release the next update with a soldier in full blackface camo as the homescreen.
Corporate BLM means absolutely **** all unless they have a really good diversity policy based on equality to go with it.
 
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