George Floyd

[justme]

a man was killed in cold blood. but i think that we are all being played.
i think that was a planned killing, that it was not a spur of the moment police brutality incident.
i could only watch the video once. how can ANYONE be so cold blooded?

i think we are all being played. same as we were w covid. get rid of the media telling us what we are supposed to think and do, and we will all be much better off.

[ohio jones]

I don't think the killing was planned, but it seems obvious that at least part of the response was planned and waiting for the right event to trigger it. And that the immediate change of media focus from all-virus-all-the-time to all-racism-outrage-all-the-time exposes a fair amount of hypocrisy.

For further reading (mild language warning) see this blog:

I’m done being told to be scared and how to live. If I can riot, I can worship. If I can march shoulder-to-shoulder with people in the streets, I can eat and shop and go to a movie shoulder-to-shoulder with them. If I can lock arms with fellow protestors in solidarity, then I can watch my daughter and her friends graduate from high school.

If the government won’t step in to protect people who are legitimately angry, but may need to stay home for the safety of all, then it’s just wielding power over those who will consent.

I no longer consent.

[JimFoxvog]

This is anonymous, but similar to what I'm hearing elsewhere:

WOW - IN MINNEAPOLIS. (copy / paste to protect the source and amplify) Shared from a friend of friend of a friend on the ground in Minneapolis.

So for those of you who are interested - I have no idea how national media is covering this - here is what is happening on the ground from my perspective. It is a long post.

All day yesterday people were out on the street helping businesses - EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS IN UPTOWN has boarded up windows and locked down their stores. The 3rd Precinct, which burned on down Thursday night, is on the east end of Lake Street. Uptown, where we live and the 5th Precinct police station is located, is three miles west on lake street. All of Lake Street was looted on Thursday night. On Friday EVERY BUSINESS on Lake Street and adjoining commercial districts, was boarded up.

Many spray painted murals on the plywood - let folks know they were a local or minority owned business. Essential businesses.

Last night was by far the worst night. Protests during the day were peaceful. There was an 8:00pm curfew. Everything changed when the sun went down. There are roving and highly organized bands of anti-government neo-nazi white men cruising the city, breaking off plywood, looting stores, and then setting them fire to the buildings.

On the Northside, which is predominately African American, the situation was much the same. Local civic groups were trying to protect local businesses and homes. there were many fires.

The violence and destruction is NOT being driven by local people. The cars on the streets have either removed their license plates, or have out of state plates.

Here is a post from a neighbor, "Everybody! We need to get our heads around what’s happening, Mpls and St Paul are being attacked by fascist “accelerationist” white crazies. Trying to divide & destroy us.

Accelerationism: the idea inspiring white supremacist killers around the world -Vox"

Expect these same types to infiltrate all of the legitimate protests happening in other cities in America. We are fighting an enemy within.

These "accelerationists" burned down the 5th Police Precinct, our post office, every pharmacy. The Wallgreens and CVS within a few blocks of our house are still burning this morning. The grocery stores were all hit. Every bank has been hit. Every liquor store, every gas station. They have guns and accelerants.

When National Guard show up, they disappear into the neighborhoods and have been setting fires. It is a violent game of arsonist wake-a-mole. There is no longer any fire fighting service available - overwhelmed. So neighbors are using garden hoses to put out the fires and save homes. Pictures neighbors are sharing - these are young white men, heavily armed.

According to authorities there are over 10,000 of these "accelerationists" in the city. St. Paul arrested over 50 people last night. ALL OF THEM were from out of state. The authorities are checking phones of the people they have arrested, doing contact tracing of sorts on these people. These people are connected to right wing militia style groups with a civil/race war fantasy. They are opportunistically using the legitimate, peaceful George Floyd protests as a cover to actualize their neo-nazi fever dream.

Gov. Walz just said, "If you know where these people are sleeping today, let us know and we will execute warrants. Allie and I were helping the owner of a commercial building up the street - a friend, and two of these guys came up to us. Wanted to know where the free food was being distributed. He gave them an address that was three blocks away. Had no idea what we were talking about - not from here.

Allie, the girls and I are fine and safe. Exhausted. Angry. We have not really slept in three days. Everyone in Minneapolis/St. Paul is the same.

So, what to do? Our neighborhood group is meeting at the park this afternoon. I think that they will organize our neighborhood watch to patrol, try to spot fires and get them out ASAP.

Major protests are planned for today. They want the other three police officers involved in George Floyd's murder arrested, they want the MN Attorney General, not the Hennepin County Attorney to manage the case. They want the MPD disbanded and reformed with many alternative public safety and law enforcement strategies used. But the legitimate protests will end at 8:00 pm.

The Gov. and the mayor are calling in thousands more National Guard Troops. We already had more National Guard troops in the city than ever before. They are doing a good job but were overwhelmed last night by sheer numbers. Gov. Walz is the highest ranking soldier to have ever served in Congress and led the National Guard - he clearly sees this for what it is and will fight it. This is now a military operation by the State of Minnesota against alt-right, white nationalists and anarchists that have come into Minneapolis to use the protests against police brutality as cover for their death fantasy.

They are trying to force authorities to use deadly force and "accelerate" the violence.

It is dark friends.

The other side - this morning the neighborhood is out in force helping with the clean up, re-securing businesses. Massive food distribution at community centers. People taking in neighbors whose homes were destroyed or whose neighborhood was so impacted that it is no longer habitable. Allie was ion contact with students, many of whom are refugees from war torn countries, that were hearing explosions and fire and sirens - they were calling her to make sure she was okay.

Today I will garden. My flowers are starting to really come into bloom. Vegetables coming in strong. New raised bed being built. Eat some good food. Feel grateful. Train our new puppy Ruth, who is just a pip. Take her to the lake and give her a swimming lesson. Then I'll take a nap. I think tonight will be a long one.

[Robert]

St. Paul arrested over 50 people last night. ALL OF THEM were from out of state.

I am hearing that the governor first suggested this, but later had to admit that about 90% of those arrested were from Minnesota.

[Robert]

https://nypost.com/2020/05/31/accused-m ... ed-lawyer/

An Ivy League-educated lawyer and member of a Brooklyn community board was among those arrested for hurling a Molotov cocktail at a marked NYPD vehicle amid George Floyd protests, it was revealed Sunday.

Colinford Mattis, 32, was allegedly behind the wheel of a tan minivan as his passenger, fellow attorney Urooj Rahman, allegedly hurled the incendiary at an empty NYPD vehicle outside the 88th Precinct stationhouse in Fort Greene early Saturday.

I really do not understand this.

[Robert]

I would help this man any day of the week.

[video][/video]

[Bootstrap]

Christianity Today published this article:

George Floyd Left a Gospel Legacy in Houston

Before moving to Minneapolis for a job opportunity through a Christian work program, the 46-year-old spent almost his entire life in the historically black Third Ward, where he was called “Big Floyd” and regarded as an “OG,” a de-facto community leader and elder statesmen, his ministry partners say.

Floyd spoke of breaking the cycle of violence he saw among young people and used his influence to bring outside ministries to the area to do discipleship and outreach, particularly in the Cuney Homes housing project, locally known as “the Bricks.”

“George Floyd was a person of peace sent from the Lord that helped the gospel go forward in a place that I never lived in,” said Patrick PT Ngwolo, pastor of Resurrection Houston, which held services at Cuney.

[Joy]

Floyd may have known the officer, as they both worked as bouncers at the same nightclub for a good while.
https://www.aol.com/george-floyd-ex-cop ... 15427.html

[Neto]

I am just sad. I'm not a big patriot, but I'm sad for this country. I'm sad for the victims of oppression that in some ways have forced all this to the surface. I'm sad for those who feel that they have no hope, I'm sad for the officers who now live under even greater danger. I'm sad for business owners who have lost their lively-hood. I'm sad for the children growing up in this mess, the children who have lost their fathers, wives who have lost their husbands, men & women who have lost spouses or children.

But I'm also sad because when I was a young man, I saw prejudice in my own heart, and as I repudiated it, and turned away from all of that, I had hopes of being a part of the solution, dreaming that we could change the world. I'm sad because I cannot tell that anything I or we did helped at all. I didn't suffer greatly in any real way, but I WAS profiled and hassled by authorities because of my identification with Black Americans. I had a vision that one day everyone would be recognized just as a human being, just another person loved by God, one for whom Christ died.

But here's a little diversion - a picture of me from that time (taken Summer of 1978). (And yes, it is all natural, not a perm.)

[Mountain Merle]

a picture of me

Neto, I'm in awe! That's as good as an afro I've ever seen in my time on any black brotha or sistuh, and I grew up in the South during the afro-era. I can see how you could have blended into the Black community. And did you even need a pillow at night?

Also, I echo your sadness on our current state of affairs. I guess it goes to show that, outside of the grace of God, the human heart is pretty much just as depraved as it's ever been.