George Floyd murder / Derek Chauvin guilty of murder

[SebastianBlue]

Do you honestly believe that white Americans had no part to play in realising or resonating with MLK's message? How do you counter for the numerous millions of Black Americans who reject or are critical of the current BLM "Violence is the only answer" movement? A narrative that MLK was opposed towards.

I have not made any assertions that white people played no part in realising or resonating with MLK’s message, so I am unsure why you are asking this?

 

[Metal Biker]

I have not made any assertions that white people played no part in realising or resonating with MLK’s message, so I am unsure why you are asking this?

That's the message that i'm getting from you, as it appears to be the one you're countering.

Mine has been that the majority of white Americans supported MLK, wanting to bring about change, not opposed him.

 

[The perfect fumble]

A peculiar response when I've explained that I appreciate and respect lost lives fought for Humanity, whether that's one person or a hundred million with the belief THEY were doing the right thing.

I care not for Gov reasons and the lies they tell to get people to lose their existence. I care not the any of those Govs, so I'm unsure WHY you keep trundling down a pathway that is not my conversation.

The "discernable narrative" you seek is the one in your head that you do not transport to the page in any understandable fashion to have dialogue with.

Maybe it's for another thread where you can express your thoughts clearer...?

You don't care if something is a lie, as long as it is sincerely felt.

If that's the moral high ground you're welcome to it.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Maybe I shouldn't have attatched it to your post specifically, maybe more of a general question as everybody is still in the mode of Racists in America

Fair enough — I can clarify I was only trying to provide context and combat a simplified, inaccurate perception that often pops up in these sorts of discussions.

As far as the “Racist in America” mode, this is a thread about BLM protests in the US, so that’s the topic people are focusing on.

There are other threads to discuss the racism that exists in the UK and Europe. For the sake of answering your question, though, I will say from my own personal experience, and in my own personal opinion, many of the areas in which I have lived or spent a great deal of time in Europe (Spain, England, Switzerland) do have serious racist issues, as well. I think they are somewhat different to what exists in the US, but they exist and there is still quite a bit of work to be done to eliminate racism.

 

[idahoblues]

Fair enough — I can clarify I was only trying to provide context and combat a simplified, inaccurate perception that often pops up in these sorts of discussions.

As far as the “Racist in America” mode, this is a thread about BLM protests in the US, so that’s the topic people are focusing on.

There are other threads to discuss the racism that exists in the UK and Europe. For the sake of answering your question, though, I will say from my own personal experience, and in my own personal opinion, many of the areas in which I have lived or spent a great deal of time in Europe (Spain, England, Switzerland) do have serious racist issues, as well. I think they are somewhat different to what exists in the US, but they exist and there is still quite a bit of work to be done to eliminate racism.

I think to sum that up, it's fair to say that there isn't a single country in the World where racism doesn't exist. These threads tend to get mired in the anti US rhetoric as if it's a bigger problem here than anywhere else. The fact that the US had a two term Black president, voted predominantly by white people speaks volumes as to where we are in relationship to other countries, we're just transparent about it. I know wrong thread, so I'll go back to work

 

[SebastianBlue]

That's the message that i'm getting from you, as it appears to be the one you're countering.

Mine has been that the majority of white Americans supported MLK, wanting to bring about change, not opposed him.

I did not say anything like that, though, nor was I intending to imply that.

I was only trying to provide context to the discussion and provide information showing the complexities of the movement, times, and opposition that tend to get painted over now in public discourse. People tend to forget the current completely rightful reverence of MLK (he is a personal hero of mine), and his more “acceptable” beliefs (by today’s standard), developed over many years, and is not independent of the civil rights leaders and supporters that carried on the torch after him.

And, again, the vast majority of historical evidence (as referenced in the articles I shared and many, many more scholarly works beyond them) indicates MLK was not widely liked when he was tragically murdered. Many white people did support him and were enraged by his assassination, but that does not mean *most* did/were at the time.

 

[SebastianBlue]

I think to sum that up, it's fair to say that there isn't a single country in the World where racism doesn't exist. These threads tend to get mired in the anti US rhetoric as if it's a bigger problem here than anywhere else. The fact that the US had a two term Black president, voted predominantly by white people speaks volumes as to where we are in relationship to other countries, we're just transparent about it. I know wrong thread, so I'll go back to work

I won’t argue against that. But I hope you know I am not among those that think racism is uniquely American, nor have I been arguing that in my posts.

 

[Metal Biker]

I did not say anything like that, though, nor was I intending to imply that.

I was only trying to provide context to the discussion and provide information showing the complexities of the movement, times, and opposition that tend to get painted over now in public discourse. People tend to forget the current completely rightful reverence of MLK (he is a personal hero of mine), and his more “acceptable” beliefs (by today’s standard), developed over many years, and were not independent of the civil rights leaders that carried on the torch after him.

And, again, the vast majority of historical evidence (as referenced in the articles I shared and many, many more scholarly works beyond them) indicates MLK was not widely liked when he was tragically murdered. Many white people did support him and were enraged by his assassination, but that does not mean *most* did/were at the time.

Then why did you respond that way, as that wasn't the core theme of my message?

Majority of people supported him, but it was the vocal minority that gained the most attention and is what people tend to focus on. His legacy is the focus.

 

[Bigga]

It's still just public assumptions though, made years after the man's murder. King never publicly condoned such a course of action.

And he also stopped criticising such actions towards his end, but openly 'understood' it.

Equally as important, but much overlooked.

 

[SebastianBlue]

Then why did you respond that way, as that wasn't the core theme of my message?

Because your post had indicated he was widely liked, hence I simply provided links to reputable articles about why that was not the case at the time he was assassinated (originally without comment, as I did not want to editorialise the info in the articles).

It wasn’t a rebuke — it was an attempt to provide context for the discussion.