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We are under curfew for the second night (of at least three) here in King of Prussia (Upper Merion Township), and looting has occurred within about a mile of my house.   Peaceful protesting is one thing, and looting/vandalism is something very different, and identifying them as different is not a political statement or political opinion.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/curfew-to-be-in-effect-for-upper-merion-after-looters-target-king-of-prussia-mall/2414275/

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There is a pain behind the constant diminishing of the life of African Americans and minorities in general in America that cannot be denied. How many black men and women have to be unjustly murdered ON CAMERA for everyone to see before a change happens.

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Tonight in Washington the military deployed a helicopter to scatter protestors.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/floyd-protests-live.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-465fbd22

Imagine that, our military deployed against us. Next time they try that I hope it gets shot down. Civil War is on the horizon. 

Edited by Brad
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9 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Shit, he’s from the town of 30K where I went to college. Small world.

Correction: at the moment, small fucked up world.

Curfew here in DC from 7pm-6am today, tomorrow, probably for several more days, maybe a week or more, who knows.

Had helicopters with spotlights flying over our neighborhood off and on all evening. We live 2.5 miles north of the White House, as the crow flies. An easy 45 minute hike.

We saw the whole shit-show unfold (the one at 6:30pm yesterday) on local live TV, with all the same local TV reporters who do live remotes all over town every day, including after the World Series win, and Stanley Cup, and every little local story like every local TV news crew all across the US.

Local reporter said on-air he saw (and got video of) William Bar talking to troops about 60 seconds before all hell broke loose. Honestly, it felt like Kent State p2, as we were watching it all on live TV.

Local anchors with 30 years of DC-specific experience, the best in the biz, were utterly dumbfounded at the events as they unfolded. It was interesting listening to them try to hold their tongues in their reporting in real-time (searching for words) as they got the press-pool-feed from the White House of the march to the church (which had no audio feed to broadcast, was video only).

History in the making.

EDIT: just heard on a local NPR cut-in that a police car set was on fire overnight less than a mile south of where we live, but it was a very isolated incident (no other damage in our neighborhood, at least none that I’ve heard about).

Edited by Rooster_Ties
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10 hours ago, Brad said:

Tonight in Washington the military deployed a helicopter to scatter protestors.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/floyd-protests-live.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-465fbd22

Imagine that, our military deployed against us. Next time they try that I hope it gets shot down. Civil War is on the horizon. 

Shoot it down? Are you fucking kidding me?

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33 minutes ago, catesta said:

Shoot it down? Are you fucking kidding me?

Not when our military is declaring war on us. I obviously don’t wish this to happen but if the government uses the military to shut down peaceful protesters people are going to eventually fight back. The government is adding gas to the fire instead of cooling it.  We are going to approach a state of civil war unless cooler heads can prevail. 

Edited by Brad
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1 hour ago, Brad said:

Not when our military is declaring war on us. I obviously don’t wish this to happen but if the government uses the military to shut down peaceful protesters people are going to eventually fight back. The government is adding gas to the fire instead of cooling it.  We are going to approach a state of civil war unless cooler heads can prevail. 

The DC Mayor asked for National Guard presence. I get you point, but in many places, peaceful turns the other way after dark and especially after the pass of curfew times. Looting,vandalism, arson, throwing rocks/bricks/water bottles/small explosives and getting in people's faces all provokes a response. The cooler heads thing works both ways.

 

 

 

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I am told by reliable people that there is a Black Lives Matter protest set for downtown Plant City tonight. But I am also told that local BLM activists are telling police that it ain't them, and they aren't us. Its expected to get a strong police presence, hopefully nothing bad happens. (They are supposed to be congregating right near a Tractor Supply which not only services the riding mower but also is my wife's go-to when she runs out of shavings for the barn or needs one more bale of hay to get to the weekend. Would be a shame if it gets trashed.)

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7 minutes ago, catesta said:

 

The DC Mayor asked for National Guard presence. I get you point, but in many places, peaceful turns the other way after dark and especially after the pass of curfew times. Looting,vandalism, arson, throwing rocks/bricks/water bottles/small explosives and getting in people's faces all provokes a response. The cooler heads thing works both ways.

 

 

 

Maybe as an outsider to this I shouldn't be commenting and whilst absolutely agreeing with the "cooler heads" plea it strikes me that there's a vast disparity between the force currently being exercised by state forces, let alone their potential firepower, and "throwing rocks/bricks/water bottles/small explosives". 

The scenes I'm seeing are indistinguishable from those I watched from Hong Kong recently and that's got to mean something very worrying, surely

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7 minutes ago, catesta said:

 

The DC Mayor asked for National Guard presence. I get you point, but in many places, peaceful turns the other way after dark and especially after the pass of curfew times. Looting,vandalism, arson, throwing rocks/bricks/water bottles/small explosives and getting in people's faces all provokes a response. The cooler heads thing works both ways.

 

 

 

The biggest hothead in the world is currently in charge.  And last night they teargassed peaceful protesters and shot rubber bullets at them so that he could have a photo-op in front of a church.  One of the teargassed was a priest from that very church, who was also removed from the property.  How f'd up is that?  In a long, long list of very f'd-up shit that's been pulled.  George Will of all people, Mr. leading-light-of-the-Reagan-Revolution, just published a piece for the Washington Post that I guess I won't link to, since it's overtly political--but the gist of it is that this guy and all those who've enabled him need to go.

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34 minutes ago, catesta said:

 

The DC Mayor asked for National Guard presence. I get you point, but in many places, peaceful turns the other way after dark and especially after the pass of curfew times. Looting,vandalism, arson, throwing rocks/bricks/water bottles/small explosives and getting in people's faces all provokes a response. The cooler heads thing works both ways.

 

From the report it wasn’t the NG but the Army and I fully agree with you about the looting, vandalism, etc. That can’t be allowed to stand. 

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Happy to be teleworking in the DC suburbs, still getting paid to do my honorable government service job. Anticipate not having to ever stop teleworking, which I count as a win [...goodbye Metro...]. Happy that my existence (including exercise outdoors) has not directly crossed paths with any of this violent turmoil. Very disturbed about what I read/see, including gross stuff in our nation's capital. Just sad and pathetic. Am trying to reduce news consumption to some essential/reliable (at least in my experience) sources. Not being especially successful.

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2 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

The biggest hothead in the world is currently in charge.  And last night they teargassed peaceful protesters and shot rubber bullets at them so that he could have a photo-op in front of a church.  One of the teargassed was a priest from that very church, who was also removed from the property.  How f'd up is that?  In a long, long list of very f'd-up shit that's been pulled.  George Will of all people, Mr. leading-light-of-the-Reagan-Revolution, just published a piece for the Washington Post that I guess I won't link to, since it's overtly political--but the gist of it is that this guy and all those who've enabled him need to go.

I mean, that to me seems like straight up fascism.

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Here’s a story in the Times about the use of the military last night, which has been criticized by former commanders.

Former Commanders Fault Trump’s Use of Troops Against Protesters

“Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote on Twitter that ‘America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy.’”

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We've had demonstrations here too and the authorities are worried about people not adhering to social distancing rules. So, relatively quiet compared to what you all are going through. Watched CNN yesterday and was shocked by what I saw. Maybe I shouldn't say this as a non-US citizen, but I really hope November will bring change...

Edited by J.A.W.
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29 minutes ago, Brad said:

Here’s a story in the Times about the use of the military last night, which has been criticized by former commanders.

Former Commanders Fault Trump’s Use of Troops Against Protesters

“Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote on Twitter that ‘America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy.’”

I don't think it's that simple, I wish it was.  If someone is trying to throw a brick through my window just because, he's my enemy, regardless of where he was born.   There are a lot more parts being played here than are being identified.  There are bad policemen.  There are good policemen.  There are all flavors of politicians, good, bad, and inbetween.  There are victims (George Floyd, his family, countless others who have come before).  There are righteous, courageous, non-violent protestors.  There are people "making the scene"  (and that runs left and right, no persuasion gets a group pass), there are thugs, looters, and thieves taking advantage of the situation and destroying lives.   There are provocateurs on both the left and the right.  And there's the rest of us, left in various states of fear and vulnerability.  Bricks are being thrown through windows a mile from my house.   I hate what happened in front of the white house last night.  I hate what happened to George Floyd.  I also hate what happened to an immigrant family in Delaware I know, who had their lifelong business destroyed by looters.  My wife and I are white.  Our black daughter and black grandson live with us.   I don't want to see a police state.  I also don't want to see my community destroyed or my family harmed.   And not much of anybody out there seems to give a damn about what I don't want at the moment.        

Edited by felser
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