Amy-Strange
Amy-Strange's JournalTrump fenced in literally, politically after massive protests, stinging rebukes
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One week after federal law enforcement forcibly pushed back peaceful protesters so President Donald Trump could hold a photo op at a church near the White House, a fence erected to put greater distance between the president and Americans demonstrating in support of racial justice was transformed into a makeshift memorial for black people killed by police officers.
His heavy-handed response to the national outcry over the death of George Floyd and his threat to send active-duty military to quell unrest on American streets has been met with backlash from top military figures and members of the Republican establishment.
On Monday, he prepared to meet with law enforcement officers at the White House for a roundtable discussion, hardening his image as “law and order” president, as he has resisted making a gesture to demonstrate that he is also listening to the cries of the protesters.
As polls showed Americans by and large disapproved of his handling of the protests and race relations more broadly, the president announced Sunday that he was withdrawing the National Guard from the nation’s capital, claiming that they were no longer needed “now that everything is under perfect control” and that “far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!” on the day that D.C. streets were filled with tens of thousands of protesters.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-fenced-in-literally-politically-after-massive-protests-stinging-rebukes/ar-BB15cP2H?ocid=spartandhp
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Leona Lewis Recalls Experience With 'Racist' Shop Owner: 'It Sparked a Rage in Me'
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The killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police officers have sparked a global protest movement against systemic racism and police brutality. They’ve also ignited a parallel reckoning of racist attitudes and incidents in the lives of black and brown people around the world, including singer Leona Lewis, who shared her painful story with fans on Instagram on Saturday (June 6).
Reacting to comments she’s heard about how racist attitudes and incidents are not as prevalent in the U.K., the singer offered her personal experience with discrimination amid the solidarity marches that took place across England over the weekend. She said that after signing a management deal and buying a new place a few years ago, she went out shopping with her dad in London at a “cute little shop” to buy some items for her apartment.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but all of the [other] customers were white, me and my dad were the only black people in there,” she said, recalling that the female store owner was “hovering around” as Lewis browsed the merchandise. “Eventually she came up to my dad and I and said, ‘You need to put that down. You need to put that stuff down! You’re not allowed to touch it.’ And me and my dad were just confused. We looked around because every other person was picking stuff up, looking at it.”
Lewis said she immediately understood what was happening and asked the store owner why she was singling them out, with the woman re-iterating that they needed to put the items down immediately while striking a confrontational tone. She noticed the other shoppers staring and speaking under their breath about the incident as they began leaving the store.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/leona-lewis-recalls-experience-with-racist-shop-owner-it-sparked-a-rage-in-me/ar-BB15cKoe?ocid=spartandhp
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Why Black History Month Shouldn't Be a Single Month
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Black history is an essential part of all history—and that’s something that should be acknowledged and celebrated all year long.
Like a lot of relationships, my feelings about Black History Month are complicated. On the one hand, I deeply appreciate the time to intentionally celebrate the brilliant contributions to American culture and history by people who look like me. But while absolutely worthy of celebration, the stories of African American contributions to our culture and history have become repetitive over the years. Harriet Tubman was so brave. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the best orator of all time. George Washington Carver sure was a whiz with peanuts! Year after year, I hear a dutiful recitation of the same familiar facts, so much so that I fear that the result is the mistaken impression that this is sum total of all the African American contributions to history.
Confining the history of an entire race of people to a 30-day period not only shortchanges the significance of those contributions, but it also allows the greater truth to be erased. When I ask my African American friends about this, I often hear some version of: “I’d rather have one month than no months.” But is that really the choice?
The importance of acknowledging Black accomplishments
A quick search with Professor Google reveals that Black History Month traces its origins back to 1926 when the aptly named Association for the Study of African American Life chose a week in February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1926, just a little over a half-century after the abolition of slavery, Black people were still strenuously making the argument for their humanity. The creation of that week was an important historical marker; its creator, Carter Woodson, was addressing Black people as much as a larger audience. There is nothing so motivating as to know that people who look like you achieved great things.
https://www.rd.com/culture/why-black-history-month-shouldnt-be-a-single-month/
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Why You Should Stop Saying "I Don't See Color"
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Am I your only black friend? Before you answer, let me add to the question. I don’t mean George from accounting who knows all the ins and outs of last week’s game. I don’t mean the security guard you wave to every morning on your way into work. I mean, do you call them to have lunch? To complain about your kids, your spouse, your boss? Have they been personally and specifically invited to your home?
The problem with well-meaning
I have a lot of white friends, and during the past week a number have reached out to me to see how I am doing. I am conflicted about this. On the one hand, I deeply appreciate that they are thinking of me and my children and how we are reacting in this debilitating time of social unrest. But to be honest, what I would like them to do is reach out to their other friends. Specifically, their white friends. Because right now I need white people to speak to one another. I am wrestling with my own issues at this time; I cannot carry the burden of yours.
How do I feel? Tired. Worried. Anxious. You know what I am not? Surprised. None of my black friends are surprised. The possibility of this type of violence is not surprising to us. We may choose not to speak to you about it because you haven’t ever asked.
Well-meaning people say a lot of well-meaning things. “I can’t imagine how you feel” is right there at the top of the list. Have you tried? I’m asking because I know I don’t need to be Jewish to be distraught and outraged about anti-Semitism. And I know I don't need to be gay to be disgusted and terrified by homophobia. So why is it so difficult for you to even imagine what it feels like to be black? This is just one reason why Black History Month shouldn't be a single month.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/voices/why-you-should-stop-saying-i-dont-see-color/ar-BB155VBI?ocid=spartandhpBB155VBI?ocid=spartandhp
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COMMENT: I'm not sure I agree with all of this, but it does make some interesting points
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Angry about looters? Redirect rage toward discriminatory system
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You’ve most likely seen the images of people running out of stores with whatever they can carry in Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, San Leandro and other cities in the United States.
That’s all our president wants you to see. He doesn’t want you to see the largely peaceful, nationwide demonstrations against police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis for what they really are: people rallying because they’re fed up with a system that disadvantages communities of color.
Sadly, the brutalization of black and brown people doesn’t get the same attention as looting does. But when cities burn, elected officials listen.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/angry-about-looters-redirect-rage-toward-discriminatory-system/ar-BB15bIXR?ocid=spartandhp
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Bezos to racist customer: 'You're the kind of customer I'm happy to lose'
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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posted another email exchange with an angry customer who criticized the company's support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Bezos called the customer's email "sickening" in an Instagram post late Sunday, saying the person was the "kind of customer" he'd be "happy to lose."
The customer's email, which Bezos included in a screenshot, includes a string of profanity-laced insults and racist slurs, adding that Amazon's decision to show solidarity with protesters "will ruin [Bezos']
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/bezos-to-racist-customer-youre-the-kind-of-customer-im-happy-to-lose/ar-BB15c0Mz?ocid=spartandhp
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COMMENT: I'm not a big fan of Bezos, but I've got to give him kudos for this.
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The reason for racism, I believe, is because of both anger and...
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genetics.
I used to have big-time anger issues, until I figured something out.
First, aggression is genetic.*
Second, anger is a form of aggression that is not always a result of something pissing me off, but because I might be genetically engineered to feel anger all the time, like other people feel happy or content, and by the way, I think that's also based on genetics (look up the research done on dopamine).
Third, and of course, finally, I needed to have a reason for being angry.
I think that's why people become racist. They have anger issues, and of course, they also need a reason for their anger, and blacks make a convenient target.
I still have anger issues, and I still have screaming fits, but at least now, I know the real reason for them, and sometimes I'll even end up laughing at myself for getting angry at stupid, petty and nonsensical things.
As a matter of fact, I believe that's how you can tell if someone's anger is genetic or not, and that's to compare the amount of anger to the reason for it, and if it seems out of proportion, then I think it's genetic.
To be honest, I agree that a little righteous anger is sometimes called for, and let me tell you, I love it when that happens.
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*Watch "Dogs Decoded" by Nova until you get to the part (I think it's about 40 minutes in) where they get into the Siberian experiment with foxes.
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Are protestors really the ones behind all this violence and property damage?
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Some LEO (Law Enforcement Officers) could be behind some of these acts, so they have an excuse to get rough.
I mean, if some of them are willing to kill black men and women, I don't see what would stop them from throwing rocks and water bottles, especially since a lot of the protestors are wearing mask.
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Wanna see a miracle...
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This is dated October of last year, but I couldn't find it posted anywhere, so here we go:
Watch as couple nearly hit by Jeep running red light is saved by another car.
The Phoenix Police Department released a video of the incident, calling the second car that hit the Jeep "an angel" for ultimately saving the couple.
In the footage, the couple with a stroller is seen walking at night through the crosswalk at 53rd Avenue and Indian School Road. Two cars make a left turn in front of them.
As the pair nears the center of the road, a Jeep traveling at a high rate of speed races through the red light headed toward the couple. At what seems to be the last second, a black Chevy Cruze that was traveling lawfully through the green light slams into the Jeep.
The force of the crash pushes the Jeep out of the view of the camera and causes the Chevy Cruze to spin around. The couple runs across the street...
See the video here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/couple-stroller-almost-hit-jeep-ran-red-light-they-re-n1071221
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SPECULATION: WHAT'S WRONG WITH PEOPLE?
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I'll tell you exactly what's wrong with us, and it's that we're stupid, myself included.
We're not stupid, because we aren't intelligent, but because most of us assume that our beliefs are fact, and never bother to critically analyze them to find out if that's really true.
Remember that old definition of what "assume" means? It makes an ASS out of U and ME.
I'm not saying that I'm perfect, because I'm just as guilty as everyone else, but it's also important to note that this is not a religious or political post, but examples of how some of those views aren't exactly based on fact either, but on faith and bias instead.
For example, MANY republicans believe that ALL democrats are only out to create another socialistic country by taxing the stuffing out of rich people and giving everyone a free ride, except rich people.
Many democrats believe that ALL republicans are lying money-hungry racist that believe the only way to solve the world's problems is through small government, tough love, and free market capitalism.
Well, it might be true that SOME democrats and SOME republicans think this way, but ALL of them?
How could anyone possibly know this? That would involve talking to everyone in the world, and I just don't see how this could possibly be done, but many democrats and republicans still insist their view is a fact.
Don't believe me? Just go to any online newspaper that offers a comments section for any article about the current president.
These are known as blanket statements, and usually aren't true, but I know for a fact that the above political beliefs aren't true.
How do I know this? Because the person who made them didn't talk to me, and I wouldn't have agreed with them, thus proving it isn't true that ALL democrats or ALL republicans think that way.
It doesn't stop with politics either, but also includes religion.
Where's the proof that God (if she exist) even wrote the Bible, Koran or the Torah, or inspired them, but some religious people still insist on making laws based on their religious beliefs and interpretations.
I mean if it was a fact that God really believed that gay people were a hell driven species, then why only call it an abomination? Why not just come right out and tell us that YOU WILL GO TO HELL if you have sex with someone else who's also of the same sex? Hell, animals do it, but God doesn't call them an abomination, and why does she even care anyway?
Even Jesus didn't say it. He just said that a man was only supposed to leave his parents to marry a woman (paraphrasing, of course), but then what did he do? He left his parents to hang around with twelve guys and an alleged prostitute.
The funny part is that Mary Magdalene didn't even become a prostitute until the sixth century AD.
Don't get me wrong. I think Jesus was an awesome person. He stepped in when a woman was about to be stoned to death for being an adulteress, risking his own life, and which religious person would do that today? Really, I want to know who, because I'm sure there are some, and that should really be the norm and not the exception.
It just goes to prove that, to many people, facts don't matter, but beliefs do.
In other words, "BELIEFS TRUMP FACTS."
And with that, I believe I'm going to go smoke a bowl and laugh at all us stupid people being stupid forever ha, ha, ha!
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Profile Information
Name: Dave AyotteGender: Male
Hometown: Plainfield, CT
Home country: USA
Current location: Tukwila, WA
Member since: Mon Oct 21, 2019, 12:03 AM
Number of posts: 854
