5465

Youngstown, OH Taco Bell manager didn’t get the memo.

5466

What is Taco Bell’s policy on that sort of thing?

5467

At this point, if seeing someone suggest simply that black lives matter triggers you, then the problem is you.

Companies shouldn’t give a crap about it.

5468

I dunno – if I walk into a retail store and the employees are wearing MAGA hats I might walk out.

5469

So both sides are equal?

5470

I didn’t say that. Maybe a better way of putting it is I can sympathize with a business wanting to present an apolitical face to the public. In no way am I condoning firing the employee. That was wrong. But I can understand it if they have a policy of not wearing political attire.

If I was the franchisee I’d probably just ignore both a BLM and a MAGA facemask on an employee. I might tell the employee I’d prefer it if he didn’t wear it but I’d let it go.

5471

I agree, although i might suggest that black lives matter isn’t really a political statement, or rather, it shouldn’t be. MAGA is a political statement.

5472

Some medics and amateur aid volunteers believe they will be afforded neutral status in the protests, as if they are on a battlefield with Geneva Conventions applying. But nobody told law enforcement.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/17/police-targeting-street-medics-us-protests

5473

Someone’s life might be saved, better try to stop that.

5474

BLM are not a movement devoted purely to minority rights. Endorsing them is a political statement. I will not endorse them precisely because of their causes outside of anti racism

5475

Wut?

Only in that murdering black men is somehow political, much like wearing masks or not taking random medications for no reason.

Wut?

5476

BLM UK explicitly say one of their goals is to dismantle capitalism.

5477

So, not really BLM then.

5478

Well, history does suggest that capitalists care less about racism and oppression than they do about capitalism.

5479

So, you will not endorse the specific organization Black Lives Matter UK because capitalism.

But surely you will endorse the much broader movement against anti-Black racism and police abuse of Black people, known around the world as Black Lives Matter?

5480

I’d be happy to agree with that. Sadly the media don’t.

5481

But without transparency, you don’t really know how bad it is. And I can’t tell you, because state law allows agencies to withhold this information.

We all know the power of videos showing police abuse of Black people in this country. But reports are powerful, too. If you could see what I’ve seen, you would be furious.

PPB is a garbage fire, which… everyone who’s watched anything out of Portland in the last 2 weeks already knew.

5482

I endorse efforts to stop anti-black racism and police abuse of black people. As to the wider movement? Yeah, I think I can endorse their efforts.

Even here the movement is certainly doing more positive than negative (putting covid spread to one side for a second). We’ll see some more outdated branding go away, a fire lit under the lammy review getting implemented and more pressure for mroe incremental police reforms. Yes the socialist worker mob are getting a platform but they’ll always get a platform as part of the left wing cause du jour - if anything their voice is quieter this time round because there’s so much more non-alt-left people passionate about the campaign.

5483

That actually is the due to Socialist Workers Party. They are Trotskyists and are notorious exponents of entryism, where they join an organisation with a good rep and slowly take it over. They have a bad rep as a rape cult after their leader of the time raped a load of young recruits, their entire leadership hierarchy closed ranks to protect the rapists, creating a kangaroo court to exonerate the rapists. The victims werent allowed to call the police as they were brainwashed to believe the police are enemies of the left.

because of this bad rep they created a number of side organisations, ones where those responsible for the kangaroo rape courts they ran internally can publicly take part in events and mix with Labour leaders. One of these is Stand Up To Racism.

Despite many prominent people on the left, including the old BLM UK leaders who signed this, warning everyone about SUTR/SWP, they still are around and taken seriously by people looking at the name alone and not knowing further.

and the result of a bunch of SWP/SUTR lurking in BLM hierarchies is them putting “dismantle capitalism” on their website and whilst these people push their brand of Neo-Trotskyism around BLM. All it does is provide the right with a distraction to point and shout at and erase and disempower the BLM cause. It doesnt represent BLM as a whole, SWP dont control the organisation.

5484

A good one imo.