In these seemingly never-ending dark and difficult days, LIFE Matters.
This blog supports the peaceful and righteous protests in America, indeed around the world. The brutal and indisputable murder (a "hit" even?) of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, has rightly sparked a renewed wave of rejection of endemic racism and the institutionalised corruption across the very authorities meant to instil confidence, protect and provide peace-of-mind for all citizens.
Of course, there is no place for the mindless violence and looting that has accompanied and morphed. Sure, it was to be expected - what with the levels of frustration and boredom created on the back of Covid-lockdown, the warm weather of long Summer's days, increasing frustration with "leaderships" and the visceral income inequality that has continued unabated. People do not need much encouragement to exacerbate those flames of the fire. People are also all too easily incorrectly encouraged to looting and wanton destruction by nefarious organisations - always keen and ready to exacerbate situations to their our ends.
No matter what the mitigating circumstances however, allowing a devolution of a morally water-tight and strong protest, does no favours for the long-term game. For true change and effective lasting legacies of uprisings, history has shown that firm principles and level-heads with strong, consistent and mainly peaceful messages, bring about the shifts in systemic prejudices required. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela the epitome of such understanding - struggles there still ongoing but their initiation of the message echoes each day.
Unfortunately, Trump and his administration are quite good at taking advantage of these situations - rather like all scarily astute and manipulative historical tyrants.
Leadership is required on the part of the protesters. A lighting-rod and beacon for the grief and frustration of the crowds. Not necessarily one-person, a top-level consortium of voices perhaps, capable of articulating and enduring the harsh environment of hatred and seeing through the mist of anger to reach out a hand and seek solutions. No celebrities, no legacy leaders - fresh, honest and frank faces, open voices, innocent minds and souls, capable of forgiveness, cognisant of children's futures and generations needing to be hopeful and better than their own. Maybe then can true dialogue bring about enough (of course not all) shifts in attitudes to reach a critical mass and break through the walls of a sickening circle of racism.
Peaceful protest in the face of one man's photo-op requirements (tear-gassing crowds to disperse and make a route for one guy to waddle across a lawn with his sickeningly affirmative entourage) indicate difficult days to come. This is not exclusively an American issue. They might shout against it louder than most but these issues exist all around the world in various iterations - how this concludes may decide the shape of many global expressions of frustration to come.
Right now, the world watches on, wincing with every blow of the baton and cheering with every taking-of-the-knee. Let's hope this movement neither trips itself up by diluting its message through counter-productive aggression, nor is violently forced to fall-flat-on-its-face - that would be a dangerous position for us all.
This blog supports the peaceful and righteous protests in America, indeed around the world. The brutal and indisputable murder (a "hit" even?) of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, has rightly sparked a renewed wave of rejection of endemic racism and the institutionalised corruption across the very authorities meant to instil confidence, protect and provide peace-of-mind for all citizens.
Of course, there is no place for the mindless violence and looting that has accompanied and morphed. Sure, it was to be expected - what with the levels of frustration and boredom created on the back of Covid-lockdown, the warm weather of long Summer's days, increasing frustration with "leaderships" and the visceral income inequality that has continued unabated. People do not need much encouragement to exacerbate those flames of the fire. People are also all too easily incorrectly encouraged to looting and wanton destruction by nefarious organisations - always keen and ready to exacerbate situations to their our ends.
No matter what the mitigating circumstances however, allowing a devolution of a morally water-tight and strong protest, does no favours for the long-term game. For true change and effective lasting legacies of uprisings, history has shown that firm principles and level-heads with strong, consistent and mainly peaceful messages, bring about the shifts in systemic prejudices required. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela the epitome of such understanding - struggles there still ongoing but their initiation of the message echoes each day.
Unfortunately, Trump and his administration are quite good at taking advantage of these situations - rather like all scarily astute and manipulative historical tyrants.
Leadership is required on the part of the protesters. A lighting-rod and beacon for the grief and frustration of the crowds. Not necessarily one-person, a top-level consortium of voices perhaps, capable of articulating and enduring the harsh environment of hatred and seeing through the mist of anger to reach out a hand and seek solutions. No celebrities, no legacy leaders - fresh, honest and frank faces, open voices, innocent minds and souls, capable of forgiveness, cognisant of children's futures and generations needing to be hopeful and better than their own. Maybe then can true dialogue bring about enough (of course not all) shifts in attitudes to reach a critical mass and break through the walls of a sickening circle of racism.
Peaceful protest in the face of one man's photo-op requirements (tear-gassing crowds to disperse and make a route for one guy to waddle across a lawn with his sickeningly affirmative entourage) indicate difficult days to come. This is not exclusively an American issue. They might shout against it louder than most but these issues exist all around the world in various iterations - how this concludes may decide the shape of many global expressions of frustration to come.
Right now, the world watches on, wincing with every blow of the baton and cheering with every taking-of-the-knee. Let's hope this movement neither trips itself up by diluting its message through counter-productive aggression, nor is violently forced to fall-flat-on-its-face - that would be a dangerous position for us all.
