Al Sharpton on Latte Liberals

[HarleyDog]

Good article 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/al-sharpton-calls-out-latte-liberals-for-bigotry-of-low-expectations-toward-people-of-color/ar-AAR3gIQ?li=BBnbfcL

Quote:Some liberals have lowered the standards of people of color to a point where "vile behavior" and "beastly acts" are acceptable, said Rev. Al Sharpton.


Real racism is expecting people in a "certain community" not to "do any better" because of lowered expectations, he said in an interview Tuesday referring to the uptick in looting, especially along the West Coast.


"You want criminal justice to be criminal justice, but you do not want to have this kind of bedlam and lawlessness," Sharpton said. “First of all, no one has fought for giving people reforms in terms of how they’re sentenced to bail more than I have, but a guy or a lady stealing a Louis Vuitton bag is not somebody that needs social uplifting. This is somebody that is really causing us more of a problem."

He blamed this bigotry of low expectations on "latte liberals."

"These latte liberals that justify this — this has nothing to do with poverty, this has nothing to do with you couldn’t get a job," Sharpton said. "These are people that can go back in the neighborhoods where a Louis Vuitton bag is not unusual, and they can just fit in many of it for a gag, and they hurt the cause of those who want criminal justice reform. So, at one level, they hurt the store owner. At another level, they hurt us that are trying to get a break in the criminal justice system."

There is a difference between accommodating community needs and "having a standard that's fair for everybody," he said.
"There is nothing progressive about acting like this kind of vile behavior is normal," he added. "To normalize it is to act like certain people of certain communities or certain races, 'We don’t expect you to do no better. Oh, you try to run your wife down or your lady down. That's what y'all do. Let them go.' Rather than having a standard there that’s fair for everybody, but that if you break what’s criminal or not criminal, you pay a price because you victimized that lady and you victimized that community and those children."

From high-end retail stores such as Nordstrom to neighborhood shops such as Target and Walgreens, stores on the West Coast have experienced higher crime rates. San Francisco Mayor London Breed has promised to reform what critics call lax penalties on looting.

Police violence must still be curtailed, the reverend continued.

"At the same time, that does not give police the right to come and shoot you down like a dog, but you cannot act in a way you feel no matter what I do will be excused because they don’t expect me to do any better because I am not able to do any better," he said. "That is real racism — when you expect people in a certain community in a certain background not to be able to behave other than somebody that is out of control and doesn’t have the mentality to do anything other than beastly acts."

[Goalpost]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/23/best-buy-ceo-says-rising-theft-is-hitting-profits-could-hurt-employee-retention.html


Article about Best Buy dealing with this.

[Au165]

(11-24-2021, 12:09 PM)Goalpost Wrote: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/23/best-buy-ceo-says-rising-theft-is-hitting-profits-could-hurt-employee-retention.html


Article about Best Buy dealing with this.

This may derail the thread a bit but the theft issues and some other things we see occurring aren't a Liberal/Conservative issue or a race issue there is a coming class war. The discontent around the average person being left behind is getting bipartisan support amongst every day people and I think it will eventually end up violent and with more actions like these thefts. I am not saying French Revolution bad, but I think in the next year or two we will see things boil over and could see some forms of terrorism targeting large corporations.

[HarleyDog]

(11-24-2021, 12:45 PM)Au165 Wrote: This may derail the thread a bit but the theft issues and some other things we see occurring aren't a Liberal/Conservative issue or a race issue there is a coming class war. The discontent around the average person being left behind is getting bipartisan support amongst every day people and I think it will eventually end up violent and with more actions like these thefts. I am not saying French Revolution bad, but I think in the next year or two we will see things boil over and could see some forms of terrorism targeting large corporations.

Interesting POV. Although I hope your wrong, I can see the possibilities in larger cities.

[*Nately120*]

(11-24-2021, 12:52 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Interesting POV. Although I hope your wrong, I can see the possibilities in larger cities.

Anecdotally, I've seen it happen 10+ years ago in a small town.  My buddy's parents had a news/lottery/tobacco store from 1980 until the early 2000s when they sold it because, in no small part, people who worked for them and customers were stealing at an increasing rate.  It's as simple as people believing things aren't "fair" and then using that as an excuse to do things they normally would not. 


The prices on cigarettes are too high, it's not fair and it's wrong so I'll just be wrong, too and take them.

My employer is rich and doesn't pay me enough, I'll steal from him/her or I'll just slack off more on the clock.

I've been told the world is going to hell in a handbasket...so what does it matter if I steal from Target?


And so on.  Convincing people that life sucks and the country is a shithole is a great way to get votes, but this stuff also has consequences.  Maybe I'm stuck in a specific rut of thinking at the moment, but the American populace right now just seems like an abused teen who is lashing out at everyone and anyone to his own detriment because he had a lousy upbringing.  Life sucks, life isn't fair, everyone is out to get you, why haven't you had kids yet?

[Belsnickel]

(11-24-2021, 12:45 PM)Au165 Wrote: This may derail the thread a bit but the theft issues and some other things we see occurring aren't a Liberal/Conservative issue or a race issue there is a coming class war. The discontent around the average person being left behind is getting bipartisan support amongst every day people and I think it will eventually end up violent and with more actions like these thefts. I am not saying French Revolution bad, but I think in the next year or two we will see things boil over and could see some forms of terrorism targeting large corporations.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(11-24-2021, 12:45 PM)Au165 Wrote: This may derail the thread a bit but the theft issues and some other things we see occurring aren't a Liberal/Conservative issue or a race issue there is a coming class war. The discontent around the average person being left behind is getting bipartisan support amongst every day people and I think it will eventually end up violent and with more actions like these thefts. I am not saying French Revolution bad, but I think in the next year or two we will see things boil over and could see some forms of terrorism targeting large corporations.

You're giving these criminals far too much credit.  This is just typical criminal behavior, just on a larger scale as they are very emboldened right now.  There's no deeper meaning to it beyond POS criminals being POS criminals.

[HarleyDog]

(11-24-2021, 01:25 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Anecdotally, I've seen it happen 10+ years ago in a small town.  My buddy's parents had a news/lottery/tobacco store from 1980 until the early 2000s when they sold it because, in no small part, people who worked for them and customers were stealing at an increasing rate.  It's as simple as people believing things aren't "fair" and then using that as an excuse to do things they normally would not. 


The prices on cigarettes are too high, it's not fair and it's wrong so I'll just be wrong, too and take them.

My employer is rich and doesn't pay me enough, I'll steal from him/her or I'll just slack off more on the clock.

I've been told the world is going to hell in a handbasket...so what does it matter if I steal from Target?


And so on.  Convincing people that life sucks and the country is a shithole is a great way to get votes, but this stuff also has consequences.  Maybe I'm stuck in a specific rut of thinking at the moment, but the American populace right now just seems like an abused teen who is lashing out at everyone and anyone to his own detriment because he had a lousy upbringing.  Life sucks, life isn't fair, everyone is out to get you, why haven't you had kids yet?

Good post. But I think the wrong approach is to continue to be lenient with such excuses. If people, as you say, commit crimes because in their opinion life isn't fair, accepting that behavior and the excuses that go with it only make things get worse. I feel the softer we get on crime, the more crime we will see. Criminal leniency will never solve these problems.

[*Nately120*]

(11-24-2021, 02:28 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Good post. But I think the wrong approach is to continue to be lenient with such excuses. If people, as you say, commit crimes because in their opinion life isn't fair, accepting that behavior and the excuses that go with it only make things get worse. I feel the softer we get on crime, the more crime we will see. Criminal leniency will never solve these problems.

I never said to be lenient, but in will say holding accountable some of the high powered people who benefit from bearing false witness against fellow Americans could prove popular. 

[HarleyDog]

(11-24-2021, 02:32 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I never said to be lenient, but in will say holding accountable some of the high powered people who benefit from bearing false witness against fellow Americans could prove popular. 

I know you didn't and yes your right. Politicians and media are knee deep into the hatred in this country. They feed off of it like leaches. All at the expense of the people.

[*Nately120*]

(11-24-2021, 02:35 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I know you didn't and yes your right. Politicians and media are knee deep into the hatred in this country. They feed off of it like leaches. All at the expense of the people.

Well the 1/6 commission could possibly put some noteworthy heads on pikes, but I'm not holding my breath. 

[Au165]

(11-24-2021, 02:02 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You're giving these criminals far too much credit.  This is just typical criminal behavior, just on a larger scale as they are very emboldened right now.  There's no deeper meaning to it beyond POS criminals being POS criminals.

If you aren't keeping up with the Antiwork movement and some of the other groups who are pushing for a "fight" you are probably willfully ignoring it. Increases in "taking what has been stolen from the working class" is a common thought process and I am simply pointing out there is going to be continued increases in people simply giving no F's about crime levied against large corporations. It's all tied back to the wage disparity, housing costs, and healthcare costs that have started to galvanize the working class against "them". 

I know you will stick to "no deeper meaning" but watch for some of the general strikes coming in the next few months. Continued increases in crimes against corporations will be common even in places "tough on crime". Until there is something done about the widening gap of haves and have nots this is going to get rocky. One parallel to the French Revolution I do always find interesting is that it took a plague to push the working class over the edge and since COVID this surge in discontent amongst our current working class has never been higher. I actually think we could see a labor party in the US in the next 5 years.

By the way, not condoning the crime itself just pointing out that I have been following the antiwork stuff for a while with fascination. I don't fit the bill for many who are in the movement but I do think it's a pretty impressive groundswell of people who have kind of put political differences aside to push for better working conditions. I am curious to see if the next generation is a more unionized generation like our grandparents were.

[*michaelsean*]

(11-24-2021, 01:37 PM)Belsnickel Wrote:

I think we have as many guns as people so I’d say they are pretty much armed already.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(11-24-2021, 04:19 PM)Au165 Wrote: If you aren't keeping up with the Antiwork movement and some of the other groups who are pushing for a "fight" you are probably willfully ignoring it. Increases in "taking what has been stolen from the working class" is a common thought process and I am simply pointing out there is going to be continued increases in people simply giving no F's about crime levied against large corporations. It's all tied back to the wage disparity, housing costs, and healthcare costs that have started to galvanize the working class against "them". 

I know you will stick to "no deeper meaning" but watch for some of the general strikes coming in the next few months. Continued increases in crimes against corporations will be common even in places "tough on crime". Until there is something done about the widening gap of haves and have nots this is going to get rocky. One parallel to the French Revolution I do always find interesting is that it took a plague to push the working class over the edge and since COVID this surge in discontent amongst our current working class has never been higher. I actually think we could see a labor party in the US in the next 5 years.

By the way, not condoning the crime itself just pointing out that I have been following the antiwork stuff for a while with fascination. I don't fit the bill for many who are in the movement but I do think it's a pretty impressive groundswell of people who have kind of put political differences aside to push for better working conditions. I am curious to see if the next generation is a more unionized generation like our grandparents were.

No, in regard to the antiwork/pro-union scene I'd agree with you.  Where I disagree, quite strongly, is equating these smash and grab retailer raids as a symptom of that movement.  These are just bullshit criminals doing what bullshit criminals do when they perceive a lack of potential consequences.  Trust me, there is no deeper meaning behind it other than stealing things and thinking they can get away with it.

[Au165]

(11-24-2021, 05:11 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Trust me, there is no deeper meaning behind it other than stealing things and thinking they can get away with it.

This crime may very well be that which is why I originally said this could derail the thread, but retail theft is up across the entire country, it’s not just in these locations you allude to being “not tough on crime”. People turning to what they consider “harmless” crime going after large retailers is very much a symptom of people fed up with corporations and I believe those rates will continue to rise. There was an article last week comparing the rate of retail theft against corporations vs privately owned business adjusted for the obvious proportionality of one to another and it does appear smaller privately owned businesses are being spared at a higher rate. Could simply be correlation but I thought it was an interesting look.

Ironically enough, even as retail theft skyrockets across the country profits are soaring as well. Target I believe in the same earning call talked about how bad the theft was but also that they made 4 Billion more this past quarter than last.