09-07-2020, 01:14 PM
(09-07-2020, 01:02 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I completely get what you are saying and I don't disagree with the foundation of your point. The problem then becomes when is it "acceptable" for those who do not agree to respond in kind? Honestly, up until the Portland shooting there wasn't much in the way of counter protests. I'm sure someone here will point out Rittenhouse, but I'm not including someone in that category when all the evidence points towards his acting in self defense. But let's say the Portland murder (and yes the evidence shows this was a murder) is the start of a spate of counter protests. Is any violence they use in response equally justified or in keeping with US history?
Hence why I'm having such a difficult time really parsing this out.
(09-07-2020, 01:02 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I disagree with you here. We don't need to change our perception of anything. While I understand your call for perspective it rather ignores that there's a completely opposite side to this coin. I don't think either group is wholly correct, but that doesn't mean they're wholly wrong either.
When I talk about changing perception it is really about being able to be empathetic and see things in context. Not necessarily just dismissing your beliefs and changing sides, but instead trying to understand. The situation is made worse by everyone digging in their heels and not wanting to give an inch.
(09-07-2020, 01:02 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Profound change is absolutely possible without violence and one need look no further than same sex marriage to see a perfect example of this.
I don't know how true this is, though. While the current protests are labeled as being about police violence, they are a part of the larger issue of systemic discrimination in this country. Same-sex marriage was a part of the larger gay rights movement, as well, and that movement has also had some violent moments. I would love to agree that change in the magnitude we are talking about could be achieved bloodlessly, but history doesn't really support that.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR