I remember the Harlem riot in the 60's that started with a police officer killing a young black man. I guess not much has changed.
With sadness -- I agree. I also recall Harlem, Watts, LA, etc. etc. etc. And after centuries, not much has changed. 401 years in the US. It is tiring.
The Harlem riot of 1964 occurred between July 16 and 22, 1964. It began after James Powell, a 15-year-old African American, was shot and killed by police Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan in front of Powell's friends and about a dozen other witnesses.
There was an earlier Harlem riot in 1935. I only know it from history books.
I think that it is reasonable for people to be frustrated.
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I admit that it took me a while to understand that there is a big issue that is not being addressed. Being black should not be a death sentence in the US or anywhere else. Yes, other minorities have issues but not the same issue. In Minnesota, Black Americans are nearly four times as likely to be killed by law enforcement, with Black victims comprising 20 percent of those killed, despite comprising only 5 percent of the overall population.
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There was looting last night in Scottsdale, Arizona -- that was not protesters or agitators or ANTIFA. It was greedy opportunists who looted the Newman-Marcus and other high-end stores. I think there are so many things happening at once that it is easy to loose sight of the issue. And, frankly, the protesters were not looting in Santa Monica.
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ANTIFA is not an organization -- it is a general label for many anti-fascist groups who are opposed to Neo-Nazis, Neo-fascism, white supremacists -- AKA the alt-right -- who embrace violence along with other disruptive methods. While there are some ANTIFA members involved (in the videos wearing black helmets, plain black outfits), they are clearly a minority. They did not cause this -- police brutality and lack of leadership is causing these protests and riots.
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With that -- it is OK to post about the protests and riots, but please let's try to keep the politics discussion to a minimum. Thanks!