OT - Making Sense of Tragedy

[Monster]

Cool I appreciate this post a great deal. I tend to fall in the middle and I try to look at both sides. Personally I've had a tough time processing the events of the past few days maybe more than any time in quite a while in terms of society. What role can I have that really makes a difference? This feels different somehow.

You are already making a difference. You are fair, kind, and have a generous heart. Keep being you.

I agree there are forces at play that seek to sow division - far right and far left extremists; bad faith politicians; media entities and personalities that have become peddlers of rage and always toward "the other side"; and the list goes on.

What we can do is resist tribalism, seek out truth, and treat every individual as a person with intrinsic value. ONLY when we do these things can healing and real problem solving begin. But I think you already know this, thus my first paragraph above.

Thanks Q I really appreciate these words. You brought some good wisdom here that resonates with me. I did have a Zoom meeting today with a group of friends and hearing others thoughts and also ideas about what we could do was also helpful to me.

I think some of this uncertainty probably intertwines a bit with me wondering what to do for work. I really have no idea when or if I will be going back to work anytime soon maybe not even this year or if I did I doubt it would be full time. How long do I stay unemployed? What responsibility do I have to my community to work if I am able? What would I want to do or what is available? I'm far from being in a desperate situation but I do see as I write this there is more of a connection to how I was feeling than I realized before. I'll be looking for more ways to learn and be open in the coming days.

[Lipoli390]

I agree with everything that you guys have said in this thread. I have little to add except my own expression of frustration and sadness at the state of our Country. I thought Q nailed it with his reference to extremists on both sides, bad faith politicians and media entities/personalities that peddle rage. But today I saw one exception to the bevy of insincere, ineffectual politicians. He name is Keisha Bottoms. She's the mayor of Atlanta. She spoke from the heart yesterday amidst the chaos in her City and said what needed to be said but what few politicians or so-called leaders have the courage or decency to say.

https://twitter.com/claytravis/status/1266558138339209216?s=12

[Porckchop]

There's a lot of good in rural Minnesota, but the Cities is a complete embarrassment. To be compared to California and New York politically is not something to be proud of.

[Porckchop]

There's a lot of good in rural Minnesota, but the Cities is a complete embarrassment. To be compared to California and New York politically is not something to be proud of.

[Coolbreeze44]

I don't have much to add to this thread because I think Cool, khans, kek, and Q nailed it in their posts. Bravo, gents, and I'm in agreeance with you all on the majority of what you said.

Not to steer this conversation into a political debate or to provoke anyone negatively, but I do feel like the left tends to make situations about race in an effort to divide groups for political gain, which is wrong in all kinds of ways. Racism is definitely alive and exists in communities throughout the nation -- the world -- but the data just doesn't support a lot of the narratives that liberal pundits consistently push. Not even close actually. I'm willing and able to discuss those in detail at another time for those that want to, but right now I feel like everyone with a pulse is sensitive and upset over the George Floyd situation -- and they should be to an extent. The healing process is still fresh and political debate at this time would feel wrong. I hope the Floyd family is able to find peace in spite of the wrongdoing.

However, as others have already said, destroying communities and looting/robbing businesses is unacceptable by every measure. Innocent lives are being affected that had no part in the complete mishandling of Floyd's arrest. Not to mention, these "protests" have escalated from nonviolent to violent, and one could argue that they've turned into terrorism -- yes, terrorism. A grandiose part of that falls on the leadership. Jacob Frey stands to receive overwhelming blame for much of the repercussions, and rightfully so. I just don't agree with how lackadaisical, careless, and spineless he's handled the rioting from a leadership standpoint.

That's more than I intended to say in this thread, but regardless of your views and political affiliations, I just want to end my comment with this. I respect every single person that decides to participate on this site. I care about your livelihoods and overall well-being despite this being a sports forum. Even when I show frustration towards any one of you, the prior statements are still true. We are living through unusual circumstances for sure. If any of you are going through difficult times and feel like you need help in any sort of way, feel free to message me and I'll do what I can to help or maybe steer you in a way that can help. Sometimes even conversation can be a difference-maker. As always, stay safe and God bless.

Man, that was good. Enough said.

[Coolbreeze44]

A numbskull cop commits a heinous crime against an African American. The whole country condemns it for the terrible crime it was. Then we proceed to tear the country apart. A + B does not equal C to me.

[Monster]

I don't have much to add to this thread because I think Cool, khans, kek, and Q nailed it in their posts. Bravo, gents, and I'm in agreeance with you all on the majority of what you said.

Not to steer this conversation into a political debate or to provoke anyone negatively, but I do feel like the left tends to make situations about race in an effort to divide groups for political gain, which is wrong in all kinds of ways. Racism is definitely alive and exists in communities throughout the nation -- the world -- but the data just doesn't support a lot of the narratives that liberal pundits consistently push. Not even close actually. I'm willing and able to discuss those in detail at another time for those that want to, but right now I feel like everyone with a pulse is sensitive and upset over the George Floyd situation -- and they should be to an extent. The healing process is still fresh and political debate at this time would feel wrong. I hope the Floyd family is able to find peace in spite of the wrongdoing.

However, as others have already said, destroying communities and looting/robbing businesses is unacceptable by every measure. Innocent lives are being affected that had no part in the complete mishandling of Floyd's arrest. Not to mention, these "protests" have escalated from nonviolent to violent, and one could argue that they've turned into terrorism -- yes, terrorism. A grandiose part of that falls on the leadership. Jacob Frey stands to receive overwhelming blame for much of the repercussions, and rightfully so. I just don't agree with how lackadaisical, careless, and spineless he's handled the rioting from a leadership standpoint.

That's more than I intended to say in this thread, but regardless of your views and political affiliations, I just want to end my comment with this. I respect every single person that decides to participate on this site. I care about your livelihoods and overall well-being despite this being a sports forum. Even when I show frustration towards any one of you, the prior statements are still true. We are living through unusual circumstances for sure. If any of you are going through difficult times and feel like you need help in any sort of way, feel free to message me and I'll do what I can to help or maybe steer you in a way that can help. Sometimes even conversation can be a difference-maker. As always, stay safe and God bless.

Man, that was good. Enough said.

A good post I almost missed it somehow from page 1.

[Lipoli390]

I don't have much to add to this thread because I think Cool, khans, kek, and Q nailed it in their posts. Bravo, gents, and I'm in agreeance with you all on the majority of what you said.

Not to steer this conversation into a political debate or to provoke anyone negatively, but I do feel like the left tends to make situations about race in an effort to divide groups for political gain, which is wrong in all kinds of ways. Racism is definitely alive and exists in communities throughout the nation -- the world -- but the data just doesn't support a lot of the narratives that liberal pundits consistently push. Not even close actually. I'm willing and able to discuss those in detail at another time for those that want to, but right now I feel like everyone with a pulse is sensitive and upset over the George Floyd situation -- and they should be to an extent. The healing process is still fresh and political debate at this time would feel wrong. I hope the Floyd family is able to find peace in spite of the wrongdoing.

However, as others have already said, destroying communities and looting/robbing businesses is unacceptable by every measure. Innocent lives are being affected that had no part in the complete mishandling of Floyd's arrest. Not to mention, these "protests" have escalated from nonviolent to violent, and one could argue that they've turned into terrorism -- yes, terrorism. A grandiose part of that falls on the leadership. Jacob Frey stands to receive overwhelming blame for much of the repercussions, and rightfully so. I just don't agree with how lackadaisical, careless, and spineless he's handled the rioting from a leadership standpoint.

That's more than I intended to say in this thread, but regardless of your views and political affiliations, I just want to end my comment with this. I respect every single person that decides to participate on this site. I care about your livelihoods and overall well-being despite this being a sports forum. Even when I show frustration towards any one of you, the prior statements are still true. We are living through unusual circumstances for sure. If any of you are going through difficult times and feel like you need help in any sort of way, feel free to message me and I'll do what I can to help or maybe steer you in a way that can help. Sometimes even conversation can be a difference-maker. As always, stay safe and God bless.

Thanks for this post, Cam!

[bleedspeed]

I agree with everything that you guys have said in this thread. I have little to add except my own expression of frustration and sadness at the state of our Country. I thought Q nailed it with his reference to extremists on both sides, bad faith politicians and media entities/personalities that peddle rage. But today I saw one exception to the bevy of insincere, ineffectual politicians. He name is Keisha Bottoms. She's the mayor of Atlanta. She spoke from the heart yesterday amidst the chaos in her City and said what needed to be said but what few politicians or so-called leaders have the courage or decency to say.

https://twitter.com/claytravis/status/1266558138339209216?s=12

Keisha Bottoms did an amazing job. I am not a fan of Melvin Carter but thought his speak yesterday at 6:30 was impressive even though I didn't agree with everything he said.

[mrhockey89]

Coolbreeze, I agree with your original post completely, and I'm in lock step about where I am with regard to our President, our Speaker of the House, the police shooting, and the damage and looting that is taking place.

From what I can gather, it appears that the people inciting the violence/fires are mostly professional agitators (extremist groups), while the looting is mostly being done by local idiots (mostly teens/twenties that probably live in the area that look at it as a free shopping spree they wouldn't otherwise have). Kids are willing to destroy their own city if it means personal gain as well.

If I'm the FBI, I follow every lead, and find out who the organizers are (they will likely figure this out quickly) and go hard after anyone involved directly or indirectly, while at a lower level also try to find as many of the looters/etc and prosecute as many of them as possible to the full extent available. This can't happen again and needs to stop immediately.

I realize that the message that is taking place with the protests seems like the greatest message here, and originally I would have agreed with it (and I still think there needs to be more done there), but we can't have lawlessness in our streets or all hope is lost for everything this country hopes to accomplish. Communities are destroyed, jobs are destroyed, businesses are destroyed, lives are destroyed beyond what can be viewed on a TV screen. People can't get their medications, grocery stores won't exist in areas where people don't have vehicles, and many lives are destroyed.

Trump says a lot of dumb things, is very controversial, and creates a lot of unnecessary controversy. With that said, I actually think he might be one of the best types of Presidents we could have right now (in my opinion) specifically for this situation. I say that because he isn't going to be afraid to be politically incorrect and will not gloss over all of this at the risk of saying something that is unpopular. He calls out Antifa (rightly so) and although I think he purposely leaves out some of the far right groups (Boogaloo boys?) that appear to be involved, at least he's going straight at them (and I fully believe our FBI will know which groups to chase down in no time), while our own Keith Ellison and his son (also a public servant) both frighteningly are both openly supporting Antifa.

This all should have been a safe protest in Minneapolis and/or around the country, but now there's something much greater that also needs to be addressed. (you can say the race issue is greater, but I disagree in that with lawlessness we have nothing) Again, I know that probably puts me in the middle of a politically incorrect and unpopular statement, but this...this can't happen in a 1st world country.