Minnesota Sports Forum

Since we have a community here where we share our thoughts and opinions, I thought I would touch on the tragic situation taking place in our streets. It's okay to condemn police brutality but at the same time support law enforcement in our country. With close to a million police officers in the US, you are going to get a cross section of good and bad people. This is no different than any other occupation. A very small percentage of this law enforcement population will perpetuate racially based abuse crimes. But as a whole, I'm happy the police are out there protecting our institutions and serving the public good.

I've seen enough of the video of the cop kneeling on Mr. Floyd's neck to last a lifetime. It's one of the worst things I've ever seen. However, the exploitation of that event by the anarchists across this country to push their agenda is also obscene. We are being torn apart at the seams by groups that hate this country.

President Trump is a polarizing figure. I don't think he's as good as some believe, but I don't think he's as bad as some others believe. I'm a bit of an anomaly in that my view resides somewhere in the middle. The one thing I point to as a root cause of a lot of our current problems is the unwillingness of half of our population to accept the results of the 2016 election. It has spawned division that I can't recall during my time on earth. Everything on both sides of the aisle seems to be done in the name of power and politics, and no one seems to be paying attention to actually governing the country. I feel abandoned by those who are supposed to be looking out for the people, particularly those in congress. Our Speaker of the House is about as unfit of a leader as you could manufacture. The damage she's inflicted over the last 4 years is staggering. We desperately need new leaders to emerge who can somehow unite our populace and push us into a new awakening. I'm sure those leaders are out there somewhere, but today I just can't see them.

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.

Sadly a group of people with justifiable rage and hurt has been taken advantage of by anarchists using this situation to further the gap that already existed. The communities being destroyed are communities that don't have the resources to rebuild quickly. They don't have the resources to get out of that situation and just go somewhere else. There are people being arrested the last couple nights that are not Minnesotan. They have been mobilized here to cause chaos. The largest deployment in the history of the state looked like it wasn't even out on the streets because of how coordinated and mobile these groups are. This is not a normal case or rioting and looting and the people still doing it could care less about George Floyd and the actual systemic issues that led to this situation. Keep this in mind when we talk about our leaders failing us or our communities destroying themselves. This is a targeted attack that is meant to further the divide and we need to recognize and stand together to get these people out so we can move forward with pushing for change together.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/05/30/every-person-arrested-in-saint-paul-last-night-was-from-out-of-state-mayor-says/

Local source as well: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video/4571215-st-paul-mayor-everyone-arrested-last-night-in-his-city-from-out-of-state/

khans2k5 wrote:Sadly a group of people with justifiable rage and hurt has been taken advantage of by anarchists using this situation to further the gap that already existed. The communities being destroyed are communities that don't have the resources to rebuild quickly. They don't have the resources to get out of that situation and just go somewhere else. There are people being arrested the last couple nights that are not Minnesotan. They have been mobilized here to cause chaos. The largest deployment in the history of the state looked like it wasn't even out on the streets because of how coordinated and mobile these groups are. This is not a normal case or rioting and looting and the people still doing it could care less about George Floyd and the actual systemic issues that led to this situation. Keep this in mind when we talk about our leaders failing us or our communities destroying themselves. This is a targeted attack that is meant to further the divide and we need to recognize and stand together to get these people out so we can move forward with pushing for change together.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/05/30/every-person-arrested-in-saint-paul-last-night-was-from-out-of-state-mayor-says/

Local source as well: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video/4571215-st-paul-mayor-everyone-arrested-last-night-in-his-city-from-out-of-state/

St Paul Mayor said he gave inaccurate information on this subject this morning. Based on the police reports last night 85% of arrests were minnesotans

kekgeek1 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:Sadly a group of people with justifiable rage and hurt has been taken advantage of by anarchists using this situation to further the gap that already existed. The communities being destroyed are communities that don't have the resources to rebuild quickly. They don't have the resources to get out of that situation and just go somewhere else. There are people being arrested the last couple nights that are not Minnesotan. They have been mobilized here to cause chaos. The largest deployment in the history of the state looked like it wasn't even out on the streets because of how coordinated and mobile these groups are. This is not a normal case or rioting and looting and the people still doing it could care less about George Floyd and the actual systemic issues that led to this situation. Keep this in mind when we talk about our leaders failing us or our communities destroying themselves. This is a targeted attack that is meant to further the divide and we need to recognize and stand together to get these people out so we can move forward with pushing for change together.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/05/30/every-person-arrested-in-saint-paul-last-night-was-from-out-of-state-mayor-says/

Local source as well: https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video/4571215-st-paul-mayor-everyone-arrested-last-night-in-his-city-from-out-of-state/

St Paul Mayor said he gave inaccurate information on this subject this morning. Based on the police reports last night 85% of arrests were minnesotans

I saw that after I posted with numbers for Minneapolis as well, but the fact is those arrest numbers in general are not statistically significant to whose out on the streets. You're talking about under 100 people arrested last night with thousands out there. Yes there are still locals looting and rioting, but there are domestic terrorists using them as cover to continue to spread destruction. Maybe I'm naive to believe our leaders but all of them have mentioned out of state, organized crime coming here and participating and groups with that level of organization and execution aren't gonna get caught easily which is exactly why they want people to stay home. If you're out and about you are cover for people who want to commit destruction.

Khans, i think you're really dialed in on this. This isn't about George Floyd anymore. This about people who hate our country trying to increase the divide. And they seem to be having more success than most would like to see. I'm really sympathetic to the minority business owners who have suffered losses they can't come back from. I'm sympathetic to African Americans who have been affected by racial hatred. And I'm sympathetic to the good members of law enforcement who are risking their lives trying to keep the peace. Just a really bad situation all the way around.

monsterpile wrote: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.

I hear you Monster. I was actually brought to tears today by the elderly Minneapolis lady who had lost all the critical stores she is able to frequent by foot. The buses don't run to her low income housing facility and she indicated a feeling of total hopelessness. It was really sad.

monsterpile wrote: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.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

monsterpile wrote: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.

I hear you Monster. I was actually brought to tears today by the elderly Minneapolis lady who had lost all the critical stores she is able to frequent by foot. The buses don't run to her low income housing facility and she indicated a feeling of total hopelessness. It was really sad.

I've heard there are organizations that are working to deliver food and diapers to areas like this because of those types of situations.

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.