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girlin2une · 07-11-2016, 06:28 PM

Yes, you're allowed to have opinions about race and policing following last week's events, and you can share them on here or any other social media outlet. That is everybody's right. But please, please make a conscious effort to understand the issues better than you do now, so that when the discussion is closed, your mind isn't. Try to get a takeaway from every conversation about race and colour and policing and violence and America and bigotry. Learn something. That's what healthy discussion is about.
On that note, here are a few important thoughts from a white girl in Canada.
1. Blaming the Black Lives Matter movement and it's supporters for the murder of police in Texas doesn't make sense. There may be BLM supporters who choose violent protest, but those are individual choices and have no bearing on the integrity and importance of the movement as a whole.
2. Of course all lives matter. But sometimes when people say "all lives matter" it's because they don't fully understand what BLM is about, but sometimes it is an intentional effort to placate and silence the conversation about race which is cowardly. Don't be like that, please.
3. I've heard a lot this past week; "I'm so glad we live in Canada!" as if to suggest that racialized violence by police doesn't happen here. Don't be too patriotic!

We have the same issues and a violent colonial past that has resulted in present day disenfranchisement of indigenous people.
4. Imagine going out at night and thinking that you might be shot by cops, simply because you're black. What if there's a confrontation with police? Even if you're polite and cooperative, what if there's a misunderstanding? What if a bystander says "gun!" and you end up with five holes in your side before you have the chance to defend yourself? Imagine being a mother or father of black sons. Woudn't you be afraid to let them leave the apartment? That's the story of Black Lives Matter. That's the voice saying listen to us, please. It's a mother saying "stop killing my sons!" Nobody should be afraid to die by those paid and trusted to protect them.

07-11-2016, 06:28 PM	#22
girlin2une Senior Member How Do You Identify?: submissive queer stone femme Preferred Pronoun?: she, her Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Canada Posts: 3,827 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,752 Thanked 3,845 Times in 856 Posts Rep Power: 21474849	Not sure if this is where I should post this, but here goes... Yes, you're allowed to have opinions about race and policing following last week's events, and you can share them on here or any other social media outlet. That is everybody's right. But please, please make a conscious effort to understand the issues better than you do now, so that when the discussion is closed, your mind isn't. Try to get a takeaway from every conversation about race and colour and policing and violence and America and bigotry. Learn something. That's what healthy discussion is about. On that note, here are a few important thoughts from a white girl in Canada. 1. Blaming the Black Lives Matter movement and it's supporters for the murder of police in Texas doesn't make sense. There may be BLM supporters who choose violent protest, but those are individual choices and have no bearing on the integrity and importance of the movement as a whole. 2. Of course all lives matter. But sometimes when people say "all lives matter" it's because they don't fully understand what BLM is about, but sometimes it is an intentional effort to placate and silence the conversation about race which is cowardly. Don't be like that, please. 3. I've heard a lot this past week; "I'm so glad we live in Canada!" as if to suggest that racialized violence by police doesn't happen here. Don't be too patriotic! We have the same issues and a violent colonial past that has resulted in present day disenfranchisement of indigenous people. 4. Imagine going out at night and thinking that you might be shot by cops, simply because you're black. What if there's a confrontation with police? Even if you're polite and cooperative, what if there's a misunderstanding? What if a bystander says "gun!" and you end up with five holes in your side before you have the chance to defend yourself? Imagine being a mother or father of black sons. Woudn't you be afraid to let them leave the apartment? That's the story of Black Lives Matter. That's the voice saying listen to us, please. It's a mother saying "stop killing my sons!" Nobody should be afraid to die by those paid and trusted to protect them. __________________ How do you define courage? Is it the absence of fear? You might think, under the weight of your fears, "I am not courageous." But maybe you have the wrong perspective. Courage can be measured in many ways, and is not the absence or denial of fear, but the willingness to act vulnerably. When you're faced with the unknown and then you stand on the edge of risk, courage brings you to the point where you are able to take flight, though you might be unsure of your wings.