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2020 has been a scary and exhausting year. However, there’s a silver lining. The Black Lives Matter protests demanding justice for Floyd George, racial equality, and an end to police brutality have spread and they’re bringing about real change in American society.
Twitter user Emma collected a list of examples of the change that the protests helped accelerate in the United States in a viral thread that got more than 309k likes and 188k retweets. New laws regulating law enforcement are being introduced and cities are planning to take down statues that some people view as racist.
While other Twitter users pitched in and posted positive changes that the protests helped introduce or made happen faster. Emma urged protestors to keep fighting for change and to not stop just because of a handful of small victories. Scroll down and take a look for yourselves, dear Pandas.
Emma listed the positive changes that the BLM protests helped accelerate in the US and other people pitched in with their examples
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#1
Truth Monster 4 years ago
Ferguson is majority black population, isn't it? It's weird they haven't had a black mayor up until now
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#3
Daria B 4 years ago (edited)
Oh, wow! Hope it works, really! Also, giving her name to such a law is a great way to honour her as well. Breonna was the "sleeping beauty" put to an eternal sleep not even the kiss of the truest love could wake up, as he probably cried her name, telling her to hang on. Breonna's life still matters, and will forever.
There have been many protests against police brutality in the US in the past. But the newest protests could be the tipping point that could lead to real change in the way that the police operate in the country.
Sean Collins writes on Vox that what lies at the core of the protests is the fear that black Americans have of being killed at any time by law enforcement. However, to change that requires reworking society. Collins states that previous protests have brought about limited change but demonstrators are hoping that this time will be different.
#5
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 4 years ago
I believe I heard Birmingham, Alabama is going to take down one (or two?) also.
The Mapping Police Violence advocacy group found that the vast majority, 99 percent, of police officers from 2013 to 2019 weren’t charged with a crime after they killed someone. The group also states that black Americans are 3 times more likely to be killed by police officers than someone who is white.
How long the current BLM protests will continue is anybody’s guess. There are small pockets of change happening right now. However, greater change requires sustained and focused action: society won’t change in just a few short weeks.
#7
Electric Ed 4 years ago
Had to google that one up: "Blood chokes (or carotid restraints / sleeper holds) are a form of strangulation that compress one or both carotid arteries and/or the jugular veins without compressing the airway, hence causing cerebral ischemia and a temporary hypoxic condition in the brain. A well applied blood choke may lead to unconsciousness in 10–20 seconds." Sounds like a good idea to stop choking people...
#8
Truth Monster 4 years ago
A historic artifact like this is/was important, as it is a physical reminder of the atrocities that happened. Taking it away does nothing. I hope they put it in a museum, as it is a part of American history, as ugly as it is.
#9
Electric Ed 4 years ago
I've always thought of the Confederate flag as anti-USA, more than pro-racism. Kind of weird that the US army would allow brandishing flags of its former enemy.
People might get demotivated and the protests might fizzle out if there aren’t larger victories against police brutality. We’ll see in the upcoming months whether these protests will have a bigger effect on the US than the ones that came before them.
#11
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Change the release to "within 12 hours". Fourteen days is enough time to cover up a lot. ---- from Charlottesville, VA. Yeah. Where we had that 2017 nightmare thing.
#12
GirlFriday 4 years ago
I have long been speaking out against QI. Not only would this hold police legally accountable, it will also hold them financially accountable and allow them to be sued in civil court and have to pay the damages themselves. It will also hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct.
#13
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
These men would have never been arrested without the political and social media pressure
#14
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 4 years ago
Please, please, please support your local bookstores and libraries instead of supporting large "mega-companies" like Amazon. You can even do a quick online search to see if there are any black-owned bookstores in your area that you can help support.Many of these black-owned bookstores have created entire "recommended" reading lists on their websites that include books on ending racism and a wide range of books of all different genres by authors of colour.
#16
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
Want to hear some irony. When John Brown launched his raid on Harpers Ferry to seize the federal arsenal to launch his slave rebellion, the two men dispatched to stop him were Robert E Lee and JEB Stuart. Brown was executed for his rebellion. Neither Lee or Stuart were executed for treason for their role in leading insurrectionist Confederate troops though. My guess is the difference is the cause. Brown fought and died to try to end slavery. Lee and Stuart fought to protect it
#17
Mama Panda 4 years ago
Nothing should be used on protestors. If they become violent, they are no longer protestors but instead they are rioters. There is a huge difference. One is protected by the constitution and the latter is not.
#20
Janine Hunt-Jackson 4 years ago
There should also be penalties for those cameras that just "happen" to malfunction or be turned off at pivotal moments!!
#24
#26
Samantha Lomb 4 years ago
Why was there a confederate memorial in a Northern State to begin with? I would assume its likely built in the 1920s when the Klan became popular again in the face of immigration and Blacks demanding rights post WWI but still.
#28
Jeff Requier 4 years ago
No one is using bayonets or grenade launchers. The military would love to be able to use bayonets agian. The reason your police depts are like para militaries is because of whack job right wing Christian extremists having military hardware
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What do you think ?
Truth Monster 4 years ago
BLM got most police officers to wear cameras (needed). That alone is changing the nature of policing and shining a light on policies/procedures that need to change. Inversely, It is also protecting police from false allegations, which is also good.
Truth Monster 4 years ago
Censuring art is a dangerous road. If the local populace thinks its horrendous/in bad taste/ want a gigantic statue of a Waffle Cat, then they should vote on it. Destroying historic art, even ones no longer in fashion, should be put in a museum or park for posterity. Not to glorify the Confederacy, but because they are priceless works of art and ingenuity. Make a national museum of Retired Statuary and have placards explaining why they were removed and when and by who.
Falcon 4 years ago
I think that's why most of the towns removed the statues on their own, so they wouldn't be destroyed and could be moved to a museum where they belong.
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Daria B 4 years ago
These are all good news. Hopefully the so called "American Dream" will no longer be just a dream. The America I perceived as a child (before becoming aware of the real world), was a beautiful place of variety and freedom and it looked so cool. Hopefully it really achieves this image, by becoming the real country of freedom, as it claims to be. Change takes time, though. Good luck, folks!
Truth Monster 4 years ago
BLM got most police officers to wear cameras (needed). That alone is changing the nature of policing and shining a light on policies/procedures that need to change. Inversely, It is also protecting police from false allegations, which is also good.
Truth Monster 4 years ago
Censuring art is a dangerous road. If the local populace thinks its horrendous/in bad taste/ want a gigantic statue of a Waffle Cat, then they should vote on it. Destroying historic art, even ones no longer in fashion, should be put in a museum or park for posterity. Not to glorify the Confederacy, but because they are priceless works of art and ingenuity. Make a national museum of Retired Statuary and have placards explaining why they were removed and when and by who.
Falcon 4 years ago
I think that's why most of the towns removed the statues on their own, so they wouldn't be destroyed and could be moved to a museum where they belong.
Load More Replies... Daria B 4 years ago
These are all good news. Hopefully the so called "American Dream" will no longer be just a dream. The America I perceived as a child (before becoming aware of the real world), was a beautiful place of variety and freedom and it looked so cool. Hopefully it really achieves this image, by becoming the real country of freedom, as it claims to be. Change takes time, though. Good luck, folks!
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