there is nothing wrong with peaceful protest. In fact I think it’s highly constructive, especially if we see more of what we saw yesterday were the great majority protests were peaceful. Otherwise I totally agree with your post.

As individuals, the question is what are we going to do about it. If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.

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I protect and nurture my family. I raise my children to be nice and to respect all others, to understand the definition of racism and to also respect authority. I teach them the importance of freedom, limited government and the rule of law. I strive to live up to those same values in my own life. I listen and think about alternative points of view and embrace thoughtful and meaningful discussion while rejecting attempts at manipulation for power.

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See? If all families did this, there would be no reason to have to protest!
You have the solution to the problem, and are acting on it!
I was brought up with the same things. If you respect the law and authority and other people, you won’t have the problems we are seeing today.
Respect goes both ways. If you don’t respect the police, how can you expect them to respect you?if you are looking for a fight, chances are you will find one.

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In a perfect world everyone is respectful of others, no one breaks the law, and race is not an issue. Unfortunately it's not a perfect world and the largest protest point is over profiling/harassment and the use of excessive force by police. Bad apples on both sides are just exasperating what should be peaceful protesters.

Protesting can turn a light on issues, but real change requires real solutions. I believe that the following could serve as a start to help redress some of the protesters issues.

1) More training for police with focus on less physical force and more calm behavior. Training would need to include better understanding of minorities and alternatives to physical force.

2) School programs that beginning in the 8th grade and every year through grade 12 that instruct on civics, respect for the law, and how to properly respond to police/authorities.

3) The gulf between wealthy and the working poor is greater than ever. A national priority to create more and better middle class jobs would go a long way toward easing many issues. Crime would go down, education would gain more importance, and the national economy would be healthier. Tariffs/restrictions on imported goods could see a revival in manufacturing and an expansion of support services. From Computers to refrigerators to phones, making it in America again would lead to spin offs as well as innovation of new unthought of products.

Solving the problems being protested will not be instant and for some race hatred is passed from generation to generation. Prejudice exist in all races, and for some only time will erase it.

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Smokey saidSmokey, good post.

We need to really take this point a step further and put economic policies in place to accomplish this...perhaps:[list]

Enterprise zones - tax advantages for the capital put into these neighborhoods (not loans)

Incietivize capital gains taxes to smaller businesses - Buying shares of IBM and holding them for a year doesn't build the economy

Tax Credits for job training [/list]But as I have pointed out in earlier posts, without strong property protection by police, business cannot afford to invest in these areas or these people. The rioters (and lack of police protection) have screwed the poor and their neighborhoods. Business will choose not locate there and will relocate out.

Black lives matter, but the "Black Lives Matter" organization/movement wants to defund police. Yet the NFL and countless organizations kiss their asses and kow-tow to them.
Lack of strong law enforcement leads to this...and it only the tip of the iceberg:

IT BEGINS: Rioters Burned Down Minneapolis Manufacturer. Now They’re Relocating, Taking Jobs With Them

By Ryan Saavedra Jun 8th, 2020 DailyWire.com it-begins-rioters-burned-down-minneapolis-manufacturer-now-theyre-relocating-taking-jobs-with-them

The owner of a manufacturing company in Minneapolis that was burned to the ground during last week’s violent riots has announced that he is relocating his company, taking dozens of jobs out of the city, due to the failure of the city’s Democrat leaders to protect businesses.

“They don’t care about my business,” Kris Wyrobek, president and owner of 7-Sigma Inc., told the Star Tribune. “They didn’t protect our people. We were all on our own.”

As he watched a nearby business burn to the ground, Wyrobek noted, “The fire engine was just sitting there, but they wouldn’t do anything.”

“The city’s first survey of property damage shows that nearly 1,000 commercial properties in Minneapolis were damaged during the riots, including 52 businesses that were completely destroyed and 30 other locations that sustained severe damage,” The Star Tribune reported. “Owners and insurance experts estimate the costs of the damage could exceed $500 million. That would make the Twin Cities riots the second-costliest civil disturbance in U.S. history, trailing only those in Los Angeles in 1992, which were also sparked by racial tensions with police and had $1.4 billion in damages in today’s dollars.”

Wyrobek told The Star Tribune that it was too late to change his mind about keeping his company in the city, adding that before the riots, he never in his “wildest nightmare” would have thought about relocating his business.

A video went viral this week that showed the aftermath of the violent riots in Minneapolis, with commentators saying that the city looked like it had been through a “war.”
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It’s like I said....who in the end will pay the price for the looting and destruction? The people that live in these neighborhoods. They will lose jobs and stores that they NEED to survive.
Of course those doing the damage don’t give a damn who they hurt.

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Thank you KRK.

Just bitching over cherry picked points that best fit a narrow view is not solution, but serves as more kindling for the fire. Yes bad things have/are taking place, however in the much larger world wide protest it is collateral damage (as terrible as it is). Those who can't see the heart of the reason for the protest only see the broken glass and occasional fires. Insurance will cover property damages and the ballot box will be part of the greater resolution to this systemic national/world problem.

Widening the gap between the too rich and the too poor does nothing but perpetuate the problem to greater levels. Economics, education, professional training, and respect for authorities will play a role in change. That said, dragging up decades of old past injustices at every chance just keeps dredging up negativity. Prejudice is not just confined to one race.

Few complain if Greeks, or Filipinos, or Chinese keep to their customs. Many often hold festivals with their traditional foods/music. They don't complain because others are not adopting their customs. Celebrations like St. Patrick's Day, or Columbus Day, or Cinco de Mayo are all inclusive, but none get mad if Irish or Italian or Mexican customs are not adopted. Both Blacks and Whites need to accept the others customs and stop getting upset because the other won't be like them.

Crime is a prime reason that so many distrust black men. The facts back up the now too familiar profile. IMO, minorities commit more crime because their economic situation. Elevate more to the middle class and the crime rate will fall.

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It sickens me that some want to keep making excuses for criminal behavior. “I’m poor, so I have the right to steal from someone that has more then me”.
My Mom was born in 1931. You want to talk about poor? 13 kids and my grandfather that drank away what little money he had. My Mom mostly got to eat nothing but bread with lard on it. If she was lucky, maybe a little sugar on it once in awhile. Yet she and her siblings never resorted to robbery.
Maybe her poor diet is why she died at age 59, and why my brother died at 43 from a bad heart valve, and I had to have open heart surgery at 51.

The real problem is how people bring up, I mean DRAG up their kids. If you don’t teach children wrong from right, what do you expect them to act like? If they are told they are “special” and DESERVE everything without having to earn it, you get career criminals.
But keep making excuses. Don’t expect people to be held accountable for their actions. That’s why we are where we are now. Make people that disobey the law into martyrs. Yeah....that will make things LOTS better.
Where is Robin Hood when we need him? Yup, rob from the rich....wait, don’t need Mr. Hood, the poor are already doing it themselves.
Mr. Floyd committed an armed robbery home invasion. I wonder how surprised the people he robbed are that he ended up this way?
Oh....and good old AL Sharpton showed up at the funeral today to help stir up some more hate, and make himself relevant for awhile.
I wonder if AL will show up at the funerals of those killed during the riots? I already know the answer.
He is the kind of person that doesn’t really want equality. That would ruin his “business”.
If there’s no hate, he’s out of a job.

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I’m not in any way against other people’s customs. As long as their customs don’t include committing crimes against others. If that’s considered a “custom”, I’m against it.
And again, I’m not against legal protesting. It’s the rioting and crime that seems to follow that I’m against.
Just over a week ago, about 8 miles from where I live, the police tried to pull over a car with 2 young men in it. They had a burned out tail light. Instead of obeying the cops, one of the men pulled out a gun and opened fire on the cops. They did what they had to and fired back, killing one of the men. Did any of you hear about it? I bet not. Why? I’m sure you figured it out already. The guy killed was WHITE.
Sharpton won’t show up, no all stations coverage of his funeral, no protests.
Again, do what the cops tell you to do and you won’t end up dead. I bet the cops here didn’t expect someone to be shooting at them when they pulled up to that car. Every time they pull someone over, that could happen. How many people here have jobs with that kind of hazard?

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Spinning the protest to focus only on the criminal looting/violence misses the point of the protest. Economic disparity between the rich and the poor has fostered ill will for centuries all over the world. Raising the financial level to re-expand the middle class would change many family disciplinary norms. Education, civil responsibility, and community pride will strengthen as economic pressures diminish.

Condemning a whole group of people for the actions of a few is what pea wits do. There have always been a small percentage of every group that take advantage of the group to do wrong. None have defended criminal behavior, but raising up poor to greater financial security does over time decrease bad behavior as family values rise.

Changing both police as well as community behavior can happen, however both will have to learn to act with more responsibility. Resisting police is just as wrong as it is for police to overreact to people responding to what they see as harassment. Additionally, the Al Sharptons and Jessie Jacksons take advantage of events to bolster their status as they keep the pot stirred up with their ever inflammatory oratories.

Economic reform, social reform, and reducing racial prejudice can't take place without leadership. Traditionally change takes leaders that work to effect the change. No change takes place with leaders that resist change.

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