Someone Compiled The Positive Changes That Are Happening Because Of The Protests
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
This post may include affiliate links.
Ferguson is majority black population, isn't it? It's weird they haven't had a black mayor up until now
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
These men would have never been arrested without the political and social media pressure
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.
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
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.
There should also be penalties for those cameras that just "happen" to malfunction or be turned off at pivotal moments!!
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.
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
Yeah, so on the off chance there's something like a school shooter, it's gonna take longer for help to arrive. My school had at least one cop on the school grounds and it was actually better, not worse. He was also unbiased af which was nice
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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.
John, what is wrong with you?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Bottomline: bad outcomes for blacks won't reduce until blacks stop committing disproportionately HUGE amounts of violent crime...which ensures their continued contacts with police....of which only a tiny fraction of those contacts results in injury or death. Inconvenient truth! Downvote away...
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.
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.
These people are not "Karens" complaining about statue aesthetics. Many of these statues were erected to glorify particular racists as a means of subjugating black Americans during the Jim Crow years, and advocated for by people who want to return to that existence.
History around these statues is always going to be interpreted differently by everyone. Some the statues are of traitors and racists, to others the statues bespoke heroism and a love of home (even without being racist). If it is the will of the local population, the people who have to look at it, then they should be removed. The placards next to them in the statues new home would explain as best it can why this was done. Place it in historical context, if it can. Much like the slave auction block being removed, they reflect ideals/attitudes that have not aged well. If it is the will of the people that they be retired, then let them be put in a musuem so we are not destroying historical artifacts.
Very good idea.
The statues should speak to the work of the artist, and nothing else. No placards at all. I do love a good 125% scale equestrian bronze, but I don't want to know who the shithead on the horse was.
If it doesn't matter who's on the horse, can we make some new statues with nobodies instead of glorifying terrible people?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
These things should be left where they stand. They are a reminder of the past, and as the old saying goes- if you forget your past your doomed to repeat it. It's also a good reminder that everyone believes their cause to be righteous, even when that cause is tyranny. Everyone needs to stop and ponder if their righteousness is merely tyranny in disguise.
Except the statues are being used, today, to glorify racism. My job is to protect heritage but I know no heritage is worth more than human dignity. Put them in a museum. Give them historical context. Don't let them become festering sores for the community.
Sic semper tyrannis, Mr. Duffy. Thus always to tyrants. It's the motto in the COmmonwealth of Virginia, where I have lived 20 years now. And tyrants get their statues taken down. Happened to Stalin. Did you mind that? Happened to Hitler. Did you mind that? HERITAGE in this case is forcing a false narrative, calling people heroes of the US when they FOUGHT AGAINST IT. So... by your logic, Mr. Duffy, we need statues of Taliban and Osama bin-Laden, lest we forget the past?... Really?...
@Tyler Duffy, not me. I have no skin in this game. It is the videos of white supremacists holding vigils at the statues that tells me some people are using them in this manner. Glorifying the days of slaves and masters.
You can remove all the statues you like, but it's not going to change the cause of past history. Just because you won't face it on a daily basis, as a reminder of what once was, does not mean to say it still happened, and that we are here today because of it. Put them in a museum.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Jon S ... you do realize that white Supremacist actually support the BLM movement and changing the name of Pennsylvania avenue to BLM. They know it will worsen race tensions are usher in a 2nd Civil war. So does that mean we now need to change the name again? Its hilarious and scary that white Supremacist and the intersectional left have so much in common. Both are racist pieces of shit pushing identitarian nonsense, both are actually white Supremacist groups but one side believes whites are supreme and should be, the other side believes whites are supreme and minorities can't succeed without without them.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Jon S , who says they glorify racism? Oh....you do. So because your Twisted perspective and ideology says so then its perfectly acceptable because you're righteous. So next week your symbols can be torn down by those who believe themselves to be righteous...got it.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Leo - it's fine by me keep statues of Stalin and Hitler and Bin laden if they were ever constructed. These people are representatives of failed ideology, and mass death and destruction. Considering the current push for of Socialism a reminder of the atrocities caused by this ideology is greatly needed. Hitler represents what happens when you prize race above the individual, that's much needed today. Bin laden represents the the effect of religious zealots on to the innocent and why it must be stopped. Oddly all 3 of these are representatives of the current ideological movement of the modern left.
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!
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.
John, what is wrong with you?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Bottomline: bad outcomes for blacks won't reduce until blacks stop committing disproportionately HUGE amounts of violent crime...which ensures their continued contacts with police....of which only a tiny fraction of those contacts results in injury or death. Inconvenient truth! Downvote away...
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.
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.
These people are not "Karens" complaining about statue aesthetics. Many of these statues were erected to glorify particular racists as a means of subjugating black Americans during the Jim Crow years, and advocated for by people who want to return to that existence.
History around these statues is always going to be interpreted differently by everyone. Some the statues are of traitors and racists, to others the statues bespoke heroism and a love of home (even without being racist). If it is the will of the local population, the people who have to look at it, then they should be removed. The placards next to them in the statues new home would explain as best it can why this was done. Place it in historical context, if it can. Much like the slave auction block being removed, they reflect ideals/attitudes that have not aged well. If it is the will of the people that they be retired, then let them be put in a musuem so we are not destroying historical artifacts.
Very good idea.
The statues should speak to the work of the artist, and nothing else. No placards at all. I do love a good 125% scale equestrian bronze, but I don't want to know who the shithead on the horse was.
If it doesn't matter who's on the horse, can we make some new statues with nobodies instead of glorifying terrible people?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
These things should be left where they stand. They are a reminder of the past, and as the old saying goes- if you forget your past your doomed to repeat it. It's also a good reminder that everyone believes their cause to be righteous, even when that cause is tyranny. Everyone needs to stop and ponder if their righteousness is merely tyranny in disguise.
Except the statues are being used, today, to glorify racism. My job is to protect heritage but I know no heritage is worth more than human dignity. Put them in a museum. Give them historical context. Don't let them become festering sores for the community.
Sic semper tyrannis, Mr. Duffy. Thus always to tyrants. It's the motto in the COmmonwealth of Virginia, where I have lived 20 years now. And tyrants get their statues taken down. Happened to Stalin. Did you mind that? Happened to Hitler. Did you mind that? HERITAGE in this case is forcing a false narrative, calling people heroes of the US when they FOUGHT AGAINST IT. So... by your logic, Mr. Duffy, we need statues of Taliban and Osama bin-Laden, lest we forget the past?... Really?...
@Tyler Duffy, not me. I have no skin in this game. It is the videos of white supremacists holding vigils at the statues that tells me some people are using them in this manner. Glorifying the days of slaves and masters.
You can remove all the statues you like, but it's not going to change the cause of past history. Just because you won't face it on a daily basis, as a reminder of what once was, does not mean to say it still happened, and that we are here today because of it. Put them in a museum.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Jon S ... you do realize that white Supremacist actually support the BLM movement and changing the name of Pennsylvania avenue to BLM. They know it will worsen race tensions are usher in a 2nd Civil war. So does that mean we now need to change the name again? Its hilarious and scary that white Supremacist and the intersectional left have so much in common. Both are racist pieces of shit pushing identitarian nonsense, both are actually white Supremacist groups but one side believes whites are supreme and should be, the other side believes whites are supreme and minorities can't succeed without without them.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Jon S , who says they glorify racism? Oh....you do. So because your Twisted perspective and ideology says so then its perfectly acceptable because you're righteous. So next week your symbols can be torn down by those who believe themselves to be righteous...got it.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
@Leo - it's fine by me keep statues of Stalin and Hitler and Bin laden if they were ever constructed. These people are representatives of failed ideology, and mass death and destruction. Considering the current push for of Socialism a reminder of the atrocities caused by this ideology is greatly needed. Hitler represents what happens when you prize race above the individual, that's much needed today. Bin laden represents the the effect of religious zealots on to the innocent and why it must be stopped. Oddly all 3 of these are representatives of the current ideological movement of the modern left.
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!