I don’t dive into politics too often on NG nowadays and I know a lot of people appreciate that NG is a haven from the total shitshow that happens elsewhere on social media. A lot has been happening in America this past week but really it’s been happening for generations and this week is an opportunity to pause and think about where we’re at in this current moment.
I don’t have all the answers but I want to stand in solidarity with those seeking change. Black lives matter - try saying it! Maybe you’re afraid someone will think you’re virtue signaling, or that you’ll be made fun of because of course RACISM = BAD and you don’t want to look like an NPC. Stop worrying about those people for a minute. Life is interesting because sometimes you get tired of people for being too self-righteous but the opposite can also happen, where you get tired of people trying to silence voices that need to be heard. We should all be listening more and antagonizing each other less right now.
Here are some things I read this week:
How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change - A Medium post by Obama, I think he can address a lot of this better than I can.
How the Philadelphia Police Chilled Out About Protesters - This is an article from 2016 that I found while thinking back about the 2000 RNC protests in Philly. I attended the protest with Shok to film a segment for Troma’s Edge TV. I don’t think we ever ended up using the footage but it was an eye opening experience, being my first time in a protest crowd. Despite some fires and vandalism by the Black Bloc types (white kids btw), the crowd was largely well-intentioned people who wanted to make the world a better place. The only real danger I found myself in was almost getting trampled by a police officer on a horse. The things I witnessed inspired my Police Bike game.
Reading this article made me curious about the lessons learned in 2000 and how many of those lessons survived to 2020. Which leads me to this article:
In Camden, police and protesters take a different path after George Floyd’s killing - Camden is right across the river from Philly. Camden was America’s Most Dangerous City five years ago. Since then, they’ve had a complete overhaul of the police department, demilitarizing and shifting to a community policing model that rebuilt trust between the community and their officers. The police marched with the protesters in Camden, rather than forming barricades and antagonizing the crowd.
Is it Time to Defund the Police? - Article about the movement to change how money is allocated towards public safety. There’s a bunch of articles on this topic this week.
Police don’t have an easy job; you can get shot or stabbed in an instant. If a person is trying to kick your door down, you want to be able to call someone. You can care about the police and still want to see change. I think about the phrase “a more perfect Union” in the Constitution; you can love something but want to make it better. Progress comes in waves, too, because people learn, then die and the people replacing them need to learn as well. 100% of the important lessons don’t get passed along to 100% of the people and the growing spread of misinformation on-line is REALLY complicating things because everyone has their own set of facts nowadays.
Do you have any articles from this week that you’d like to share here? Curious to see what the rest of you have been reading.
