Black Lives Matter

Dead C said:
I appreciate everyone that's in here.

This forum looked dead today and I realized what people were ... kind of... doing.. I've been nothing but entrenched in this, so to me, it didn't make any sense to go cold on social media. All I post is ABOUT THIS, specifically. But, the fact that the forum is so dead also feeds into my concerns about the black out. People want to do the right thIing and don't want to be viewed as social justice scabs. Obviously, other people recognized this wasn't a day for the discussion to stop and decided to show up in this thread, instead.

As a brown man that feels solidarity in seeing everyone finally addressing these issues that fall on deaf ears so often, a lot of these black boxes feel more like silence than a statement.

I just keep having white people ask me what they can do. I don't know what to tell them. Communicate with people. Listen to people. Share information, be open to it and seek it out.

The sad reality is that most people aren't angry about what happened to George Floyd, simply because it happened. It happens every day. They are angry because they saw irrefutable evidence of it. They hate overt racism, but don't seem as troubled by systemic racism that hurts people every day. I've told them this was happening forever and it's usually all crickets. So, keep making sure that this info spreads. Today isn't the day to feel like your voice doesn't matter, because you might be white. Use your voice and platform to amplify the voices and information that need it. This isn't about optics. Racism didn't just resurface because every took off their safety pins.

Last month, I was imploring people to watch 13th. I think one friend did. Maybe, two. Overall, not many.

I jumped in a little late here, so if this has already been mentioned... I guess I'm mentioning it again.

You can watch it on NETFLIX, but here should be the entire film. I honestly believe that everybody should have to watch this film. Anyone serious about wanting to help and gain more information about racial struggles and the system that we live in that hasn't seen this, should watch it now.

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Please, please go watch this. This movie gets to some of the fundamental problems. We as Americans can never repay what we've stolen, but God damnit we can keep it from happening to another generation of human beings.

Please watch this.
 
Dead C said:
I appreciate everyone that's in here.

This forum looked dead today and I realized what people were ... kind of... doing.. I've been nothing but entrenched in this, so to me, it didn't make any sense to go cold on social media. All I post is ABOUT THIS, specifically. But, the fact that the forum is so dead also feeds into my concerns about the black out. People want to do the right thIing and don't want to be viewed as social justice scabs. Obviously, other people recognized this wasn't a day for the discussion to stop and decided to show up in this thread, instead.

As a brown man that feels solidarity in seeing everyone finally addressing these issues that fall on deaf ears so often, a lot of these black boxes feel more like silence than a statement.

I just keep having white people ask me what they can do. I don't know what to tell them. Communicate with people. Listen to people. Share information, be open to it and seek it out.

The sad reality is that most people aren't angry about what happened to George Floyd, simply because it happened. It happens every day. They are angry because they saw irrefutable evidence of it. They hate overt racism, but don't seem as troubled by systemic racism that hurts people every day. I've told them this was happening forever and it's usually all crickets. So, keep making sure that this info spreads. Today isn't the day to feel like your voice doesn't matter, because you might be white. Use your voice and platform to amplify the voices and information that need it. This isn't about optics. Racism didn't just resurface because every took off their safety pins.

Last month, I was imploring people to watch 13th. I think one friend did. Maybe, two. Overall, not many.

I jumped in a little late here, so if this has already been mentioned... I guess I'm mentioning it again.

You can watch it on NETFLIX, but here should be the entire film. I honestly believe that everybody should have to watch this film. Anyone serious about wanting to help and gain more information about racial struggles and the system that we live in that hasn't seen this, should watch it now.

Click to expand...

I'll add my recommendation for 13th too. It connected so many dots for me.
 
Teeeee said:
I've got @Indymisanthrope , @sjaygray , @GritNGlitter and maybe @Dtknuckles so far. No pressure.

I love it.

We can do the work separately, hold each other accountable to stay on the appropriate day and discuss stuff in DMs. It can get intense so working it out privately might be more conducive. We can engage with each other as much or as little as we want. I do know that when I did this with a friend, we checked in once a week. And if we were feeling a mental block on a particular day, we'd reach out to each other.

Me And White Supremacy

www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com
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Bring on the DMs. I’m in!
 
Yes, if people still haven’t watched 13th, they absolutely need to. It definitely helps put so much in perspective. It’s hard to get a complete grasp on everything going on within this rigged system, but this doc definitely gives you a lot to think about and understand.

along a similar line, I’d recommend 3 1/2 minutes, 10 Bullets. It focuses on the murder of Jordan Davis, who was a teenager who was shot to death outside of a convenience store for playing music loud. Although it doesn’t give you a big overview of all the problems POC face, by focusing on just one case, it allows you to get further along in understanding POC perspectives and how doing the most inoffensively simple thing can get you killed. Also it was another tragic story that seemed to get a bit forgotten, but we need to remember all the stories like this. Although this one is not about policing, it shows how much we still have to do in general society. Hopefully what I wrote makes sense.
 
RE: "Me and White Supremacy"

Most of the outlets I've come across are saying this title is back-ordered, and either way I'm fine if this retailer is the same (website doesn't state otherwise), but I was able to place an order through Mahogany Books in DC this morning without seeing any inclination that there'd be a delay acquiring it (outside of any COVID-related reasons).

Also, put me down for this group-accountability-book-club-in-our-DM's.
 
Colonel_Angus said:
RE: "Me and White Supremacy"

Most of the outlets I've come across are saying this title is back-ordered, and either way I'm fine if this retailer is the same (website doesn't state otherwise), but I was able to place an order through Mahogany Books in DC this morning without seeing any inclination that there'd be a delay acquiring it (outside of any COVID-related reasons).

Also, put me down for this group-accountability-book-club-in-our-DM's.
Click to expand...
The great thing about ebooks is that they don't go out of stock - that's what I bought.
 
Just gonna throw an idea out there, totally fine if people aren't into it...now that there are a baker's dozen-ish folks participating in this 30-day exercise, would it be worthwhile to divide up into smaller groups of 3-4? Only asking because 1) it sounds like something that rewards active participation, and voices can be lost in bigger groups, and 2) it also sounds like something that, if you're doing it with people for accountability/discussion purposes, depends on everyone having a certain level of intimacy/confidence that they're in a 'safe space' with their fellow readers.

Not even remotely suggesting any of you guys wouldn't treat this with compassion, just saying that doing the hard work of reflection can be daunting if you're baring your soul to >12 other people instead of only 2 or 3 on a mutual basis. Just wanted to raise the possibility in case that was an issue for anyone.
 
Being active on other platforms, didn't want to redo the debate here with others doing so already, so well. Across their posts @Dead C gets to the heart of it and, alongside others, I'll further the recommendation to watch 13th if you haven't. In book terms I would like to suggest "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi for those looking.

Fundamentally though I want to reiterate my support for Black Lives Matter in light of the separate thread. I would urge people that haven't and are able to, to look at the options for donating (even without money). Options for doing so, and donating directly to victims, protestors, black owned businesses or organizations helping the black community can be found below:
blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

Ways To Help

Ways To Help
blacklivesmatters.carrd.co
 
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Teeeee said:
Audible or Kindle version!

I see you got the audible, that's awesome!
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I did the audible because i can stream to my receiver and car. My car doesnt have a CD player so i wanted the flexibility if i wasn't going to get the physical book. Didn't go with kindle because i don't have a tablet and wouldn't want to read on my phone.

Long explanation, but I'm ready!
 
Indymisanthrope said:
Just gonna throw an idea out there, totally fine if people aren't into it...now that there are a baker's dozen-ish folks participating in this 30-day exercise, would it be worthwhile to divide up into smaller groups of 3-4? Only asking because 1) it sounds like something that rewards active participation, and voices can be lost in bigger groups, and 2) it also sounds like something that, if you're doing it with people for accountability/discussion purposes, depends on everyone having a certain level of intimacy/confidence that they're in a 'safe space' with their fellow readers.

Not even remotely suggesting any of you guys wouldn't treat this with compassion, just saying that doing the hard work of reflection can be daunting if you're baring your soul to >12 other people instead of only 2 or 3 on a mutual basis. Just wanted to raise the possibility in case that was an issue for anyone.
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I'm on board with this.
 
Indymisanthrope said:
Just gonna throw an idea out there, totally fine if people aren't into it...now that there are a baker's dozen-ish folks participating in this 30-day exercise, would it be worthwhile to divide up into smaller groups of 3-4? Only asking because 1) it sounds like something that rewards active participation, and voices can be lost in bigger groups, and 2) it also sounds like something that, if you're doing it with people for accountability/discussion purposes, depends on everyone having a certain level of intimacy/confidence that they're in a 'safe space' with their fellow readers.

Not even remotely suggesting any of you guys wouldn't treat this with compassion, just saying that doing the hard work of reflection can be daunting if you're baring your soul to >12 other people instead of only 2 or 3 on a mutual basis. Just wanted to raise the possibility in case that was an issue for anyone.
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I was actually going to suggest this.

The work is HARD. You will have emotional responses. You will feel low at times. You will feel raw. I want everyone to feel comfortable with who they embark on this work with. Smaller groups will facilitate that.

This work is not about me or my feelings or my ego. You will not hurt my feelings one bit if you want to break off, if you want to have nothing to do with me but want to do this exercise, etc. Grab buddies and break off into groups. Start today if you want.

There may also be people that are not wanting to participate because of me. I get that, I'm a pain in the ass, loud mouth, opinionated person at times. I'm not everyone's cup of tea. But please don't let that preclude anyone from engaging. Reach out to someone else that has said they are interested. Start a small group with them. I would respect the hell outta that.

There are also people that may want to participate but are shy. My DMs are open. I'm sure anyone on here would also welcome your engagement in their DMs.

I don't want the conversation in here to be about me at all. So, please, if responding, make sure we're talking about the work.
 
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Teeeee said:
I was actually going to suggest this.

The work is HARD. You will have emotional responses. You will feel low at times. You will feel raw. I want everyone to feel comfortable with who they embark on this work with. Smaller groups will facilitate that.

This work is not about me or my feelings or my ego. You will not hurt my feelings one bit if you want to break off, if you want to have nothing to do with me but want to do this exercise, etc. Grab buddies and break off into groups. Start today if you want.

There may also be people that are not wanting to participate because of me. I get that, I'm a pain in the ass, loud mouth, opiniated person at times. I'm not everyone's cup of tea. But please don't let that preclude anyone from engaging. Reach out to someone else that has said they are interested. Start a small group with them. I would respect the hell outta that.

There are also people that may want to participate but are shy. My DMs are open. I'm sure anyone on here would also welcome your engagement in their DMs.

I don't want the conversation in here to be about me at all. So, please, if responding, make sure we're talking about the work.
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I’ll volunteer as a group leader if you want to set it up that way.
 
Thanks everyone for participating in this thread as it gave me a lot to read and the suggestions for further reading y'all posted here. Im going to dedicate some time today to at least watch the 13th doc that many have posted. I've just been having a hard time putting my feelings into words about all this, and just need to keep learning. A lot of selfish thoughts of just running away from it all that I feel terrible about.
Here's some photos of the Milwaukee march from yesterday that started near where I live and walked to city hall downtown. It went right in front of my apartment so my gf and I set up shop with cases of water and snacks for the protesters as they walked by as it was 90 degrees out. Chanted along with them, and really gained some of the spirit and anger of it all by participating in some way.
IMG_20200602_133930.jpgIMG_20200602_133742.jpgIMG_20200602_133329.jpg
 
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