(CNN)Crowds descended on California beaches, hiking trails and parks over the weekend in open defiance of a state order to shelter in place and avoid close contact with others.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a shelter in place order directing the state's nearly 40 million residents to stay home beginning March 20 to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
People are seen on the beach on March 21, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California.
Instead,
many public spaces were packed, prompting officials in some cities to
order parks, recreation areas and beaches to close.
Photo above: California
(CNN)They
marched by the thousands in Houston. They called for a better America
in Los Angeles. They sat in the streets in Chicago and in silence in St.
Paul.
29 comments:
A friend reports his ex in San Diego was visited by a police officer for doing yard work minus a mask....as I replied to him...
Ah, good eyes, that cop, spotting a No-Mask-Monster-Death-Dealing-Super-SpreaderTM with likely only a little help from a nearby collaborator weasle with a cell phone reporting to the SAFE Party...the cop was only available because the mayor pulled him off his beat to allow poor disenfranchised people of color another shopping spree day.
The relentless drumbeat of modern media is to blame, and the politicizing of every aspect of daily life....everyone MUST conform so we can get on with the REAL business of Man in building heaven on earth. From Ivory Towered Ivy League to PS11347 District 5, heaven awaits, if we only...
And anyone who sez different deserves to die.....destroy......
If we want a sane world, step 1 is to turn off the feedback loop echo chamber of the internet, stoking the continuous outrage....
Spending any time at all with modern media is akin to taking a nice refreshing dip in raw sewage, bored masses addicted to their swims, their empty lives show badly minus the meaning they suck up from the bottom of the latest juicy outrage, a world addicted to shocking rage....where not even tangible goods are real, everything modeled on a screen, money, gold, jobs, houses, how virus could/maybe/might spread from flatulence and shrieking mobs destroying the canned veggie aisles to keep us safe in our heaven on earth, the corn acceptable collateral damage if the beans destroyed and only one life saved, so that that life able to have an abortion on demand so that the right to rage unemcumbered be preserved......
It will take 2 weeks incubation period before the US has its next spike of COVID-19 infections.
God save America
This will be interesting to see if the COVID spikes after all of this. I think it will, but less than expected for the reasons I have discussed with Anon2 in other posts. I hope I am right for reasons other than personal satisfaction.
Bob - ...everyone MUST conform so we can get on with the REAL business of Man in building heaven on earth.
Yes we are indeed called as Christian’s to build heaven on earth... and that means a world free from racism.
The world is indeed watching America!
Last night iconic buildings in London were lit up with purple lights in sympathy and support with George Flyod.
As well as Boris Johnson’s supportive comments this afternoon, our police chiefs have also taken the highly unusual step of issuing public statements denouncing the violent murder of George:
Cressida Dick, the Met Commissioner, joined a denunciation of the police assault on Floyd, and the violence that followed. She echoed a statement from Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Mike Cunningham, chief executive of the College of Policing, and Paul Griffiths, president of the Police Superintendents’ Association. It says: “We stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified by the way George Floyd lost his life. Justice and accountability should follow. “We are also appalled to see the violence and damage that has happened in so many US cities since then. Our hearts go out to all those affected by these terrible events and hope that peace and order will soon be restored.” The statement added: “Policing is complex and challenging and sometimes we fall short. When we do, we are not afraid to shine a light on injustices or to be held to account.”
UK Priest, I keep reading your posts. Maybe I am missing something, but what happened to George Flyod was murder and the perpetrator is charged with second degree murder and four other officers are being charged as well. It is up to the courts and a jury to decide what happens if and when he is found guilty.
And of course, Americans have a right to peaceful protest and evidently those most concerned about COVID-19 spreading in churches and beaches and restaurants are not concerned in the least about thousands gathered arm in arm to exercise their free speech and protest.
However, burning and looting are not allowed and those who do it, like the law enforcement in George Flyod's death should be arrested and prosecuted. There is no excuse for criminal behavior masquerading behind righteous indignation and perceived injustice. Certainly you believe that mob revenge is against Catholic teaching or are you Catholic? You could be Church of England of FRMJK? Who knows. Who cares?
"Who cares?"
You apparently do...
At the protest I attended most of the folks gathered were wearing masks, including ALL of the other clergy I was with.
This is in stark contrast to the clergy gathered in the Savannah cathedral chapel before last Saturday's ordinations which saw 95% unmasked.
Thank you frmjk, for revealing yourself. And to think, you were at the cathedral, lower and upper church, intincted your host in a chalice where other's COVID-19 fingers touched and you have the audacity to go downtown with 1000's of protesters, many not masked and not six feet apart and many, many more with undiagnosed COVID-19 virus, maybe dormant but just a virulent. You should have shut yourself up in your room for two weeks rather than spread the virus you got at the Cathedral and from intinction to the rest of Savannah. If there is a spike in Savannah of the COVID-19 virus, it will be that very peaceful protest and your part in it by bringing your virus to that protest to spread without sheltering in place first.
Hey UK Priest,
This may burst your bubble. Minneapolis where this man was murdered by the police officer has the reputation for being a very liberal city and has been controlled by the Democratic Party for over 50 years. The Governor of Minnesota is a Democrat and so is the Mayor of this Democrat Paradise. They are both rabid liberals. The police officer is a member of a Public Employee Union, which is in thrall to the Democratic Party. No Republican fingerprints on any of this. As a matter of fact I think all of the cities with the rioting and looting are Democratic Party controlled cities. Have a nice day!
"And to think, you were at the cathedral, lower and upper church, intincted your host in a chalice...
Nope, your poor powers of perception and your willingness to make up falsehoods are revealed once again. I wasn't there for communion. I left as soon as the vesting of the deacons began. Care to reconsider your "Infection By Intinction" baloney?
Every moment I was in the cathedral, chapel or upper church, I was 6 feet from anyone. Same was true at the rally the next day.
TJM - You wouldn’t know a rabid liberal if one bit you on the bum (or fanny, as I believe you say in the US).
I imagine anyone left of Attila the Hun is a Marxist in your mind... but still doesn’t make it true (and neither is it relevant for that matter).
George Flyod was murdered by police brutality... PERIOD.
Hi Fr McD,
No where in my comments have I condoned rioting and looting so I don’t know what gave you that impression. 99% of the protestors are peaceful but there will continue to be civil unrest until the underlying causes to their greviances are addressed satisfactorily. Your dysfunctional President has done very little to acknowledge and address these just greviances except to threaten the use of massive military force.
The world is watching America...
Yes the police officers in question have a right to a fair trial but it’s very difficult to claim they are not guilty when their actions were clearly caught in video footage for the world to see. We are watching because there is a long history of police being let off after being charged with police brutality, despite there being documentary evidence otherwise. Just look at the initial medical examiner’s report in this case where there was an attempt to cover up and excuse the real cause of death.
Yes, as stated previously, I am a RC priest in good standing within a diocese within the south east of England (and the trim on my cassock is purple). Not that I see how that matters.
BTW - in consistently giving voice to racist comments by racist commentators such as TJM on your blog, without directly challenging them, you make yourself complicit in their racism. Shame on you for allowing your blog to be used as a tool of these undesirables!
UK Priest
Things are not always what they seem or are portrayed
Please read the below for a different perspective(I try to get differing views)
https://anncoulter.com/2020/06/03/on-the-other-hand-theres-rodney-king/
What has the admittedly brutal treatment of George Floyd resulted in?
It has spawned all manner of acts of hatred, mayhem, and destruction.
Think about the end results of these things carried on to a final conclusion.
The French Revolution, the Bolshevik revolution, the Spanish Civil war, the Mexican revolution, and Naziism are a few that come to my mind. And what institution and her members suffered the most under these political disruptions if not the Catholic Church?
And who benefits the most from these things, if not the enemies of the Church?
Something to think about. And I wouldn't start labeling someone racist unless I know for sure they fit the definition. More charity and prayer are needed.
"What has the admittedly brutal treatment of George Floyd resulted in?
It has spawned all manner of acts of hatred, mayhem, and destruction."
You forgot to mention his death.
Anon 11:41 - The responsibility for the social unrest that has resulted from the death of George Flyod and others rests upon the murdering police officers and the racist systems that enable their actions.You do not blame the victim for the sins and crimes of the perpetrator.
Revolutions always adversely impact upon those communities that rise up in revolt, that is sadly truth. But when the political system prevents any other means to affect change then those who are being repressed are left with no other choice but the use of force. When the Church sides with the powerful rather than the oppressed then (such as during the French Revolution etc) then the church will sadly suffer consequences too. Wanting to protect the church is no excuse for upholding the status quo when it is manifestly unjust and intrinsically evil.
Sadly from reading the many and multiple comments by TJM, I am very sure that TJM - and on a supposedly catholic blog he needs to be called out for what he is. Freedom of speech is NOT absolute, contrary to populist American views. You do not have the right to state falsehoods as fact, to incite hatred or spread misinformation and deliberately distort the truth. On an associated thread, Fr McD fails in his pastoral duty in giving equal voice to these disgusting viewpoints and letting them go without challenge or rebuke.
As HRH Megan said today, the only wrong thing to do is to say nothing!
McD has posted notification for a day of atonement for the sins of racism - but atonement is the act of making amends for wrongs or injury. Isn’t the offering of a few plus prayers just virtue signalling, unless it is accompanied by concrete practical action? Do these prayers make black peoples and minorities feel better - I doubt it! So maybe the motivation is just to make white peoples and those complicit in racism feel better. What has Fr McD or his parish done to right the wrongs of racism, or challenge this scourge? The least he could do is speak up against some of the appalling comments making excuses for, and minimising these disgraceful individuals. I ask again, what has Fr McD and his parish actually done to address racism?
FrMJK, please use your own name and not UK Priest for that is a lie and you need to be called out for lying. And you need to stop judging my parishioners whom you do not know.
Fr. ALLAN McDonald,
I am not UK Priest.
(Remember, I have the pictures.)
I would note that UK Priest has not judged any of your parishioners. He asked a question that all of us need to be asking of ourselves: "What have we done to right the injustices of racism?"
His point about "making amends" is well taken. I have always been very taken by this quote which ends with the idea I think he is offering:
“Jesus says in his society there is a new way for people to live:
you show wisdom, by trusting people;
you handle leadership, by serving;
you handle offenders, by forgiving;
you handle money, by sharing;
you handle enemies, by loving;
and you handle violence, by suffering
In fact you have a new attitude toward everything, toward everybody. … Because this is a Jesus society and you repent, not by feeling bad, but by thinking and acting different.”
We repent, not by feeling bad, but by thinking and acting different.
I meant to include the source for the quote:
"The Blue Mountains of China" by Rudy Wiebe
(The Blue Mountains of China is an historical novel that tells the story of a set of Mennonite immigrations from the Ukraine SSR to Siberia, Canada, Paraguay, and briefly, China.)
Fr K is quite right, I accused your parishioners of nothing - but I did indeed challenge what you are doing to address racism because without practical action, your prayers are nothing meaningless to those being oppressed.
I feel it very telling that you are so outraged by being challenged in this way and your instinctual response is to silence a sole dissenting voice on this issue, why is that I wonder? It’s interesting that you make such a fuss about having being told you were no longer welcome on the praytell blog which you describe as intolerant of alternative viewpoints. However the real reason was because you lacked personal integrity - presenting one viewpoint on their blog and a very different side of yourself on here, as well as ridiculing alternative views to your own. Oh and by the way, don’t think that praytell readers don’t know when you still occasionally comment on there anonymously or under a pseudonym.
I am however, here and now, challenging you directly about your attitude to racism. If you are against the evil of racism as you publicly hold, why do you allow obviously racist commentators and sympathisers to comment freely and without challenge on your blog? Why is it that you have never condemned or challenged the racist comments and policies of President Trump which are a matter of public record? Pray tell please!
Also I note you still having responded to my question, what have you and your parish done to make atonement for the systematic racism endured by the African-American community? Or is it that you believe that American racism ended with the abolition of segregation?
Anonymous @12:49 PM said...
"What has the admittedly brutal treatment of George Floyd resulted in?
It has spawned all manner of acts of hatred, mayhem, and destruction."
You forgot to mention his death.
What I forgot to mention was the death at last count (that I know about)of five innocent African-Americans because of the riots. And the looting and destruction of numerous minority-owned businesses. And the vandalism in Boston of a monument dedicated to black soldiers who fought in the Civil war.
The below quote sounds like the ones coming out of the mouths of the anarchists>
"Revolutions always adversely impact upon those communities that rise up in revolt, that is sadly truth. But when the political system prevents any other means to affect change then those who are being repressed are left with no other choice but the use of force."
Anonymous @12:49 PM said...
"What has the admittedly brutal treatment of George Floyd resulted in?
It has spawned all manner of acts of hatred, mayhem, and destruction."
You forgot to mention his death.
What I forgot to mention was the death at last count (that I know about)of five innocent African-Americans because of the riots. And the looting and destruction of numerous minority-owned businesses. And the vandalism in Boston of a monument dedicated to black soldiers who fought in the Civil war.
The United States has over the last 50 years has done a lot of good things for the minority population of African descent compared to say, a country such as Brazil.
Obviously, we are not perfect by any means but I know of no other country where the minority population has the opportunity and advantages it has here.
Take Brazil, for example.
The plight of persons of African descent in Brazil(a Catholic country)
After the decimation of the local indigenous population in the seventeenth century, an estimated 3.65 million enslaved Africans were imported to Brazil, and the majority of these were brought to Brazil's first capital, Salvador da Bahia.
Brazil did not abolish slavery until 1888. Initially, the Portuguese authorities promoted miscegenation as a way of ensuring a Portuguese presence in under-populated regions. But, fearing the rising black population Brazil, subsequently opened its country to white immigrants, who were given preference over black people in jobs, housing, and education.
Governance
The Brazilian policy of 'whitening' has denied the existence of ethnic minorities. Those unable to express themselves in the national language have been banned from voting.
the majority of people of African descent in Brazil live in urban areas, often in favelas, where there are no land titles or formal ownership of property.
(a favela is basically a slum)
Brazil is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world, with the top 10 percent of its population earning 50 percent of the national income and about 8.5 percent of all people living below the poverty line. As a result, residents of favelas are often discriminated against for living in these communities and often experience inequality and exploitation. This stigma that is associated with people living in favelas can lead to difficulty finding jobs.
in Rio de Janeiro, the vast majority of the homeless population is black.
Racial quotas
President of the High Court of Justice Paulo Costa Leite expressed concern that quotas represented an artificial way to allow black people to ascend in society, and that this may aggravate prejudice, although the federal court has declared the quotas constitutional. In 2006 a group of prominent opinion makers, including several leading Brazilian academics and artist Caetano Veloso, wrote a controversial letter to the Brazilian press condemning quotas. The fierce response to this letter referred to as the 'Manifesto Branco' by Afro-Brazilian activists and allies demonstrates how discussions about reparations and affirmative action programs for Afro-descendants continue to engender fierce debates across the region.
Just he (sic) Facts - so yet again someone distracts from the topic of American racism by diverting to an unrelated topic, in this case Brazil.
...and what is the trust of your argument, that the USA isn’t as bad Brazil - so what?
UK Priest and Big Nose,
Is it racist of me to state the following?
Looking at the big picture of approximately 200 nations with 7 plus billion people who live on planet Earth, do racial minorities (and women and LGBT people) in functioning western democracies have it that bad compared to the following:
Those millions who experience misogyny, homophobia and religious and racial persecution in many 3rd World and Muslim nations.
The 100,000 Christians who are killed annually because of their religious faith.
The approximately 200 million Christians who are denied human rights solely because of their faith.
Also, how tough is life for racial, religious and sexual minorities in functioning western democracies compared to:
The approx 50% of the world's population who live on less than $3 a day. Even the 80% of the world's population who live on less than $10 a day.
The approx 830 million people worldwide who don't have enough to eat; ie the 830 million who are starving or malnourished.
The 25% of people who live without electricity.
The more than 750 million who lack access to clean drinking water.
In the big worldwide picture, do most members of racial minorities (and women and LGBT people) in western democracies have it that BAD?
I am an Australian but my wife and her extended family are Christians from Pakistan which helps my perspective.
Also, Australia's aboriginals have been often presented as being treated worse than blacks in the USA or blacks in the old South Africa. The reality is very many Australian aboriginals have flourished socially, culturally and economically in recent times.
Yes, let's talk about everything other than racism in the U.S.A.
Maybe we can discuss problems in Brazil, homophobia, 830 million undernourished, access to drinking water, Australia, and/or Pakistan.
Nothing racist about that at all.
Just . . . what does it have to do with racism in the U.S.A.?
OK, let's talk about racism in the USA and who has suffered from racism there and forget different people in all nations and eras who have experienced racism. (My English and Jewish ancestors if I go back far enough were probably slaves of the Egyptians and or the Romans)
At different times over 200 years Jews, Irish, Italians and Hispanics have experienced racism in the USA as well. But I believe blacks historically most times had and have it worse....BTW,
Before I got clean and sober in AA and NA in the 1990s I spent time in 3 maximum security prisons. I was twice lucky to physically survive the actions of several black and Hispanic inmates who were racist in thought and deeds
towards white inmates.
Yes, many black people in the USA have suffered to varying degrees because of racism. Who would dispute that?
But does anger, bitterness and resentment combined with defining oneself to a too large extent as a poor, oppressed victim of racial injustice really help an individual to move on and flourish to the extent possible according to his abilities and circumstances, which can't be all bad.
How many black men in the USA have flourished or done quite OK socially and economically and would mostly identity or define themselves with whatever work they do, whatever trades and professions they have undertaken, and define themselves in their roles as husbands and parents etc or even define themselves to an extent by, for example, whatever religion, music, sports and hobbies etc they are passionate about and so on? Before defining themselves as downtrodden victims of racist oppression?
Does that make any sense?
Ok, then. Tell us specifically what makes the United States a racist country. What institutions are racist and in what way are they racist?
Untold trillions in tax monies have been spent to combat poverty especially among African- Americans. There are set-asides, quotas, affirmative action, and numerous other programs put in place to help black Americans. Indeed, they have helped many but there are those who have fallen through the cracks which is also the case with other racial groups.
By the way, what happened in Minneapolis was an instance of police brutality, plain and simple. No evidence has come forward that I know of to show that the officer was racist. One could then posit that maybe the incidence of police brutality is greater against African-Americans. Well, if that is the case, then present the data. if you would access the FBI crime statistics you would see that statistically, the incidence of black on white crime is greater than white on black. Is that evidence of racism? I don't believe the United States is a racist country. Do racists reside here? Sure. But they are in the minority. By the way, Minneapolis has to be one of the least racist cities in the United States. and it is certainly one of the most liberal. It is predominately white by race yet it is represented in the U. S. Congress by a black Muslim woman, Ilhan Omar (the 5th district she represents includes ALL of the city plus parts of adjacent counties). She succeeded Keith Ellison, a black man, and first Muslim in Congress. So, its population does not evidence much racism nor Islamaphobia either.
Too many today throw the term racism around as if it is a foregone conclusion confirming a perceived reality.
The term racism is bandied about so liberally today that in the same vein someone could accuse "Big Nose" of being anti-semitic for using that moniker.
I truly believe that in a list of countries, the U.S. would rank as one of the least racist in the world.
"But does anger, bitterness and resentment combined with defining oneself to a too large extent as a poor, oppressed victim of racial injustice really help an individual to move on and flourish to the extent possible according to his abilities and circumstances, which can't be all bad."
Move on and flourish...
A black person's ancestors came here as slaves. They did not define themselves as being poor, oppressed victims of racial injustice. White people did. You cannot move on and flourish as a slave.
Slavery was abolished with the passage of the 13th amendment. Immediately, there was a backlash against these free people, Reconstruction was opposed in every state of the former Confederacy, and with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes, Reconstruction came to an end. Federal troops were withdrawn from the South and oppression returned in full force. You cannot move on and flourish under such circumstances imposed on you by white people.
Next came Jim Crow. "Jim Crow laws and Jim Crow state constitutional provisions mandated the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. The U.S. military was already segregated. President Woodrow Wilson, a Southern Democrat, initiated the segregation of federal workplaces in 1913." White people created Jim Crow laws. You cannot move on and flourish under Jim Crow.
It was in 1964 and 1965 that the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were signed into law. White school boards continued to underfund vastly black schools, Red Lining kept blacks, even after 1965, from obtaining loans for homes of businesses, thriving black business and professional communities in many southern cities, and not a few northern ones, were destroyed - by whites. You cannot move forward and flourish under segregation.
Black people today live with a history of being downtrodden and being victimized because of their race. It is not something they choose for themselves or impose on themselves. 76% of millionaires in the USA are white, 8% Asian, 8% black, 7% Hispanic.
Now, it should make sense.
"You cannot move forward and flourish"
Booker T Washington, George Washington Carver, Charles Drew, ColinPowell, Ralph Bunche, Clarence Thomas, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Toni Morrison, Ben Carson, etc.
Between 1995 and 2009, freshmen college enrollment for African Americans increased by 73 percent and only 15 percent for whites.
In 1988, 11% of blacks had obtained a bachelor's degree. By 2015, 23% of blacks had obtained one.
"76% of millionaires in the USA are white, 8% Asian, 8% black, 7% Hispanic."
Most of the billionaires in the world are in China, The U.S., Europe, and Russia.
Does that prove anything?
BTW, Asians, given their small share of the population, are doing better than any other group
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