Offering the other cheek would probably be better.

[gulliver]

We'd have a bad cop in jail, maybe four, a nation largely unified on the side of police reform, and Trump would still be on his way to a trouncing in November. Now, I don't know.

I would never claim to be a Bible expert, but my interpretation of "turn the other cheek" is not that it is only the "good" thing to do but that it is the correct thing to do. In turn, its correctness usually makes it the good (no quotes) thing to do. The idea is similar to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It's about dealing well with the fundamental flaws that exist in people, that exist in everything.

I think we need to get ahold of ourselves, stick to provable truth, direct our anger in ways that are constructive. If we're not cool, we're going to play the role of the bull in the bullfight.

[Croney]

1. But... the bull is the good guy.

[Salviati]

7. But also the one that usually ends up dead.

[Newest Reality]

2. Context...

For us, the question of turning the other cheek and do unto others seems to be a matter of figuring out when and how if we are not living a life based on ideas of that nature, or Buddhist non-violence and compassion, for instance.

I think it applies in what Nietzsche said and that may be sound and practical for us in an emotional and psychological sense. It may be about the problem of putting so much strong, negative emotion into something that we get "charged" with it and become what we hated the most. That does not have to be a spiritual approach, but I think that may be what teachings along those lines were trying to grapple with and transform in service of a healthy state of mind that facilitates better behaviors and thus, maybe more harmonious and constructive outcomes.

Oh, and I enjoy gazing into the abyss and yeah, it does gaze back

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Friedrich Nietzsche

[BamaRefugee]

3. Cheeks have been offered up for 400 years in America. But authorities keep ramming billy clubs

Into the little round pink thing between the cheeks. For 400 years.

Hope that helps.

[HipChick]

4. Exactly..

People do not get this..thank you for posting

[BamaRefugee]

5. Aww thank you! I was born in Alabama in 1951, grew up there and Florida, South Carolina and Georgia,

I’ve seen this sh*t going down EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE for 68 years.

You can’t fix stupid.
And if you can’t fix stupid, you can’t fix America.

[gulliver]

9. Now is not like it was 400 years ago.

It's not like it was 200 or 100 years ago.

Police brutality is terrible, but it's part of a complex system of forces. Bang on it like an old TV and you're probably just going to break something.

[Marrah_Goodman]

12. 400 years of oppression

Not once has it ended.

[ehrnst]

6. There are people on the ground at protests doing just that - trying to stop the violence

We need to be pushing this part of the narrative as widely often as we can.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/clarissajanlim/protesters-violence-george-floyd

[gulliver]

15. That's very, very heartening.

Thanks for posting.

[crickets]

18. Agreed re narrative. Thanks for a great post. nt

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. There's too much insecurity in this country.

People are afraid of cops and each other, afraid of getting ill, afraid of going hungry, etc.

It all makes for a more compliant workforce, though, and that's the main motivation of the profiteers.

Saw an online article from The Wall Street Journal a few months ago (before the pandemic), expressing concern about an overpriced stock market. Then it mentioned the reasons to be optimistic about the high market, all of which was BAD for ordinary people. Lack of unions, mostly flat pay rates, etc. Sometimes the business journals and newspapers reveal everything, especially when they think the average Joe won't read it anyway.

[gulliver]

20. I agree strongly.

Really, imo, it falls under "promoting the general welfare" to aim the democracy at a base, decent, tolerable level of discomfort and danger for all. Most folks, assured of a floor and balanced level of work, income, and health stability, would probably live much, much happier and more fulfilling lives. Imo, ignoring that, we end up in a klutzy, aimless system that manufactures cruelty amid spiraling blame game playing and conflict. I don't think there's a utopia to be had, but we can surely do better than we're doing.

[uponit7771]

10. You mean like when Kaepernick kneeled

[gulliver]

14. That's different.

I'll admit I was against that, so there you go. I thought it would jeopardize the election and elect Trump, and it arguably did, not by itself but as a contributing factor.

But it also seems to have sunk a pretty deep harpoon in racism over the longer term. A lot of people felt the pain of seeing what they thought of (in Kaepernick's kneeling) as the terms of our country's unity being violated. Like a divorce threat. But after digesting it over a few years and seeing Trump and his like in action, I think the pain of seeing Kaepernick kneel could be one of those pains that lead to wisdom. I now feel like it had a positive effect in the longer term. It may even be worth the Trump years. (If we survive them, we can decide afterward.)

The Floyd killing is roundly despised by people. Anyone can see it for the crime it is. It may be that the obviousness of that video will be enough to sustain a majority sense of unified anti-racist resolve. That could be in part the result of Kaepernick's move, which may have gotten a lot of people in the mindset that they should think more deeply about race and not just respond in a knee-jerk way. The predictable response of the right is not comforting, but there does seem to be some seriousness going on overall.

Given recent history, it would be kind of a miracle, in my view, if, somehow, all of the counter-measures of the enemies of progress (web and live protest provocateurs, false flaggers, Fox "News," Donald Trump, William Barr, Putin and other dirt bags) failed to gain significant advantage from the current situation. Miracles do happen though and times are changing. Maybe it works out for the best.

Hope so.

[Marrah_Goodman]

11. Every time they turn the other cheek they get punched in it.

[gulliver]

13. Well, remember that Trump and Putin are scumsuckers.

I assume we're at least agreed on that, right? I don't think that's disputable.

And Trump and Putin want Americans to fight among ourselves, not against them. That, by itself, is a strong reason to be very, very careful. The pond is full of plastic worms with treble hooks placed there by scumsuckers who do the bidding of Donnie and rat face.

[Marrah_Goodman]

21. This is not a Putin/Trump thing, this goes way deeper then that

This has gone on forever. There is a rot within our police forces and that blue line needs to disappear forever. They can no longer claim to be good cops when they stay silent and complacent to the brutality of those around them.

Trump has encouraged racists to be more out in the open with their racism, but it has always been there. Festering like a cancer.

[gulliver]

23. Well, please do remember and acknowledge that Trump and Putin are scumsuckers, though.

We can at least agree on that, right? They and the other scumsuckers who do their bidding are the ones trying to stir up trouble and dumb ideas among good folks like you and me right now, right? I'm assuming you're not implying Trump, Putin, and the scumsuckers who help them should be let off the hook for the lion's share of the blame for our current problems. The idea that Trump, Putin, and the scumsuckers who try to sow discord should go straight to hell is not something you would dispute.

Right?

[Marrah_Goodman]

25. They are both disgusting examples of human beings.

But again, this has been going on forever. Under every president. There is a sickness deep in the soul of this country. Until the problem with the police is truly, truly dealt with on a local level nothing will change. Until the police are held accountable not only by the courts but also by their fellow officers, nothing will change.

[Hekate]

16. I think that's been tried. And tried. And tried. As has been pointed out...

...by some very fine black commentators on tv, stop telling black Americans to figure out how to keep white Americans from killing them. The change has to come from the white community.

[gulliver]

17. People who are white, like myself, though we are not a "community," do have work to do.

But the problem is really on the plate of all. It's a democracy.

Personally, I think if we got rid of the Drug War, then mass incarceration and police brutality would topple like dominoes. Divisive and racist attitudes would also diminish. There would be less police brutality, because the job of being a police officer would be a better job and would attract better people. The low end could be sent packing (taking away the incentive to be low end in the first place).

[Marrah_Goodman]

22. Exactly

This is not a black problem. They just are the recipients of the problem. This is a white problem, we created it and we need to be the ones to fix it.

[Reader Rabbit]

19. That only works if your opponents have a conscience.

I think we can all agree that they are sociopaths.