Do you need me to find an example of a distruption of traffic causing a loss of life befure you'll believe it is feasible or something? I'd rather not waste my time looking for something so obvious.
MLK Day Protesters Block Traffic on the Bay Bridge
- Thread starter Dalek
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Do you need me to find an example of a distruption of traffic causing a loss of life befure you'll believe it is feasible or something? I'd rather not waste my time looking for something so obvious.
Are you aware of how dangerous blocking roads is?
shadowsdarknes
Member
Gentleman Jack
Member
I feel it's a bit of a stretch to say the use of the quote amounts to an ad hominem. The King quote is directly a response to the disgruntlement felt when protests are inconvenient, and it was used to shame the response of 'pieces of shit unacceptably blocking traffic in 2016' point of view rather than simply name call, if 'half-hearted white moderate' can be considered any kind of slur.
If NeoGaf existed in the 1960s, all one would have to do is change the location and add a few slang terms like "beat feet" here and there to have this resemble the exact reaction to the protests.
"I was driving my Deuce and a Quarter in Birmingham when these NCR (Negro Civil Rights) protesters blocked my way. How inconsiderate! I really hope they beat feet and find a different manner to protest."
"I was driving my Deuce and a Quarter in Birmingham when these NCR (Negro Civil Rights) protesters blocked my way. How inconsiderate! I really hope they beat feet and find a different manner to protest."
I'm all for disruptive protests. I'm simply drawing a line at distruptions that can have reasonable potential to cause severe harm/death.
freeofgreed
Member
Tell me what is the correct way man. I'm all ears. So far I'm hearing a lot of criticism but no solutions.
Subpar Spatula
Banned
I'll Google with you?
I'm curious because I'm guessing most places with these protests have a lot of emergency service vehicles.
You're making a bad argument because you're not bringing actual incidents to the table. You're being purely hypothetical.
"Trust me! Bad things will happen when streets are blocked!"
*Nothing bad happens*
"It can happen."
Nah, he'll bail on it. But interestingly we do have evidence that this sort of protest helps to enact change. Weird.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Those MONSTERS, someone could have died!!!
Won't somebody please think of the ambulances!
Tesseract
Banned
maybe it's because i'm somewhat disabled, and understand how this kinda shit can cause severe pain and discomfort to those involved
it's gross behavior in 2016, i very much doubt mlk would want it
hindsight and all, i'm biased towards the drivers
Vicetrailia
Banned
I could sit here and make up any old bullshit rationalization I suppose.
Critical services, lol. Children on road. Rush hour traffic. What if the bridge explodes due to a terrorist attack and people can't drive away. What if Godzilla strikes.
Let's ignore the fact that other lane is open
Those MONSTERS, someone could have died!!!
shadowsdarknes
Member
Those MONSTERS, someone could have died!!!
Did he call them monsters? Or is that just you because making extreme exaggerations is the only way to make your point?
My only concern would be for emergency vehicles. Is that bridge pretty significant? Like, if ambulances and such could take an alternate path then I have absolutely no problem with it.
Then again I also think that if there was an ambulance that people would let them through. It would be nice to have an ideal situation where traffic could be disrupted while still allowing emergency vehicles through without a problem.
Then again I also think that if there was an ambulance that people would let them through. It would be nice to have an ideal situation where traffic could be disrupted while still allowing emergency vehicles through without a problem.
Big Baybee
Member
Yea, just use your time to chastise a proven effective tactic then bail when called on it.
Then you'd take issue with every form of disruptive protest. People blocking traffic, even foot traffic going into a building, are gonna impede hypothetical people who need medical assistance.
Never said it will happen.
Those MONSTERS, someone could have died!!!
Won't somebody please think of the ambulances!
Never said they were monsters or even bad people.
I'm sure a stuck ambulance with a critically wounded patient is more likely than the bridge exploding.
Can't you guys make an argument that doesn't wildly villianize me for simply apposing exactly how this protest was handled?
BreezyLimbo
Banned
Even here you get people not getting the point of blocking the bridge. They think it's an inconvenience, that the protesters are doing something bad.
That's the whole point of the protest. That's the whole point of blocking the bridge. Because anything else BLM tries to do, any other form of protest, will be ignored and people will continue on their daily lives ignoring the marginalized.
No, your hypothetical emergencies don't matter. They really, really don't in the grand scheme of things. These type of protests have been going on for over 50 years, and some people still don't get the point.
That's the whole point of the protest. That's the whole point of blocking the bridge. Because anything else BLM tries to do, any other form of protest, will be ignored and people will continue on their daily lives ignoring the marginalized.
No, your hypothetical emergencies don't matter. They really, really don't in the grand scheme of things. These type of protests have been going on for over 50 years, and some people still don't get the point.
I don't know - never been an activist. Maybe get a White House petition for the DoJ to review the possibility of mandating body cameras? Things of that sort. I can safely say that blocking traffic will just make people madder and the message becomes overshadowed with the discussions about the road instead of the protest.
This thread is evidence.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Dude is whining about the potential for death and ruin, and I catch shit for clowning him with exaggeration?
Eh, I'm more trying to look at both sides. Personally I find protests interesting and if something like this continues and actually helps people stop the police brutality I am all for it.
Just saying that I would be massively annoyed if something like this made me late to work and I lose money to pay for rent. Of course, unlike some people (and posters apparently) I would calm down after 5 minutes knowing that my life didn't change at all while there are people getting murdered.
shadowsdarknes
Member
Huh? This isn't a one or another sort of scenario.
Just because we think this isn't a good idea because something could happen doesn't mean we think black lives don't matter.
Tesseract
Banned
yeah, that behavior is monstrous too
we're better than this, liberals are supposed to be the good guys
Dsyndrome
Member
I'm not getting into this, but saying it doesn't happen is false.
Exclusive: Man died after Berkeley protests delayed help
Subpar Spatula
Banned
Then you admit your own argument is non-existent.
You're being villain-ized because (1) you're not annoyed similar to how waiting at a doctor's office for an hour annoys you and (2) you're telling them how to protest so it conforms with some hypothetical you thought of that you can't find real life evidence for.
The west side of Chicago was still changing then, a lot of white people still living there... and the NW side is still extremely white.
Thanks for deciding that.
shadowsdarknes
Member
Well yeah. You're intentionally misrepresenting him.
But, he wouldn't. He did disruptive protests that drained public resources at a near constant pace. There were police officers that could have caught a robber, hoses that could have put our a fire, dogs that could have caught a burglar and roads that could have had a life saving ambulance on it that he blocked in some of his most famous protests.
Even other protests caused tons of issues for individuals. The Montgomery protest led to plenty of lost revenue for the city, and probably lost jobs. Store sit ins disrupted people who were buying essential items, etc.
The greatest moments of the Civil Rights movement made movement inconvient for hundreds of people and did much more to potentially endager lives than this march on a bridge has. The only difference is that MLK did it 50 years ago and he's had the opportunity to be promoted to Sainthood in mainstream America rather than treated like a troublemaking and selfish negro as he was during his time.
Voysa Reezun
Banned
these actions are unacceptable by any modern standard
Almost as unacceptable as the police shooting black men for sport, dontchaknow.
We'll just go back to our homes and hope and pray and maybe ask you pretty please when we can let you know that we're fed up with the racist prison complex and policing in this country. We'll be sure to check with you first so that we let you know our grievances on a timetable that works for you.
People need to stop using MLK to trying to shame black people.
Shows how ignorant they are about MLK and black people in general.
I can't imagine a scenario where an ambulance would need to get from Oakland to SF or vise versa. There are hospitals in both cities.
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
People acting like this country was founded on people pleasantly asking the British for freedom. Action gets results, disruptive action gets results faster.
freeofgreed
Member
If you don't know what the right way is? Then how can you stand there and say that this is the wrong way? Alos methods similar to what you're saying are being attempted the usage of body cameras have been growing but that's not enough and using only 1 form of protest isn't effective either.
I didn't admit to anything. You can continue to carry both sides of the argument for yourself since you seem to enjoy it.
Downfall of Black Lives Matter movement, rise of Hypothetical Lives Matter movement itt?
freeofgreed
Member
Seriously. People aren't even bothering to read before opening their mouths.
Tesseract
Banned
it's unacceptable behavior by any modern standards, that's my opinion
that wasn't my intention, i don't speak for anyone but myself
i'm allowed to interpret mlk like the next guy
anyway, gg all
I guessSo similar
Vicetrailia
Banned
Any person can make a million reasons why not to block a bridge in protest. This isn't the first time and it won't be the last time. It's almost like, what are people really talking about? What are they really trying to say? What is the true and core gut feeling?
freeofgreed
Member
So is racism but that still exists. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Also what is so special about 2016 that makes this form of protest any less acceptable than it was in the 60s?
Subpar Spatula
Banned
The issue with this is the man had to be revived at the scene so there's no saying when he actually collapsed. Sure, sooner would be better but this isn't a clear cut example of how traffic killed a guy.
Your refusal to back up your hypothetical to make blocking traffic bad is admitting a bad argument.
A Link to the Past
Banned
You missed the point. You're suggesting that a person who blocked roads would be disappointed in people who are blocking roads.
Well, that's certainly one way to reply to someone pointing out that you have a double standard.
GrantDaNasty
Member
Y'know...there is a lot of unacceptable behavior in the world we seemingly just shrug and say "oh well, dem's the breaks".
Including the deaths of multiple PoCs, one for being a cosplayer without a license, one for being a 12-year old with a toy gun, one for not knowing how to breath through his skin as he was being choked.
What is acceptable protesting? Do you want them to stand idle on the side of the road and tell people to honk their horns in support? Keep it on college campuses where no one sees it?
I've never been in the area so I didn't know, but that makes sense. So long as emergency vehicles can take a different route or otherwise get to a hospital/patient then I say good for them for prostrating. I don't care about my life being inconvenienced, those kinds of things are what spur change.
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