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LGBT News Black Lives Matter disrupt Toronto Pride

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by 741852963, Jul 4, 2016.

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  1. 741852963

    741852963
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    Black Lives Matter protesters disrupt Toronto Pride parade, claim event is ‘anti-black’ · PinkNews

    This gay Toronto cop sent an open letter to Pride Toronto about the Black Lives Matter protest - Toronto - CBC News

    Speechless by this.

    I think this sums up everything that is wrong with 21st century political movements.

    Although I'm certainly a fighter for equal rights, I think BLM is doing a discredit to their cause as much as Tumblr feminists are for women's rights.

    This group is creating an enemy where there is none. The LGBT community as a whole is not some hateful, bigoted population intent on supremacy and oppression as they are making out.

    And looking at their demands it appears they have truly scraped the barrel to try to justify their invented outrage. More black ASL interpreters? My understanding is that ASL is not unintelligible to people who speak in black sign language. Besides, statistically this is something affecting 100 attendees tops at the pride events (if even that). Worth raising as a suggestion to organizers sure, but worthy of protest and a sign of "oppression"? Really? And the demands that the hiring of black staff at the event be "prioritised". Positive discrimination is the enemy of equality, it kills equality.

    Now the demands for the removal of police floats are just divisive and offensive. The police attending pride are either allies or LGBT themselves and as such have every right to be there. They are representing the role they play in society, and can only have a positive effect - particularly in showing gay people succeeding in a particular career.

    Reading some of the posts and comments from these BLM protestors the narratives appear the same:
    -An obsession with "privilege checking", or more specifically the insistence that black gay youth are by default the most oppressed and marginalized in society. In reality it all depends. A black gay youth in cosmopolitan Toronto is likely going to be less marginalised than a white gay youth in Moscow for example! It all depends.
    -The bending of history to claim that black activists have always been at the forefront of the gay rights movement, when the contributions to the movement has been mixed at best, and actually mainly white in the early days (as can be expected in a majority white society really).
    -Aggression and divisiveness - the language "we shut it down" and "we won" implying these activists are fighting an oppressive enemy, when really all they are doing is holding an already inclusive event to ransom.
     
    #1 741852963, Jul 4, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2016
  2. BrookeVL

    BrookeVL
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    BLM is falling into the same trap as the Occupy movement did. Well meaning, but now starting to get in the way of their own mission.
     
    #2 BrookeVL, Jul 4, 2016
  3. purplewolf6

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    They're gonna cannibalize each other soon if it hasn't happened already. May have meant well in the beginning but lack direction.
     
    #3 purplewolf6, Jul 4, 2016
  4. peterw78165

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    I will say that I kind of saw this coming from a mile away.
     
    #4 peterw78165, Jul 4, 2016
  5. Solid Snake

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    Playing devil's advocate here: If this keeps up, how do they expect society to evolve and become more accepting, if their plan is to handicap people based on their arbitrary privilege score? All that will do is cause a cycle of retaliation.

    And of course the police can't do anything about it without looking racist.




    Oh yeah, and #starklivesmatter.
     
    #5 Solid Snake, Jul 4, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2016
  6. Skaros

    Skaros
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    They did a similar thing at Chicago's pride parade last year. Except that they were mostly LGBT people who wanted to say that Stonewall was also a riot. (the parade was stopped for about 15 minutes)

    Regardless, I haven't quite bought the BLM movement from the time it started a few years ago. They seem to neglect much of the evidence that a person truly was a criminal and simply focus on the the fact that said person isn't the same color as the police officer. Are there a few unjust killings by police officers? Probably. But from what I've seen, there isn't a lot to go on that it's a racial issue. Most of these incidents seems to happen in poverty stricken areas, which of course would have more criminals that police have to deal with.

    Black lives matter? How about blue lives matter? The people who actually get out and risk their lives to make sure you are safe and not breaking the law.
     
    #6 Skaros, Jul 4, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2016
  7. BrookeVL

    BrookeVL
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    How about ALL lives matter.
     
    #7 BrookeVL, Jul 4, 2016
  8. Libertino

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    Sorry, BLM, but your day in the sun is over. Enjoy your new destination: irrelevance.
     
    #8 Libertino, Jul 4, 2016
  9. Andrew99

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    Black lives matter is racist. All lives matter damnit.
     
    #9 Andrew99, Jul 4, 2016
  10. Invidia

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    All Lives Matter is a shit movement.
    If the police are there to represent their role, they're there to defend private property. Is that necessary at a Pride parade? I would personally feel better with a minimum of or no police at Pride events. And no, not all of them are allies.

    And news flash to all the naïve idealists: No movement has ever, is, or will ever be, perfect. Ever. Fanaticism does occur. That isn't to say to excuse their negative actions, but it's all too common to forever judge a movement (or a person) for just one or two negative acts. If that's your standard you'll have to always hate everything.
     
    #10 Invidia, Jul 5, 2016
  11. Kira

    Kira
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    ...Why can't they disrupt a Trump rally, a white nationalist US get-together, or I don't know, something with actual racism? :confused:
     
    #11 Kira, Jul 5, 2016
  12. CJliving

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    Wow guys!

    Okay, so first, ASL.
    ASL is actually considered as one of the national languages in Ontario. Not including it is also excluding the deaf/hearing impaired community, moreso than other sensory impaired people (mute, blind). Also, I don't actually know about TO, but here in Japan the deaf community is a VERY large presence in the queer community.

    OP, what were you trying to say about ASL vs/ black sign language?

    Next, 9/10 of the demands.
    While there are some logistical issues, and yeah, comapartively, they might seem small potatoes, they are valid. Representation is important. (For example, BLM's protest could/probably will lead to the reinstatement of a South Asian Pacific booth.)

    Using Pride as a Protest.
    Pride is a protest. Sure, things have been really good the last few years, maybe it was a bit more of a celebration of all the success of the movement. Still a protest. A protest inside a protest? Mayyybe a tiny bit rude, but that's a pretty effective way to protest isn't it.

    Up to here, I am actually in full support of BLM.

    What I don't agree with, is the demand for removal of the Police float and booths. My reasons are twofold.
    (1) The Police float and booths are in support of the community/city and queer members of the police and their families. For clarity, these are the cops that they're calling to be banned:
    [​IMG]

    (2) Excluding the Police from supporting Pride is not going to help any of the issues between the queer and/or black communities and the police in Toronto. If anything, it will hurt the relationship. I know the argument here, and obviously I can't speak to it (being white), but I still feel that BLM is misdirecting their intention here. I know what they think they're trying to do, but I don't think this is the right way to go about it.
     
    #12 CJliving, Jul 5, 2016
  13. gravechild

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    This is as BS as "straight pride" or MRA.
     
    #13 gravechild, Jul 5, 2016
  14. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

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    Indeed.
     
    #14 Invidia, Jul 5, 2016
  15. Secrets5

    Secrets5
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    How is it? There is an activist group called All Children Matter. Is that BS to the BLM? No. It's a completely different thing. One is about all children, one is about all black people. In the same way, All Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter are two different things. The first is about all people mattering regardless of race/gender/sexuality/class [etc.] and the other is about black people. I mean, are you suggestion that all people don't matter? Because that's what it seems like when people say it's BS.

    What is MRA?
     
    #15 Secrets5, Jul 5, 2016
  16. dreamcatcher

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    Except the difference is that All Lives Matter was created in direct response to Black Lives Matter whereas Black Lives Matter was started due to police brutality and injustice. There is a very huge difference between a movement that fights against inequality and another one that says "all people are special". All Lives matter undermines what Black Lives Matter stands for and tries to take race out of the conversation. No one ever said that all lives don't matter. And no one ever said Black lives are the only ones that matter. What people are saying is that black people shouldn't be targeted disproportionately by police or be discriminated against because of their color. They shouldn't be silenced by others. That is all they are saying.
     
    #16 dreamcatcher, Jul 5, 2016
  17. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

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    ^this

    Therefore, in my conclusion; All Lives Matter is an inherently reactionary movement. Your analysis, Secrets5, is, I think, simply idealistic, and inconsistent with the actual state of things.
     
    #17 Invidia, Jul 5, 2016
  18. ZenMusic

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    Can we please...violently drown the #allivesmatter thing? It's just a prime example of people getting angry because for once there is something great created and it doesn't involve them.
     
    #18 ZenMusic, Jul 5, 2016
  19. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

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    Agreed. Like, "boohoo, I'm white and not at the center of attention for once - I'm being oppressed!" Yeah, freaking right.
     
    #19 Invidia, Jul 5, 2016
  20. radicalmuffins

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    I don't really care about BLM. I don't support the cause but I don't exactly think it's useless either... This though is rather foolish and kind of stupid.
     
    #20 radicalmuffins, Jul 5, 2016
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