Global Protests Against Social Distancing, Lockdown, Vaccine Mandate

[notsofast]

No, they're all doing it for that reason. It's called brandishing and it is illegal.

Its sad that in a supposedly civilized first world country like that we have people behaving like that in order to intimidate those who don't share their views.. In an ideal world they'd be arrested and have their weapons taken off them. I'm not anti gun btw I'm all for firearms for self defence etc but that's what concealed carry is for. There's no good reason to be rolling the streets in tactical gear carrying semi automatic weapons like that.

 

[Danoff]

I was not really on board with the memes spouting racism for allowing "white people" to organize and protest with guns. However, I really can't see Trump saying that the protesters are fine people and should be bargained with if a bunch of people who did not so much resemble him had stormed a government building brandishing (I like that word from this thread) firearms. That part, the part where we put up with basically armed insurrection, seems like "privilege".

 

[TexRex]

Source?

My nephew is a juris doctor and a lobbyist in daily contact with both sides of the aisle in Olympia, as well as the governor's office and the Seattle Mayor. He writes much of the new legislation since the legislators seldom have law degrees.

Swing and a miss.

 

[UKMikey]

I was not really on board with the memes spouting racism for allowing "white people" to organize and protest with guns. However, I really can't see Trump saying that the protesters are fine people and should be bargained with if a bunch of people who did not so much resemble him had stormed a government building brandishing (I like that word from this thread) firearms. That part, the part where we put up with basically armed insurrection, seems like "privilege".

Second amendment privilege, maybe... the right to use force of arms to challenge good ideas as well as bad ones.

As a non USian it's difficult for me to see an armed protest as peaceful and nonintimidating.

 

[Danoff]

Second amendment privilege, maybe... the right to use force of arms to challenge goodnideas as well as bad ones.

I don't think the 2nd amendment really has anything to do with people challenging ideas. That's the 1st amendment. Its not your right in the US to use force to win a political argument.

As a non USian it's difficult for me to see an armed protest as peaceful and nonintimidating.

The Michigan protest definitely tried to walk and appeared to cross that line. I just don't see it going the way it did, especially in comments from the President, with darker skin tones. It's possible that may be politically motivated, as people seem to be profiled according to political party based on skin tone as well. If you're have a gun and are white, you can be presumed to be a Trump supporter with probably decent statistical accuracy. If you're not white (gun or no) you're probably presumed to be a democrat supporter. So a group of armed non-white individuals storming a capital building is probably seen less favorably by our president.

 

[UKMikey]

I don't think the 2nd amendment really has anything to do with people challenging ideas. That's the 1st amendment. Its not your right in the US to use force to win a political argument.

Again as a foreign observer I'll happily admit to being not totally au fait with the facts in this case, especially as an earlier post appeared to characterise this protest as citizens exercising their rights to equip silencers.

As for the skin tone argument... I've learnt my lesson after being slapped down a couple of times on the meme thread after posting one such meme. But I can see where people would reach that conclusion although I think it's easier to see this as a red/blue thing than a pink/brown thing.

 

[Daz555]

Preppers in 2019 - I have enough food, supplies and ammo to last 2 years. I'm ready for anything.

Preppers in 2020 - I need a haircut.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Its not your right in the US to use force to win a political argument.

I've been searching for a succinct way to convey this idea. Your sentence here is perfect.

Just imagine if the Governor there in Michigan did in fact relent to the demands of the armed protesters. From there on out, small armed minorities of the electorate could arbitrarily control policy, regardless of votes. That isn't democracy. Should more people arm themselves to counter it? Liberals with guns? I can't see that ending well. Maybe, instead, some folks need to treat the 2nd amendment more responsibly - don't use it as a cudgel to get what you want that you can't get through democratic means. Seems logical to me that the framers of the constitution set out the 1st amendment as the primary means of a public check on elected officials and the 2nd as a means to enforce/preserve the 1st. 21st century protest in conservative camps seem to lean heavily into using the 2nd, directly, as a check on elected officials. That's concerning.

 

[Jezza819]

I've been searching for a succinct way to convey this idea. Your sentence here is perfect.

Just imagine if the Governor there in Michigan did in fact relent to the demands of the armed protesters. From there on out, small armed minorities of the electorate could arbitrarily control policy, regardless of votes. That isn't democracy. Should more people arm themselves to counter it? Liberals with guns? I can't see that ending well. Maybe, instead, some folks need to treat the 2nd amendment more responsibly - don't use it as a cudgel to get what you want that you can't get through democratic means. Seems logical to me that the framers of the constitution set out the 1st amendment as the primary means of a public check on elected officials and the 2nd as a means to enforce/preserve the 1st. 21st century protest in conservative camps seem to lean heavily into using the 2nd, directly, as a check on elected officials. That's concerning.

Well now apparently someone in Michigan has decided that asking his wife to wear a mask is just too much and shot and killed a security guard.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/us/michigan-security-guard-mask-killing-trnd/index.html

 

[PzR Slim]

Well now apparently someone in Michigan has decided that asking his wife to wear a mask is just too much and shot and killed a security guard.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/us/michigan-security-guard-mask-killing-trnd/index.html

That is complete lunacy.

 

[Joey D]

I mean it's Flint, which was for a time the murder capital of the US. People there will shoot, stab, beat, etc. anyone for any reason.

You can also watch an interesting documentary on Netflix about it too. Flint really is a hellhole

 

[Liquid]

I mean it's Flint, which was for a time the murder capital of the US.

Something, something... too much lead.

 

[PzR Slim]

How bad do we think the second wave is going to be in the States?

Also feel very sorry for this lady I saw who posted on twitter if this is true. She works at a food store and a customer came up to her and told her to, 'Take of your mask and act like a real American.' She said she was crying a she typed as had been at work since the lockdown began doing her bit to help and had a partner at home who has issues with his breathing.

And just to show we are not immune to the same idiocy in the UK.

Going to be really interesting to see if there is a spike in cases in two weeks time following VE day celebrations yesterday and some rank stupidity this weekend.

 

[Dennisch]

This outbreak really shows us how many morons there actually are. I sincerely hope that the second wave does some damage on their numbers, and that sane people manage to dodge it.

 

[TexRex]

@PzR Slim you might consider putting that tweet in a spoiler box with appropriate language warning for those who may click it.

You can put [spoiler] immediately before the embedded media and [/spoiler] immediately after.

This is to potentially preempt deletion by moderation staff, mind you.

This outbreak really shows us how many morons there actually are. I sincerely hope that the second wave does some damage on their numbers, and that sane people manage to dodge it.

Sadly it is the drunk drivers who frequently kill people other than themselves.

 

[PzR Slim]

Thanks @TexRex can't believe I missed that.

 

[TexRex]

Thanks @TexRex can't believe I missed that.

👍

 

[Spacegoat]

And just to show we are not immune to the same idiocy in the UK.

Nor are we in Australia, sadly.

 

[McLaren]

It's a messed up, inhumane view point, but it's a shame a recognized protester can't be denied treatment for Covid.

"No, no, they know better than I. Who would've thought all you need is 1 30-minute YouTube video to know the real truth about virology instead of wasting years at a med school".

 

[Hayden]

Nor are we in Australia, sadly.

The saddest part about this is that we are approaching the end of lockdown anyway, ours was nowhere near as harsh as other parts of the world and if just one of those people have it without knowing, they’re gonna extend the very thing that they’re protesting about.

Go home, drink beer. This’ll all be over soon.

 

[UKMikey]

Go home, drink beer. This’ll all be over soon.

Then throw the empty tallie at some lockdown-breaking idiot. Seems to me you guys have the benefit of a geographical advantage but that's still not good enough for an entitled minority of protesters (not you @Hayden).

 

[TexRex]

Precisely what is Bill Gates supposed to have done for which he should be arrested? The mind boggles at the wanton stupidity of some.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Precisely what is Bill Gates supposed to have done for which he should be arrested? The mind boggles at the wanton stupidity of some.

There's a conspiracy going around that Bill Gates was in on the creation of the virus and will profit from it. I haven't taken the time to read it, but I think that's the short of it.

 

[UKMikey]

There's a conspiracy going around that Bill Gates was in on the creation of the virus and will profit from it. I haven't taken the time to read it, but I think that's the short of it.

Talk about shooting the messenger... If he created the virus I doubt he would've warned us about it five years ago.

 

[TexRex]

There's a conspiracy going around that Bill Gates was in on the creation of the virus and will profit from it. I haven't taken the time to read it, but I think that's the short of it.

Yeah, conspiracy theories are for idiots who have nothing better to do.

 

[Biggles]

"No, no, they know better than I. Who would've thought all you need is 1 30-minute YouTube video to know the real truth about virology instead of wasting years at a med school".

Same with climate science ... or evolution, or other fields that have "so-called" experts. Why waste a life time studying it when 30 minutes on the www can tell you all you need (want) to know?

 

[McLaren]

There's a conspiracy going around that Bill Gates was in on the creation of the virus and will profit from it. I haven't taken the time to read it, but I think that's the short of it.

It's one big religious stretch to correlate a patent I believe has the numbers "060606" in as "Mark of the Beast" & of course, all the information "exposing" it doesn't actually share the details of it, or explain how the technology they think will happen is far, far from actually being capable.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Talk about shooting the messenger... If he created the virus I doubt he would've warned us about it five years ago.

Playing the long game I see

 

[Famine]

Precisely what is Bill Gates supposed to have done for which he should be arrested? The mind boggles at the wanton stupidity of some.

There's a conspiracy going around that Bill Gates was in on the creation of the virus and will profit from it. I haven't taken the time to read it, but I think that's the short of it.

The long of it is that Bill Gates funds a research facility that has a patent on coronavirus/a coronavirus vaccine.

The reality is that the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has provided two grants (2013, 2016) to the Pirbright Institute, which - unconnected to the grants - has a 2015 patent on a chicken coronavirus vaccine.

 

[Blitz24]

The long of it is that Bill Gates funds a research facility that has a patent on coronavirus/a coronavirus vaccine.

The reality is that the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has provided two grants (2013, 2016) to the Pirbright Institute, which - unconnected to the grants - has a 2015 patent on a chicken coronavirus vaccine.

Man that's just fowl.