UK city mistreated by UK Establishment takes a knee in solidarity with oppressed African Americans
Liverpool, a community with a long history of enduring mistreatment and contempt from the UK Establishment, sent their solidarity to the family of George Floyd and to other victims of US racism last night as thousands gathered, doing their best to maintain social distancing, in the city’s St George’s Square.
The distancing made the true scale of the crowd hard to capture on video – but the sound as everyone took a knee and echoed the call of “I can’t breathe” made it clear:
The footage was taken by local anti-fascist activist Alan Gibbons, who is standing for election to Momentum’s National Coordinating Group on the Forward Momentum slate and is used with permission.
As the UK and US struggle under the weight of increasingly right-wing, dishonest government propped up by shameless media, such solidarity only becomes more crucial.
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https://mobile.twitter.com/DerbyChrisW/status/1267944741804609538
Thank you Alan Gibbons. Good luck in the NEC election.
When working people redress racism, inequality, poverty, unemployment and health needs, we all benefit. To wit, the NHS.
Thank you Liverpool.
My mistake, National Coordination Group, NCG, good luck in that.
Momentum this that or the other
Could reasonably be blamed for splitting vote on NEC candidates which has tipped NEC towards RW
Bottom line is Jon Lansman gets nowhere near standing for NEC next time and unified slate is agreed
I am @ risk of appearing ‘illiberal’ & ‘right wing’ as I question the ‘I can’t breathe, bend the knee public protest’, in a Covid 19 pandemic environment. “Doing their best” to observe social distancing is not good enough & demonstrates contempt. It appears that Merseyside Police have become selectively PC & turn a blind eye, preferring to issue FPN to anyone sun bathing.
The BBC & Channel 4. in conjunction other MSM, including educational institutions; the music industry; politicians & many social commentators, including high profile football clubs, seek to promote their own ‘positive discrimination’ programmes in support of their own values & preferred groups.
I have a problem with conflating legitimate protest with looting. I have no sympathy for large companies such as Apple Corps or J.D.Sports, although they appear to be selectively targeted by the mob. During the ‘Toxteth Riots’, Lodge Lane was gutted; shops burned & looted. Small shops owned by local people, earning a meagre living providing services for their local community…..just ordinary people, the victims of self righteous violent thugs.
I have no axe to grind against ‘Black Lives Matter’, but I do question which Black Lives Matter? I have spent a lifetime observing Civil Rights in America, as Martin Luther King became a major hero of my youth, but now I wonder why the slaughter in Yemen & Palestine is rendered invisible in the ‘Liberal Media’. .
Steve
Some causes are sexier than others or
It takes guts to stand up for certain causes and take the corresponding abuse
Which is what made JC a great man
So now it’s “guts” to ignore the social distancing and public gathering rules and put their own families at risk for as you put it a “sexy” incident. Yankee cops kill thousands of black people and whites but whatever you do don’t question the systems that underpin racism, inequality and police/state/banking/corporate brutality.
Divide and rule has reached it’s pinacle, taking logic and common sense with it..
Well, I hope they all isolate themselves from their families for at least two weeks, I mean they wouldn’t want to put the lives of their own families and children at risk would they? If anyone in their family gets sick… it’s their fault. Isn’t that how the narrative goes?
. https://twitter.com/NeilClark66/status/1268255793079607297
Keir Starmer wrote to the PM today demanding answers. He expresses sentiments that many in Labour will wholeheartedly support.
Dear Prime Minister,
In the House of Commons yesterday, I raised my shock and anger at the killing of George Floyd and the response of US authorities to the peaceful protests. This has shone a spotlight on the racism, discrimination and injustice experienced by those from black and minority ethnic communities in the US and across the world.
I welcome that you shared some of the concerns I raised with you and want to use this opportunity to explore what the British government is doing to urge the United States and President Trump to respect human rights and the fundamental democratic right to peaceful protest. I am sure that you share my strongly held belief that the UK has a moral obligation to speak out in defence of these values, no matter where in the world they are challenged.
With that in mind I would like to ask you the following questions:
◾Has the government raised its concerns through official channels about the reaction so far from US authorities to peaceful protest?
◾What additional steps is the government planning to reiterate the importance of a peaceful and proportionate response to the protests in the US?
◾What review is the government conducting to ensure UK exports are not being used in the suppression of democratic rights?
◾Many of our own black citizens seeing these images also feel palpable anger and anxiety. What steps is the government taking to reassure black communities in the UK?
The death of George Floyd has justifiably prompted anger and a burning desire for fundamental change. The UK must be clear in showing that we understand this frustration and that we are ready to stand together with those who seek to tackle the injustice and inequality that remains within all our societies.
I look forward to your response,
Keir Starmer