5 hours ago, Wendy said:

 

It's an opinion column from a lickspittle Republican. Most comments in NYT from average citizens I saw last night in an article about the protests were eviscerating Republicans.

 

I have to disagree - I don't believe Tom Cotton is a lickspittle Republican - he's hugely influential and, among other things, was one of the main reasons for the ugly death of the Iran nuclear deal.

 

I'm not doubting the comment reactions, or some of the reporters or sources who are revolting tonight, or claiming to revolt, but this is a paper that has been on the wrong side of history countless times, lied to kill millions in Iraq, and most recently, feverishly worked to help install the racist fascist we now have in office. They are moving the goalposts again, not only continuing to help Trump get reelected, but also trying to pave the way for him to put soldiers in our streets. It's extremely dangerous.

 

1 hour ago, JaneAusten said:

He's promoting war crimes. I mean whats next a "Why rape is ok" by Harvey Weinstein?

 

He's also basically backed up by the tone and tenor of the paper. They may have some left-wing op-ed writers, but this is what gets on their front page:

 

 

Cotton isn't an outlier for them, or red meat. It's just another step toward the fascism they are happy to enable if it keeps them in with the right people and makes them feel Important and Impartial.

 

 

I was looking at some of the DC protest from tonight, before the fires started anyway, and lulled myself into a brief delusion before the above footage reminded me of the reality. The person stuck in traffic filming casual police brutality is one of those moments where you feel like you're watching a dystopian series. 

California had an earthquake this evening, too. At this point, I'm just waiting for the damned locusts.

20 minutes ago, Wendy said:

 At this point, I'm just waiting for the damned locusts.

 

I think the killer hornets ate them all.   

1 minute ago, Khan said:

 

I think the killer hornets ate them all.   

 

Oh, that's right! How did I forget the Murder Hornets? They must be the modern equivalent of said locusts!  I wish I could make like Rip Van Winkle, and sleep 'til November 3rd. If Trump loses, I stay awake. If not (and God, I hate typing that!), wake me in 2024. Sigh.

No. Wasn't there Locusts in either the Middle East or India at the start of this Lockdown business?

 

And...this IS a dystopia. Or we are one order away from it.

Amber Ruffin has been sharing her experiences with the police in about three videos so far.

 

 

 

 

It's interesting to see the discussion about cop shows. Since I'm stuck at home I found a channel called Start TV which is devoted to woman centered shows especially legal ones. Medium, Cold Case, Forgotten, Crossing Jordan, etc... It just plays in the background while I work. Today I just kept watching and thinking that these shows have completely glorified policing and are probably a big part of why so many unstable people decided they want to be cops.

 

Whether the networks apologize or not, I think we might see the appeal of cop shows start to fade.

18 minutes ago, marceline said:

It's interesting to see the discussion about cop shows. Since I'm stuck at home I found a channel called Start TV which is devoted to woman centered shows especially legal ones. Medium, Cold Case, Forgotten, Crossing Jordan, etc... It just plays in the background while I work. Today I just kept watching and thinking that these shows have completely glorified policing and are probably a big part of why so many unstable people decided they want to be cops.

 

Whether the networks apologize or not, I think we might see the appeal of cop shows start to fade.

 

Before George Floyd's murder, I'd seen some debate on Twitter about how unrealistic Brooklyn 99 was, how progressive all the characters were even though a supermajority of cops are Trump supporters (this was partially tied to a debate of how unrealistic the Michael Schur workplace sitcoms have always been). At the time I had mixed feelings, because I thought - well, it's just a fantasy, people know it's not real life. After the last week, and other stories (I think this was already posted here) like the one about the L&O writer who was tweeting about wanting to kill looters, I realize the shows are a real concern and should be addressed. 

 

I think we will see a fade of some (probably not the Chicago PD/Fire/etc. series) and then they will return in a year or two under the umbrella of some kind of "good cop against the system" banner.

 

Watching the John Lewis interview, I can't imagine how he's feeling and what he must be reliving.