Felony charges should be leveled against SLO County Sheriff Ian Parkinson and District Attorney Dan Dow for upholding and perpetuating institutional racism. To instead charge Tianna Arata for joining the nation in leading protests against 400 years of literally murderous inequality is a gross display of power. What is the “proper” way to protest injustice? Be nice, stay on the sidewalk, and don’t make people uncomfortable? Armed gunmen stood on roofs in Arroyo Grande during a BLM march. And yet, dangerous as these actions were, no charges were filed against those white men. Please. Tianna Arata is 20 years old. She has courage and conviction. We need people like her. It is obvious that these charges are being brought solely to make an example of her. The constant protest chant is true: “No justice. No peace.”
Dian Sousa
Los Osos
This article appears in Aug 13-23, 2020.
Yes! Well said.
Getting Arata out of the spotlight will actually help the BLM cause. Most people in SLO were already in favor of BLM, so there was no need for more protests. There’s an old saying about preaching to the choir. Well, Arata was yelling at the choir and throwing hymnals.
Well, I expect the police to keep people off the freeway, for their own safety as well as that of drivers on the freeway. And to ignore the terror which a driver feels when surrounded by demonstrators vandalizing their car….with them still inside it, is preposterous.
There’s no question that we all support the right of peaceful protest. But we don’t support the right of a protester to threaten our personal safety. And for extra measure, we aren’t likely to support a protester taunting the police or using foul language. Don’t confuse “protest,” or the “right to address grievances” with the intimidation, threats, and actual physical violence delivered by those who claim to be abused.
And for starters, before you assert “institutional racism,” you need to explain to us what that is. So far as I can tell, our society is remarkably free of “racism,” compared to every other society on the planet, and the failures of the Black community (which are not universal) have to be measured against the successes of the other minority communities in our society.
“before you assert ‘institutional racism’ you need to explain to us what that is”
If we need to “explain” institutional racism to you, there’s probably nothing we can do for you. Only you can stop you from being a supporter of white supremacy and entitlement.
The history books have been around your entire life, perhaps try picking one up.
Dear Clovis Dad,
Foul language you say! Well I never! (faints on couch clutching pearls). How dare those protesters use such dangerous weapons against pepper spray and tear gas! those poor defenseless police! I mean, their riot gear and bullet proof gear do defend them, but not against the most lethal of weapons: words.
I am glad to hear that some guy from clovis has done the research, studied the problem in depth and concluded that racism has been eradicated from the US! Using a racist argument to emphasize your point was brilliant btw.
Your are kind of correct on one point though: you thinking black people have caused all of their problems due to their own failures makes you a bigot and a racist, but is not, in itself, institutional racism. Credit where credit is due.