Black Lives Matter protesters block a road in Carbondale, get hit by a car

[BlueNoMatterWho]

https://twitter.com/breaking911/status/752589035395289089

[tonyt53]

1. Ya know, i really do not understand the blocking of highways. A city street maybe, but a highway

Highways are usually traveled by people just trying to get by in life. Might be a truck driver getting paid by the mile, a family on the way to see a sick loved one, or any numbers of reasons. How about blocking the streets around city hall or capital buildings and leave the average person out of it. They didn't cause your rage. I'm sure this will piss some people off, but what the hell.

[malaise]

42. Unless you're Chris Christie of course n/t

[gordianot]

53. Now that tub of lard is one my F-150 would have a hard time stopping for.

I take it his presence on any highway in New Jersey would be an act of suicide.

[Jim Beard]

57. Edmund Petus Bridge is a highway.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

2. Or an emergency vehicle getting to a hospital.

[GummyBearz]

3. My parents taught me to not play in traffic at a pretty young age

I guess they were right after all

[840high]

33. Seems we shared parents.

[LanternWaste]

45. Kindergarten taught me the relevant difference between 'civil protest' and 'playing'.

Kindergarten taught me the relevant difference between 'civil protest' and 'playing'. No doubt, you learned the same-- but need to ignore it as such to better validate your narrative, regardless of whether your parents were right or not...

[puffy socks]

51. I think some people should have been encouraged to play in traffic

like Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh, or Karl Rove.

[gratuitous]

4. Don't the protesters know how inconvenient it is?

Why can't they just get gunned down in the streets and send somber, Shackletonian missives to their local newspapers? Why do those people have to be so confrontational?

[Igel]

5. Civil disobedience targeted the guilty.

Bystanders were incidental in being hurt.

This is later "civil" disobedience, the "look at me--and yeah, you're the target because you're all guilty" kind.

One is targeted. The other is tantrum.

[LanternWaste]

46. I imagine many people maintain the pretense of being wise enough to tell the difference

"One is targeted. The other is tantrum..."

I imagine many people maintain the pretense of being wise enough to tell the difference-- all the better to validate a bias: invent a premise, fail to show objective evidence, come to an already decided conclusion.

Rational. Very, very rational.

[Skittles]

16. if someone did it to them, they would be extremely angry

[Nye Bevan]

38. Did MLK block highways? Did Gandhi? (nt)

[JustinL]

50. Mandela did a lot more than block highways. Did MLK ever condemn blocking traffic?

In 1964, Brooklyn CORE planned to block traffic around the World's Fair, at the same time Senators were filibustering the Civil Rights Act. From a 2014 Slate article:

Although Brooklyn CORE's rhetoric was belligerent and confrontational--radically different from that of mainstream activists--the stall-in would be a pure act of nonviolent civil disobedience. Declaring the protest as something other than that was pure spin. In a plaintive letter to (the NAACP's Roy) Wilkins, Martin Luther King admitted that he considered the stall-in a "tactical error" but flatly refused to condemn the young activists. "Which is worse, a 'Stall-In' at the World's Fair or a 'Stall-In' in the United States Senate?" he pointedly asked. "The former merely ties up the traffic of a single city. But the latter seeks to tie up the traffic of history, and endanger the psychological lives of twenty million people."

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2014/04/core_s_1964_stall_in_the_planned_civil_rights_protest_that_kept_thousands.html

[jtunes]

54. ever consider that the patient dying in an ambulance on a blocked road might be African American? nt

[gratuitous]

55. Please

Don't be any denser than you have to be. It hurts your argument.

[yeoman6987]

6. I am surprised it doesn't happen more often.

Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

7. Play stupid games... win stupid prizes.

It's only a matter of time until Darwin catches up with some of these assholes.

[Travis_0004]

8. #hondalivesmatter

[romanic]

9. Knew this would happen sooner or later.

[HereSince1628]

10. Wondering if the above responses reflect liberal orientation

For years, at top characteristic of liberalism was tolerance. Inconvenience is usually an objective of a protest. Life isn't supposed to go on as normal until the issue protested is addressed.

Would it be different if the protests were labor, or LGBT, or feminist rights?

[Travis_0004]

11. If it was an LGBT protest, BLM would have shut that down as well

[HereSince1628]

12. Thanks for ignoring my question, but, FYI all the groups mentioned have gone to the street

during my life.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Except when groups like Act-Up started the tactic of

"die-ins".

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Short answer: Nope. Here is a news report from 1989, ACT UP blocks NYC streets at

City Hall: a couple minutes in it gets to the traffic issues....

[HereSince1628]

15. Protesting was a pretty common approach to social problems for liberals all my life

Now, on what was marketed as a liberal board when I joined, protests for fair, not racially profiled treatment by authorities is too inconvenient for liberals. That doesn't even seem centrist or moderate.

[Bluenorthwest]

23. Oh, I'm used to DU having strong reactions to disruptive protest, I've been castigated

for mentioning ACT UP disrupting church services over 30 years after the fact:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024338037#post27

[malaise]

43. +1,000 n/t

[Skittles]

17. I don't think protesting in the middle of the road/highway is advisable for anyone

it's stupid

[gratuitous]

28. Or if it was Mario Savio saying it, instead of those other people?

Honestly, I get the feeling that people think history started yesterday or this century. How many folks will see the name Mario Savio and not know a thing about him?

[davidn3600]

18. You know how many times I've seen road rage?

I'm surprised these protesters dont get run over more often. There are maniacs on the road these days.

And blocking people are not going to make them liberal progressives. They are not going to "check their privilege." They aren't going to sit back and listen to black people more now. They will instead blame BLM for why they just got fired for being late to their job. Or what happens if someone is trying to get to the Emergency Room?

These people on the highway are not the ones gunning down black people. Go protest in front of the police station. They are the ones doing it. Go to city council meetings and demand your local politicians hold the police accountable. That's what you need to start doing.

And most important of all....VOTE!!!!! I'm tired of people doing protests and marches and then they sit their ass home on election day. Fuck those people. Just like the people in Britain now doing these protests over the Brexit vote when most of these same protesters SAT HOME during the vote. You want to sit home on the election....fine. But in my opinion when you do that....you have no right to be angry at the result.

[NCTraveler]

19. Hope they are ok.

I support their actions. BLM is going to visit you in the streets, at your podium, sporting events, parks, etc. it is how to make the oppressors take notice. I really do think the actions they took aimed at Democrats this season was on spot and on time. Sorry about what happened here. Not going to watch the video.

[zz-la]

20. That's the whole fucking point of a protest

A protest is design to produce civil disobedience and disrupt normal daily life, so that normal, decent people get off their asses and decide that they should call their congress person and demand that the government get off their lazy asses and do something about a generation of young black people being executed by police. If it happens to cause you to be late for wherever you are going than consider that a protest mission accomplished. If protesters just stood in front of city hall with a poster and a glass of ice tea than people would just drive by and say, "Oh look honey a protest. How nice." They would watch it on the news from the comfort of their safe home and then turn it off and go to bed never giving the issue a second thought.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

21. Making people late for work is one thing. Blocking access for emergency vehicles is another.

[Lee-Lee]

22. Do you think the people made late for jobs or family events

Are going to say "Man, those folks have a good point, I should help them" or "What a bunch of assholes, screw them and whatever they are for?"

There is a good way to protest that gets attention to your cause and gets people on your side. Blocking highways isn't turning anyone who was caught to the traffic snarl into a supporter of your cause, whatever it is.

[Bluenorthwest]

24. It's not for seeking supporters, it's for getting people to talk about the issue they have

been very actively ignoring for years on end, when they have failed to respond to alarms raised in less confrontational ways. When a country has done nothing in the face of 30,000 deaths and counting, it's time to focus their attention on that problem before some of those who are late for work are simply late, not tardy but dead themselves.

[sarisataka]

31. Please forgive

If I am not quite understanding the finer points of protesting. However if your protest is not designed to get people to support you isn't the protest futile?

I can understand getting people talking about an issue. There are three possible outcomes to their discussion. 1 they understand the point of your protest and choose to support the cause you are advocating. 2 they disagree with you reject your cause and will then oppose it. Or 3 they will continue to be indifferent.

Only one of those three outcomes is beneficial to the protesters, assuming they wish to change the status quo.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

34. Okay, but once that discussion has begun you want them to come to a supportive conclusion.

[WillowTree]

40. And what they're going to be talking about is how those asshats effed-up their day.

Not exactly a Dale Carnegie approach to winning friends and influencing people. More like How to Make Enemies and Piss-off Those Who Might Have Been Inclined to Help Your Cause.

[KMOD]

25. Some of the Black Lives Matter protesters have been run over, intentionally

There was a very disturbing video being distributed around Facebook showing those instances, and people were cheering it on. I've seen lots of right wingers rant about running them over as well.

I realize this particular incident was just an accident. Still, it's sad to see people celebrating it.

[gollygee]

27. +1000

It isn't OK to run people over just because you're inconvenienced by their protest.

[tenderfoot]

30. I have a feeling some here are members of the cheering squad

eom

[gollygee]

26. Protests are messy, and protests work

They have to be inconvenient to work.

[TeddyR]

52. How does keeping people

From getting to work, or to take the kids to school, or to the hospital promote any cause?

[gollygee]

61. It brings the issue to people's attention

Protests like this, inconvenient ones, have been done for a very long time, and have worked.

You're saying you don't think they should work, but you can read about times they have worked right in this thread. And if you do even a bit of googling, you'll find more.

[TeddyR]

63. See posts 36 and 39 below

This is counterproductive behavior that alienates 90% of the people observing, and 100% of the people stuck on the road because of an ill-planned protest.

[gollygee]

64. These kinds of protests have historically worked

Blocking roads, entry into buildings, etc. People in this thread thinking it should be alienating a high percentage of people doesn't mean anything.

[arcane1]

29. Now that Bernie is out of the race, we can critique BLM tactics without being called racist.

What interesting timing.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

35. i support civil disobedience. I am not sure what Bernie has to do with any of this. nt

[arcane1]

44. I do too.

I'm referring to the threads back when BLM was interrupting Sanders events. Saying something as simple as "I'm not sure that's the most effective tactic" was always met with accusations of racism. I'm glad those days are over and we can now speak freely on the topic

[Vattel]

56. That is a nice change.

[Lil Missy]

32. Darwins Theory is alive and well.

[NaturalHigh]

47. I love your sig line.

[Lil Missy]

48. Works with humans too .....

[jtunes]

59. did you get that line from Amanda? nt

[Lil Missy]

68. I have no idea who that is. So no.

[SuperDutyTX]

36. Counter-productive

It's completely counter-productive to their cause, and let's be honest, if you've seen the video, this wasn't some guy plowing through protesters at any speed. This guy got out of his car, made some kind of statement (who knows what), then slowly moved through the roadblock at speeds less than 5MPH.

The result for the driver was getting chased by the crowd, getting punched in the face, and had fireworks thrown in his vehicle while he waited for police.

This is not the way to protest the cause in my opinion. Peaceful/Non-Violent protests are the way to win public opinion, not what happened here.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

37. Well said.

[Nye Bevan]

39. If some group blocks the highway and makes me get stuck in traffic for 4 hours,

guess what, I'm not going to call my congressman when I get home to express sympathy for whatever cause the highway blockers are protesting about. I'm just going to think that they are inconsiderate assholes.

[whistler162]

41. Is there a actual news source or just

some twit twittering? Yes I know I have zero respect for Twitterers.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

49. Video at link.

[PlanetaryOrbit]

58. Blocking the highway DAMAGES the BLM cause.

It galvanizes the opinion of the blocked motorists AGAINST the cause.

[uponit7771]

62. It seems for some breathing damages the BLM cause, when other activist groups have done similar

[Warpy]

60. Blocking highways is not a great tactic

since they're also blocking fire and other emergency vehicles.

Gandhi's resistance was more in the form of non cooperation--with the salt monopoly, with laws mandating the purchase of cloth from England instead of domestic manufacture, with curfews of all sorts, and by boycotts.

While I know BLM's tactics have to be different and inconveniencing their fellow citizens in one way or another is essential to get enough press to WAKE PEOPLE UP to what's been happening out there, blocking highways doesn't seem to be the best one.

Blocking big city streets is a better idea. Emergency vehicles can find alternate routes and people will be inconvenienced enough that they'll squawk and it will make the news.

[pinboy3niner]

65. EarlG: The American tradition of inconveniencing motorists...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=230315

[gollygee]

66. +1000 !!! Nt

[Lancero]

67. For the claims of 'but, but, muh ambulances!'

https://rebeccahains.com/2015/01/15/discrediting-blacklivesmatter-with-ambulance-concerns-is-disingenuous-heres-why/

[img][/img]

Some people are using ambulances as a socially acceptable excuse to slam protesters with whom they disagree. It’s not really about the ambulances or the medical emergencies: It’s about a protest and a movement that some folks would never agree with, no matter what they do. This kind of hypocrisy is problematic.

One local mom, Nicole Aliberti, can personally attest to this. “I find it disingenuous that people keep complaining about ambulances not being able to get to Boston hospitals due to the protests,” Aliberti told me. “I once experienced being in the back of an ambulance that was transporting my critically ill baby in stopped traffic due to a Red Sox game. No one would move out of the way, and we had to find another route to the hospital.”

...During baseball season, ambulances are routinely prevented from reaching major Boston hospitals in an efficient manner. I wonder whether the people who are attempting to discredit the #BlackLivesMatter protest also speak out against the Red Sox and their fans for blocking traffic? After all, although the intent of the Red Sox fans and these protesters differ, the outcome is the same: Predictable though Red Sox traffic may be, emergencies are by nature unpredictable, and emergency vehicles do become stuck on their way to the Longwood Medical Area on game days.

Blocking off the highways is still a idiotic tactic that isn't likely to get them much support, but considering the number of 'acceptable' actions that block off a ambulance...

[NaturalHigh]

69. Is the driver okay?