I am old enough to remember when these protests were about systemic racism, police brutality, and lack of police accountability.
Having participated in online discussions since the mid-1990's, I have been aware of these issues. Indeed, one of my longtime Usenet allies wrote frequently about this.
http://groups.google.com/d/msg/talk.politics.guns/drhJ9nDCDLQ/1jLtnfqJttYJ
"Whom were the Selma, AL police "protecting and serving" when they
turned dogs loose on civil rights marchers?
Whom were the Pittsburgh, PA police "protecting and serving" when they
beat Malice Green to death because he wouldn't open his hand so they
could see what was inside?"- Christopher Charles Morton, 5/17/1997
Chris continued to post about this sdubject matter as recently as a few days ago.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/the-new-media-meme-rolls-on-police-violence-is-due-to-civilian-gun-ownership/#comment-4547947
"Remember you don’t need a gun because:
* Justin Volpe
* Jon Burge
* Alvin Weems
* Derek Chauvin
* Jonathan Aledda
* Scot Peterson
* Gerald Goines
will protect you."- Chris, 6/23/2020
So, you see, I have been aware of these issues for DECADES, issues which persists in part because people keep voting for those who perpetuate it.
And it became front and center just recently with the video of George Floyd. Suddenly, social media attention turned to police brutality and systemic racism issues.
But then it became about removing characters from cereal boxes because they look white.
http://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/24/how-bad-is-the-madness-this-bad/
Or renaming Penny Lane in Liverpool?
http://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/21/sunday-ethics-warm-up-fathers-day-edition-though-theres-absolutely-nothing-here-about-fathers-day/#more-67971
the Duluth City Counil removing the word chief.
A cheer invented by a black football player beiong removed.
http://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/18/the-madness-continues/
Or toppling statues of U.S. Presidents?
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/20/san-francisco-statues-ulysses-s-grant-junipero-serra-francis-scott-key
http://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/portland-george-washington-statue-toppled-trnd/index.html
Or defacing statues of abolitionists?
http://news.yahoo.com/park-volunteer-outraged-over-vandalism-162539906.html
Or abolishing the Star Spangled Banner?
http://news.yahoo.com/why-it-might-be-time-to-replace-the-star-spangled-banner-with-a-new-national-anthem-023741108.html
The statue topplers are most likely ne'er do-wells lashing out, and virtue signaling is much easier than actually examining policies that either magnify incentives for or diminish deterrents against police brutality and misconduct.
But people, real people, have been hurt.
Reporting on a private party that happened years ago.
https://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/18/apparently-i-dont-understand-the-world-any-more-because-this-story-from-and-about-the-washington-post-makes-no-sense-to-me-at-all-or-maybe-it-does/
Trying to get a professor fired for criticizing Black Lives Matter.
http://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/17/an-update-on-the-professor-jacobson-controversy-at-cornell/
People resiogning en masse.
https://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/17/wednesday-ethics-jolts-6-17-2020-i-think-we-have-our-answer-to-question-13/
Multiple cancellations.
http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2020/06/list-of-people-canceled-in-post-george-floyd
Abolishing the police.
https://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/13/saturday-ethics-warm-up-6-13-2020-you-know-morons/
Getting a man fired for using the OK symbol.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/502975-california-man-fired-over-alleged-white-power-sign-says-he-was
http://ethicsalarms.com/2019/05/09/ethics-quiz-the-cubs-fan-ban/
http://ethicsalarms.com/2019/12/18/ethics-round-up-12-18-2019-the-day-before-an-invasive-procedure-edition/
I have also heard of the Gadsden flag and the Betsy Ross flag being called racist symbols.
https://ethicsalarms.com/2019/07/08/monday-morning-ethics-warm-up-7-8-2019-well-no-more-oreos-for-me-edition/
I have heard of background checks for employment as being racist.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/235568-courts-remind-eeoc-again-background-checks-dont-equal-racism
This campaighn clearly did morer than jump the shark.
This campaign is jumping over multiple shivers of sharks.
Secretly recording a selectman's conversation, and then banning the selectman.
https://ethicsalarms.com/2020/06/20/scary-tales-of-the-george-floyd-freakout-the-mission-on-the-bay-fiasco/
This can only discredit the campaign for police accountability and equal protection and against police misconduct, brutality, and systemic racism.
Is that the goal of jumping these multiple shivers of sharks, to so discredit anti-racism that American societty opnely em braces racism like almost all societies in the past fifty centuries?
Or is there a more nefarious goal that discrediting equality is just collateral damage?
Michael