麻豆视频

In the wake of the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia; the last week has seen a number of statues come down in confederate states. The significance is that key political figures in those States resisted the abolishment of slavery and they tried to preserve political liberty for white people.听 It is possible that the first President of the US, George Washington, will be a target as well.听 Washington was a slave owner for 56 years and it remains to be seen as to whether extremists will want to force the removal of any landmarks that feature him. Washington is on Mount Rushmore and human rights activists could seek to have the mountain imploded.听 I also feel that, within the near future, the city of Washington DC will undergo a name change.

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Here in Canada, I could see activists moving a lot quicker than their American counterparts. I don鈥檛 pretend to know who the vile offenders are from history; but I鈥檓 sure they鈥檒l be pointed out to me at some point. The one person I was curious about is Lord Stanley. Could there be something in his past that may result in the changing of the name of hockey鈥檚 most coveted trophy? About a year ago, I suggested the Winnipeg Jets may be in trouble with their team name because they are named after fighter planes and it鈥檚 possible human rights activists could determine the Winnipeg NHL team is promoting and glorifying war. We could see the day where the Jets name is deemed offensive and they鈥檒l have to undergo a change. Don鈥檛 laugh. Just this week, ESPN apologized for holding a fantasy football auction on tv because it could have been interpreted as a slave auction. Yes, we鈥檝e fallen that far in the land of offensive things. An expansion East Coast Hockey League team in Portland, Maine is set to call their club the Wild Blueberries. Serious. At the moment, I think that one should be safe.

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I discovered a man by the name of Larry Elder this week. He鈥檚 a black man who has his own radio show in California; but I hadn鈥檛 heard of him until I saw a video of him debating a white television host. Elder schooled the guy so badly that the host admitted after the interview that he was ready to change his mind on many racial issues. The big one, an epidemic of police shooting black suspects was very much debunked by Elder. I don鈥檛 pertain to agree or disagree but if Elder鈥檚 facts are believed to be true, there needs to be a different dialogue than what we are having. In 2015, Elder said 965 people were shot by police in the US. 4% were white police officers shooting unarmed blacks. In Chicago, the city is made up of 33% black, 33% white, 33% hispanic; yet 70% of homicides are black on black and 75% of those are unsolved.听 Elder would like to see Black Lives Matter take up that cause before they even look at police officers mistreating black people. In 2015 in Baltimore, a young man named Freddie Gray passed away while in the back of a police vehicle as he was being transported. Six officers were charged in relation to his death but all were found not guilty or had charges dropped. The matter resulted in a major protest being held; but Elder argues Gray was going to get proper justice and the media used the case to stoke the fire of racism. Elder points out Maryland is run by Democrats, the top two police officers in Baltimore are black, the Mayor is black, and the Attorney General is black. Elder also cited stats from the last thirty years that indicate police shooting black people has declined by as much as 75%, while the percentage of whites being shot by police has remained constant over the same period of time.听 I think people like Elder and Charles Barkley, who said over the weekend that he could care less about statues, can be key figures in bridging racial divide if they are given a platform.

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In Calgary, Pride parade organizers have banned uniformed police officers from taking part.听 Their authoritative symbol and weapon can be a trigger and traumatic for individuals who face oppression. It鈥檚 likened to PTSD. The other group banned by this organization seeking all-inclusiveness (oxymoron for those non English majors) is the provincial United Conservative Party. Their application to take part was rejected.听 Instead, its members are required to take a 3-hour workshop and then they can, perhaps, take part next year. One has to wonder if a group that used to complain when certain politicians didn鈥檛 participate and can now ban the same politicians from participating hasn鈥檛 achieved its goal of all-inclusiveness and, therefore, is no longer needed.听

My involvement in this community is very limited so I鈥檓 not qualified to give much of an opinion; but the feedback I鈥檝e received is that organizers of these types of parades don鈥檛 reflect the attitudes of the vast majority of LGTBQ people, who just want to live normal lives and not draw attention to themselves just like straight folks.

Nice person mentions to Brandi Zavislak, Terry Fazakas, George Swaenepoel, and Ray Walker.