FARMINGTON – Roughly 150 people gathered in Meetinghouse Park on Main Street Monday evening to support the Black Lives Matter movement, and the life of George Floyd, who was recently killed by a Minneapolis police officer.
The gathering was organized by a group of Mt. Blue Middle School students who had planned to keep it small.
“My friend Maya [Kellett] was originally just gonna go downtown with a sign, but we asked if we could go too and then it turned into this huge thing,” Avery Jessen said.
The young activists spoke for several minutes, before asking the crowd to take a knee for eight minutes and forty-six seconds- the length of time the former officer held a knee to Floyd’s throat. The platform was then opened up to the audience which drew a number of speakers.
“White people need to stand up, and that doesn’t mean just stand in a park,” Stephanie Harmon said.
The crowd then proceeded to march up Main Street, ending at the Post Office.
Rolliie, the Man killed in Lewiston was white. He was killed by a Somali (Black) in an organized group assault. The killer has been coddled by the Maine justice system. Despite upwards to 20 witnesses the arrest was long in coming. Apparently Lewiston isn’t capable of processing a murder charge if the accused is black so the case was moved to a more “accommodating” southern Maine court system. The assumption being that, Cumberland County is more legally adapt at this process. Ask yourself, why is justice being delayed (denied) for this particular case? Don’t white Mainers lives matter when they are murdered?
What exactly is a “person of color”?
If that sounds like a silly question, it’s not to the native Americans who have to figure out who qualifies for treaty rights etc.. How much is enough?
How black, brown, yellow, red or (yes white) does a person have to be to be a… “person of color”?
You could have heard a pin drop when Tulsi Gabbard described her self as a woman of color before she got shunned by the national democrats. She “looks” kinda you know what..
We hat exactly us privelddge?
If it’s about priveledge, how do you explain to a poor abused kid who didn’t qualify as a person of color that he has it made but the wealthy one of color is oppressed… just because?
This so called social justice the warriors are screaming about doesnt hold water, it’s full of holes.
I know I know, I’m a terrible racist and need to be euthanized but I’ll just continue to strive for equal rights for “all” lives and you can continue to hate me for that.
Life’s not fair.
Let’s get over it and be real for a real change.
Do what you can.
Everything is Beautiful.
Are any of these comments from black people? It seems to me that a lot of the violence in these demonstrations are coming from white SJW’s as if they know the plight of the minorities. The democrat media has managed to create another false narrative.
Not trying to start anything but didnt the officer get charged for murder over this? They took action as far as I’ve seen. Not all cops are the same some are just horrible. But they get punished. Luckily people around here are smart enough to just do a peaceful protest and not riot like everyone else.
What is really sad is that tomorrow is the anniversary of D day and a handful people will stop to comemmorate the millions of the bravest men and women who ever lived but millions will find time harm people and burn people’s businesses, Those folks will not rebuild there,nor should they. Yet more burned out inner cities and empty stores. They really thought that strategy out well.
Take time today to thank a WW2 Veteran. Without them there would be no “B.L.M.” because there would be no B’s left.
BLM is a radio station for all I care.
“ANY” group of ANY ilk that thinks their rights are above anyone else’s rights,,, is just simply wasting time.
Everything is Beautiful.
Heather I have been busy so it’s taken me a couple days to respond. The two punks should not be ignored because they are part of the problem. Had I been there I would have taken the Trump/Pence flag away from them because as a Trump supporter myself they do not represent me or any other Trump supporter I know. This President has done more for the “black” community than any President in recent history and more than Biden has done in his 40+ yrs in politics. As for your other points you made I do believe we as a nation do have some things we can do better but to insinuate that people don’t do these things already is judgmental. This topic bas been exploited by the media to cause more turmoil and divisiveness amongst us. Not that there isn’t an issue but it is not as grave an issue as they have spun it to be.
David Dorn a retired cop was murdered by rioters he was Black and was killed by another Black man did his life deserve to be taken because he wouldn’t allow a rioter to steal a t.v. ? No he did not. So again I will say peaceful protest is fine to make change but when things like this happen and pallets of bricks are being left for these “protesters” it is clear to many of us that this is just another attempt to make OUR President look like the bad guy and every other white person in this country.
If the black communities want to be treated better than they should stop voting for the democrats that keep treating them like mushrooms. For instance the mayor of Chicago that said they didn’t have enough money for heating oil to heat classrooms but she had enough money to send bus loads of kids to D.C. to protest against guns. That idiot should be voted out of office as should any other person that shows such disregard for the Constitution or people’s safety by letting their communities be burned by these rioting scum.
Awww, you want us to ignore the two punks because you say they are not the same as you. I completely understand your view and it sounds like you were also offended by them.
In many of the nation wide protests, yes, there has been violence but by a small majority, some from white supremacy groups, some from anti government groups and some from Antifa. A little bit from all deviations to normal behavior. Given that the majority of protesters were not violent, can’t we ignore :those punks” who did bad things. I would imagine the peaceful protesters are offended by these bad actors as well?
How about this to consider.
The article above is about a peaceful protest in Farmington. No punks to ignore as everyone behaved. Why don’t we acknowledge that there were people exercising their constitutional rights in a responsible manner. Why has this generated so much commentary. The US is all about free speech and the right to peaceful assembly. People may not agree about the issue being protested but every American must agree that a peaceful protest is a right of every American.
“I don’t think there is systemic racism,” opined national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien. “I think 99.9% of our law-enforcement officers are great Americans.””… just “a few bad apples that have given law enforcement a bad name.”
“O’Brien comes from a school of thought common among those who are unable to face the ugly truth of this country. …it is past time O’Brien and others like him mustered the guts and humanity to face facts.”
Columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald expresses the heartbreak, frustration and outrage about recent events.
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/06/04/leonard-pitts-we-dont/
P.S. Watch the video of the incident in Buffalo, NY where police knock down an elderly man then lie that, “He tripped.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFeewU0HhNE
Steve if we ignore the two punks in Farmington that disrupted a peaceful protest than we aren’t going to make a difference. Just like if we ignore the few bad cops in the midsts of the the thousands of good ones. I never said we should ignore them that was another commenter I was responding too. I would have taken the flags from them and run them off like the cowards they are.
Marie E I did watch the video and that is how I know he advanced on the cops and was pushed back like any other person would have been. Age doesn’t matter when you advance on someone that is in riot gear hoping they will not be killed and they can go home to their family. He could have stepped to the side and been fine but he chose to step towards them and was dealt with accordingly for his actions.
DAVID DORN.
Murdered.
Honorable Police Officer.
Black man murdered by “rioters” in St Louis.
” Progresive Liberals comes from a school of thought common among those who are unable to face the ugly truth of this country. …it is past time the Progresive Liberals and others like them mustered the guts and humanity to face facts.”
The fact that they are coddling terrorist and racist organizations like Antifa, Hardcore BLM and the rhetoric from the Squad.
The fact that they’re only creating more problems and solving absolutely nothing.
ALL LIVES MATTER
Every single one.
Everything Is Beautiful.
Awww
My initial reaction was to figure out who the punks are, too.
Then my teacherly instincts kicked in. I thought: “What is making me so angry about those two people, since I believe so strongly in our First Amendment rights?”
Next, I thought: “What is it about their actions that makes me want to push them away, discrediting them as human beings? How does that make any sense, considering that I don’t allow that in my classroom?”
Then I did what I do for my job: thought about what I’ve done, as one human being, to improve myself.
Sorry if it seemed judgmental. If I was judging anyone, it would be the former version of myself who needed improvement.
In my almost 52 years on our planet, I’ve experienced that focusing on positive change really does bring about more kindness, whereas focusing on negativity does nothing but perpetuate the negativity.
The video of the elderly man in Buffalo, NY shows that he was unarmed, posed no threat to the police, and that undue force was used against him. The unthinking reaction that caused his fall/serious injury was compounded by callous disregard for his life as he lay injured and semi-conscious on the ground. The Buffalo cop “in charge” didn’t allow it. It was a NY State Police trooper that first knelt to see how the fallen man was.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/police-inveshttps://dailybulldog.com/features/150-gather-in-support-of-black-lives-matter/#tigations-us-1.5599674#:~:text=It%20shows%20a%20man%20identified,spills%20as%20officers%20walk%20past.
To excuse the excessive force as “doing their job” because there was a curfew is to underline the need for strong reforms in policing. What was the training meant to do? “To serve and protect“?? To serve whom? To protect what? Where was the judgement?
Awww: You said you would take the Trump/Pence flag from them because they don’t represent what “you” think T/P stand for, yet those very politicians have fanned the flames of hatred and racism every chance they can tweet. They do stand for the beliefs of a large number of Trump’s base. You also say Trump has done more for Blacks than any other president. Please enlighten us as to the multitude of good things he has done. It’s too bad that racism has become a divisive political issue when it should be something we all come together to overcome and realize the talents, promise and dreams of all of our citizens.
Nancy, your recollection of the violence in the ‘60s is a lot rosier than mine. Widespread violence, shootings, and bombings were common. Luckily we haven’t gone that far yet. Violence is never the answer but we all need to work together for meaningful change to avoid another cycle in the future.
Marie it doesn’t matter if you are armed or unarmed. When you step towards a cop that is in riot gear you will be pushed back no matter your age. These cops are in riot gear for protection from rioters and when someone comes at them as the guy did it automatically makes him a threat. At 75 yrs old I would think he would ha e enough brains to not advance on police when he was already breaking the curfew and not stepping aside had he stepped aside he would not have been pushed. Someone should have checked on him sooner but crap happens in riots. Look at the black citizens that have been killed by other blacks during these riots. It doesn’t help the narrative of the protests if they are going to do the same thing they are pissed at the cops for doing.
Impeachment didn’t work, people are waking up to all the bull of the China flu so here we have a race war. When these folks get tired and go home what will come next before November 3, 2020 ? Any dem want to give us a little snippet of the play book ?
You need to go elsewhere for your news instead of relying on Canada’s. The mayor of the city has declared that the man was an agitator.
Moveon look up his criminal justice reform act that has released many poc from prison. You can also look into the fact that black unemployment is the lowest since records have been kept. I’m sure if you go to the internet you can find more things he has done. I believe the two punks were planted to cause this type of divisiveness it’s has been seen all over the country. If you want to label any politicians “racist” look at Joe Biden the author of the bill Trump rolled back to release the “criminals” that were unfairly imprisoned. Kamala Harris made a claim that she was forced out of the presidential race because of racism yet it was her own party that didn’t vote for her. A presidential race that had many poc running and now has an old white guy that doesn’t seem to have the mental capacity to tie shoe laces.
Spokesman for mayor and police apologizes for saying protester ‘tripped and fell’
“The mayor addressed questions about why DeGeorge (the spokesman) speaks for both the mayor’s office and the Buffalo Police Department. Brown said that has been done as a cost-saving measure “but it’s clear that something was amiss last night.”
https://buffalonews.com/2020/06/05/spokesman-for-mayor-and-police-apologizes-for-saying-protester-tripped-and-fell/
Does Mayor Brown get unbiased information or is he fed the police’s side of the story?
Buffalo mayor calls elderly protester shoved by police an ‘agitator’
https://nypost.com/2020/06/06/buffalo-mayor-calls-protester-shoved-by-police-an-agitator/
By the way, ag·i·ta·tor: a person who urges others to protest or rebel.
“an activist and agitator who fought for striking miners” (John L. Lewis)
Examples: M. Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Caesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Malala Yousafzai, Desmond Tutu, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, just to name a few.
Aww:
Your take on assaulting a 75 year old is the exact problem.
Three trends exemplify this train of thought. New urban-warfare theories developed by military strategists; the recent practice of outfitting police with the most intimidating and sophisticated warfighting gear possible; and an even longer trend among police of treating demonstrations and protests as tantamount to revolution. This militarization of the police has contributed to the very conditions that have led to the protests — which then create a feedback loop, as they feed a desire among figures like Cotton and Trump for the actual military to step in.
In other words, counterinsurgency breeds insurgency.
I agree that people are treated unfairly based on the color of their skin, but why is it wrong for me to say I’m not racist and okay for someone say that because I’m white I have to make an extra effort to not be racist?
I agree that people shouldn’t be judged by race but why is it okay to judge them by occupation?
I agree that police brutality is wrong, but if an elderly man doesn’t recognize his own frailty why should a police officer?
I agree that protesting is a protected right & an effective means to change, but why is violence by protesters considered necessary & violence against protesters condemned?
I agree that there are several “great works” like Gone With the Wind that romanticized slavery and caused ridiculous stereotypes but why is it okay to project your own shame for not organically recognizing it on everyone else?