Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Pbpopcorn t1_j686zry wrote

Reply to comment by anObscurity in NYC protests of Tyre Nichols death draw more than 100; three arrested as Times Square protester smashes police car windshield by [deleted]

The pandemic is “over” so to speak, so people are out and about on Friday nights now (restaurants, bars, social gatherings, etc). I think since lots of people were bored at home in 2020 and spent all their time glued to the news/doom scrolling, more people participated in the protests. I bet if there hadn’t been a pandemic the George Floyd protests wouldn’t have been as big -it gave people an excuse to gather when gatherings were essentially banned. Not sure why I’m being downvoted and I don’t care lol

192

throws_rocks_at_cars t1_j68c80s wrote

I agree that a significant portion of the energy of the 2020 ones came from disquiet over the lockdowns, even if people denied it since it wasn’t the ostensible reason for them.

81

ImJackieNoff t1_j68lr9n wrote

In the early summer of 2020, there was nothing to do because everything was shut down. The weather across the country was really amazing (warm, not hot, low humidity). It was an election year with half the country pissed off about Trump being President and at the prospect of 4 more years of him. The media actively encouraged people to protest. Those confluence of factors lead to what we had at that time.

50

bigredpancake1 t1_j69pq6m wrote

^^ I’m positive the George Floyd protests wouldn’t have been nearly as big if Covid hadn’t happened

17

EWC_2015 t1_j696a77 wrote

>I bet if there hadn’t been a pandemic the George Floyd protests wouldn’t have been as big -it gave people an excuse to gather when gatherings were essentially banned.

I found myself wondering if this was true in the aftermath when things had "quieted down" so to speak. I was expecting similar events last night given just how BAD this case is, but it was surprisingly quiet. NBC reported it as "protests erupt" across the country and the shots they showed of Memphis, Boston, and NYC had remarkably small crowds.

10

Westiemom666 t1_j6bh61g wrote

I think the opposite. A lot of people who would've protested didn't, because of the virus. Releasing the video after criminal charges were already announced made a big difference.

−1

Pbpopcorn t1_j6blecd wrote

I don’t think so. Anecdotally but I knew people who were afraid to go outside/gather because of covid but made an exception just for George Floyd protests, including one of my immunocompromised friends. It was as if it was dangerous to go to central park because of covid unless it was for BLM (before people knew outdoor spread was minimal)

9

averageuhbear t1_j68tvrg wrote

I think your framing is half-correct, but I feel it's a little deeper than boredom and doom scrolling. The pandemic was a real shock to the system, and change messes with our wiring, created an environment of fear, etc. I think Trump played a role as well.

8

Westiemom666 t1_j6bg7v0 wrote

The cops were charged before the video was released, it made a difference.

7

sternfan1523 t1_j6fav2l wrote

It’s 100% this lol it’s so obvious most of the energy was from people having nothing else to do and going a bit crazy. There would have been protests but not to nearly the level.

5