Well I hope they plan on handing out really nice finishers medals and having plenty of food available, or else the runner are going to really be upset about the new finish area. They will have a riot on their hands if they run out of bagels or some sort of protein recovery option.

from the snarky evil side of me that's watched WAAAYYY too many riots over the years.....

"maybe they should hand out televisions"

Good will? ya, right. I think one slogan at a rally was "pigs in a blanket, fry em line bacon".

Maybe they can serve pre-race breakfast for volunteers. I bet a local grocery store chain will donate the food. I'm pretty sure "pig" is referring to breakfast sausage links. Very sure.

I wish groups like this would put their energy and time towards correcting some of the root causes of the issue. Correcting internally the negative elements within their own thug, gang banger sub-culture, and at the same time working with the other side to do the same within racist white supremist sub-culture. You can't expect one side to try and fix their own problems if the other doesn't attempt to do the same or even recognize there are 2 sides to the issue.

The last riot locally (according to locals) a neighboring township was in a high speed chase for a black youth failing to yield for a traffic stop. They handed off to the city police (who are all white) and the youth crashed the car and died. Somehow that was the police's fault, even though they didn't even initiate the original traffic stop. Basically there was a lot of mistrust and it's was a powered keg waiting to explode. That's how these usually go. There's a lot of mistrust, often for good reason, on both sides. To fix it, you need fix the issue on both ends.

My concern is this demonstration is only attempting to gain attention to the need to correct one side. Further, the real problem is lack of trust and barriers build up on both sides. Disrupting this even will make the problem worse, not better.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

I would love someone to do this to my race. Could beat the shit out of a bunch of people and claim I was afraid for my life.

 


Are they going to stop all of the runners or only the white ones?


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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Come on, they have Prince!

They could get this guy to clear the way for everyone

Here's an idea: arrest them for obstructing traffic or whatever, get their names, and hand over said names to an attorney who would file a class action lawsuit on behalf of the racers and the event organizer. Between the damages and the attorney's fees, each of the "protestors" will have a nice $10,000+ bill to pay. If they are minors then their parents can have a nice $10,000+ bill to pay.

so... i am absolutely The Only One? i know nothing of the cause as I don't live in teh USA but from what i read there is a huge disparity of racism up there, culminating in huge societal factors - one of which is that black folk seem to have targets on them. is there not a huge disparity between black and white seen through many different layers of society, from education to jail?

honestly, were i running the marathon and experienced an event (can't remember the word to use) at mile 25 i would either take a rest or join in. the idea of my white ass being inconvenienced during a hobby to bring awareness - it reeks of elitism to be bothered by forcing awareness of such a grave situation. were none of you Vietnam War protesters? were none of you Cesar Chavez and farm workers' awareness fighters?

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http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

This is what started the whole #BlackLivesMatter movement

https://en.wikipedia.org/...ing_of_Michael_Brown

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Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

Not sure what's more misguided and ill-informed, this comment, or the actions of the protesters.

Well done.

Yes, this is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.

wanna know how well lawsuits work against broke people with no jobs and no education?

So a group that was formed to protest events caused in large part by people running when they were not supposed to is going to try and stop a bunch of authorized runners.

Its kind of fitting in a twisted sort of way but I bet they are not cleaver enough to put that twist on it ;-)

Not sure what type info you get, but it is definitely not like that at all. You reading old Black Panther literature?

I dare not say you are the only one... but for the life of me I cannot understand your thought process.

Yes, there are issues that need to be resolved on both sides of the aisle. Many people don't believe/ acknowledge it, but racism goes both ways in the world and we need to find a way to change that. But I ask how does stopping a bunch of people during a marathon, that they have dedicated time and money towards, seem like an equitable fashion to 'bring awareness' towards the issue. There are also people who run for a living... do these people reek of elitism? Other than being elite runners?

As others have said, there are ways to bring attention to issues in a positive light. If they follow through with this plan I believe it will not do anything to ease tensions and will only depict BLM negatively. I believe that the people that they are trying to gain support from are going to be the people who are negatively impacted the most by this.

Why not have groups of runners in BLM shirts run the race? Why not have BLM work aid stations? Why not have BLM sponsor part of the race? Why not contribute to this event and show BLM in a positive manner?

Disrupting peoples lives (please note the earlier BLM freeway block) is NOT a great way to garner sympathy. It is however, a great way to make somebody dislike the movement.

If you want your group to gain respect, don't disrespect other groups, including Marathon runners.

That said...you might in deed be, "The Only One" but only to a point....

I disagree with the premise, "Black Lives Matter", in that I believe "All Lives Matter. Police seem to be shooting suspects more quickly than in the past (perception or reality, hard for me to know...publicity certainly makes us aware of more instances we may not have been aware of in the past). And even in pretty questionable cases, the police are exonerated of misconduct.

The best way to not get shot by the police is to not give them ANY reason to consider pulling their firearm. Ever.

Thank god. Someone said it! Now, can I protest at mile 26 to stop the inequality of white runners winning marathons? I'm tired of all these African runners coming to American races and taking away the wins from true Americans.

(If this needs to be pink, we can't be friends)

"Rashad Turner with the St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter said, “Our job as an organization is to keep the pressure on. Our job is to let the community know that every day we are planning on dismantling white supremacy.”"

Does Rashad realize that the first several runners that they'll encounter with their blockade probably won't be white?

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Find out what it is in life that you don't do well, then don't
do that thing.

But it's worked so well for the Critical Mass crowd..

This possibly one of the most idiotic statement that I have read on Slowtwitch recently. As a Hispanic American I can tell you that I am sick and tired about the culture of victimhood of the minority comunities in the US. Is there racism? Yes. Should something be done about it? Absolutely. And there has been incredible progress in the last 30 years. The freaking President of the US is an African American for heavens sake!

The truth that our minority communities don't want to accept is that movements like "Black Lives Matter" just perpetuate the victim status of minorities in this country. We need fair treatment, yes, but what our communities need more than anyting is to pick our sorry butts off the ground and start taking ownership for our successes and failures.

How stopping a marathon does anything to help black communities is a mystery to me and is further evidence that civil rights organizations have been taken over by morons in this country. This is absolutely NOT what any responsible civil rights organization should do and I hope that they throw any and all of those people who disturb the marathon in jail.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Let's pretend that they achieve their stated goal for this protest- Stop everyone 1 mile from the finish and get all of the marathon runners to "join in protest and stand in solidarity"... Now imagine the smell.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Most of what I've read in this thread is too misinformed, ridiculous, or racist to respond to without losing my cool.

Have fun in your run, Slowtwitch.