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Tuesday, June 02, 2020 

They allegedly care about George Floyd, but do they also care about the damage done to specialty stores?

For over a week, after a repulsive excuse for a policeman in Minneapolis choked a black man named George Floyd to death, there've been riots that spread over much of the US, accompanied by vandalism and looting. Here's how Marvel and DC responded, as reported by the Newsarama site, which is now merged with Games Radar:
Marvel Comics and DC (as well as DC's sister company Warner Bros.) have expressed solidarity with the black community following protest across the United States over the death of George Floyd.

"We stand against racism. We stand for inclusion," Marvel tweeted Sunday. "We stand with our fellow Black employees, storytellers, creators and the entire Black community. We must unite and speak out."

DC tweeted a relevant passage from 2001's Action Comics #775: "Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear... until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share - I'll never stop fighting. Ever."
It's fine if they condemn the demonic act of the shoddy policeman who led to all this. I think he should be thrown in a grimy dungeon for subjecting the victim to violence over something so petty as an alleged use of a counterfeit dollar bill. But what do the publishers and other industrialists think of rioters and looters who vandalized Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles, for example?
Golden Apple Comics has nearly doubled a donation target after the popular Los Angeles spot suffered major damage over the weekend when peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd turned to destruction and looting in Los Angeles.

Golden Apple had windows broken out when looters tried to raid the business. However, they were unable to breach the security bars.

Along with pictures of the destruction, Golden Apple said on social media, "For the record, we support the cause and justice needs to be had, but we do not endorse these acts of vandalism, theft, arson and violence. A better plan needs to be enacted to fix things ASAP."
Another store that fell victim to the fallout is Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica:

There was even a store called Crazy Fred's in San Diego's La Mesa district that got invaded. This is very serious. It was bad enough when Covid19 struck (who knows how many of the rioters could've been infected this way and that while they were at it?). Now there's violent vandalism and beatings taking place of helpless pedestrians. If book stores are important, there were even 2 independents in Minneapolis dedicated to sci-fi and mystery that were burned down, and who knows how many comics-related items could've gone with them? Even black business owners' stores fell victim to the violence. I'm wondering whether this is a concern to the elitists?

If there's anybody in the comics commentary business who's taking this all way too far, it's Heidi MacDonald at Comics Beat, who posted the following insult to the intellect, which even endorses a book denigrating the whole idea of Captain America:
Obviously there’s a lot going on in the world right now, most of it pretty awful. I’ve rounded up a few news items below stemming from the murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests as they affect the comics industry. There’s doubtless more and we’ll report more later. But just to be clear: the ongoing, longstanding and institutional racial injustice in America is intolerable to anyone who believes in human dignity. Or really, the idea of America as a place of fairness and opportunity. Not that that has ever been true, but a lot of people like to believe in it. Anyway to give this a comics spin, I’d recommend that you read Truth: Red, White and Black by the late Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. It’s long out of print and can never be reprinted, but if you ever find a copy…it’s very good.

Also, do not give me any #AllLivesMatter shit. I’ll let Randy Orton explain why.
The professional wrestler she quotes further down the list says all lives can't matter until black lives do. *Ahem* Does that mean whites, Asians and Latinos can all suffer to hell in a handbasket unquestioned until the the validity of black society is recognized? This is plain madness. All that aside, how fascinating MacDonald's recommending a book that bashes Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's memories, delegitimizes their co-creation Captain America and the ideals he was built upon for a story alleging the US military was exploiting blacks as guinea pigs for super-serum experiments, all in a story where the artwork was alarmingly cartoonish and stereotypical in its depiction of blacks, which dampens the impact of the issues in focus. Artist Kyle Baker may be black himself, but that doesn't make it any more legitimate than it would be if a Jewish artist were to draw Jewish protagonists with stereotypical features like hook noses. If the Truth: Red, White & Black miniseries hasn't been reprinted for years, there's valid reason. Who in the right frame of mind would want to waste time and money on a miniseries whose worst fault is surely the unserious artwork, probably worse than the denigration of Cap as an icon? But if MacDonald believes what she spews, does she recognize that Roosevelt was a Democrat and a leftist leading the government during WW2, and that people of his standing contributed quite a bit to the racial atmosphere of the times? This is precisely what liberals like her inexplicably ignore.

This is exactly why I've long realized MacDonald cannot be taken at face value, cannot possibly be a Captain America fan, let alone a Kirby/Simon/Lee fan, and has no business working in comics. At worst, she's an ingrate, and she apparently buys into the notion racism in the USA is entirely institutional with no way out, and doesn't believe there's any room for fairness and opportunity. I'm not believing anything she says, that's it. The time's come for her to kindly make a grand exit from the industry and quit insulting our intellects, along with tearing down the fabric upon which the industry was built. Do people like her even care that Floyd's children are denouncing all the violence that's erupted? Or that rioters in Richmond, VA set fire to a house with a child inside? Or that some of the rioters are even resorting to tactics used by the PLO, like molotov cocktails? Or, that 11 people, including civilians and police, were murdered by rioters? Doesn't sound that way.

Here's a few more samples of leftist comics contributors with dismal, one-sided things to say. For example, none other than Dan Slott:


Those "peaceful protestors" threw molotov cocktails, injured over 50 secret service agents, set fire to a White House guard station, trashed Gucci and Chanel stores in NYC, and Slott lectures us what to think and believe. This is disgusting, right down to his description of Trump as "bunker boy". Then, there's Kurt Busiek, the comics writer who went "woke" many years ago:


Only Trump is the issue, and not the rioters who caused all this nihilism sans altruism. What a disgrace. There's even at least one by artist Kevin Maguire:

Yup, more declarations of Republicans as the root of all evil. Keep going, please. Here's one by the artist/writer Jason Latour:

Be mindful that blacks have suffered just as much at the hands of these rioters as whites, Latinos and Asians have, Mr. Latour. Back in my native Philadelphia, a number of black-owned businesses were destroyed by the rioting. The black business community in Columbus, Ohio was also hit very hard by the mayhem. Minneapolis' black community was surely the first that suffered such damage too. Damage to black-owned businesses was also seen in Dallas. Where are voices like Latour's when it comes to that? And, seeing what artist Mahmud Asrar's posted:

He might want to consider this reminder from columnist Caroline Glick:

And that's why any comics creators supporting BLM are a disgrace. They look before they leap. They even ignored the vandals who trashed a synagogue in Los Angeles. IMO, they're enemies of Siegel, Shuster, Kirby and Lee, among others with Jewish ancestry. Here's another comment by Charles Soule:

Tell that to the rioters who flayed pedestrians within an inch of their lives, torched vehicles and worse, led to the deaths of other people. How is that justice? When you take a horrible situation to hopeless, it's not. It's just taking advantage of a tragedy for the sake of committing more violence. Those comics creators who can't grasp that are not dedicated to justice, and shouldn't even be working on any comic with justice and heroism as themes. Nor should they pretend they're concerned about specialty stores getting vandalized.

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'Those "peaceful protestors" threw molotov cocktails, injured over 50 secret service agents, set fire to a White House guard station, trashed Gucci and Chanel stores in NYC, and Slott lectures us what to think and believe.'

Slott is writing about Trump's decision to have the police use tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters outside the White House so he could walk over to a nearby church and pose outside it with a bible in his hand. None of those protesters were doing anything violent at the time. He did it when the protest was peaceful.

According to the episcopal bishop of Washington:

"Let me be clear: The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese without permission as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our churches stand for.

"And to do so... he sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the church yard. I am outraged."

Up yours, Anonymous. This rioting and looting is unacceptable. I have friends and family in Minneapolis-St. Paul who could be affected by the violence there. The fact that people like you excuse this crap disgusts me.

Nobody is excusing the rioting and looting; but what about the news reporters and peaceful protesters who are being injured by police? Don't forget this all started in response to unacceptable violence. That officer has a history of violence; it could have been one of your friends or family with the weight of a cop in full gear crushing his neck while in the midst of a heart attack.

You use force if necessary to control rioting and looting; you don't use tear gas and flash grenades to clear a path for the president and his hangers-on through a peaceful crowd.

There was universal agreement that what Chauvin did to Floyd was wrong. People from all across the political aisle were in agreement about that. This would've been a great time to come together, but instead, people like you sweep in and divide people.

And yes, you are excusing it because you say it's in response to Floyd's death. And I've seen plenty of people who have excused the riots, including my cousin's wife.

Remember a few days ago, when you accused Avi of "whataboutism?" You're doing the same thing here. "what about reporters and peaceful protesters?" I bet you don't give a damn about all the businesses and livelihoods that have been destroyed by the riots. To you, it's excusable, because "it all started in response to unacceptable voice."


The conversation in this comments section began with a concern that the president was having military-type people use unacceptable force against a peaceful crowd. 'AgentofSHIELD' then said that rioting and looting was unacceptable, something that has nothing to do with the way the path was cleared for the president in Washington. 'Whataboutism' is changing the topic from what was done to peaceful people in Washington to what was being done by rioters in Minneapolis, as if the rioting in Minneapolis excuses attacking protesters in Washington.

"The professional wrestler she quotes further down the list says all lives can't matter until black lives do. *Ahem* Does that mean whites, Asians and Latinos can all suffer to hell in a handbasket unquestioned until the validity of black society is recognized? This is plain madness."

It is more like a tautology, or a truism. If some lives don't matter, then that means you can't say that all lives matter. You know, because some don't and only some do.

Just like if Latino lives matter and Asian ones don't, then it would be a lie to say that all lives matter.

Don't know what the validity of black society had to do with it, or even what you mean by saying it is not recognized now; the wrestler is talking about human life, not anything about social recognition.

"For over a week, after a repulsive excuse for a policeman in Minneapolis choked a black man named George Floyd to death, there've been riots that spread over much of the US, accompanied by vandalism and looting."

This skips over so much! In Israel, you probably only see the dramatic shots, so it looks like the whole country is up in flames. But most of the demos have been peaceful. There have been demonstrations in at least 6 Vermont cities, for example, with no rioting or looting, and the most to complain about was graffiti. No one really has a good overall picture yet Of who is doing the looting and rioting, just a lot of accusations and counter accusations thrown about, but some portion is not connected to the protests, either crooks deliberately taking advantage of the circumstances or the kind of opportunistic crime that always takes place in blackouts and other chaotic situations.

The other concern is that it is not just one bad cop. While he was killing Floyd, three other cops formed a phalanx around him to keep at bay the crowd, that was yelling at the guy to stop strangling Floyd. Those three have also been charged. Even former city politicians acknowledge that there is a big problem with police culture in Minneapolis. And people, including the FBI, have been warning about white supremacist groups trying to push their members into the police forces and army for years now.

"They allegedly care about George Floyd, but do they also care about the damage done to specialty stores?"

Probably a lot them don't, at least not to the same extent. But I would have thought it would be obvious why. On the scale of crimes, cold-blooded murder in full view of a crowd by a group of people to whom society has given guns is a more serious concern than vandalism. Vandalism is a crime the system can deal with, but violent crime by police officers means that the system is badly broken. A death is more serious than a broken window or stolen books. Windows can be fixed and stolen goods recovered. Outside of comic books, you can't fix a corpse.

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About me

  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
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