Genuine Black Lives Matter debate has been diluted | Cheryl Gibbs

Last week I wrote about my support of the Black Lives Matter movement.What happened to George Floyd in America rightly sparked global outrage and there was so much support for the fact that, as a society, we need to do better to ensure that something so tragic never happens again.
Rover Scouts Chris Arthur (left) and Matthew Trott pose for a photograph in front of a statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay in Dorset ahead of its expected removal to "safe storage" following concerns about his actions while in the military and "Nazi sympathies". The action follows a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday June 11, 2020. See PA story POLICE Floyd. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire Rover Scouts Chris Arthur (left) and Matthew Trott pose for a photograph in front of a statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay in Dorset ahead of its expected removal to "safe storage" following concerns about his actions while in the military and "Nazi sympathies". The action follows a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday June 11, 2020. See PA story POLICE Floyd. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Rover Scouts Chris Arthur (left) and Matthew Trott pose for a photograph in front of a statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay in Dorset ahead of its expected removal to "safe storage" following concerns about his actions while in the military and "Nazi sympathies". The action follows a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK, sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday June 11, 2020. See PA story POLICE Floyd. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

But unfortunately in a week that saw so much support for the BLM cause, things took a bit of a turn.

Peaceful protests have, on occasion, turned into riots and in other countries, such as America, people used it as an opportunity to loot and cause havoc in communities and across neighbourhoods.

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The conversation that was originally about the genuine problem of racism, has once again been diluted into discussions about other things. Those who were genuinely peacefully protesting are being labelled as ‘rioters’ and ‘thugs’.

And now that certain monuments across the UK have been pulled down during these protests the conversation has moved on from what it should be about and is now about whether or not a statue offends or is classed as racist.

I’ve had many discussions with people about it and it isn’t clear cut.

On the one hand, is it okay that people can just go into a square or public space and tear down a monument potentially putting others at risk in the process because they choose to do so regardless of consequences?

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On the other hand, should we really, in today’s society, pay homage to historical figures who may have had a chequered and racist past?

It’s a difficult subject to discuss and it’s one of those issues – a bit like Brexit – where most people have extremely different opinions. I’ve often been labelled as an idealist as I genuinely hope that people can see others for who they are and not the colour of their skin, their religious beliefs, gender, or sexuality.

Perhaps I’m naive, who knows…wouldn’t it be wonderful though?

With tensions immensely high, the mental strain of people living in lockdown, and now this, I worry about the toll this is all taking on society and the impact it will have on future generations to come.

You may spot me huffing and puffing along country lanes

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I’ve started running again. I go through these phases all the time, but this time I’ve enlisted the help of the running app Couch to 5k which slowly helps you build up to running 5k without stopping.

I’m on week three and it’s going well, although I look an absolute mess as I run through the streets of Clanfield. I used to have really nice gym gear, but it’s all a bit snug at the minute.

So I’ve resorted to wearing really old, baggy clothes that do nothing for me or the run, but I’m going to keep going until I can actually get back into my old stuff.

My mum’s slimming club hasn’t worked – week three in and I’m still exactly the same weight so mum’s threatening to revoke my membership!

Don’t you love shows that are so bad, they’re good?

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I’ve started watching the Netflix show, Selling Sunset, a property reality TV series set in beautiful LA, with beautiful houses sold by beautiful people. I love it and loathe it all at once.

It’s addictive because I love property anyway. I go on Rightmove all the time just to see what houses are for sale and how the market’s doing – perhaps I should have been an estate agent?

The properties they sell are out of this world and all the estate agents are stunning, they look like models and get thousands of dollars in commission to sell these wonderful homes.

I’m so jealous. The series is brilliant in a really terrible way – it’s reality TV at its absolute best and worst. I highly recommend it.