thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--These Parents Say Lockdown Has Been A Chance To Teach Their Kids Life Skills

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One day during lockdown, Germaine Douglas walked into the living room where her 12-year-old son, Kairos, spends much of his time and asked why he had the TV on while studying. “I like to hear the news updates when I’m working,” came his response. “I don’t want to miss something important.”
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“I have never been able to get my children interested in the news or politics,” Douglas tells HuffPost UK. “My child is now definitely more politically aware than before this, 100%.”
In April, when the online tutoring service MyTutor asked 700 parents in the UK how they’ve been approaching homeschooling their children, 51% said they are using this period to teach them things they normally wouldn’t at school.
Since schools closed, the Douglas family has held weekly discussions of Black history and current affairs alongside their regular Bible studies – sessions that stemmed from the children searching for answers about why Black people are, in their own words, “treated badly and disliked so much”, plus a desire to “be closer to God”.
“Needing direction and the forgiveness of people’s actions, guidance and direction of the Bible has helped and started a passion for more knowledge which is making them more confident,” Douglas explains – adding that her daughter, 15, now has ambitions to present her own YouTube show. “My husband Donald works full-time in transport but gets involved between shifts too.”
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The 45-year-old manager, who also presents a Sunday gospel radio show, gave her teenager, Mya, the responsibility of convening the family sessions.
“I wanted to give her an opportunity to show leadership and now, every week, she pulls us together and tells us to look into the Bible and find something we’ve read and want to talk about. Only, she came back with a big book full of notes,” she says with a laugh. “She’s naturally very inquisitive and likes asking questions but her leadership qualities haven’t been able to shine through until now.”
Supplied Germaine Douglas and family.
“All of a sudden, she has a chance to think, put her feet on the ground and evaluate what’s going on around her. For me, this seems to have brought out new study skills that she didn’t have before; where she’s interested in something and she’s on the quest to find out new information,” says Douglas.
Similarly, she put her sporty son in charge of family PE sessions. Initially, he was unsure of his capacity to lead, but rose to the challenge, says his mum.
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The family now go outside for regular walks, running and stretching, with her daughter pitching in to lead athletic activities – her forte. “In addition to incorporating fitness into their daily routine, this was about making them realise that you don’t need to have an adult to tell you what to do. You actually have that information but you need to find a way of relying on that.”
The family have experienced a string of bereavements over the past six years, which was particularly hard for Douglas’s daughter during her final year of secondary school.
“This has been a time of healing for my daughter,” she says. “But now she’s been able to do her own work without any pressure, at home, in her own space, a safe environment, she’s around people who love her – not like a school environment – so it made a difference in her.”
Douglas says her kids particularly miss the Jamaican food their late grandmother would prepare for them, such as her tasty saltfish fritters, and have learned the family recipes during lockdown. The children now know how to season food, cook curry goat, prepare chicken soup and oats porridge, among other things.
As for the treats they’re accustomed to getting from their favourite eateries – still closed during lockdown – Douglas is teaching them how to recreate those recipes at home, even the bagels from south London’s legendary Bagel King.
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Supplied Chicken soup the Douglas children prepared to the family recipe.
“We buy the ingredients and they make things themselves,” says Douglas. “This even reminded me of the skills I had and, through being busy, I fell behind on nurturing them to do the same things I learned to.”
In fact, homeschooling has been a time for evaluation all around. “I have two different children with different routines and schedules, while I’m having to cook and work from home myself. It’s made me reflect on my abilities,” she says.
“Maybe, before, I was relying on others to do things for my children that I should have been doing anyway – or them doing for themselves.
“I didn’t believe I had the patience, the knowledge to homeschool. It’s been an education for me too.” - Germaine Douglas
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“For me, this time has been so eye-opening. I never believed when I was younger that I could homeschool. I didn’t believe I had the patience, the knowledge. It’s been an education for me too. It’s been amazing to see.”
Her daughter’s GCSE curriculum has come to an end and while she awaits predicted grades in lieu of this year’s cancelled exams, she is undertaking lunch duties for the family during the week while her son covers the weekend. Sixth-form college starts in a few months, but Douglas has thought about homeschooling her son on an ongoing basis due to the benefits he has enjoyed.
The UK government’s plans to reopen schools in England from June 1 for pupils in Year 1, Year 6 and reception has been the subject of intense debate, due to the safety concerns of parents and teachers. Douglas is equally concerned about how her children will fare in a mainstream education system with racial inequalities at its core.
“I worry about my children as Black kids. I used to think you make your way, you study hard and get on with it. But the battles I’ve had throughout their schooling..they’ve faced discrimination and seen racism,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“My children have been happy for the peace that this lockdown has brought them – it was a time for grounding. It brings tears to my eyes.”
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Douglas thinks parents may see the benefits of homeschooling their children for some time into the future – far beyond when schools re-open. “A lot of children finish school with GCSES and are educationally okay, but are they ready for life? With the lockdown I have been teaching mine life – practical skills!”
As a secondary school teacher, Anjum Peerbacos has been juggling working from home with homeschooling her own children, a 12-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. Like scores of parents across the UK, this has meant creating a home routine that enables her children to learn effectively, though in her case, while also teaching English to her regular class of teenage boys.
Like Douglas, she describes the homeschooling experience as eye-opening.
Supplied Anjum Peerbacos and her daughter.
“I’ve never done homeschooling before but I am a teacher so this is an eye-opener for me,” Peerbacos tells HuffPost UK. “We’ve had the additional restriction of not being able to go out – you can’t go to a museum or take them to a park. That in itself has been difficult. Even if you’re planning a curriculum or what you want to do with them, you’re limited in what you can do.”
Spending more of their life at home has led to additional housework. But where Peerbacos normally arranges for a cleaner to visit their home once a week, the lockdown means that’s no longer an option in the interests of safety.
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So, along with her husband and children, she says they’ve had to “organise themselves”. She explained to her children that it’s their family’s collective responsibility to ensure chores are taken care of in between school work.
“We’re all in all the time, eating and making a lot of mess!” says Peerbacos.
“I’ve explained to them that we all live here and we want to be able to stay on top of things in terms of domestic chores. If that means they take turns to do things then so be it – but that has to be built in as part of their day as well.”
“I hear about children who go to university and don’t know how to change a lightbulb or load the dishwasher – they’re important skills to share with young people.” - Anjum Peerbacos
Ad-hoc duties include loading and unloading the dishwasher, hoovering and wiping surfaces, gardening, mowing the lawn, trimming hedges and general household maintenance. “It’s teaching them the skills of cohabiting for later on, as they get older,” says Peerbacos.
“There’s no designated role – I cook, my husband cooks and they see that. It’s interchangeable, there’s no fixed role, regardless of whether you’re a girl or a boy, you can pull your weight and do whatever it is that’s required to function – because that’s what we’re all doing isn’t it? We’re functioning.”
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What’s been the reaction? “There’s a bit of moaning, but it’s normal,” she smiles. “I had a conversation with my son a couple of days where he said, ‘Yeah, but you’re the mum! It’s your job,’ and I said, ‘What does that mean, exactly? Let me correct you right now. That’s not how this works.’ I’ve also joked with my son, saying, ‘Your maid hasn’t arrived yet. Is she coming soon? She’s quite late, I am waiting for her to arrive!’ There’s a bit of banter and fun that we poke, but it’s getting the message across, really.”
Peerbacos says she’s been intentional about instilling these lessons in her kids. “I do hear about children who go to university and don’t know how to change a lightbulb or load the dishwasher. It sounds quite boring and functional but they’re important skills to have and share with young people.”
Other families have been opting for this mixture of life skills and subjects overlooked in the mainstream curriculum for their home timetables. Lucy Martindale, a community worker from south London, has been teaching her three children – aged two, 11 and 13 – the importance of looking after their mental health as she does not think this is highlighted enough in school.
“I think it’s my responsibility as a Black woman to educate my Black children on things that will impact them later in life.” - Lucy Martindale
The family has also looked into human rights, police brutality and the London riots. “I think it’s my responsibility as a Black woman to educate my Black children on things that will impact them later in life, so that’s a positive to come from homeschooling,” she tells HuffPost UK. “They have reacted positively and much prefer these lessons than the ones in school such as English and Maths.”
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But Martindale does worry for parents who aren’t academic and how they are faring at this time. “My fear is for those of us who didn’t have an education, how are you meant to keep up with homeschooling when you don’t know any better yourself? This has had a big impact on many marginalised communities; I have had to study as an adult, as I missed out on that as a child, due to trauma.”
Supplied Lucy Martindale
For journalist Sinai Fleary, 36, Black history has been a central to homeschooling because of the way it is taught – or not taught in the curriculum. “We decided to do this because schools don’t cover enough of the topic or the focus is just on the slave trade and there is so much more to Black history than that,” says the editor of Jus Jah Magazine and mum of three.
So far, they’ve already covered the Benin Kingdom, the Caribbean, ancient Egypt, the US Civil Rights Movement, Stephen Lawrence Day and the Rastafari movement. Currently, the family are learning where all the countries are on the African continent and for Fleary, it has been a positive experience.
“I enjoyed homeschooling my children,” she says. “It has given me the chance to really see how they approach learning. I have stuck to a routine that fits around the entire family. We have done spelling tests, comprehension exercises, maths, geography, history, music and their dad has been a great temporary PE teacher!”
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Chores have long been part of her children’s routine, but like Peerbacos, Fleary has treated the lockdown as an opportunity to show them things she didn’t get around to before, such as how to sort laundry and load the washing machine. They have also been helping in the kitchen at dinner times, as well as tending to the garden and her son has even tried his hand at a bit of DIY.
Supplied One of Fleary's Black history lessons.
“These are things they will need for the rest of their lives. Learning to cook, for example, it’s a life skill. It’s important for them to understand how to prepare healthy meals. They are really enjoying seeing how quickly plants change and develop overnight in our garden,” says Fleary with pride, who adds that it’s been great to watch her son bonding with his dad while making stuff together.
She has also spent time discussing the news and money management with her children and is heartened by their willingness to participate, whatever the day’s timetable. “They ask first thing in the morning, ‘What are we learning today?’ which shows they want to learn. They have said to me that I am a great teacher, which definitely makes all the planning of activities worth it,” she says.
“Homeschooling is about the academic stuff, but we are balancing it with life-skills they will also need,” Fleary adds. “I think because they see us making the effort and getting stuck in, they want to bring that same level of commitment.”
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And it’s a virtuous cycle: seeing improvements in their approach to education has felt rewarding as a parent. “At the end of the day, they are our children and their education and learning is our responsibility whether the schools are open or not. Parents are the first teachers of their children. We teach them how to walk and their first words so we shouldn’t be afraid to teach them now.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--I Made A Community Bookswap With My Kids On Our Doorstep. Here's Why (And How)

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A few weeks ago, the kids and I took a trip to Pets at Home – and came back with a rabbit hutch. Sadly for the kids – and the family cat – we didn’t actually bring home a pet rabbit. What we did come home with? An idea to make our very own community bookswap.
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It’s a bit like a tiny library... though, since tweeting about it here, I’ve learned that defining it as a “library” is seen by some as going against the #savelibraries campaign, set up by librarians to ensure we don’t minimise the importance of public libraries – and paid, trained library workers.
My bad. I’ll be changing the sign as soon as I can.
Victoria Richards Community bookswap
Another thing I’ve learned since installing the bookswap on the front wall outside our house? How many people seem to love it.
My kids, for one. They’re three and eight, but are already dead keen on books – whether that’s curling up under the covers, late at night, to pore over the latest Jacqueline Wilson (my eldest), or demanding “one more” read of Clare Foges’s Kitchen Disco – complete with fruity dance moves (my younger son).
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Having a place to share their love of reading with others has led to important lessons about possessions – my daughter didn’t want to part with any of her old toddler reads, despite having no use for them, and had to come to terms with the idea on her own. Eventually, she selected a careful few and rushed outside to put them in the hutch.
Each morning, they ask if they can take a look at what has gone, and what’s been left – because just as much as people are borrowing from us, they’re also keeping the bookswap going.
It’s grown organically – last week we ran down to almost zero, only to have an overnight dump of magazines, cookery books and chunky novels.
My neighbours – many of whom I’d never met before – now come by on a daily basis to rifle through and say hello. One of them told me he’s really missing meeting up with his fellow retirees in the local pub. Now? He comes to the bookswap, instead.
The kids and I have met new parents, people who’ve lived in the area for years – I even met a fellow poet, and promised to leave her a stash of poetry books to borrow. We’re going to try to go to a gig together after lockdown, too.
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The only downside has been making sure we’re being as safe as possible during lockdown. I’m banking on the fact that people will be wearing gloves while handling books – their own and ours – and I even left bottles of hand sanitiser in the bookswap for visitors to use (until they got stolen. Twice).
But the real beauty of it is how simple it is. Buy a rabbit hutch (or a simple crate on its side might do), paint it a colour of your choice, then put it together and screw it down on a wall. Paint a sign, and fill it with books.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Lockdown Trapped Women With Their Abusers. Lifting It Could Kill Them

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“I feel guilty for not being stronger sooner. I’m exhausted and I just want a way out.”
Nicola had reached the end of her patience with her boyfriend before the coronavirus lockdown began and had made preparations to leave him.
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But then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and the lockdown restrictions forced her to change her plans.
“I had prepared to leave my boyfriend and organised to go and stay with my mum.” she told HuffPost UK. “But then when the restriction came in, I wasn’t able to travel and with my mum’s already poor health, I couldn’t risk going there.
“I just told my mum that everything had got better with my boyfriend so that she wouldn’t worry. But it’s not true.”
In reality, Nicola, who is in her 20s and whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is living in fear at home with her boyfriend and her young daughter, desperately trying to keep safe.
“I felt like I was trapped before quarantine happened, but now everything is a hundred times more intense.” - Nicola, who is trapped in an abusive relationship during lockdown
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“My partner is drinking a lot and his mood swings are really difficult to deal with.” she admitted. “He can’t go to work so he is at home all the time.
“He hasn’t been physically hurtful – yet – but he threatens he will sometimes and I believe him.
“Normally, I would have some time to myself during the day to look after my mental health. But now it’s constant stress for me.
“I felt like I was trapped before quarantine happened, but now everything is a hundred times more intense.
“I want to leave and go to my mum’s but I can’t cause more hurt to my family than I feel I already have from being with this person.
“I feel guilty for not being stronger sooner, even though I never asked for any of this. I’m exhausted and I just want a way out.”
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Kittisak Jirasittichai / EyeEm via Getty Images
Nicola’s tale depicts the plight of thousands of women across the country feared to be trapped in domestic abuse situations during lockdown.
Latest figures from domestic abuse charity Refuge show that since lockdown started, there has been a 66% rise in demand for its National Domestic Abuse Helpline, while there has been a staggering increase of more than 950% to the Refuge website.
While the government has made it clear that those suffering domestic abuse should seek help from services, and that escaping an abusive relationship is a lawful reason to leave the home, it is feared many victims are living in fear as they don’t want to worry their families at a troubling time and feel they have nowhere to go.
Campaigners’ fears centre around what will happen when lockdown is lifted as the most dangerous time for abuse victims is when they try to escape. It is then that violence increases – and for some people, it leads to death.
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However, they point out that coronavirus and the lockdown or the lifting of it aren’t to blame for domestic abuse or a rise in the killing of women – but the actions of abusive and controlling men.
And they want to ensure adequate support services are available for victims all year round to make sure they are protected from potential harm.
The Counting Dead Women project, which identifies UK women killed by a man or where a man is the principal suspect, revealed to HuffPost UK that their latest figures show there were 32 suspected domestic abuse killings of females at the hands of men between March 23 – when lockdown began in the UK – and May 17.
“One of the most infuriating things for an abuser is the feeling that they have lost control ... so they take back control by taking their life.” - Karen Ingala Smith, Counting Dead Women
Karen Ingala Smith, founder of Counting Dead Women, told HuffPost UK it is important to stress that coronavirus doesn’t cause men’s violence and hasn’t increased the number of abusive men in the world.
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However, she spoke of her fears that there might be a rise in women being killed after lockdown lifts due to a sense of losing control for the abuser when the victim makes her escape.
Karen Ingala Smith, founder of Counting Dead Women Karen Ingala Smith
“One of the most infuriating things for an abuser is the feeling that they have lost control.” she said. “The actual leaving of the relationship by the woman is when men realise they have lost control.
“There is a potential for an increase in killings post lockdown because of a perceived loss of control by the abusers. So they take back control by taking their life.”
Smith says around a third of women killed by their partner or ex-partner are killed after separation and that as women may be finding it harder to leave abusive men in the current circumstances, there is a real risk of an increase in intimate partner homicide as lockdown eases.
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Smith is troubled by the thought of the women such as Nicola and children who are currently trapped in lockdown with their controlling abuser.
“It must be soul destroying and horrible to have your life clipped by an abuser who is controlling you.” she said. “It erodes people’s confidence and their very essence.
“Domestic abuse is always a concern and worry – not just in lockdown but all the time. However, lockdown will be making it harder for some women to get help and the controlling behaviour posed on some of them will be greater than normal.
“Lockdown is another tool for abusers and abusers will pick up any tool they can to further their agenda.”
Some women have told domestic abuse services and supporters that their relationships which weren’t particularly controlling or abusive before lockdown have escalated into unhappiness.
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Anita, who lives in Birmingham and has changed her name to protect her identity, told HuffPost UK that her relationship with her husband wasn’t too bad before lockdown – but things have got a lot worse.
“He is blaming it on the virus, but I think that’s just an excuse for him to control me like he always wanted to.” - Anita, who is trapped in a controlling relationship with her husband during lockdown
She said: “Before lockdown, he was controlling to a certain extent, but eventually, he would back down once I managed to reassure him that I wasn’t doing anything disrespectful when he wasn’t there.
“He never really liked me going to work or going out to see my sisters because he thought I might cheat on him or talk about him behind his back.
“Since social distancing has come into practice, it’s like the controlling part of him has taken over. He won’t even let me go to the supermarket or out for a walk.
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“He is blaming it on the virus, but I think that’s just an excuse for him to control me like he always wanted to.”
Arman Zhenikeyev via Getty Images
Anita says her husband is now saying he wants her to stay at home after lockdown ends and not return to her job even though he knows she loves what she does. “I am so frightened of what will happen when I finally tell him I don’t want to stay at home forever,” she added.
“The other day, he slammed a door on my hand when I was trying to leave to go for a walk. He apologised but it didn’t feel genuine.
“I can’t worry my family, they are already going through too much in their own lives. I feel isolated and totally alone.”
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Helen Victoria, 31, who was herself in an abusive and controlling relationship between the ages of 15 and 23, is the founder of Living Liberte, a social enterprise that aims to prevent future relationship abuse by educating young people in the West Midlands about what a healthy relationship looks like and how to spot red flags of abuse.
Helen Victoria, founder of Living Liberte, a social enterprise that aims to prevent future relationship abuse by educating young people Helen Victoria
She told HuffPost UK that during the lockdown period, she has had many enquiries from young women asking for guidance and she has been offering a free, confidential mentoring service for those in abusive situations to give then a safe space to share their experiences.
She says that since lockdown began, she has seen a spike in enquiries which shows no sign of waning.
“National lockdown has actually given us all the opportunity of insight into what it’s like to live within a controlling relationship.” she said.
“We are battling financial limitation, loss of personal empowerment and distinct uncertainty about our short and long term futures. These emotional experiences are correlative with those of being in an abusive relationship.
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“Now, more than ever, we should be able to identify with the need of domestic abuse victims across our country.”
She added that while she signposts everyone she speaks to to further support from organisations that might be able to help them, she has found that most women just want to be heard and for their experiences to be validated.
Dame Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, told HuffPost UK that those trapped in abusive situations during lockdown must be finding it increasingly difficult to cope.
Dame Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird
“It must be tortuous for them.” she said. “Those who have been locked down with their perpetrator must be finding it incredibly hard as it will be non-stop and inescapable and it will be generating mental health issues for the future.”
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She said that domestic abuse services are working and resources are available so people should seek help. However, she acknowledges that many victims are reluctant to do so as they don’t want to worry their loved ones at an already turbulent time.
“By and large, the families of those suffering abuse do not know about it as the perpetrator does his best to isolate her from her family and keep her away from them so he can block off all the escape routes.” she said.
“Many victims might feel they can’t tell people about the abuse while they are in lockdown as they feel there is nowhere for them to go.
“If there is someone in their family who is sick or vulnerable to Covid-19, they might think why pile more worry on them when they can’t come and rescue them.”
“The most dangerous time for abuse victims is when they try to leave. That’s when the abuse and violence ramps up and even killings occur.” - Dame Vera Baird, victims' commissioner for England and Wales
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Dame Vera says that although domestic abuse services such as Refuge have seen a huge rise in demand for support, police reports for domestic abuse have only seen a single digit rise.
She says it seems this is because victims either feel they can’t call the police in their current situation – or don’t dare contact them because they fear the repercussions.
“At the moment, victims of abuse are getting advice and support but they don’t dare to make that dramatic escape.” she said. “Police are gearing up for a spike in reports of domestic abuse when lockdown is over.”
She says it is important for resources to be in place for victims of domestic abuse when lockdown ends.
“The most dangerous time for abuse victims is when they try to leave.” she said. “That’s when the abuse and violence ramps up and even killings occur.”
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If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact:


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Anti-Racism Protesters Around The World Demand Justice For George Floyd

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Thousands of anti-racism campaigners around the world staged demonstrations on Sunday, acting in solidarity with Americans protesting police violence after George Floyd, a Black man, died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes last week.
Demonstrators in London marched across the city after gathering in Trafalgar Square, where they kneeled en masse in honour of Floyd, before heading across the Thames to protest near the US embassy in Battersea.
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Onlookers cheered and drivers honked horns from passing cars as the protesters chanted “say his name” and “Black lives matter.” At one point, four men climbed on top of a bus stop to lead the chants, before getting down on one knee in silence and encouraging the others to do the same.
A Black Lives Matter march at Trafalgar Square in London on Sunday. Hollie Adams via Getty Images
One demonstrator said the protests were “very important because it is sending a clear message that we have had enough racial injustice in our country.”
Isabelle Orsini, 20, is originally from New York and now lives in Kensington. She told the Press Association news agency: “The US obviously has a much deeper and darker history of black discrimination compared to the UK. The reason people are so angry is because this is reopening wounds that go back hundreds of years. It is very important that we do whatever it takes to tell our government that racism will not be tolerated.”
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Protesters also marched to Grenfell Tower where 72 residents, most of whom were non-white, died in 2017.
Hundreds of people gathered for a similar demonstration in Manchester and chanted “Black lives matter.”
Hundreds have taken to the streets in Manchester to protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/vmBmXbHHz9 — BBC Radio Manchester (@BBCRadioManc) May 31, 2020
Floyd’s death has also captured attention in Germany. On Sunday, the country’s top-selling Bild newspaper carried the headline “This killer-cop set America ablaze” and said that demonstrations in the US looked like “scenes like out of a civil war.”
In Berlin, several hundred demonstrators staged a rally outside the US embassy, with posters bearing “Justice for George Floyd,” “Stop killing us” and “Who’s neckst.”
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Dortmund's English midfielder Jadon Sancho shows a "Justice for George Floyd" shirt after scoring his team's second goal during a Bundesliga match on Sunday. LARS BARON via Getty Images
Sports stars across Europe also joined the protests. Footballer Jadon Sancho, who plays for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, as well as England, revealed a “Justice for George Floyd” T-shirt after scoring his first goal since Germany’s top league, the Bundesliga, started up again after being halted due to coronavirus concerns. The south London-born player received a yellow card for taking his top off on the field.
At a separate match, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram took a knee after scoring in Sunday’s win against Union Berlin, echoing former NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality.
In a rare foray into US domestic affairs, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians were watching the events in America “with shock and with horror,” HuffPost Canada reported.
“Anti-Black racism, racism is real. It’s in the United States, but it’s also in Canada. And we know people are facing systemic discrimination, unconscious bias, and anti-Black racism every single day,” Trudeau said in a statement on Friday.
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“I call on all Canadians, whether it’s anti-Black racism or anti-Asian racism or racism discrimination of any type, to stand together in solidarity,” he continued, “to be there for each other and know just how deeply people are being affected by what we see on the news these past few days.”
The UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab avoided responding to President Donald Trump’s incendiary reaction to the demonstrations that started in Minneapolis. Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that he has “long kept to the self-imposed guidance not to comment on what President Trump says or indeed other world leaders, it is not really what my job is.”
In Denmark, around 2,000 people gathered peacefully to protest outside the US embassy in Copenhagen on Saturday. The Local reports the crowd then marched toward Christiansborg Palace, holding up signs emblazoned with “Justice for George Floyd.”
A Black Lives Matter demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen on Saturday. IDA GULDBAEK ARENTSEN via Getty Images
Italy remains in a partial lockdown but protesters gathered outside the US consulate in Milan on Thursday holding signs reading “I can’t breathe” and “stop killing black people.” Local media reported that the protesters simulated suffocation by gripping their hands around their necks.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Singing In Religious Buildings A 'Problem' For Spread Of Coronavirus, Warns Communities Secretary

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Singing in religious buildings should not yet be allowed, the communities secretary has said.
Robert Jenrick told the Downing Street press conference on Sunday he understood why some people might find it “strange” that shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants could reopen soon but places of worship could not.
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“I think the first logical step is probably to open places of worship for individual or private prayer,” he said.
“I’m hopeful that the work that we’re doing with faith leaders will bear fruit, and that we’ll be able to see places of worship open in the coming weeks.”
But Jenrick warned what the government “certainly don’t want to see” was large gatherings inside religious buildings “because of singing hymns, and so on, which can lead to exhalation and can create particular problems”.
He said: “I understand how important it is for millions of people in this country, and I can understand how people of faith would consider it strange that shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, many other settings, might be open in the weeks and months ahead, but not somewhere as important as a place of worship.”
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“Some faiths have already actually produced detailed guidance, working with Jenny’s colleagues at Public Health England, how one might cordon off part of a church or place of worship, how you would ensure it’s sufficiently clean, you train the volunteers who run a church, how you might just enable a small number of people to go in at any one time.
“I think the first logical step is probably to open places of worship for individual or private prayer, and that’s what we’re working towards with the faith leaders, and then that will be a springboard hopefully, conditional on the rate of infection obviously, to small weddings, for example, again very important to many people, and then in time to services.”
He added: “I’m hopeful that the work that we’re doing with faith leaders will bear fruit, and that we’ll be able to see places of worship open in the coming weeks.”
Earlier today, professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) to the government, also warned against singing.
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He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that while scientists believed the spread of the virus was less likely outside, people should keep to a “safe distance”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Lockdown Rules 'For All Of Us' Says Deputy Chief Medical Officer Amid Dominic Cummings Row

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England’s deputy chief medical officer has said the lockdown rules are “for all of us”, after Dominic Cummings triggered a huge backlash for appearing to breach the guidelines.
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Jenny Harries told told the Downing Street press conference on Sunday it was a matter of “personal and professional integrity” for her that she abided by the instructions given to the public.
Yesterday her colleague Jonathan Van-Tam, the other deputy chief medical officer, said the rules must “apply to all”.
Cummings, Boris Johnson’s senior aide, travelled to Durham from London while the most stringent lockdown measures were in place
But the prime minister has ignored calls from Tory MPs for Cummings to be fired from his job at the heart of Downing Street
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Asked if she agreed with Van-Tam, Harries said she she approved of “his exposure of what he felt was exactly right”.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries, during Sunday's media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus, PA
“We usually say exactly the same things because we think in public health terms, and I think that’s right,” she said.
“And from my own perspective I can assure you that from a level of personal and professional integrity, I would always try and follow the rules as I know he does.
“The important thing is they are rules for all of us, and it’s really important as we go through into this next critical phase that we do follow them to the best of our abilities, and even minimise if you like, the freedoms that are there to ensure that we can very gently come out of the pandemic.
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Van-Tam had said: “In my opinion the rules are clear and they have always been clear.
“In my opinion they are for the benefit of all. In my opinion they apply to all.”
Chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance have both refused to comment on Cummings’ actions.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--George Floyd's Brother Says Trump Was Dismissive On Condolence Call

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A condolence phone call from President Donald Trump ended up frustrating George Floyd’s brother, who said Trump “didn’t give [him] the opportunity to even speak.”
“It hurt me,” Philonise Floyd said in an interview Saturday on MSNBC. Floyd’s brother George died Monday during an arrest by white police officers in Minneapolis. He was 46.
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The call with Trump was “so fast,” Floyd told the Reverend Al Sharpton on “Politics Nation.”
“He didn’t give me the opportunity to even speak,” Floyd said, as his son Brandon sat beside him. “It was hard. I was trying to talk to him, but he just kept, like, pushing me off, like: ‘I don’t want to hear what you’re talking about.’”
Floyd said: “I just told him I want justice. I said that I couldn’t believe that they committed a modern-day lynching in broad daylight. I can’t stand for that. I can’t. And it hurt me.”
George Floyd, who was Black, died after police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for several minutes while an unarmed Floyd was restrained and held on the ground. Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers involved in the arrest were fired, but remain free.
“They all need to be convicted of first-degree murder and given the death penalty,” Philonise Floyd told Sharpton. “They didn’t care about what they wanted to do with my brother. He wasn’t a person to them. He was scum, he was nothing [to them]. I can imagine how many people they did like that.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--UK Records 106 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours

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The number of people who have died across England, Scotland and Wales after contracting coronavirus has risen by 106 in 24 hours.
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The increase consists of 85 hospital patients in England, 9 people in Scotland, one person in Northern Ireland and 11 hospital patients and care home residents in Wales.
So far, no UK-wide figures from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have been released, so the total is taken from each nation’s individual reporting.
It brought the working total to 38,482.
However, according to government statistics published on Sunday afternoon, a total of 38,489 people have now died from Covid-19 in the UK.
This figure includes deaths in care homes (missing from the individual figures in at least England) and the community (missing from at least England and Wales). Here’s a quick primer on what all the different numbers mean and how to understand them.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Thousands Gather In Trafalgar Square For Black Lives Matter Protest

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Thousands of protestors have gathered in Trafalgar Square for a Black Lives Matter protest following action across the US in the wake of the death of Black man George Floyd, who was killed by police.
Crowds arrived in central London shortly before 1pm on Sunday, with many carrying signs calling for ‘Justice for George Floyd’ and chants of ‘no justice, no peace’ and ‘I can’t breathe’.
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After meeting at the iconic spot, attendees took the knee in solidarity with protestors in the US before beginning to march through central London.
The protest follows a demonstration held in Peckham on Saturday, which saw dozens of protestors take to the streets.
Other protest events have also been planned, with gatherings in Hyde Park and Parliament Square organised for the coming week, drawing attention not only to actions in the US, but also racism in the UK.
Hundreds gathered for #BlackLivesMatter protest at Trafalgar Square. Everyone kneeling, chanting ‘No justice, no peace’ ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/s6FO9Pl6yX — jamila squire (@jamsqu) May 31, 2020
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Uk black lives matter protest at Trafalgar Square is so peaceful very busy #BLMLDN #BLM #TrafalgarSquare pic.twitter.com/wtdMMTJG4I — Tears carpenter (@Tearscarpenter) May 31, 2020
Anti-racism protests in the US have been met with violence in recent days, with thousands of protestors gathering across more than a dozen cities.
Police have been filmed aggressively cracking down on activists, with videos circulating online of officers firing tear gas into crowds, pushing attendees, firing rubber and paint bullets and driving into groups.
There have been widespread reports of looting, with some businesses burnt to the crowd by protestors.
As well as speaking out more widely about racism, and ongoing instances of police using excessive force against Black people, protestors are also calling for all four of the former officers who had taken Floyd, 46, into custody to be charged with his murder.
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Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck until he lost consciousness during his arrest, has been taken into custody and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The other three former police officers have been fired from the force, but there are calls for them to face more serious legal action.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--The Government Failed In Its Coronavirus Response From The First Hurdle – Planning

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson ASSOCIATED PRESS
There were always going to be failures and mistakes made in the UK’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy – variations of this cliché have been uttered over the years by Helmuth van Moltke the Elder, General Dwight Eisenhower and Mike Tyson.
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Eisenhower’s version “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”, is worth revisiting for what he says a few lines down: “When you are planning for an emergency you must start with this one thing: the very definition of ‘emergency’ is that it is unexpected, therefore it is not going to happen the way you are planning … But if you haven’t been planning you can’t start to work, intelligently at least.”
Sadly, the Coronavirus pandemic has completely exposed serial inadequacies, improper planning and lack of competence and capacity within the institutions of the British state.
That is not to say that there aren’t centres of excellence within it – or that there aren’t incredibly talented people who work in the public sector – but, especially in comparison to other similarly sized states, there are glaring mistakes that must be addressed in a comprehensive review which needs to come once some normality is restored. Clearly a task for the Public Administration Select Committee in the near future.
There has been a clear failure of government departments to get a grip and a lack of joined up thinking between different departments. It is also evident that time is not understood – as a factor in and of itself – to be considered when making decisions.
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An obvious example of this is repatriating our people stranded abroad. Other European countries acted decisively, chartered planes and got their people home. We did not. Foreign Office chief Sir Simon McDonald, giving evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, attempted to justify the government’s decision to rely solely on commercial airlines for repatriation. Constituents stranded abroad were watching as citizens from other countries were boarding flights and headed back to their loved ones – sometimes even via Heathrow – and wondering when the help would come from the British Government.
Not taking time as a factor in and of itself created a reality in which stranded people were running low on money and in some cases medication, and wondering when they will be able to get home. The problem was particularly acute in India (specifically Punjab), Pakistan and Bangladesh – and has still not been fully solved.
The most infuriating thing is quite how avoidable so much of this situation was.
At Prime Minister’s Questions back in March I raised the capabilities of the Ministry of Defence – given the Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) – which has the ability to charter planes, pilots and get airborne. Neither the PM nor the First Secretary of State decided to use that capability.
Only after sustained pressure did the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) even arrange for flights to arrive to Amritsar (in Punjab) where many of our people were stranded – India was on a country-wide lockdown and the FCO had previously only arranged for flights to Goa, Delhi and Mumbai.
This sorry state of affairs reminded me of an incident from when I was a Trade Union official taking around representatives of a Japanese electrical firm looking to establish a presence in the UK. They made it very clear that they were investing in the UK because of British workers – not British management. Clearly, the inept management and decision-making abilities are still, to this day, preventing the top-class capabilities that we as a nation possess, to perform to the best of their abilities.
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“Proper planning for emergency scenarios isn’t a layer of “red tape” to be slashed in the name of political dogma.”
“Inept management and decision-making abilities” is the only way to describe the circus that is the Government’s handling (sic) of Dominic Cummings’ trips to Durham and the surrounding area. Ministers being interviewed on the matter project an aura of feebleness and incompetence – their excuse-making muddies the government’s own messaging and is the last thing which we, as a country, need at this time of crisis. In the case of Attorney General Suella Braverman – who tweeted support for Cummings – her actions demean her office and inappropriately interfere in the administration Justice in this country.
Bad management has plagued both parties. However, some of the problems of capacity which the government is encountering, are the direct result of so-called “efficiencies” (Whitehall talk for cuts) encountering reality. It is therefore particularly surprising to see Jeremy Hunt lament the government’s failures from his position as chair of the health and social care select committee, when he himself was – as he so often boasted – the longest serving health secretary.
I do not expect ministers to have all the answers. However, I expect them to ask proper and detailed questions of the official and specialist experts they have in their departments. I expect them to act rapidly and decisively – make a decision then, if things aren’t working, change course rapidly and be open about why they have done so.
Proper planning for emergency scenarios isn’t a layer of “red tape” to be slashed in the name of political dogma, it should be in the back of every minister’s mind – informing how to react to situations they hope never to face. Today’s easing of lockdown is welcome – we need to get our economy rebooted in order to save our peoples’ jobs and everyone wants to (safely) socialise with their friends and family. The country needs this to succeed. Ministers and Whitehall had better up their game – and fast. The country can ill-afford any more of their incompetence.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--George Floyd Anti-Racism Protests Spread Across The World

George Floyd Anti-Racism Protests Spread Across The World
Thousands of anti-racism protestors gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square following the death of Black man George Floyd, who was killed by police. Similar scenes have been seen in Canada, Germany and New Zealand. The protests follow the death of George Floyd while in police custody, sparking a wave of anger in more than 75 cities across America.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Women, Disabled And Older MPs Face ‘Discrimination’ When Commons Returns

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
MPs “disenfranchised” by the government’s order to return to parliament would be able to sue on grounds of sex, age and disability discrimination in any other workplace, according to new legal advice.
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Parliamentarians vulnerable to coronavirus – pregnant women, the over-70s, those with disabilities such as cerebral palsy or who suffer underlying health conditions – will lose out under the drive to return to work in person, a briefing note by Thomsons Solicitors warns.
Female MPs with particular childcare difficulties caused by the crisis are also likely to suffer discrimination under the plans.
The House of Commons is poised to return on Tuesday after its Whitsun recess, but without the remote voting and video participation in debates that were introduced at the height of the pandemic.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg scrapped the “hybrid” experiment in a bid to show that MPs were leading by example as the country began a phased exit from strict lockdown rules.
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Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is expected on Monday to publish his own safe guidelines for voting in person, with a long, socially distanced queue system rather than MPs squeezing into their narrow voting lobbies.
But Rees-Mogg is coming under cross-party pressure to allow some continuation of remote voting and working for parliamentarians forced to work from home.
Rob Halfon, the Tory chair of the education select committee, has a moderate form of cerebral palsy which makes it difficult for him to attend parliament during the pandemic. He has already warned that the plans would “disenfranchise” him and others.
A new legal note drafted by Thompsons – published in full by HuffPost UK (below) – sets out that in any other workplace the proposed removal of remote working would be classed as discriminatory on grounds of sex, age, disability and pregnancy under the Equalities Act and the Human Rights Act.
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The briefing, commissioned by Labour, states that those MPs who are “clinically vulnerable” are all still advised under government guidance “to stay at home as much as possible”.
The discrimination would be both direct and indirect and “give rise to categories of MPs who would be likely to be placed at a disadvantage on grounds of disability, age, sex and/or pregnancy”, it said.
“It is, for example, entirely possible to predict that there are circumstances where an MP’s parents ordinarily provide childcare while the MP is in parliament, but are unable to do so now because of isolating, or shielding, requirements.”
Several female Tory MPs have already warned the government that they risk being “disenfranchised”, along with other colleagues who have to work from home, by the return to traditional arrangements for the Commons.
The Thompsons legal note states that if a “higher proportion of women than men amongst MPs had primary child caring responsibilities then, especially at a time when the majority of school year groups will remain closed for the foreseeable future, then women are likely to be disadvantaged by the envisaged return to parliament”.
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“This may also arise where an alternative childcare provider should, following government guidance, isolate or shield,” it adds.
The note does make clear that the unique states of parliament means that in fact the government or Commons authorities would not be liable to legal action.
“If MPs were ‘employees’, then we think that the return of parliament currently envisaged by the government would be likely to amount to indirect discrimination on grounds of disability and/or age and/or sex and/or pregnancy under the Equality Act 2010 (‘EqA 2010’).
“But MPs are not employees and are not protected under the employment (or office holder) provisions of the EqA 2010; and the Human Rights Act (‘HRA’) does not assist.”
Ellie Reeves, the shadow solicitor general, said: “At this time of national crisis, parliament should be leading by example. The government’s guidance is clear: if you can work from home, stay at home.
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“However, ministers are ploughing ahead with plans to abolish the arrangements for a virtual parliament.
“These proposals are not only a risk to public health, but they also discriminate against MPs who are having to shield from the coronavirus and cannot safely return to work as usual. The government has 48 hours to rethink its proposals and do the right thing.”
The idea of allowing some exemptions to continue remote voting is being considered by Rees-Mogg, although it is unlikely that MPs will still be allowed to take part in debates via Zoom video calls.
Former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers told the BBC’s Westminster Hour that while she supported the return to parliament, some exemptions could be made.
“Personally, I could happily live with electronic voting continuing for a period if there isn’t a workable alternative but I do think it’s important that MPs are back in their place of work. We’re encouraging others to do that.”
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A government spokesperson said it was crucial for parliament to get back to delivering and scrutinising important legislation.
“Those who need to shield due to age or medical circumstances should continue to do so and informal arrangements, including pairing, will be in place to facilitate this.
“The House authorities have carried out a risk assessment of the Parliamentary estate to ensure it is a Covid-19 secure workplace in line with PHE [Public Health England] guidance.”
On Monday, Rees-Mogg published the government’s motion setting out that any MP who wants to vote must “participate physically within the parliamentary estate” and stick to Public Health England advice.
The @HouseofCommons will debate a motion on proceedings during the pandemic tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/HMHiU0ocCs — Leader of the House of Commons (@CommonsLeader) June 1, 2020
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His spokesperson said: “The speaker will write to all MPs later today explaining how the House will vote on the government’s motion, which is expected to outline how future voting will take place.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Shielders In England Can Go Outside From Today – What You Need To Know

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More than two million people in England who have been shielding for months have been told they can now go outside with those they live with, or meet one person from another household, as long as they socially distance.
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Originally, this group – classed as extremely clinically vulnerable – had been told to stay home at all times and avoid face-to-face contact until June 30. However, the advice changed over the weekend ahead of schools and some shops reopening on June 1.
So, what do people who are shielding need to know right now?
What is the new guidance in England?
Under the new guidelines, people shielding in England are allowed to venture outdoors once per day, either with members of their household or one person from another household – ideally, this should be the same person each time.
If you’re shielding and you decide to leave the house, you should ensure social distancing and strict hygiene is maintained. This means washing hands regularly, not touching your face with unwashed hands, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home.
There’s no limit to the amount of time you can spend outdoors, however it’s advised that at-risk people avoid crowds or crowded areas and strictly avoid contact with others, especially if they are displaying symptoms of the virus.
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The guidance states people who are shielding are still “strongly advised” to stay at home as much as possible and keep visits outside to a minimum.
What about the rest of the UK?
The updated guidance only applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are believed to be in the process of regularly reviewing their shielding guidelines. According to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland “will issue their own guidance in due course”.
Who does the guidance apply to?
The shielding guidance applies to anyone who is considered clinically extremely vulnerable in England, as well as their family, friends and carers.
This includes organ transplant recipients, people with specific cancers and people on immunosuppression therapies as well as those in long-term care facilities for the elderly or with special needs.
There are believed to be 2.2 million at-risk people shielding in England.
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What’s the science behind the updated guidance?
The government said the change in guidance stems from the substantially lower level of Covid-19 transmission in the country compared to when lockdown was first introduced.
However, a number of charities have called for the government to be more specific in their scientific basis for updating the guidelines, citing “confusion” caused by the sudden announcement.
“The way [the government] announced this on a Saturday night, with no warning or consultation with charities and clinicians, has created confusion,” said Gemma Peters, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK. “Until we get (clarity), we advise people to speak to their healthcare teams before making any changes.”
Government advisers have warned that the easing of lockdown measures could cause a second spike in coronavirus cases. Scientists Sir Jeremy Farrar and Professor John Edmunds, members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) – which advises the government on Covid-19 – said ministers were “taking risks” by following their current plans.
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Should you wear a mask?
People who are shielding haven’t been told to wear face masks.
The government advice is that people should wear face covers when in places where they can’t socially distance – such as shops or public transport. However, as it stands, people who are shielding shouldn’t be going to places where they can’t socially distance.
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Going forward, there’s some evidence to suggest vulnerable people might benefit from wearing masks. Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert and Professor in Medicine at University of East Anglia, analysed numerous studies on the use and effectiveness of face masks.
His UK-based review found people who wore masks, usually of surgical grade, were less likely to get respiratory symptoms from casual exposure in the community. It’s a small reduction in risk, he said, but it might be important to vulnerable people.
How do people who are shielding feel about the updated guidelines?
Mother-of-two Shelley Simmonds and her family haven’t left their home in Essex for more than 10 weeks, in order to protect her son Fraser, seven, who has a rare genetic disease, and associated respiratory weakness.
She recently received a letter telling her to “stay at home at all times” and “avoid all face-to-face contact”. She told HuffPost UK the sudden announcement that they could leave the house came as a “total shock”, and she’s worried it will cause confusion amongst many of those most vulnerable to the virus.
“Overnight, it seems like something’s miraculously changed,” she said. “I can’t say that anybody is going to feel comfortable trusting the government after what has happened so far. We definitely won’t be going out. We haven’t shielded all this time to step outside and take risks.”
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Sarah Jones, 47, from West Sussex, hasn’t left the house since March. She has had 60 operations over the course of her life, one of which – 14 years ago – was a kidney transplant.
She believes the change in guidelines has come “maybe a bit too soon”. That said, she continued, “it’s not an order. It’s just an option, so if people want to go out and feel safe doing so they can, or they can choose to stay indoors”.
When will the guidance be updated next?
The next review of shielding measures is scheduled to take place in the week beginning June 15.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Lockdown Might Be Easing But Not For Disabled People Like Me

This new normal risks creating a society without disabled people. Nikola Ilic via Getty Images
This week, lockdown is easing. Family BBQs, retail therapy and that urgently needed haircut are on the horizon, and even those who have been shielding are allowed out of the house again, but as a disabled person it’s a long time until I’ll be truly independent again.
I am visually impaired, I use a long white cane to navigate the world, and I can’t see two metres in front of me. My vision is complicated, but essentially it constantly varies from a fuzzy bubble to nothing more than light and shadows. Therefore, it is impossible for me to practice social distancing.
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Normally I travel into Central London for work every day and I go out with my friends to the pub or for dinner in the evening. I’m used to people walking into me because they are staring at their phone or just not paying attention. It’s one of the difficult realities of being blind in London. However, I had perhaps naively hoped these kind of behaviours would stop when the news was telling us keep our distance from others.
“There seems to be an assumption that disabled people just stay at home anyway, that we don’t have lives, children, jobs, friends, a favourite pub or a community that we want to be part of.”
Early on in lockdown I attempted a solo trip to the supermarket. A combination of a queue I couldn’t work out, a changed layout with physical barriers in the aisles, the rearranged produce and confusing floor markers I couldn’t read, left me exhausted and anxious. That plus the unhelpful attitude of staff, the hostile reception from fellow shoppers, and the frequent bumps from unaware pedestrians on my walk home, meant I resolved that I couldn’t safely go out alone again.
Now going out of the house makes me extremely anxious, I’m even avoiding a daily walk because of the number of times my partner has had to pull me out of the way of people who won’t observe social distancing. This means I’m totally reliant on my sighted partner every time I leave the house, I’ve lost my independence, my confidence is shattered, and it feels like my life will never be the same again.
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Of course, social distancing is absolutely a necessary measure during this pandemic, but there are so many worrying unknowns for me about the future. How will I use public transport when I often rely on staff support? Will pavements and road crossings have changed on familiar routes? Will the drop curb or tactile paving which I rely on be blocked by a temporary pavement extension? How will I go shopping when I can’t see how busy a shop is or follow one way signs? How will I go back to work? How will I meet up with my friends if my partner can’t take me?
For my friends who are shielding, they are wary of the new government advice that they are safe to leave their homes. With the R number so close to 1 in many parts of the country and medical advice contradicting the announcements, most of my friends have said they plan to continue shielding until at least August.
My biggest worry is that this new much-used label of “vulnerable” is obscuring the real societal barriers that will make exiting lockdown impossible for disabled people. Yes, the virus is a risk but so often inaccessible infrastructure and negative public attitudes create the real challenges to disabled people being able to participate in society. For example, I’ve heard a frightening increase in accounts of harassment, abuse or hate crimes from disabled friends. A guide dog owner was screamed at in a shop for being too close and a wheelchair using was asked intrusive questions about whether they should be allowed out of the house.
“The most frustrating thing is that unlike Covid-19, many of these access barriers have solutions.”
There seems to be an assumption that disabled people just stay at home anyway, that we don’t have lives, children, jobs, friends, a favourite pub or a community that we want to be part of. Reframing disabled people as “vulnerable” feels like we’re being sent back to the last century, as a childlike group in need of protection and dependent on others rather than being autonomous adults.
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The most frustrating thing is that unlike Covid-19, many of these access barriers have solutions. Putting tactile bumps in the floor markers in supermarket queues would help me find them, if staff are given PPE they can support me on public transport. The government needs to remind everyone that disabled people have an equal right to participate in society and it just takes a few small adjustments to make it safer for us all. Unsurprisingly, disabled people are being left out of these conversations and policy decisions, and yet we will feel the real impact.
So I ask that you challenge these barriers when you encounter them, invite disabled people into the conversation in your workplace or community and find a solution together. Otherwise, the new normal risks being a society without disabled people.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--My Pride Anthems: Paul O'Grady

My Pride Anthems: Paul O'Grady

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we’re all celebrating Pride in 2020.
With huge public gatherings out of the question, we’re asking a range of LGBTQ celebrities and allies for their personal Pride anthems, to help us all get into the Pride spirit from lockdown.
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Kicking off HuffPost’s My Pride Anthems series is TV legend Paul O’Grady, who first shot to fame in the 1990s as his drag alter-ego Lily Savage, before becoming a household name in his own right after landing his very own talk show.
ITV/Shutterstock
Talking us through his picks, Paul reminds us why Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive means so much to the queer community, and reveals why an unlikely Disney classic will always have a special place in his heart...
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
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“I mean you can’t do it without Gloria, can you? It’s just impossible. I love Gloria Gaynor. And at that time, when AIDS really hit hard, it was a bit of an anthem, I Will Survive. The lyrics meant more to people than they would have [otherwise].
“She’s on about dumping her fella, or something, isn’t she? But she’ll get over it. We weren’t [getting over it]. We were going through a totally different thing.”
The KLF – Justified And Ancient
“I’m going back here, now – you’re not going to get anything from me that came out last week.
“I’d been on tour in Australia for three months, and this was a really popular song at the time. I used to know the lyrics, ‘and they drive an ice cream van’ and ‘Mu Mu Land’ – what the hell was that? Who wrote that, what were they on?
“But I absolutely loved the song, and it was played all over Australia, and by the time we came back to England, we were doing Pride… I always associate it with Australia and that specific Pride. Justified And Ancient. Which I am, now.”
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The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
“I love that one, but I used to think it was silly. I used to say ‘well what happens if a 20-stone pensioner lands on you?’. Men come in all shapes and sizes, you know?. But this song is a good one.”
Marc Almond and Gene Pitney – Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart
“We’re going back now, I think, to the late 80s. This song was really popular, fabulous! I just liked it, and it was sort of going at the same time as [I was doing] Pride.
“I mean, when I did Pride, I was usually being dragged through the streets of London like a witch about to be burnt, and then we’d get to the park and I’d have a tent – Lily Savage’s Tea Tent. And we used to do bingo, believe it or not.
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“We did it sort of old-fashioned. I had an overall that someone had given me, and I’d wear it as Lily, like I’d just come straight from work, headscarf on with the rollers in the wig. And yeah, we used to play bingo.
“They had tea urns in the marquee, to make it more authentic… but of course, then one of them fell on somebody, and there was a bit of a hoo-hah over that. But it was really great fun, sitting there in the middle of a field, playing a game of bingo.”
The Mouseketeers – The Mickey Mouse Club March
“And, this is one we used to play in the tea tent, at the start, so they knew the bingo was about to start. Seriously, you’d have a tent with god knows how many people in it singing along with this, with gusto.
“And it’d be a meat raffle, playing for a leg of lamb or something like that. But people took it very seriously. Can’t mess about with the bingo. It was cut-throat.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Donald Trump Urged By Republicans To End Incendiary Rhetoric Over George Floyd Protests

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As civil unrest over the death of George Floyd and other Black victims of police brutality continued to rock cities across the US, lawmakers and leaders – including some from his own party – implored President Donald Trump on Sunday to cease his inflammatory commentary.
Democrats and some Republicans expressed concern over Trump’s rhetoric, with some saying his comments were fuelling violence and exacerbating the tense situation.
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House speaker Nancy Pelosi told ABC’s This Week that she is largely ignoring Trump’s statements, which she said serve as “bait” to divert from the root issues that prompted the protests.
“I think to take his bait time and time again is just a gift to him because he always wants to divert attention from what the cause of the response was,” she said.
“I’m not paying too much attention to what the president says,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Trump tweets.
“I think to take his bait time and time again is just a gift to him because he always wants to divert attention from what the cause of the response was.” https://t.co/sVerbxGgdM pic.twitter.com/i6302lt9Yd — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 31, 2020
Early on Friday morning, as demonstrations in Minneapolis again boiled over into violent clashes with police after days of unrest, Trump tweeted calling protesters “THUGS.”
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“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” the president wrote, invoking a racist phrase originally coined by an aggressive Miami police chief at the peak of the 1960s civil rights protests. Trump later attempted to walk back his use of the phrase.
And on Saturday morning, Trump threatened protesters who had rallied outside the White House with “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons” if they were to breach the fence. He has also repeatedly lashed out at Democratic leaders as they attempt to control the violence in their cities.
Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms drew comparisons between Trump’s rhetoric now and at the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, where he claimed there were some “very fine people” on both sides. Those remarks drew bipartisan backlash. Bottoms said on CNN on Sunday that Trump is “making it worse.”
“This is not about using military force. This is about where we are in America. We are beyond a tipping point in this country, and his rhetoric only inflames that, and he should sometimes just stop talking,” she said.
Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, also said Trump’s message is intensifying the situation.
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“That’s not helpful. It’s not lowering the temperature,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union when discussing Trump’s tweets. “It’s sort of continuing to escalate the rhetoric. I think it’s just the opposite of the message that should have been coming out of the White House.”
Republican Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland says President Trump's comments on the events of the week are "continuing to escalate the rhetoric."
"I think it's just the opposite of the message that should have been coming out of the White House" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/Qk9rgpn3yZ — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 31, 2020
Senator Tim Scott, too, spoke out against Trump’s tweets. “Those are not constructive tweets, without any question,” he said on Fox News Sunday.
Scott said that he’d spoken with the president and advised him that it’s “helpful when you lead with compassion”.
Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser, whom Trump targeted a day earlier, told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday that Trump should start efforts to calm the nation by “not sending divisive tweets that are meant to hearken to the segregationist past of our country”.
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“And he can start by doing that right now, we certainly urge him to do that,” she added.
Citing top aides in the West Wing, ABC News and CNN reported that there’s a divide within the White House over whether Trump should formally address the nation to call for calm, given his so-far bumpy message and tendency for escalation.
Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser: "I think that the President has a responsibility to help calm the nation, and he can start by not sending divisive tweets that are meant to hearken to the segregationist past of our country." pic.twitter.com/z5y40G0Wj1 — Talking Points Memo (@TPM) May 31, 2020
On CNN’s State of the Union, senator Cory Booker, recalled Trump’s “inability to condemn Nazis” in the wake of the Charlottesville rally and other past racist comments, saying Trump “no longer has the capacity to break my heart”.
Donald Trump is not a leader that anyone should be looking to in these troubled times. He is a divisive president who has failed our country. We must stay focused on the people—and on unraveling institutional racism with the urgency it deserves. pic.twitter.com/zdKaMmM97d — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 31, 2020
In response to Trump’s comments about the unrest unfolding in her city and around the country, Democratic representative Ilhan Omar said the president had “failed in really understanding the kind of pain and anguish many of his citizens are feeling.”
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“When you have a president who really is glorifying violence, was talking about the kind of vicious dogs and weapons that could be unleashed on citizens, it is quite appalling and disturbing,” she said.
During a speech Saturday afternoon, Trump offered a more composed tone, urging that “healing, not hatred, justice, not chaos are the mission at hand” and said “the memory of George Floyd is being dishonored by rioters, looters, and anarchists”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Trump Reportedly Rushed To White House Bunker During Anti-Racist Protests

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As anti-racist protests continued for a fourth night in Washington, DC, the Secret Service rushed President Donald Trump to an underground bunker, according to a number of media reports.
Trump and his family were never in any real danger on Friday when they were relocated but the incident rattled them, sources told The New York Times, which was the first news outlet to report the extraordinary safety measure.
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Trump spent about an hour in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, as the bunker is known, The Associated Press reported. The facility was established to protect presidents during emergencies such as terrorist attacks. First lady Melania Trump and their son, Barron, accompanied the president to the bunker, per CNN.
Trump flew to Florida on Saturday to view the SpaceX launch and was back in the White House on Sunday, but he remained out of sight as demonstrators again gathered in cities across the US to protest the death of George Floyd.
Late on Sunday, police in Washington began using tear gas on protesters who were allegedly setting fires and vandalising buildings, NBC News reported.
Trump hunkered down in a bunker was a radically different image than the one he presented on Twitter. Early on Saturday, he boasted about watching the action from the windows of the White House the previous night:
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Great job last night at the White House by the U.S. @SecretService. They were not only totally professional, but very cool. I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe. They let the “protesters” scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
....got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard - didn’t know what hit them. The front line was replaced with fresh agents, like magic. Big crowd, professionally organized, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
....have been greeted with the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been really badly hurt, at least. Many Secret Service agents just waiting for action. “We put the young ones on the front line, sir, they love it, and.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
....good practice.” As you saw last night, they were very cool & very professional. Never let it get out of hand. Thank you! On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved. “Not their job.” Nice! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020
The Times reported that some aides had pressed Trump to do a national address about the protests on Sunday, but he decided to share his thoughts on Twitter instead:
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FAKE NEWS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2020
LAW & ORDER! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Piers Morgan Addresses Widespread Protests And Condemns 'Systemic Racism': 'Something Has To Change'

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Piers Morgan returned to Good Morning Britain with a message condemning the “systemic racism” which he said has “bedevilled America for so long”.
After a week off, Piers and Susanna Reid once again took their places at the GMB desk on Monday morning, where they discussed the ongoing protests in America, following the death of George Floyd.
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Floyd died last week, at the hands of a police officer who had been kneeling on his neck, while three others stood by, an incident which has led to mass outrage and protests all over the world.
Piers initially commented on the protests on Sunday writing: “Horrendous scenes all over America. Fully justified protests at the despicable police killing of George Floyd now devolving into widespread looting, chaos, rioting & anarchy.
“There’s been nothing like this since the reaction to the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. Very worrying.”
Horrendous scenes all over America. Fully justified protests at the despicable police killing of George Floyd now devolving into widespread looting, chaos, rioting & anarchy. There’s been nothing like this since the reaction to the assassination of MLK in 1968. Very worrying. — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 31, 2020
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During Monday’s GMB, he said on the matter: “System racism has bedevilled America for so long. And something has to change, it can not go on like this.
“You can not have a Black American being killed in the street by a white policeman with his knee on his neck for nearly 10 minutes, it’s unbelievable.”
Susanna then paid tribute to Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed by the police at her home while she slept in March.
Piers and Susanna in the GMB studio ITV
“She was shot eight times by the officers’ gunfire,” Susanna said. “She died as a result. She was in bed at the time.”
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Susanna also mentioned Stephon Clark, who was killed by police in 2018, who claimed that he had pointed a gun at them, when in fact all he had on his person at the time was a mobile phone.
Piers previously sung the praises of footballer Jadon Sancho, who scored a goal for his team Borussia Dortmund over the weekend, and celebrated by unveiling a “Justice For George Floyd” t-shirt, only to end up being given a yellow card.
“I hope every one of his teammates wears one in the next game,” Piers said.
So @Sanchooo10 scored today for Dortmund, unveiled a ‘Justice for George Floyd’ T-shirt.. and got booked.
I hope every one of his teammates wears one in the next game. 👇 pic.twitter.com/D4koZmwerU — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 31, 2020
Jadon later wrote on Instagram: “Delighted to get my first career hat trick, a bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change.
“We shouldn’t fear speaking out for what’s right, we have to come together as one & fight for justice. We are stronger together!”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Billie Eilish To White People Saying 'All Lives Matter' During Protests: 'Shut The F*** Up'

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Billie Eilish has shared an impassioned message about white privilege amid the ongoing protests over police killings of Black people.
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The Grammy-winning singer told her nearly 65 million followers over the weekend that she was “gonna lose my fucking mind” if another white person insisted that “all lives matter,” a phrase that is used to invalidate the specific injustices inflicted upon Black communities.
“Will you shut the fuck up?” Billie wrote on Instagram. “No one is saying your life doesn’t matter. No one is saying your life is not hard. No one is saying literally anything at all about you...
“All you MFs do is find a way to make everything about yourself. This is not about you. You are not in need. You are not in danger.”
The clearly-frustrated singer said that she had tried to address the matter “delicately” given her platform, but her anger had boiled over in recent days.
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Billie continued the post for several more slides and attempted to distill the issue in child-like terms for those failing to understand the extent of structural racism.
“If your friend gets a cut on their arm are you gonna wait to give all your friends a bandaid first because all arms matter? NO you’re gonna help your friend because THEY are in PAIN because THEY are in need because THEY ARE BLEEDING,” she wrote.
The Bad Guy star went onto explain why “you can be poor, you can be struggling” and still benefit from white privilege.
“Nobody is saying that makes you better than anyone,” she added. “It just lets you live your life without having to worry about surviving simply because of your skin colour! You are privileged!”
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Billie Eilish in February. Gareth Cattermole via Getty Images
“If all lives matter why are black people killed just for being black?” Eilish continued, noting that white people protesting stay-at-home orders had not experienced police violence.
“Why are immigrants persecuted? Why are white people given opportunities that people of other races aren’t? The slogan #blacklivesmatter does not mean that other lives don’t. It’s calling attention to the fact that society clearly thinks black lives don’t fucking matter! And they fucking do!”
The post, which has racked up nearly five million likes, received praise from director Ava Duvernay, SZA, Trey Songz, Kehlani, Kandi Burruss and more in the comments section.
Billie joined a chorus of celebrities, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, who’ve spoken out after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck, as he said he couldn’t breathe.
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On Friday, Taylor Swift blasted President Trump for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency” in a viral tweet.
Beyoncé demanded justice for Floyd in a video message and urged her followers to take action.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Trump Says Antifa Will Be Designated A Terrorist Organisation

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Donald Trump on Sunday said the US will designate anti-fascist protesters known as antifa as a terrorist organisation amid nationwide protests over the recent death of unarmed Black man George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
Trump, who announced his intentions on Twitter, blamed “radical left anarchists,” as well as the media, for stirring up trouble in various cities and urged local leaders to shut their demonstrations down “before it is too late!”
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“It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don’t lay the blame on others!” he tweeted Saturday after demonstrators gathered outside the White House over Floyd’s death and the president’s response to it. Many chanted “Black lives matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “No justice, no peace.” Some threw items at police and destroyed local property.
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020
The protesters had “little to do with the memory of George Floyd,” Trump said, adding that they “were just there to cause trouble.”
An American Civil Liberties Union official, responding to Trump’s terrorism call for antifa on Sunday, called it “abused and misused.”
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“As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused. There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns,” said ACLU National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi in a statement to HuffPost.
Police are seen armed with batons after protesters violated a curfew in effect in Minneapolis on Saturday. Damairs Carter/MediaPunch/MediaPunch/IPx
Professor Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law similarly slapped down Trump’s plans, tweeting: “The United States of America has no legal authority to designate *any* domestic entities as ‘terrorist organisations.’”
The FBI considers domestic terrorism to be “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”
The US officially designates only foreign terrorist organisations, and supporting such organisations can trigger federal terrorism charges. Domestic organisations — from antifa to the Ku Klux Klan — enjoy broader First Amendment protections unless members of those organisations violate specific federal statutes.
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Still, the federal government has broad powers to investigate organisations it considers criminal enterprises if officials see evidence of a conspiracy to break federal law. The Trump administration is suggesting an aggressive approach against left-wing protesters.
Police detain demonstrators protesting in Atlanta on Saturday. The protest started peacefully earlier in the day before demonstrators clashed with police. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trump’s comments, which failed to acknowledge the events that sparked the nation’s ongoing upheaval, came as White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien denied that there is a problem with systemic racism in the nation’s police forces.
“There are some bad apples in there. There are some bad cops that are racist, and there are cops that maybe don’t have the right training. ... And they need to be rooted out,” O’Brien said in an interview Sunday with CNN.
Attorney General William Barr also backed Trump’s depiction of the demonstrators in a statement on Sunday that accused them of “exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda.
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“It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it,” he said, a message that appeared to mirror the Black Lives Matter movement’s own “call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism.”
“This violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly,” Barr said while imploring state and local leaders to use law enforcement resources and the National Guard where warranted.
Attorney General Barr’s statement on rioting, the role of the Department of Justice, and Antifa.
“The violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.” pic.twitter.com/6aKElRYZdR — KerriKupecDOJ (@KerriKupecDOJ) May 31, 2020
Antifa is not one organisation but rather a loosely linked collection of groups of protesters who take on right-wing demonstrators, sometimes physically, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Its participants “believe in active, aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. Their ideology is rooted in the assumption that the Nazi party would never have been able to come to power in Germany if people had more aggressively fought them in the streets in the 1920s and 30s,” the ADL’s website said.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Primark To Reopen Its Doors In England On June 15

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Primark is set to reopen all its stores in England on June 15, with its stores in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland expected to follow later in the month.
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The fashion retailer’s owner, Associated British Foods (ABF), said it expects to have 281 of its branches open by mid June, including 112 of its stores in Europe.
It said it is awaiting further guidance regarding stores in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but anticipates openings in “late June”.
It follows the government’s announcement that non-essential shops in England will reopen on June 15, if they can meet the Covid-19 secure guidelines to protect shoppers and workers.
Among the safety measures being put in place are the installation of hand sanitiser stations, perspex screens at tills and additional cleaning of high frequency touch points in the store.
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Primark plans to reopen all of its stores in England on June 15. Aaron Chown - PA Images via Getty Images
There will be a limit on the number of customers allowed in the store at any one time so that customers and employees can adhere to social distancing rules.
Personal protection, including mask and gloves, will be made available to all employees.
Since Primark shut all its doors on March 11, it has been losing about £650m a month in sales.
In a statement, the company said: “As European governments have begun to ease restrictions on clothing retailing we have been able to reopen stores.
“Safety has been our highest priority in our detailed preparations to welcome our customers and employees back to stores. We are following government safety advice in all markets.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--Lewis Hamilton Blasts Stars ‘Staying Silent’ Over George Floyd Killing: ‘I See You’

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Lewis Hamilton has spoken out about the killing of George Floyd, condemning his fellow celebrities who have stayed silent.
On Sunday, Lewis, the only Black Formula One star, took to Instagram to share his dismay over the death of the 46-year-old Black American whilst being restrained by a white police officer last week.
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Lewis Hamilton ASSOCIATED PRESS
Derek Chauvin, the police officer in question, has now been charged with murder following days of protests across the US, pitting protesters against police in a number of major cities.
On Sunday, the six-time world champion blasted the motorsport industry as well as his fellow F1 drivers for “staying silent in the midst of injustice”.
Lewis shared the above message on his Instagram story Instagram
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“I see those of you who are staying silent, he wrote. “Some of you the biggest of stars yet you stay silent in the midst of injustice. Not a sign from anybody in my industry which of course is a white-dominated sport.
“I’m one of the only people of colour there yet I stand alone. I would have thought by now you would see why this happens and say something about it but you can’t stand alongside us. Just know I know who you are, and I see you.”
The defending world champion also gave his thoughts on the continuing protests in the US.
Lewis Hamilton Instagram
“I do not stand with those looting and burning buildings but those who are protesting peacefully,” he wrote. “There can be no peace until our so called leaders make change. This is not just America, this is the UK, this is Spain, this is Italy and all over.
“The way minorities are treated has to change, [and] how you educate those in your country of equality, racism, classism and that we are all the same. We are not born with racism and hate in our hearts, it is taught by those we look up to.”
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The F1 star has been outspoken on the sport’s need for greater diversity in the past.
“There’s barely any diversity in F1,” he said in 2018. “Still nothing’s changed in 11 years I’ve been here.”
A mural of George Floyd painted by the artist eme_freethinker on a wall at Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany. SIPA USA/PA Images


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-01--'Light ’Em Up': Minneapolis Cops Appear To Fire Paint Rounds At People On Their Porch

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A video posted to social media appears to show Minneapolis police firing paint rounds at people who were standing on their front porch Saturday night, simply because the people did not get inside the house when ordered to.
In the video, some two dozen police, clad in riot gear and accompanied by a tank, can be seen trotting down a quiet residential street, yelling: “Get inside! Get in your house, now! Let’s go!”
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As people stand on the porch of one house filming the police, someone yells: “Light ’em up!” The police turn, and at least one fires a projectile at the people on the porch, who scream and run indoors. Local media reported that police fired paint rounds.
The video, which contains explicit language, can be seen below.
The video was posted by Tanya Kerssen, who filmed the incident as she was standing on her porch in the Whittier neighborhood, reportedly after curfew. However, curfew restrictions only apply to public areas, according to the city’s own order.
The video was being widely circulated Sunday, with Kerssen’s encouragement.
HuffPost could not immediately reach Minneapolis police for comment. The National Guard said troops were not involved in the confrontation.
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Share widely: National guard and MPD sweeping our residential street. Shooting paint canisters at us on our own front porch. Yelling “light em up” #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #JusticeForGeorge #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/bW48imyt55 — Tanya Kerssen (@tkerssen) May 31, 2020
People responding to the video on Twitter were stunned.
Them hollering to people to "GET INSIDE! NOW!" and shooting at them on their own property is something I've never seen. It's chilling as hell. — Adrian (@SillyPutty78) May 31, 2020
Omfg last time I checked your porch is your property. They are out of control — Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) May 31, 2020
The curfew order applies only to public places and streets.
These thugs fired on her and her family illegally.
They are a danger to the public and need to be locked up. pic.twitter.com/IPNswJN191 — Tom Behling (@mechanitom) May 31, 2020