{"id":4004,"date":"2020-09-20T19:57:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T19:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4004"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","slug":"how-cooper-and-forest-differ-on-police-and-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/09\/20\/how-cooper-and-forest-differ-on-police-and-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cooper and Forest differ on police and protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
North Carolina’s governor and lieutenant governor don\u2019t seem to agree on anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As candidates for governor, Roy Cooper, the Democratic incumbent, and Dan Forest, the Republican challenger, have sparred most bitterly over the response to the coronavirus. And they don\u2019t see eye to eye on another group of issues that are important in this year\u2019s election: systemic racism and police brutality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers prompted countless protests across North Carolina and lots of discussion about what government can do on the issues of racism, protests and the Black Lives Matter movement. Cooper and Forest have emphasized drastically different messages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cooper has spoken out against systemic racism and excessive use of police force. In a <\/span>press briefing<\/span><\/a> in late May, he proclaimed that \u201cBlack lives matter\u201d and urged North Carolinians not to let people who destroy property undermine the message of peaceful protesters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Forest has focused more on the threat of violence from the protests. He has said relatively little about racial inequality and instead emphasized the importance of law and order. He said he stands proudly with the police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Forest: \u2018We don\u2019t put up with anarchy\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n Forest says he will protect North Carolinians when \u201canarchists\u201d take to the streets. Gov. Cooper failed to do so, he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In an <\/span>interview<\/span><\/a> with John Woodard, a North Carolina YouTube user and <\/span>podcast maker<\/span><\/a>, Forest said the mainstream media didn\u2019t tell the full story about the disorder in downtown Raleigh in May, when protesters smashed windows and destroyed storefronts. He said the coverage, or lack thereof, essentially gave Cooper a \u201cfree pass\u201d to avoid action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot only did he not do a good job, he didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d Forest said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[People] <\/span>shouldn’t have to wonder, when the violence comes to my town, what\u2019s the governor going to do?\u201d Forest said.<\/span><\/p>\n In the interview, Forest didn\u2019t spend much time discussing why the protesters were there. While he acknowledged that \u201cthere will always be a racism problem,\u201d he cited the nation\u2019s success in eradicating slavery more quickly than other parts of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe that the vast majority of Americans think that we have a systemic racism problem,\u201d Forest said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He said he finds it unfair that a handful of cases of police misconduct around the country have led some to believe that there is a systemic problem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n