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Wideleft

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Everything posted by Wideleft

  1. To understand why there are protests, one should probably frame it this way: people are literally risking their lives by putting themselves into situations where they know they not only risk becoming infected, but also risk spreading the virus because the U.S. has reached a breaking point in their treatment of people of colour. I suspect very few protesters think they are immune to the virus, but are willing to risk the health of themselves or others for the cause. Protests have picked up around the world because this problem is not unique to America. I was at the Legislature on Friday and my eyes told me that 98-99% of people were wearing masks. Those not wearing masks were approached by volunteers who offered them masks. I was pleasantly surprised. I wore an N95 out of added caution. For those crying hypocrisy regarding closures and protests - you don't understand the nature of protest. You need permits for demonstrations, but you don't need them for protests. Any attempt at shutting down a protest tends to go badly, especially when the majority recognizes the validity of the protests. This is not unique to our present situation. Without a doubt, the infection numbers will spike as a result of these protests. We saw infections in the Michigan armed goon protests, so why won't we see them now? Every revolution carries risk. This one just has a really unique one in the form of COVID-19.
  2. There are a few that I can think of who are unsurprisingly silent.
  3. On the bright side, Monday's just got a little more tolerable.
  4. Maine's largest newspaper has something to say: Our View: To President Trump: You should resign now He lacks the character, maturity and judgment to lead the country in a perilous time. President Trump: We’re sorry that you decided to come to Maine, but since you are here, could you do us a favor? Resign. You have never been a good president, but today your shortcomings are unleashing historic levels of suffering on the American people. Your slow response to the coronavirus pandemic has spun a manageable crisis into the worst public health emergency since 1918. We are also in the middle of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. There is no national strategy to recover from the shock that is disproportionately affecting people who were already struggling to make it. And in the face of the worst civic unrest since 1968, with millions of Americans in the streets protesting systemic racism, you fan the flames. In just the last week you gleefully tweeted about shooting fellow citizens; you goaded governors into escalating violent situations so they don’t “look like jerks;” and you authorized the use of rubber bullets and tear gas to clear peaceful protesters out of a public space so you could pose for a Bible-waving photo-op. These are just a few examples of why you lack the character, maturity and judgment to lead our country in this perilous time. You should resign. We have to agree with you on one point: You were right to skip making an address to the nation as other presidents have done in times of national emergency. You correctly concluded that you have nothing to say that would make the situation better. When what’s called for is compassion, clear vision and a commitment to lead, you are out of ammo. But bringing the nation together in times of distress is a big part of the job when you are head of state. You can’t do it, so you should resign. As head of government, you have unmatched power to direct resources to relieve suffering. You can’t or won’t do that, either, so you should resign. And in your mistreatment of lawful protesters and abuse of religious symbols, you have violated your oath to protect and defend the Constitution, so you should resign. Your supporters will no doubt say that this is an election year, and it should be left up to the voters to decide whether you deserve to stay in office. But ask yourself – can this country take five more months like the last five? You are a president supported by a minority of the people, and your only path to victory in November is to further divide the nation. This campaign could do even more lasting damage than you have done already. We know that you are not much of a student of history, but you recently said that you “learned a lot from Richard Nixon.” That’s good, because he set the historical precedent for what you should do now. In a nationally televised address, Nixon said that he knew that he was about to be impeached over Watergate, and he wanted to fight the charges. But since that would be destructive to the nation he served, he chose instead to resign. Nixon said: “By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” America needs to heal again. Please resign now, and let us begin. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/05/our-view-to-president-trump-you-should-resign-now/
  5. He's always been among the most useless turds in the useless turd pile.
  6. This is gold! How Western media would cover Minneapolis if it happened in another country By Karen Attiah Global Opinions editor May 29, 2020 at 3:57 p.m. CDT If we talked about what is happening in Minneapolis the same way we talk about events in a foreign country, here’s how the Western media would cover it. The quotes and those “quoted” in the piece below are fictional. In recent years, the international community has sounded the alarm on the deteriorating political and human rights situation in the United States under the regime of Donald Trump. Now, as the country marks 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the former British colony finds itself in a downward spiral of ethnic violence. The fatigue and paralysis of the international community are evident in its silence, America experts say. The country has been rocked by several viral videos depicting extrajudicial executions of black ethnic minorities by state security forces. Uprisings erupted in the northern city of Minneapolis after a video circulated online of the killing of a black man, George Floyd, after being attacked by a security force agent. Trump took to Twitter, calling black protesters “THUGS”’ and threatening to send in military force. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts!” he declared. “Sure, we get it that black people are angry about decades of abuse and impunity,” said G. Scott Fitz, a Minnesotan and member of the white ethnic majority. “But going after a Target crosses the line. Can’t they find a more peaceful way, like kneeling in silence?” Ethnic violence has plagued the country for generations, and decades ago it captured the attention of the world, but recently the news coverage and concern are waning as there seems to be no end in sight to the oppression. “These are ancient, inexplicable hatreds fueling these ethnic conflicts and inequality," said Andreja Dulic, a foreign correspondent whose knowledge of American English consists of a semester course in college and the occasional session on the Duolingo app. When told the United States is only several hundred years old, he shrugged and said, “In my country, we have structures still from the Roman empire. In their culture, Americans think that a 150-year-old building is ancient history.” Britain usually takes an acute interest in the affairs of its former colony, but it has also been affected by the novel coronavirus. “We’ve seen some setbacks with the virus, but some Brits see the rising disease, staggering unemployment and violence in the States and feel as if America was never ready to govern itself properly, that it would resort to tribal politics,” said Andrew Darcy Morthington, a London-based America expert. During the interview, a news alert informed that out of the nearly 40,000 coronavirus deaths in the United Kingdom, 61 percent of the health-care workers who have died were black and or have Middle Eastern backgrounds. Morthington didn’t seem to notice. “Like I was saying, we don’t have those American racism issues here.” Trump, a former reality-TV host, beauty pageant organizer and businessman, once called African nations “shithole countries." But he is now taking a page from African dictators who spread bogus health remedies, like Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, who claimed he could cure AIDS with bananas and herbal potions and pushed his treatments onto the population, resulting in deaths. Trump appeared to suggest injecting bleach and using sunlight to kill the coronavirus. He has also said he has taken hydroxycholoroquine, a drug derived from quinine, a long-known jungle remedy for malaria. Doctors have advised against using the treatment to prevent or treat the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Americans desperate to flee will face steep challenges to cross borders, as mismanagement of the coronavirus and ethnic tensions in the country have made them undesirable visitors. But some struggling American retailers, like Neiman Marcus, are hoping to lure shoppers with traditional 19th-century colonial travel fantasies through neutral khakis and cargo shorts as part of a “Modern Safari” collection. “Utilitarian details & muted tones meet classic femininity,” reads a caption under the photograph of a white woman. Pith helmets were not included in the accessory lineup. Some nations are considering offering black Americans special asylum. “Members of the white ethnic majority are forming armed militia groups, demanding their freedom to go back to work for the wealthy class who refer to workers as ‘human capital stock,’ despite the huge risk to workers,” said Mustapha Okango, a Nairobi-based anthropologist. “This is a throwback to the days when slavery was the backbone of the American economy. Black slaves were the original essential workers, and they were treated as non-human stock.” Africa could be an ideal asylum destination, as several African countries have managed to contain the coronavirus outbreak through aggressive early measures and innovations in testing kits. Senegal, a nation of 16 million, has only seen 41 deaths. “Everyone predicted Africa would fall into chaos,” Okango said. “It is proof that being a black person in this world doesn’t kill you, but being a black person in America clearly can.” The African Union did not respond to requests for comment, but it released a statement that said “we believe in American solutions for American problems.” Around the world, grass-roots organizations, celebrities, human rights activists and even students are doing what they can to raise money and awareness about the dire situation in America. “It’s sad that the Americans don’t have a government that can get them coronavirus tests or even monthly checks to be able to feed their families,” said Charlotte Johnson, a 18-year-old Liberian student activist, who survived the Ebola pandemic. “100,000 people are dead, cities are burning, and the country hasn’t had a day of mourning? Lives don’t matter, especially not black lives. It’s like they’re living in a failing state.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/29/how-western-media-would-cover-minneapolis-if-it-happened-another-country/#comments-wrapper
  7. The Nisour Square Massacre occurred on September 16, 2007 where employees of Blackwater Security Consulting (now Academi), a private military company contracted by the US government to provide security services in Iraq, shot at Iraqi civilians, killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad, while escorting a U.S. embassy convoy.[1][2][3] The killings outraged Iraqis and strained relations between Iraq and the United States.[4] In 2014, four Blackwater employees were tried[5] and convicted in U.S. federal court; one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.[6] Blackwater guards claimed that the convoy was ambushed and that they fired at the attackers in defense of the convoy. The Iraqi government and Iraqi police investigator Faris Saadi Abdul stated that the killings were unprovoked.[7][8] The next day, Blackwater Worldwide's license to operate in Iraq was temporarily revoked.[9] The U.S. State Department has said that "innocent life was lost",[10] and according to the Washington Post, a military report appeared to corroborate "the Iraqi government's contention that Blackwater was at fault".[11] The Iraqi government vowed to punish Blackwater.[12] The incident sparked at least five investigations, including one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[13] The FBI investigation found that, of the 17 Iraqis killed by the guards, at least 14 were shot without cause.[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisour_Square_massacre
  8. There was a fantastic radio interview with him on As It Happens yesterday. Totally worth a listen (right at the beginning of the broadcast). https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5594762
  9. An important article about implicit bias and why we ALL have it due to structural racism. Don’t Talk about Implicit Bias Without Talking about Structural Racism Posted on June 14, 2019 by Hugh Vasquez by Kathleen Osta and Hugh Vasquez, National Equity Project (From the article - link to complete text below) "How does all of this connect to implicit bias and structural racism? Let’s start with a definition of implicit bias: Implicit Bias is the process of associating stereotypes or attitudes towards categories of people without conscious awareness. Note that this is not the same as explicit, conscious racism and other forms of conscious bias which still exist and need to be addressed. Here, we are talking about people who consciously and genuinely believe in fairness, equity, and equality, but despite these stated beliefs, hold unconscious biases that can lead us to react in ways that are at odds with our values. These unconscious biases can play out in our decision making regarding who we hire for a job or select for a promotion, which students we place in honors classes and who we send out of the classroom for behavior infractions, and which treatment options we make available to patients. We know from extensive research that this kind of biased decision making plays out all the time in our schools, in hospitals, in policing, and in places of employment. The question is not if it is happening, it is when is it happening and what can we do about it. Implicit bias and its effects play out through three keys processes: Priming, Associations, and Assumptions. Priming is a psychological phenomena in which a word, image, sound, or any other stimulus is used to elicit an associated response. Some of the best examples of priming are in product advertising in which advertisers prime us to feel an affinity or emotional connection to a particular brand that leads us to choose that brand over others even when there is actually no difference between the products. We buy Nikes because we are compelled to “Just do it.” We think we are consciously choosing, but our unconscious mind is doing the shopping. But product selection is not the only thing influenced by priming — so are our beliefs, views and feelings about others. The Associations we hold about groups of people are created and reinforced through priming. Associations occur without conscious guidance or intention. For example, the word NURSE is recognized more quickly following the word DOCTOR than following the word BREAD. We associate two words together because our unconscious mind has been wired to do so. Quick — what do cows drink? Not milk! But we have a strong association in our brain between cows and milk. (Cows drink water.) When it comes to people, the associations our brain makes works the same way, creating shortcuts based on how we have been primed. The way our brains create shortcuts to quickly make sense of data is innate. How we have been primed to make harmful associations about different categories of people is not, but is rather the result of messaging, policies and practices that have been applied throughout history to include or exclude groups of people. The United States has a long history of systemic racism — since the founding of the country stories that dehumanized African Americans and Native peoples were used to justify genocide, slavery, racial segregation, mass incarceration, and police brutality. Negative and dehumanizing stereotypes about women and people of color and stories that “other” are rampant in the news media and in popular culture. For example, we have been primed throughout history by our own government, by popular culture, and through the media to think of African American people as less intelligent, aggressive, and more likely to commit crime. We have received unrelenting messages that people who are immigrating to the United States from Central America and Mexico are criminals. Likewise, we have been primed to think of women as less competent, overly emotional, and their bodies as objects to be judged. For every stigmatized group of people, we have been repeatedly exposed to stereotypes that most of us can readily name that have been used to justify policies that have further stigmatized and marginalized." ... "Our brain is scanning our environment for who belongs (and is safe) and who is “other” (and a potential threat or dangerous). Who we come to categorize as belonging or threatening is learned as a result of structural inequities and messaging we have received about categories of people. These harmful associations we carry can lead us to make Assumptions that have life and death consequences for people of color. We saw this when: The police were called by a Starbucks manager because she made the association that Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, two African American men, were dangerous, resulting in their arrest when they were simply waiting to meet someone. Two Native American young men, Kanewakeron Thomas Gray and Shanahwati Lloyd Gray, drove from New Mexico to go on a college tour at Colorado State University and a white mother who was also on the tour called campus security because they looked like “they don’t belong, they were quiet and creepy and really stand out.” Security came and questioned the young men and confirmed that they were registered for the campus visit, but by the time they were released, the tour had gone ahead without them and they ended up driving home without a tour at all. Tamir Rice, a 12 year old African American boy was in a park with a toy gun when police drove up and within two seconds of exiting the vehicle an officer shot and killed him." https://blog.nationalequityproject.org/2019/06/14/dont-talk-about-implicit-bias-without-talking-about-structural-racism/
  10. "Urban riots must now be recognized as durable social phenomena. They may be deplored, but they are there and should be understood. Urban riots are a special form of violence. They are not insurrections. The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions. They are mainly intended to shock the white community. They are a distorted form of social protest. The looting which is their principal feature serves many functions. It enables the most enraged and deprived ***** to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse. Often the ***** does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking. But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights. There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act. This may explain why most cities in which riots have occurred have not had a repetition, even though the causative conditions remain. It is also noteworthy that the amount of physical harm done to white people other than police is infinitesimal and in Detroit whites and Negroes looted in unity. A profound judgment of today’s riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago. He said, ‘If a soul is left in the darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.’ The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty. It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes. They are born of the greater crimes of the white society. When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos. Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison. Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man. These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems that we face in our society." - Martin Luther King
  11. I'm a firm believer that white people are the last group of humans allowed to the "how bad is our racism" discussion table. That being said, I'm totally onboard with whites being allies to the marginalized and discriminated, because those people get it. If I hear another white person (man) say "our racism isn't that bad"..... Really! We're not that bad because the Klan doesn't show up to Folklorama?
  12. Last time I checked, the protests were not about gun control. That's why I stated "germaine to this discussion" a while back.
  13. And I'd argue that sentiment just lets the racist cops off the hook.
  14. The militia guys are mostly from the boonies. I doubt they'd know how to use a pedestrian crosswalk.
  15. There has never been a better time to show people how different the country would be under Democrats. I really don't think stark differences in policy would be a bad thing at this point.
  16. If rumours are true that the other 3 cops are about to be arrested, then a pause should be declared. That would take Trump right out of the equation. If the charges don't stick, then we're in for another round.
  17. I was a huge supporter of Obama even though I did not always agree with his go-slow approach or some of his decisions. In retrospect, I realize that never in the history of that country was a man under so much pressure not to f things up. He still managed to leave the country in a far better place than when he started. He's a good human being and I will always support those types.
  18. It's pretty hard to weed out undesirables who actually aren't part of your group/movement. That would be a waste of energy. They need to continue to register voters, fight measures to suppress voting, get people to the voting booths and stop the slide into tyranny. They have to vote against racist sheriffs, mayors, district attorneys, county judges, congresspeople and senators. Then they can catch their breath and start moving towards real change. There is no quick easy fix here.
  19. If history is to repeat itself, America will get new gun control - just like in the days of the Black Panthers. When Black Panthers Carried Guns, Conservatives Supported Gun Control The debate around guns has not always been the partisan stalemate it is today. But it has, like so many other political issues in the US, always been partly about race. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/joshuamanson/gun-control-history-race-black-panther-party-conservatives
  20. While I strongly agree that in broad terms gun control is a huge problem, it is not germaine to this issue. The proof is how differently police approach and confront people of colour as opposed to how they treat whites. Where was the tear gas when the white nationalists stormed the Michigan State Capitol building or in Charlottesville? It's not hard to find footage of police shootings of POC for minor traffic infractions, while the Bundy's of the world are literally pointing their weapons at law enforcement and nothing happens.
  21. We are the governed. We no longer consent to let the police kill us. By Eugene Robinson Columnist June 1, 2020 at 6:07 p.m. CDT This coast-to-coast uprising is not about terrorism, foreign or domestic. It’s not about arson, looting or carpeting streets with broken glass. It’s about a powerful phrase in the Declaration of Independence: “the consent of the governed.” Police in this country no longer have our consent to kill African Americans unjustly and with impunity. Is that clear now? What’s striking about the protests over the killing of George Floyd is not just the intensity of the anger the protesters express but how widely that anger has spread. Citizens have held demonstrations, marches and vigils in more than 60 cities across the country and in nearly every state. And in the week since a Minneapolis police officer ended Floyd’s life by kneeling on his neck, as Floyd pleaded “I can’t breathe,” passions have not diminished. If anything, crowds have become more ardent. To me, this feels less and less like just another iteration of the set-piece drama we’ve lived through so many times — an unjust killing, a few days of protest, a chorus of promises of reform, a return to normal, an all-too-brief interlude until the next unjust killing. This eruption feels like a potential inflection point, a collective decision that “normal” is no longer acceptable. That message is being delivered in every major American city. Whether it is being heard and understood remains to be seen. It is no surprise that President Trump and his aides are deaf, dumb and blind. Trump was chased into his underground bunker Friday night when protesters briefly threatened to storm the White House fence. He salved his bruised ego with a tweet about how anyone who managed to enter the grounds would be met by “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons.” But on Sunday night, as some protesters set fires across the street in Lafayette Square and the city of Washington imposed a curfew, I saw something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: The White House went completely dark. It looked like a vacant home, an empty mansion, a luxury property perhaps in foreclosure. In terms of the kind of presidential leadership that could help heal the nation, the “nobody’s home” metaphor is depressingly perfect. Trump went into hiding to avoid the protesters. When Trump did call Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, to offer his condolences, “He just kept, like, pushing me off, like ‘I don’t want to hear what you’re talking about,’ ” Floyd said afterward. And the message certainly hadn’t gotten through by the time Trump convened governors for a Monday conference in a call in which he reportedly told them that “most of you are weak” and urged them to “dominate” the protesters with overwhelming force. Trump isn’t alone in his deafness. Presumably stating the view of the administration, Trump’s national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, told CNN on Sunday that he did not believe there was any “systemic racism” in U.S. police forces. Rather, he said, he thought there were “a few bad apples” who need to be rooted out. And as for the violence and looting seen in some cities, the administration is focusing its fire instead on “antifa,” a loosely organized leftist movement — and paying no attention to white-supremacist groups that reportedly also are taking advantage of the moment to provoke greater conflict, much less to actions by the police that have escalated confrontations in some cities. That whole analysis — apples and antifa — is wrong to the point of irrelevance. Look at the sheer number of protests. Look at the level of anger, and yes, the destruction of property. Look at the persistence of demonstrators who pour out of their homes night after night, putting themselves at risk not only of clashes with police but also contracting covid-19. Look at the protesters themselves — African Americans, whites, Latinos, Asians, a rainbow of outrage. They are saying, quite clearly, that enough is enough. What happened to Floyd should never happen again. Consent is withdrawn. Policymakers should realize that it’s time to stop talking about police reform and actually change the racist army-of-occupation culture that poisons too many police departments. This will be hard to do — veteran officers who define that culture are hard to dislodge, powerful police unions often resist reform efforts, justice systems reflexively give police officers the benefit of the doubt even in the most egregious cases. But the basic principle is simple: Policing is something that must be done with and for a community, not to a community. Those officers should have been made to understand that their duty was to treat Floyd like a citizen — not like some black guy whose life was worthless. Governors, mayors and police chiefs around the country must hear and understand the message: If these racist killings continue, there will be hell to pay. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-are-the-governed-we-no-longer-consent-to-let-the-police-kill-us/2020/06/01/9fad7274-a440-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html
  22. How to Fix American Policing At a painful time, a roundup of proposed remedies 07.13.2016 The question isn’t new, but after last week it seems more urgent than ever: What reforms are available to improve the relationship between police and the black communities they serve? That question has figured in policy platforms issued by a variety of groups, from leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement (that platform is called Campaign Zero), to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing to the NAACP. Some platforms apply to a single jurisdiction, such as the proposals for the New York City Police Department issued by Communities United for Police Reform. Some ideas come from academics. Some come from community advocates or the ranks of law enforcement. Some ideas have been pitched for decades while others have surfaced in recent years. Many have been discussed at national conferences on this question, hosted by the Department of Justice. Last week, the tension between black and blue, as some have phrased it, sparked protests and vigils around the country, following the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La.; Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn.; and police officers Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Smith, Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens and Brent Thompson in Dallas. What follows is a canvass of proposed reforms, including ones renewed in the aftermath of last week’s killings: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/07/13/how-to-fix-american-policing
  23. Anybody wondering why there are 11 pages about "riots" (not protests) and yet no one (including me) saw fit to start a thread about police murdering George Floyd? What does it say about us that we find one subject so much more noteworthy than the other?
  24. I stand corrected. Thanks.
  25. But you were so free to express those thoughts. It couldn't be because you assume everyone on this board is white? That's the privilege you are granted just being born white. The gang angle is weak. Gangs come in all forms. The Hells Angels don't allow blacks in their membership. Storm Front is essentially a gang and they are Nazis. You've either never heard of Asian gangs, South American gangs, German gangs or English gangs, or they were omitted because they didn't fit your narrative. I'm also curious as to whether you even knew about the Hong Kong riots or Charlottesville when you blamed the current situation on one culture. It's good that you're retracting those comments only minutes after stating the right to express your opinion. The Saskatchewan insults are not my cup of tea, but if you think that's some form of racism, you really need to learn more about the subject.
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