@microbet - FYI there’s a protest tomorrow in RB.
I’m planning on going if the shooting pain in my groin doesn’t hobble me too much. Probably no marching though. I’m hoping there’s a stationary period at first. I believe this is the RB police station.
Cops aren’t working folk, they’re violent agents of capital. Which, beyond being the problem with cop unions, is the problem with cops in practice now in the first place.
It seems pretty clear to me that our current form of capitalism is heavily dependent on white supremacy. Capitalism took black humans and turned them into free labor. Capitalism dictated that America invade or overthrow every black or brown country that tried self-determination and keeping the value of its natural resources among the people instead of privatizing them and selling them cheap to a multinational. Where do you think the term “banana republic” came from? You couldn’t get away with that in a society that didn’t inherently decide white lives and white comfort justified any horror visited on black and brown lives.
Every time I hear that, I wonder did capitalism dictate that or did runaway unregulated capitalism where corporations have undue political experience dictate that? Or did a selfish and/or uninformed voter base fall for rhetoric that dictated that?
I don’t think the fact that stakeholders in a capitalist system benefited from something means that the very idea of capitalism dictates that same thing.
Cop unions are like the absolute worst of all worlds. They abuse and rape the system and because of police budgets they don’t get reined in like others. They’re the mob basically. Chauvin has a second home in Florida, and apparently enough money to go on African safaris. Maybe that’s all legit or maybe it’s a ton of bogus overtime and the guy may be even just flat out stealing on top of that.
I absolutely support unions, even public sector unions. But I also support calling out egregious abuses of the system - because it threatens everyone else who’s playing by the rules. Retiring on $350k/year for life is not sustainable. Those guys are ruining it for anyone else.
I’ll hit you up if I go.
JFC she killed it. Here’s the YT extended clip. I’m gonna buy her book.
Sorry if this was posted, I grunched some. Bob Kroll is the absolute nut low. Dude needs to be fired yesterday.
I thought I heard a lot of talk today about places banning tear gas, and I’m pretty sure I just saw on the news here they’re shooting gas around downtown (Portland).
We banned the LRAD device in Portland today, so I guess it is back to gas and flash bangs, but we are suing the city for using gas.
I went downtown Thursday as protesters were on Morrison bridge. Watching thousands of people walk by, most holding signs, chanting out the names of the victims was incredibly moving. One of the more surreal aspects were the four or five drones, helicopter and plane above the protest. I felt like I was standing in a future history lesson. I stayed with that protest group that night till 10 or so. Many people giving out snacks and water. People walking through the crowd collecting trash. People walking around offering hand sanitizer. At least 90% mask usage.
There has been another group generally gathering outside the justice center. Cops have fenced off a few blocks around the building. People are saying things that hurt the cops feelings. I think someone also may have touched the fence, justifying the use gas against citizens.
“I really just couldn’t watch it anymore,” Sanderlin said. “And just kind of made like a parallel walkover, put my hands up, and just stood in the line of the fire and asked them to please not do this.”
The video shows the officers’ training their riot guns on Sanderlin.
He stood a good distance away, made no aggressive motions to police, yet they fired on him several times, one round hitting him in the groin.
“I pause for a moment like maybe this isn’t, maybe this doesn’t hurt and falling afterwards is like the most painful experience,” he said.
Derrick and Cayla Sanderlin have been married four years.
They both work for charities helping people who are suffering economically during the pandemic.
After Derrick’s emergency surgery for a rupture, the doctors aren’t sure they’ll be able to have children.
“The doctor had let me know before the operation that there’s no way of fully telling until you try to have kids,” Derrick Sanderlin said.
JFC
It’s OK guys the chief is on it:
The chief also said he is re-evaluating at what point in a confrontation officers can fire those projectiles.
Oh.
Also, mini TR from DC last night. I walked a couple miles to get to the main protest (16th and H right above Lafayette Square, where the infamous church is and the BLM street painting is). My path took me by the monuments; there were a few MPs hanging around them but nothing going on. As I walked by they were expanding the fence around the White House, extending it down to Constitution Ave. You could barely see the White House through the trees. Bitch.
The protest itself was amazingly peaceful and inspiring. Signs everywhere, most serious but some amusing (“BUNKKKER BITCH” and “STOP PROTECTING EPSTEIN”) stood out to me. Based on their signs, a few white people think this will be solved just by voting Trump out in November… sigh. There were several snack and water stations giving away for free; I had brought 10 or so water bottles in a backpack and added mine to their piles. Someone had brought loudspeakers and was playing music; some teens were dancing. Total crowd was maybe 1000 but growing every minute.
I ducked out early since I had a long walk home and nasty storms were rolling in. Others I know sent pictures after the rain and it looked like a big crowd was still there.
