Senate "Race" Relations (was "U.S. Society and Black Men")

No worries. I often make the mistake of coming on here after just waking up, and whenever anyone quotes me, I always feel slightly ill, because you never know if someone is going to go on the offensive or not. So even before I read the quote, my stomach was already clenching.

I did actually want to amend my post to show that I wasn't angry, just confused, but ran out of time. But yeah, in retrospect it wasn't ridicule. Glad you clarified things though.

 

Found by chance, turned out to be a worthwhile read:

https://www.thecut.com/article/mont...en.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

Living With Karens

A white woman calls the police on her Black neighbors. Six months later, they still share a property line.

 

Ha! We should have a name for that.

 

the really sad, infuriating part is that they are called ‘protesters’ and it’s not at all surprising

 

The woman who falsely accused a black teen of stealing her phone has been arrested.

 

White man who drives into Iowa protesters could avoid prison time

Can you imagine what would have happened if it was an African American who drove into a crowd of Proud Boys?

 

Yikes...

 

Look, Boxing Day does not refer to actually punching people, OK?

More seriously, slam her arse in jail, along with Iowa van guy.

 

Only a truly awful lawyer would let that ****ing moron do an interview.

 

Apparently she was advised not to, but insisted on doing it. Also, the hat she was wearing, she was also told by her lawyer not to wear it, and did anyway.

You can see the lawyer questioning her life's choices while that interview was taking place.

At the end of the day, some lenient judge is probably going to let her off with a slap on the wrist. But don't even get me started as to why.

 

Talking of that, what is it with rightwingers always going to lynching? I likely don't want to know or it really is as sick and simple as triggering all you've summarized Merk.

 

One of the worst events in the 20th century happened down the road from me in the town of Ocoee - called 'the single bloodiest day in American political history'. During the 1920 election, white locals were upset that predominately black town was going to vote, so they burned it to the ground.
Like you said - that's the same sort of energy at the Capitol.

 

'The Capitol Riot was an Attack on Multiracial Democracy.'

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...emocracy-55-years-old-will-it-survive/617585/

Interesting article on the attempted coup in the Capitol, with reference to the 1898 Pogrom that took place in Wilmington NC. Here, a thriving black community was torn apart in what the article describes as the US's only coup d'etat, and which American history books would go on to describe as a heroic ousting of black 'instigators' and their allies. The city government were forced to resign at gunpoint by an angry white mob who didn't want black people to be doing well in life, basically. They were subsequently replaced by white supremacists in all local government positions.

The first article draws comparisons between Wilmington and the Capitol, because the motives are largely the same: white supremacists hate anyone who isn't them, and want to use violent means to maintain their privileges. This second article goes into the details of the events of 1898 itself. Both are well worth a read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/wilmington-massacre/536457/

 

That Bruce Willis? Wait, nope, that's a different story.

 

I shared this story in the U.S. politics thread, but it's relevant here, as it's important to be familiar with its details in order to fully understand the right-wing spin around the capitol riot.

John Sullivan is in many respects an improbable incarnation of many of the right wing talking points that they've used to try to discredit BLM and Antifa. He appears to be an agent provocateur, who has presented himself as a BLM activist, but has attempted to sow chaos from Utah to Portland to the Capitol, and at least momentarily convinced mainstream media he was a legitimate activist, even though real BLM activists have tried to expel him from their activities. He seems to have deliberately escalated the confrontation which resulted in Ashley Babbitt's death, and was trying encourage rioting throughout the Capitol, recording it for YouTube all the way. You've probably watched some of his footage over the last few days, as the networks picked it up and CNN had him on for an interview, where Cooper fell for his "activist" story hook line and sinker. Cooper briefly mentioned Sullivan tonight in his opening, but did not get into the substance of the story at all, and I suspect mainstream media might ignore it for awhile, as it's very complicated.

The whole story of this guy is incredibly bizarre, but the important takeaway is that he does not seem to have ever been a legitimate BLM activist or represent the movement's aspirations. But right wingers will latch onto him as the "proof" for many of their claims about BLM.

Link to article by Max Blumenthal

 

I think it's taken me far too long to really appreciate the degree of non-white voter suppression in the US historically. It is quite mind-bendingly astonishing that there is not, for example, an even spread of polling stations throughout the country.

Voting here is compulsory for every citizen at Federal, State and Local levels of government, and municipalities are duty bound to provide as many opportunities and options for people to vote as possible. I live in one of the most conservative parts of the most conservative state, and it would be inconceivable for our myriad cultures here in Cairns to be prevented from voting. And I say this in a country that has had more than its fair share of racist policies in the past. If Australia can leave its 'White Australia' past behind, then a similar change in the US must surely be an inevitability.