Political Roundtable Part XXVIII

[dobrojim]

FB post by my daughter (Antonia)-

white people: are you outraged and devastated at the way minneapolis PD are terrorizing their citizens in broad daylight? or how literally any other police force across the country are doing the same? wondering how you can help? here are TWO action items you can do without leaving the couch:
DONATE MONEY to those doing the hard work and putting their bodies on the line to fight for justice, and EDUCATE YOURSELF. if you're a parent, TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN (of any age) about what is happening and why. ask your white friends what they are reading about racial justice.
Why should you donate?
white people owe an enormous financial debt to black people in this country; CENTURIES of slavery provided an incomprehensible amount of wealth to ALL white people (even the "good ones" who "didn't own slaves"--they still benefited from an entire economic system dependent on slavery). I donated $50 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, matching the amount I saw several of my friends donate. If you match that and encourage your friends to do the same, we can keep this money flowing. if you have had the privilege to keep your job and work from home through this crisis, you should consider donating (ESPECIALLY if you also received a stimulus check). If you have money that you were going to use for a now-canceled vacation or trip this summer, donate that money. WHITE QUEERS: DONATE THE MONEY YOU WERE GOING TO FUND YOUR PRIDE PARTYING WITH. don't forget that we owe pride to QTPOC who fought back against police bruality in the Stonewall uprisings.
Why should you educate yourself?
Because they sure as **** didn't teach us this in schools. white supremacy depends on our continual ignorance and silence. the status quo is killing black people. we are inundated with overt and covert anti-black rhetoric CONSTANTLY in this country. the only way for white people to understand how to change it is to read anti-racist work by black authors. before you commit to a book or post, CHECK THE SOURCE to ensure you are giving your time and attention to black activists and educators. follow black content creators and activists on facebook, instagram, etc. don't feel like reading? listen to a podcast or watch a documentary.
I will drop links in the comments of this post to organizations taking donations and resources you can use to learn more about police violence in the united states, why #blacklivesmatter, our privilege as white people, and why there is no such thing as a "good cop." please spread this information to your friends, share this post if you can.
I'm not posting this to start an argument, I don't give a **** about any "but!" comments, this is meant to provide avenues to people who want to help to start helping. any comments that derail the conversation into anti-black, pro-police nonsense will be deleted.
that's it! that's the post. please take a couple minutes out of your day to help these efforts. it is literally the least that white people can do.

in case you want to donate here are the links she provided in her comments

https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Minnesota Freedom Fund

Black Visions Collective
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/

Reclaim the block
https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2

Floyd Go Fund Me page
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

[Pointgod]

FB post by my daughter (Antonia)-

white people: are you outraged and devastated at the way minneapolis PD are terrorizing their citizens in broad daylight? or how literally any other police force across the country are doing the same? wondering how you can help? here are TWO action items you can do without leaving the couch:
DONATE MONEY to those doing the hard work and putting their bodies on the line to fight for justice, and EDUCATE YOURSELF. if you're a parent, TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN (of any age) about what is happening and why. ask your white friends what they are reading about racial justice.
Why should you donate?
white people owe an enormous financial debt to black people in this country; CENTURIES of slavery provided an incomprehensible amount of wealth to ALL white people (even the "good ones" who "didn't own slaves"--they still benefited from an entire economic system dependent on slavery). I donated $50 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, matching the amount I saw several of my friends donate. If you match that and encourage your friends to do the same, we can keep this money flowing. if you have had the privilege to keep your job and work from home through this crisis, you should consider donating (ESPECIALLY if you also received a stimulus check). If you have money that you were going to use for a now-canceled vacation or trip this summer, donate that money. WHITE QUEERS: DONATE THE MONEY YOU WERE GOING TO FUND YOUR PRIDE PARTYING WITH. don't forget that we owe pride to QTPOC who fought back against police bruality in the Stonewall uprisings.
Why should you educate yourself?
Because they sure as **** didn't teach us this in schools. white supremacy depends on our continual ignorance and silence. the status quo is killing black people. we are inundated with overt and covert anti-black rhetoric CONSTANTLY in this country. the only way for white people to understand how to change it is to read anti-racist work by black authors. before you commit to a book or post, CHECK THE SOURCE to ensure you are giving your time and attention to black activists and educators. follow black content creators and activists on facebook, instagram, etc. don't feel like reading? listen to a podcast or watch a documentary.
I will drop links in the comments of this post to organizations taking donations and resources you can use to learn more about police violence in the united states, why #blacklivesmatter, our privilege as white people, and why there is no such thing as a "good cop." please spread this information to your friends, share this post if you can.
I'm not posting this to start an argument, I don't give a **** about any "but!" comments, this is meant to provide avenues to people who want to help to start helping. any comments that derail the conversation into anti-black, pro-police nonsense will be deleted.
that's it! that's the post. please take a couple minutes out of your day to help these efforts. it is literally the least that white people can do.

in case you want to donate here are the links she provided in her comments

https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
Minnesota Freedom Fund

Black Visions Collective
https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/

Reclaim the block
https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2

Floyd Go Fund Me page
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

You raised a good human being. Compassionate and empathetic. You should be proud.

[dobrojim]

thanks

After reading more carefully I do feel like I ought to state one
disagreement with her - I tend to avoid making absolute statements
so I do feel as though there are 'good' cops out there. The problem
is they're trapped in an institution that has serious cultural problems
around race, ethnicity and authoritarianism. The three cops that
stood and watch while murder was being committed and failed to
do anything, if they were once decent professionals, lost any claim
to that label as they stood and did nothing. Then, from what I remember
hearing, lied in the incident report saying Floyd resisted. Without the
tape, that fiction they told would have prevailed.

We could use a whole new approach to law enforcement in this country.
For the great majority of laws that need to be enforced, weapons should
not be needed for the enforcement. It's probably been a while since this
was true but as a youngster I remember being told or learning that the
beat cops in England, Bobbies, used to patrol unarmed.

[dckingsfan]

…

The one we support...

https://eji.org/

[DCZards]

When it was time to fight injustice Malcolm X didn't call for burning and looting...he called for organizing. As did Martin King, Stokely Carmichael, Marcus Garvey, Ella Baker, Nelson Mandela, the Black Panthers and so many others. The black leaders and activists in the Minneapolis community have repeatedly called for an end to the burning and looting that is destroying their neighborhood. I stand with them and not with those outsiders who are burning down grocery stores, pharmacies, etc., and putting people out of work.

[payitforward]

What my man Zards said. & dobrojim's daughter.

[pancakes3]

garcetti really tried to say "this is not 1992"

wake up, it's worse. at least rodney king survived his ordeal.

[dobrojim]

When it was time to fight injustice Malcolm X didn't call for burning and looting...he called for organizing. As did Martin King, Stokely Carmichael, Marcus Garvey, Ella Baker, Nelson Mandela, the Black Panthers and so many others. The black leaders and activists in the Minneapolis community have repeatedly called for an end to the burning and looting that is destroying their neighborhood. I stand with them and not with those outsiders who are burning down grocery stores, pharmacies, etc., and putting people out of work.

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

[payitforward]

No surprise at all. No doubt hired in by the radical right, i.e. by the Republican Party -- whose overall goal is to destroy representative democracy & a modern state in the name of concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.

That's their agenda. Trump is just their tool.

[nate33]

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records.

Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/jail-logs-show-most-arrested-minneapolis-rioters-locals-contradicting-claims-of-e2-80-9880-25-out-of-state-e2-80-99-provocateurs/ar-BB14Pt4a

[Wizardspride]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

[doclinkin]

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records.

Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/jail-logs-show-most-arrested-minneapolis-rioters-locals-contradicting-claims-of-e2-80-9880-25-out-of-state-e2-80-99-provocateurs/ar-BB14Pt4a

https://eurweb.com/2020/05/29/jacob-pederson-minneapolis-police-officer-accused-of-starting-minneapolis-riot-watch/

[Pointgod]

thanks

After reading more carefully I do feel like I ought to state one
disagreement with her - I tend to avoid making absolute statements
so I do feel as though there are 'good' cops out there. The problem
is they're trapped in an institution that has serious cultural problems
around race, ethnicity and authoritarianism. The three cops that
stood and watch while murder was being committed and failed to
do anything, if they were once decent professionals, lost any claim
to that label as they stood and did nothing. Then, from what I remember
hearing, lied in the incident report saying Floyd resisted. Without the
tape, that fiction they told would have prevailed.

We could use a whole new approach to law enforcement in this country.
For the great majority of laws that need to be enforced, weapons should
not be needed for the enforcement. It's probably been a while since this
was true but as a youngster I remember being told or learning that the
beat cops in England, Bobbies, used to patrol unarmed.

I think the complication with saying that not all cops are bad, is that it creates a narrative that it’s just a few bad apples when it’s more complicated along with the institutional and systemic issues that you’ve highlighted. A good cop stops being good when he doesn’t report abuse by his coworkers or stands there while his fellow policemen murder a man.

[nate33]

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records.

Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/jail-logs-show-most-arrested-minneapolis-rioters-locals-contradicting-claims-of-e2-80-9880-25-out-of-state-e2-80-99-provocateurs/ar-BB14Pt4a

https://eurweb.com/2020/05/29/jacob-pederson-minneapolis-police-officer-accused-of-starting-minneapolis-riot-watch/

https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/jacob-pederson-auto-zone-cop-not-umbrella-man/

[dobrojim]

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records.

Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/jail-logs-show-most-arrested-minneapolis-rioters-locals-contradicting-claims-of-e2-80-9880-25-out-of-state-e2-80-99-provocateurs/ar-BB14Pt4a

https://www.courthousenews.com/minnesota-officials-link-arrested-looters-to-white-supremacist-groups/?fbclid=IwAR0M82nPGArhh4kXJwamUCR9zOD0ZQICn9TK_y00XPaOYSDSF9ENGuBVxSE

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said most of the arrests made last night were of people from out of state and while “there’s a group of folks that are sad and mourning,” he said “there seems to be another group that are using Mr. Floyd’s death as a cover to create havoc.”

Department of Safety Commissioner John Harrington said they are contact-tracing the arrested and added that an investigation is underway about white nationalist groups posting online to encourage their members to use the protests as a cover to create chaos.

He said some of the 40 arrests made in the Twin Cities Friday night were of people linked to white supremacist groups and organized crime.

“The people that are doing this are not Minneapolis residents,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “They are coming largely from outside the city outside the region to prey on everything we have built.”

[nate33]

I'm hearing murmurings that much of the violence/looting/burning is being
done by outsiders, not protesters. The media need to get on this story.

Of the 45 people arrested for rioting and looting on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, 38 had Minnesota addresses, FOX 9 reported, citing publicly available jail records.

Only six detainees were registered out of state, and one person did not have address information listed.

https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/other/jail-logs-show-most-arrested-minneapolis-rioters-locals-contradicting-claims-of-e2-80-9880-25-out-of-state-e2-80-99-provocateurs/ar-BB14Pt4a

https://www.courthousenews.com/minnesota-officials-link-arrested-looters-to-white-supremacist-groups/?fbclid=IwAR0M82nPGArhh4kXJwamUCR9zOD0ZQICn9TK_y00XPaOYSDSF9ENGuBVxSE

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said most of the arrests made last night were of people from out of state and while “there’s a group of folks that are sad and mourning,” he said “there seems to be another group that are using Mr. Floyd’s death as a cover to create havoc.”

Department of Safety Commissioner John Harrington said they are contact-tracing the arrested and added that an investigation is underway about white nationalist groups posting online to encourage their members to use the protests as a cover to create chaos.

He said some of the 40 arrests made in the Twin Cities Friday night were of people linked to white supremacist groups and organized crime.

“The people that are doing this are not Minneapolis residents,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “They are coming largely from outside the city outside the region to prey on everything we have built.”

We shall see. That's seems pretty vague, particularly when 38 of the 45 arrests were locals. Contrary to popular belief on the left, there really aren't a lot of white supremacist groups in this country, unless you count everyone who voted for Trump as a white supremacist.

[badinage]

Are you better off than you were four years ago?

The old Ronnie Raygun question.

A naked appeal to naked individualism, as if we ought to vote for our own personal interests and not the good of an entire nation.

But.

It’s the question that has to be asked as we head toward November.

[dobrojim]

We shall see. That's seems pretty vague, particularly when 38 of the 45 arrests were locals. Contrary to popular belief on the left, there really aren't a lot of white supremacist groups in this country, unless you count everyone who voted for Trump as a white supremacist.

Does is matter if the 3 cops who stood around and watched their colleague commit
murder in front of them if they are technically 'white supremicist'?

If you claim they are not, how _in practice_ would you distinguish between them
and a white supremacist?

[DCZards]

We shall see. That's seems pretty vague, particularly when 38 of the 45 arrests were locals.
Contrary to popular belief on the left, there really aren't a lot of white supremacist groups in this country, unless you count everyone who voted for Trump as a white supremacist.

Having a Minnesota address does not make you a "local." It's a big state. People who live in Elkton, MD would not be considered "locals" in Silver Spring, MD just because they have a Maryland address.

If you're not from the Minneapolis community where the protests are being held (and the one being looted and burned) then you are indeed an "outsider."

[payitforward]

This is the world I want to live in...