posted April 28, 2015 08:20 PM            

Sadly, there is a disturbing ritual that seems to happen whenever blacks protest for their lives and the unrest that happens due to the condemning nature of white privilege. We fire back with respectability politics, politics that are meant to keep the status quo and absolve the systems that promote racial privilege from taking accountability.

Instead of working towards dismantling a system built upon hundreds of years of racial discrimination, we condemn those who are tired of being the victims. That's right, blame the rioters, not the system. This behavior shows lives only matter if you fit into the paradigm of the majority privilege, and to deviate from this paradigm is a threat that must be squashed.

We condemn those rioting but we do not condemn the police actually killing people. I'm not saying that looting and destroying property is the answer, but why are we focusing on this instead of the real issue at hand?

Society wasted no time standing up to boycott the Indiana legislature, which was awesome, but why are we so ambivalent about the value of African-American lives? We cry outrage over a riot taking place, but why aren't we outraged for Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Eric Garner, or the countless other African-American lives taken without just due?

What about humanity? What about the man whose spine was broken in 8 places while dying at the hands of the police? We are going to sit here and get upset over the fact a CVS got looted, but care less about a black man dying on the street? Out of 100,000 people, we want to focus on the 1% causing the trouble in a highly PEACEFUL protest?

"When you cut the facilities, slash jobs, abuse power, discriminate, drive people into deeper poverty and shoot people dead while refusing to provide answers or justice the people will rise up and express their anger and frustration if you refuse to hear their cries. A riot is the language of the unheard."-MLK jr

posted April 28, 2015 08:21 PM            

These two below are very powerful:

This too- notice how we characterize African-Americans in riots, they are thugs, savages, evil, etc. People like Donald Trump are the worst, and sadly a very common example:

posted April 28, 2015 08:23 PM            

And here is the big question we must ask of society:

posted April 29, 2015 02:02 AM            

MLK jr

What is your opinion, Randall, of the Boston Tea Party? Protest or riot? Justifiable in the face of an unmovable "mschine" or a temper tantrum by thugs?

posted April 29, 2015 04:39 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Randall:
Did you really call the riots "protesting"? Protesting is peaceful. Blowing up police cars is terrorism. No matter how just the cause, the message becomes lost once people use it as an excuse to loot.

Moving this to GU.

---

The majority of the people in Baltimore have been protesting peacefully. The media will only show you the 5% to sensationalize the event and use it as a discourse to further stifle the cries of the repressed to be heard. I never said in my post I condoned all actions taking place, but rather pointing out instead of crying about cop cars (like you are), care about the fact thousands of innocent blacks are being slaughtered by police without just cause each year. Most people aren't using it to loot, and if you also pay attention you will see the police are also egging things on with their excessive force and unnecessary physicality.

Honestly, I found your response to insensitive and unfortunately missing the point. What the police are doing to the protesters and have done in previous protests would be considered terrorism as well. The response with 'terrorism,' proves the point Jesse made above, let us characterize Blacks as vile and depraved and mask the fact we have a system that marginalizes anyone who is not white.

posted April 29, 2015 04:54 AM            

The Supreme Court's decision with the Voting Right's Act has allowed for racially fueled voting districts across the US, racially motivated laws can pass with ease, our middle class is falling apart, and the poor are only falling into a deeper hole. And no one cares because it is so easy to ignore minorities.

Our nation cannot get body camera laws to pass, and some legislation is being made to ban people from recording police officers, which really is disturbing when you stop and think about it. When the system is against you and was founded on racist principles, how can you not feel angry? Why wouldn't people want to express their anger?

White people love quoting King in the wrong way, which is why I chose that particular quote above. But, white racists were the ones to kill him. They tried to bomb him, not to mention kill his family, all for demanding equality and an end to racial discrimination. The FBI, of all people, threatened him. This to me, is the more important terrorism to address, much more important than a cop car. And we wonder why black people have developed so much anger over this?

I've seen too many racists claim we are in a post-racial US, yet the next breath out of us is questioning our black president's legitimacy (looking at you, Global Unity). When American Sniper came out, conservatives were praising the glorification of violence and praise of violence, yet did not give one care about Selma, a movie with a great purpose and message. How much clear does it have to be that we live in a nation with contrasting idols and two worldviews that cannot coexist?

posted April 29, 2015 11:52 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Randall:
Did you really call the riots "protesting"? Protesting is peaceful. Blowing up police cars is terrorism. No matter how just the cause, the message becomes lost once people use it as an excuse to loot.

---

Exactly.

But covering the law-abiding, peaceful protestors

that Americans could actually get behind and support

might put the spotlight on who the real enemy is

(hint: it isn't the cops or their victims).

Better to keep us all actively divided (by race, by gender),

and constantly angry at each other, so we don't become a real

threat to those in power.

------------------

@Bellafenice

You're speaking from both sides of your mouth.

One the one hand, you're right- only the rioters

got coverage...

Out of 100,000 people, we want to focus on the 1% causing the trouble in a highly PEACEFUL protest?

.. which is incredibly unfair to the law abiding

citizens who were protesting.

On the other, you're justifying them (the rioters)*:

"If we want the riots to stop happening, then we need to start addressing the real problem.

-

Very contradictory.

And the media is engineered, in case you haven't heard.

-

*edit (clarification of rioters)

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 29, 2015 12:03 PM            

Which is why the rioting becomes seen as the only way to get attention to what is being protested, by some.

posted April 29, 2015 12:23 PM            

How I am talking out of both sides of my mouth when:1) the majority of people in Baltimore are protesting peacefully, 2) I have said twice now I do not condone destruction of cities but rather am perplexed as to why people are more concerned about a CVS going down than black lives.

How is wanting to address the real problem contradictory? No one wants rioting, but when people are highly oppressed and their voices are not heard, that is what happens.

posted April 29, 2015 12:42 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
However both points are true, Eirlys..as Martin L King said in the quote above on the same subject. Yes the media is seriously pushing this divide. When white sportsfans riot the story is dead in minutes. When black people protest peacefully ditto.

Which is why the rioting becomes seen as the only way to get attention to what is being protested, by some.

---

Sorry, no.

And there are a wealth (likely, the majority) of Black

folks who would disagree with you, comparing drunken

sports fans (college boys) to the issues facing the

(majority) sober, law-abiding community, here.

"Yes the media is seriously pushing this divide."

Indeed, they are engineering it.

All cops aren't white, are they?

So when a black cop shoots and/or kills an unarmed black

man or kid, we're going to have to look the other way

because it doesn't fit within the paradigm?

Isn't that still an abuse of POWER?

Tony Robinson

Where's the outrage?

Their (the legitimate protestors) neighbors... whether they

are black, white, Asian, or Hispanic are not responsible for

the media's presentation, nor do they have any control over it.

What we're seeing, however, is that the media is successfully

pitting these communities against each other by race, anew.

Haven't you heard about what happened to the (original) Black

Panthers*, back in 1969?

It's a damnable shame, and intelligent folks ought to know better, in light

of history.

--

*No affiliation with the current order.

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 29, 2015 12:56 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by BellaFenice:
Eirlys, I find it very creepy how you are following all of the posts I make. It makes your behavior very suspicious. .

---

Try to get over yourself, dear.

If this were true, then I would also have it in for

Pixie Jane, Lei-Kuei, and MAKLHOUF.

I would also have to presume that Catalina had it in

for me.

However, I suspect that our Catalina just enjoys

ruffling feathers and a good debate.

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 29, 2015 06:16 PM            

No all police arent white but the system is run by whites in fear of losing their majority status. Anyone easily identifiable as OTHER will do as a target to push down. Crab Bucket syndrome does the rest.

In the old days it was Irish and Jews as well as black/brown/yellow people. Being "white" made it easier for those groups to eventually blend in, though our first IrishCatholic president wasnt until 1960...

posted April 30, 2015 12:34 AM            

Look up Crab Bucket Syndrome.

There is animosity between all the groups and the kids of mixed heritage get it from all sides.

posted April 30, 2015 12:37 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
You miss my points. The white riots at losing a game are true unruly temper tantrums with no excuse. Yet they are given a pass. Meanwhile true frustration with INVISIBILITY pushes the riots in Baltimore and it is called "evil" by the system and its pot-stirrers.

No all police arent white but the system is run by whites in fear of losing their majority status. Anyone easily identifiable as OTHER will do as a target to push down. Crab Bucket syndrome does the rest.

In the old days it was Irish and Jews as well as black/brown/yellow people. Being "white" made it easier for those groups to eventually blend in, though our first IrishCatholic president wasnt until 1960...

The media are not creating it but they are feeding it..hate and fear sell.

---

I missed none of your points; I addressed them.

I simply don't agree with you.

You're repeating what I read on HuffPo- word for

word, idea for idea.

I think you're missing the larger picture, here.

Either the media are corrupt, or they aren't;

they can't be right and wrong at the same time.

That's the only example of the cognitive dissonance,

here, that I'm willing to address, atm.

Seems there's an entirely new thread that's been built

around it, in Sweet Peas.

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 30, 2015 01:58 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eirlys:
Try to get over yourself, dear.

If this were true, then I would also have it in for

Pixie Jane, Lei-Kuei, and MAKLHOUF.

I would also have to presume that Catalina had it in

for me.

However, I suspect that our Catalina just enjoys

ruffling feathers and a good debate.

---

You've made rude comments towards several people (especially those who your favorite doesn't like), so don't be surprised when you get it back. Catalina was actually quite nice, so I don't see what your issue is with her.

Either prove my claims to be wrong, or don't bother debating with me. You are welcome to disagree with me and have a discourse, but provide evidence and facts that I am wrong.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
You miss my points. The white riots at losing a game are true unruly temper tantrums with no excuse. Yet they are given a pass. Meanwhile true frustration with INVISIBILITY pushes the riots in Baltimore and it is called "evil" by the system and its pot-stirrers.

No all police arent white but the system is run by whites in fear of losing their majority status. Anyone easily identifiable as OTHER will do as a target to push down. Crab Bucket syndrome does the rest.

In the old days it was Irish and Jews as well as black/brown/yellow people. Being "white" made it easier for those groups to eventually blend in, though our first IrishCatholic president wasnt until 1960...

The media are not creating it but they are feeding it..hate and fear sell.

---

posted April 30, 2015 02:11 AM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Catalina:
The media are not a monolith either. Of course they can be both. Check out PJs clip

---

A handful of corporations (5 or 6) own something

like 90% of the mainstream news.

Most people know that- or they should.

I already watched the clip.

No one's disputing that, so I'm not sure what your

point is.

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 30, 2015 02:23 AM            

I've already addressed your post.

I've already provided the proof.

It's in italics.

------------------
Nothing is permanent in this wicked world; not even our troubles.

posted April 30, 2015 10:15 AM            

Most people know that- or they should

Shocking revelation...

Alter alert.

posted April 30, 2015 12:06 PM            

And i would add, also
Not all criminals are black
Not all racists are white
Not all brutality is by cops
Not all feminists are women

posted April 30, 2015 02:13 PM            

I'm going to try to keep this as brief as I can, but I've been asked by several people about Central Booking today, so I'll give you guys the shocking highlights. As much as I'd like to, I can't describe the particulars of some of the more egregious arrests, due to attorney/client privilege issues, but I would like to describe the Civil Liberties violations, and the deplorable conditions which people have had to endure.

As many of you know, more than 250 people have been arrested since Monday here in Baltimore. Normally when you are arrested, you are given a copy of your charging documents and then you must see a commissioner within 24 hours for a bail determination ("prompt presentment") and given a trial date. If you are not released after the commissioner hearing, you will be brought before a judge for 
a review of the bail set by the commissioner. None of this was happening, so we sent some lawyers to Central Booking yesterday to try to help. I heard, however, that only 2 commissioners showed up, and the correctional officers only brought about 9 people to be interviewed because the jail was on a mysterious "lock-down".

Today we were divided into two groups. Some of the lawyers were assigned the task of actually doing judicial bail reviews for as many folks as they could get interviewed and docketed. I was assigned to the other group. We were the "habeas team", and we were to interview folks that we felt were being illegally detained, so we could file writs of habeas corpus. Governor Hogan had issued an 
executive order, extending the time for prompt presentment to 47 hours. We believed that this order was invalid because the governor has no authority to alter the Maryland Rules. As a result, all people who were being detained for more than 24 hours without seeing a commissioner were being held illegally.

Knowing all of this, I was still not prepared for what I saw when I arrived. The small concrete booking cells were filled with hundreds of people, most with more than ten people per cell. Three of us were sent to the women's side where there were up to 15 women per holding cell. Most of them had been there since Monday afternoon/evening. With the exception of 3 or 4 women, the women who weren't there for Monday's round-ups were there for freaking curfew violations. Many had not seen a doctor or received required medication. Many had not been able to reach a family member by phone. But here is the WORST thing. Not only had these women been held for two days and two nights without any sort of formal booking, BUT ALMOST NONE OF THEM HAD ACTUALLY BEEN CHARGED WITH ANYTHING. They were brought to CBIF via paddy wagons (most without seat belts, btw--a real shocker after all that's happened), and taken to holding cells without ever being charged with an actual crime. No offense reports. No statements of probable cause. A few women had a vague idea what they might be charged with, some because of what they had actually been involved in, and some because of what the officer said, but quite a few had no idea why they were even there. Incidentally, I interviewed no one whose potential charges would have been more serious than petty theft, and most seemed to be disorderly conduct or failure to obey, charges which would usually result in an immediate recog/release.

The holding cells are approximately 10x10 (some slightly larger), with one open sink and toilet. The women were instructed that the water was "bad" and that they shouldn't drink it. There are no beds--just a concrete cube. No blankets or pillows. The cells were designed to hold people for a few hours, not a few days. In the one cell which housed 15 women, there wasn't even enough room for them all to lay down at the same time. Three times a day, the guards brought each woman 4 slices of bread, a slice of american cheese and a small bag of cookies. They sometimes got juice, but water was scarce, as the CO's had to wheel a water cooler through every so often (the regular water being "broken".)

My fellow attorneys and I all separately heard the same sickening story over and over. None of the women really wanted to eat 4 slices of bread 3 times a day, so they were saving slices of bread TO USE AS PILLOWS. Let me say that again. THEY WERE ALL USING BREAD AS PILLOWS SO THAT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO LAY THEIR HEADS ON THE FILTHY CONCRETE FLOOR.

Interviewing these women was emotionally exhausting. Quite a few of them began crying--so happy to finally see someone who might know why they were there, or perhaps how they might get out of this Kafka-esque nightmare. These women came from all walks of life. We interviewed high school students, college students, people with graduate degrees, people with GED's, single women, married women, 
mothers, the well-employed, the unemployed, black women and white women. Almost all of them had no record. Those that did, had things like dui's and very minor misdemeanors. Our group didn't interview any of the men on the other side, but my colleagues reported very similar situations. On the men's side there were journalists and activists, as well as highschool kids with no records, barely 18 years old.

As we were getting ready to leave, we heard that many of these folks might be released without charges, after being held for 2 days. When we returned to the office, our amazing "habeas fellow", Zina Makar, single-handedly filed 82 habeas petitions. That is when we heard that 101 people were released without charges. I'd like to think that the amazing legal response to this injustice played a large part in their release, and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. They may be charged later, but I'm guessing most of them won't based on how minor their alleged infractions are. There are still over a hundred folks in there that need to see a commissioner and/or a judge, but hopefully we have thinned the ranks a little, and we will keep fighting until everyone has received due process. (We are concerned about these folks potential bails, as we are hearing about bails in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for misdemeanor charges).

I'll wrap this up by reminding everyone that all lives matter. We are all human beings. And we are Americans, and as such we are afforded protections under the law, the guilty and innocent alike. If one person is denied due process, we all suffer. If one persons rights and freedoms are trampled on, it's not only a reflection on all of us, but it puts our own liberty at risk. The moment we view some individuals as more important than others, we cheapen ourselves. At the very essence of our democracy is the right to question and stand up to authority. During these trying times, we should all keep that in mind.

I'll leave you with a beautiful picture that was taken today of one of the women who was released without charges. Her husband had been waiting outside CBIF trying to find something...ANYTHING out about when she might be charged or released. This was taken moments after she walked out the door.....

..s shared Marci Tarrant Johnson's photo.