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Forget about outside agitators.
A thread about uncertainty,
exploiters,
and the President’s reelection efforts.
A thread about uncertainty,
exploiters,
and the President’s reelection efforts.
‘Outside agitators’ is the wrong mental model for diagnosing what’s been / still happening in Mpls.
Outside agitators is a pejorative that’s been thrown at union & civil rights organizers for decades. It’s a misnomer here.
Outside agitators is a pejorative that’s been thrown at union & civil rights organizers for decades. It’s a misnomer here.
Plus, it ends up moving the conversation toward what defines outsider-i-ness: Non-Minnesotans? Non-Minneapolitans? Those not from my neighborhood?
And then we start debating %’s. Was it 100% or 20%? How would you classify East Bethel?
And then we start debating %’s. Was it 100% or 20%? How would you classify East Bethel?
And then we get into a debate about who they are politically: Are they right-leaning or left-leaning?
It’s a debate that’s unresolvable on two fronts:
It’s a debate that’s unresolvable on two fronts:
1. Some kinds of extremists don’t see the world in a right/left way.
2. We do not know who is doing what (and in many/most cases we will never know).
2. We do not know who is doing what (and in many/most cases we will never know).
So, how should we use language, understand things, make judgements, act, and generally not feel like a crazy-person when we’re living through a fast-moving, chaotic situation?
Here’s a place to start.
Disentangle who’s who.
Who’s building something new?
Who’s exploiting our city?
Disentangle who’s who.
Who’s building something new? Who’s exploiting our city?
There are mourners.
You see these folks at 38th & Chicago. They aren’t going to the march. https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/30/stunning-mural-of-george-floyd-provides-minneapolis-community-a-place-to-process/
You see these folks at 38th & Chicago. They aren’t going to the march. https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/30/stunning-mural-of-george-floyd-provides-minneapolis-community-a-place-to-process/
There are demonstrators.
These folks are acting in public to protest the MPD & systemic oppression and to build something new, and better, that’s accountable to all of us. https://www.fox9.com/video/689883
These folks are acting in public to protest the MPD & systemic oppression and to build something new, and better, that’s accountable to all of us. https://www.fox9.com/video/689883
Our law enforcement and National Guard are responsible for protecting these folks, not assaulting them.
Then, there are infiltrators.
These folks were / are attending demonstrations with the intention of accelerating conflict. https://twitter.com/douglasmack/status/1267253740974886912?s=20
These folks were / are attending demonstrations with the intention of accelerating conflict. https://twitter.com/douglasmack/status/1267253740974886912?s=20
There are opportunists.
These folks don’t have a political agenda. They arrived to capitalize on the chaos: to steal, to party, to post on social media for their friends at home. https://twitter.com/TallPaul612/status/1266756573461962754?s=20
These folks don’t have a political agenda. They arrived to capitalize on the chaos: to steal, to party, to post on social media for their friends at home. https://twitter.com/TallPaul612/status/1266756573461962754?s=20
There are tacticians.
These folks seem to be working away from the demonstrations, focused on hit & run tactics. Smash windows & leave. Start a fire & flee.
Fortunately, there has been less of this the last two nights. https://twitter.com/natefanderson/status/1267367240929808385?s=20
These folks seem to be working away from the demonstrations, focused on hit & run tactics. Smash windows & leave. Start a fire & flee.
Fortunately, there has been less of this the last two nights. https://twitter.com/natefanderson/status/1267367240929808385?s=20
On the day shift, they may be staging: unmarked cars are loaded & parked; accelerants are stashed. On the night shift, they execute arsons (or related operations).
DPS Cmsr John Harrington confirmed two reports related to unmarked cars this AM. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/attack-on-twin-cities-hidden-incendiaries-stolen-vehicles-with-plates-off
DPS Cmsr John Harrington confirmed two reports related to unmarked cars this AM. https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/attack-on-twin-cities-hidden-incendiaries-stolen-vehicles-with-plates-off
There are disinformation agents.
There are classic, organic, sh*tposting trolls. There are AI bots. And there is a standing system of content-generating right-wing disinformation sites. They feed the trolls, the bots, and your uncle.
There are classic, organic, sh*tposting trolls. There are AI bots. And there is a standing system of content-generating right-wing disinformation sites. They feed the trolls, the bots, and your uncle.
There may be digital saboteurs.
There was a DOS attack on the State of Minnesota yesterday. (That’s a bad headline; I do not know if this is a tactic in all this.) https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/31/george-floyd-theyre-attacking-minnesotas-state-computers-too/
There was a DOS attack on the State of Minnesota yesterday. (That’s a bad headline; I do not know if this is a tactic in all this.) https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/31/george-floyd-theyre-attacking-minnesotas-state-computers-too/
These people are exploiters.
Our law enforcement is responsible for catching, removing, and prosecuting these folks to the extent they are acting illegally.
Our law enforcement is responsible for catching, removing, and prosecuting these folks to the extent they are acting illegally.
A footnote: there are good reasons to withhold judgement on Bogdan Vechirko.
Actual Southsiders know him and have vouched for him online. I’d encourage everyone to be patient and see what more investigation reveals. https://twitter.com/mollypeonies/status/1267433306598957056?s=20
Actual Southsiders know him and have vouched for him online. I’d encourage everyone to be patient and see what more investigation reveals. https://twitter.com/mollypeonies/status/1267433306598957056?s=20
And per Gov Tim Walz & Cmsr Harrington, investigations are pointing toward it being a mistake. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/05/31/276-arrested-driver-who-rolled-into-protest-arrested
So, why do all this dis-entangling?
I’m hoping it’s a kind of mental self-defense.
Similar to how we’ve self-organized our blocks to be safer & more inclusive, we’re also becoming self-organized, amateur reporters. We’re using a mix of social media, official press conferences, and word of mouth to learn as we go.
Similar to how we’ve self-organized our blocks to be safer & more inclusive, we’re also becoming self-organized, amateur reporters. We’re using a mix of social media, official press conferences, and word of mouth to learn as we go.
However, our relationship with facts are different.
Reporters are obligated to pursue verifiable facts that meet standards required for publication.
They should keep doing it. It’s honorable work.
We need them.
I trust them.
Reporters are obligated to pursue verifiable facts that meet standards required for publication.
They should keep doing it. It’s honorable work.
We need them.
I trust them.
Many of us in Mpls are pursuing facts to try to understand our own relationship with risk. Should I be worried or not? Is that car without plates dangerous or not?
It’s a different threshold in a situation where none of us have perfect information.
It’s a different threshold in a situation where none of us have perfect information.
In my opinion, in the fog of the last week, there were / are infiltrators, opportunists, tacticians, and disinformation agents active in Minnesota.
I see data points that indicate some of it is right-wing activity. https://twitter.com/mukhtaryare/status/1267253138815430663
I see data points that indicate some of it is right-wing activity. https://twitter.com/mukhtaryare/status/1267253138815430663
They may be from Minnesota. Or not.
They may be right-wing, or left-wing, or not identify on that spectrum.
What they definitely aren’t, are mourners or demonstrators.
They are exploiters. https://twitter.com/AndrewMannix/status/1267332004447694848?s=20
They may be right-wing, or left-wing, or not identify on that spectrum.
What they definitely aren’t, are mourners or demonstrators.
They are exploiters. https://twitter.com/AndrewMannix/status/1267332004447694848?s=20
They have a different agenda, or no political agenda whatsoever.
They are not focused on making Minneapolis safer for everyone by dismantling our god-awful police department.
They are not focused on making Minneapolis safer for everyone by dismantling our god-awful police department.
Likewise, they are not all being organized by a command and control center running out of Idaho, or Chaska, or DC.
There is no grand conspiracy.
There is no grand conspiracy.
They don’t need to read the same 15-page memo and attend a planning meeting together to create chaos.
Breaking things is easy.
Building things is hard. That takes transparency, trust, planning, and work.
Breaking things is easy.
Building things is hard. That takes transparency, trust, planning, and work.
Likewise, the political meaning-making of all this does not require a plan or coordination.
It just takes opportunism and a cursory understanding of how to run a candidate for office.
It just takes opportunism and a cursory understanding of how to run a candidate for office.
One of the leading exploiters of our city is the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump.
With a failed economy and failed response to the pandemic, the President appears to be pivoting to the narrative that he is the law-and-order candidate.
In his version of the movie, the left-wing outside agitators are the problem and he’s the one man who can save America.
In his version of the movie, the left-wing outside agitators are the problem and he’s the one man who can save America.
