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I don't understand what Fox News is doing anymore. I read this book called "Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them" by Al Franken, back when I was in high school. It was a gift from my dad -- and it helped me understand how propaganda was manufactured.
(If you're looking for a good book, even though it's about 15 years old, it's still relevant today.
https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Lying-Liars-Balanced-Right/dp/0452285216 )
ANYWAY...
https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Lying-Liars-Balanced-Right/dp/0452285216 )
ANYWAY...
Searing quote: "People in charge, from the governor of Wisconsin on down, refused to enforce the law. How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?"
Maintain order? Had to?
Rittenhouse was arrested for murder.
Maintain order? Had to?
Rittenhouse was arrested for murder.
Fox News is manufacturing a world that is pushing fringe people to take violent action.
Are there protests in Kenosha? Yes.
Why are there protests? An unarmed black man was shot 7 times in the back.
Law enforcement isn't changing. People are frustrated. (Understatement.)
Are there protests in Kenosha? Yes.
Why are there protests? An unarmed black man was shot 7 times in the back.
Law enforcement isn't changing. People are frustrated. (Understatement.)
I prefer to see Kyle Rittenhouse as a larger extension of the Blue Lives Matter "movement" -- a movement that took the language of Black Lives Matter, and perverted it to maintain corrupt control of our nation.
They support extrajudicial killings. Period.
They support extrajudicial killings. Period.
I don't need to post screenshots. You can go see it for yourself. The videos of young black men and women being killed by police are always populated with comments about their character, life choices, drug or alcohol abuse, or that they "might have a weapon."
Fox News repeats this talking about, about "respecting law enforcement" as if it's somehow a requirement of being an American.
I don't respect law enforcement. I don't respect their mission. I don't respect their tactics. I don't respect their overwhelming level of funding.
I don't respect law enforcement. I don't respect their mission. I don't respect their tactics. I don't respect their overwhelming level of funding.
There is no "thin blue line" protecting us from tyranny. It's a thin blue line, strangling our nation. Law enforcement is a corrupt institution, and they use violence as a means to control us.
95% of them could be instantly disarmed, and we'd be much safer as a nation.
95% of them could be instantly disarmed, and we'd be much safer as a nation.
Law enforcement in America has devolved into addressing the needs of society with guns. They have shown, time and again, that they can't be trusted to use firearms while performing their job.
Kyle Rittenhouse was part of a junior cadet program. He saw guns as a solution.
Kyle Rittenhouse was part of a junior cadet program. He saw guns as a solution.
I was living in the Bay Area when Oscar Grant was shot in the back, while he was handcuffed.
Oscar Grant posed no harm to anyone. He was on his stomach. In handcuffs. That's when he was shot in the back, by a cop.
Oscar Grant posed no harm to anyone. He was on his stomach. In handcuffs. That's when he was shot in the back, by a cop.
Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis was murdered in Georgia on August 7th, by a cop. He had a burned out tail light.
Thankfully, the cop in question is being charged with murder. Sometimes, justice happens.
But here's the bigger thing: We can't get his life back.
Thankfully, the cop in question is being charged with murder. Sometimes, justice happens.
But here's the bigger thing: We can't get his life back.
Maurice Gordon was unarmed when he was killed by police on May 23rd. Investigations are still ongoing. That's the fun part about police: They're charged with... investigating themselves.
It's no wonder we don't get many answers. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/state-police-fatally-shoot-man-on-garden-state-parkway/2406193/
It's no wonder we don't get many answers. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/state-police-fatally-shoot-man-on-garden-state-parkway/2406193/
This headline just seems to keep on happening: "Cops totally thought that guy they shot had a gun. But he didn't."
Maybe the problem isn't the black people. Maybe, just maybe, it's the people who have guns, that keep murdering black people.
Maybe the problem isn't the black people. Maybe, just maybe, it's the people who have guns, that keep murdering black people.
Barry Gedeus was murdered by police in Ft. Lauderdale, because he was riding his bike one block from where a sexual assault happened.
Officers said he was "fleeing on a bike" -- or as I like to call it, "riding a bike and minding your own business."
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-ne-man-killed-by-cops-20200323-vn4wavlofng4becuyrgoaardx4-story.html
Officers said he was "fleeing on a bike" -- or as I like to call it, "riding a bike and minding your own business."
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-ne-man-killed-by-cops-20200323-vn4wavlofng4becuyrgoaardx4-story.html
Sometimes, I'll readily admit -- the people who get shot are committing a crime. It's not a great idea to run from police when you're being served a warrant.
But running away from police doesn't merit deadly force. https://myfox8.com/news/graham-officer-shoots-kills-man-while-serving-warrant-on-east-elm-street/
But running away from police doesn't merit deadly force. https://myfox8.com/news/graham-officer-shoots-kills-man-while-serving-warrant-on-east-elm-street/
I want to stress this: Sometimes police are held accountable. Sometimes, these families get justice.
And that's a good thing. I'm glad officers are being held accountable, when it happens.
It happened for the family of Michael Dean. https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/temple-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-in-michael-dean-death/500-e304f89f-f5df-48ff-ba2c-4adf8ae86746
And that's a good thing. I'm glad officers are being held accountable, when it happens.
It happened for the family of Michael Dean. https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/temple-officer-charged-with-manslaughter-in-michael-dean-death/500-e304f89f-f5df-48ff-ba2c-4adf8ae86746
Accountability is different than life.
I'd rather all these young black men and women simply... be alive. Spending time with their kids. Eating dinner with their mom and dad.
I care less about accountability than I do about the loss of life itself. The violence needs to stop.
I'd rather all these young black men and women simply... be alive. Spending time with their kids. Eating dinner with their mom and dad.
I care less about accountability than I do about the loss of life itself. The violence needs to stop.
I'm mad, because Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity... all of them -- they all just spew lies. It's all bullshit.
Jacob Blake didn't have a knife on his person when he was shot. It was in the floorboard of his car. They used it to justify a killing.
Jacob Blake didn't have a knife on his person when he was shot. It was in the floorboard of his car. They used it to justify a killing.
Do you know who else has a knife in their car?
Me.
In case I'm ever in an accident, and I'm unable to release my seatbelt latch, I have a utility knife. (You should have one, too.) If cops ever shoot me in the back, will they say I was reaching for a knife?
Me.
In case I'm ever in an accident, and I'm unable to release my seatbelt latch, I have a utility knife. (You should have one, too.) If cops ever shoot me in the back, will they say I was reaching for a knife?
How many more times will people get angry, and ultimately riot?
Yes, I will 100% acknowledge some people, a small minority, are becoming destructive. That's not okay.
... but ask why that keeps on happening.
Yes, I will 100% acknowledge some people, a small minority, are becoming destructive. That's not okay.
... but ask why that keeps on happening.
The reason we have taken such extreme stances is because we have been put into an extreme situation. Our police are killing us, and they're now armed like the military.
Tell me why the fuck any police department needs a goddamn MRAP. We don't have landmines on our roads.
Tell me why the fuck any police department needs a goddamn MRAP. We don't have landmines on our roads.
Oh yeah, that's the other thing. Along with killing all these black men and women, the police have somehow managed to acquire all the leftovers from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Why the hell should I support that?
(Source, from six years ago. Wow.) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/15/local-law-enforcement-agencies-surplus-military-equipment/10286485/
Why the hell should I support that?
(Source, from six years ago. Wow.) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/15/local-law-enforcement-agencies-surplus-military-equipment/10286485/
The "thin blue line" isn't exactly thin. They have armored personnel carriers formerly deployed in warzones.
I'd sure love to know why any police department needs a turret-mounted .50 cal. That'd be a rich explaination.
Seriously. What the fuck are our cops doing?
I'd sure love to know why any police department needs a turret-mounted .50 cal. That'd be a rich explaination.
Seriously. What the fuck are our cops doing?
So not only are police killing us -- black men and women at a 2:1 ratio relative to white men and women (adjusted for population)... when we have the audacity to ask them to stop, the police show up like they're prepared to invade Kuwait.
That sounds like an occupying force.
That sounds like an occupying force.
There are millions of Americans who have been programmed to believe a blind allegience to law enforcement. We're taught from childhood that "you can trust the police" and "they're the good guys." When in fact, no you cannot, and no they are not.
I'm saying this because even as a white man in America, I realize that our police have become a burden to our democracy. They have failed their most core mission. The edges of the military-industrial complex bled into their ranks, and they see citizens as their enemies.
As a white person, I have to use my position, my standing, to elevate stories of people like Christopher Whitfield -- a man suffering from mental illness, who was shot dead after stealing a box of chicken from a gas station.
He was hungry, and the police murdered him.
He was hungry, and the police murdered him.
Also, guess what? It's not just killings. It's the police beatings. It's the cash bail system that was put into place to criminalize poverty. It's the private prisons that have turned black men and women into line items on "accounts receivable" for private prison companies.
The entire system is corrupt, deadly, invasive, and against the mission of what it's supposed to be: Public safety.
How is any of this making us safer? How are their tactics reducing recidivism? Are they addressing mental health, addiction, or behaviors that contribute to crime?
How is any of this making us safer? How are their tactics reducing recidivism? Are they addressing mental health, addiction, or behaviors that contribute to crime?
The reason people say "ACAB" or "Fuck 12" is because it's about the larger movement against law enforcement as an apparatus.
Sure, these aren't the most eloquent phrases, but they're effective at identifying the problem: All cops. The entire system. It's fucked.
Sure, these aren't the most eloquent phrases, but they're effective at identifying the problem: All cops. The entire system. It's fucked.
Fox News, and to a lesser extent, even reputable outlets like CNN, NBC, ABC, etc -- they have failed to grasp what the public is asking for.
We aren't just asking for an end to police violence against black people. We are asking for *MASSIVE* systemic changes in law enforcement.
We aren't just asking for an end to police violence against black people. We are asking for *MASSIVE* systemic changes in law enforcement.
Are there a few good cops out there? Sure.
... and if they're truly "good cops" who care about public safety, and the ACTUAL mission of their job, then they won't mind changes that improve upon that mission.
... and if they're truly "good cops" who care about public safety, and the ACTUAL mission of their job, then they won't mind changes that improve upon that mission.
One last thing: It's okay to be angry as hell about all this. If you don't get angry watching a father be shot seven times in the back, in front of his children... there's something wrong with you.
Anger is the correct emotion.
Anger is the correct emotion.
