Police murder of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana

Now 4 have died.

This is crazy. Fucking nuts, especially given assassinations by snipers in Dallas in the past!

Yeah this Dallas shit is fucked up and the reporting is very confused right now. Every Black man in all of America will be a target of both police and racists tonight. The cops will rage. Please be safe.

And meanwhile, this will end up as the national discussion, instead of the unrestrained murder of innocent people of color.

Obviously in the media we see quite a bit of black lives matter but is this actually a national discussion and were things changing?
It's certain a few extra people of colour will be murdered by cops as a result of this although it's not as if cops were shy about killing people beforehand.

From my perspective in Baltimore, it has been a 'national' discussion, albeit one that has lost the steam of the actions that once propelled it into the limelight, especially given the recuperation of those who so eagerly put themselves at the head of this movement - Deray Mckesson's candidacy for the mayor of Baltimore, now he will be the head of HR for the Baltimore City School District.

Five fatalities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IST6qRfVqwY

There's been a bunch of 'Blue Lives Matter' bills enhancing police impunity too.

Local media reporting one of the #Dallas shooters identified as white neo-Nazi man Linked to KKK. #BLM— Michelle Clifford (@skynewsmichelle) July 8, 2016

The fact they took the shooters alive, and media's now chatting about unspecified mental illness suggests they are indeed white.

Edit:

Seems reports of neo-nazi shooter also in #Dallas fake. 3 suspects in custody. Unconfirmed reports another suspect shot himself #BLM— Michelle Clifford (@skynewsmichelle) July 8, 2016

Honestly I hoped that they were some Turner Diary fantasist due to 1st hand reports of shooters in full body armor and tactical clothing, AR15 etc. Like you said on twitter, it's the least worst option at least in the immediate aftermath. Long term, it's clearly more terrifying.

I sure do hope all the pundits boldly declaring "this is terrorism" stick to their guns.

Edit- just saw edit above. Ugh

There was a fairly large rally last night in Atlanta that lasted for a few hours and ended up blocking the interstate downtown.

One of the more interesting things I noticed was that as we marched past restaurants and bars, a lot of the workers had come outside to look at us and were clearly in support. So were the bus drivers whose busses were stopped.

There was also a lot of support from car drivers who'd been stopped.

Juan, any sense what the mood is like among St Paul Public School workers?

http://www.snopes.com/dallas-shooter-jeffrey-harris-harris/

This message, posted by the "Alt Right Fanfiction" Twitter account, is completely false. The gunman in the Dallas protest shootings has been identified as Micah Xavier Johnson

If the cops shoot more blacks as a result of this more cops will die. Their choice

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Identify-Gunman-in-Dallas-Protest-Shootings-386015971.html

Police said officers cornered Johnson (Micah Xavier Johnson) and negotiated with him for hours before talks broke down. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Johnson told officers he was upset about recent shootings involving police and "wanted to kill white people. Especially white officers."

After an exchange of gunfire, Brown said officers attached an explosive device to a bomb robot and detonated it near Johnson, killing him.

Apparently it's the first use of a robot by police to kill, fwiw.

Gulai Polye

If the cops shoot more blacks as a result of this more cops will die. Their choice

Do you really believe this?
After those two cops were killed in 2014 the number of people killed by cops didn't seem to go down and I don't have any evidence to hand but I remember someone saying that police violence had increased (although that's so clearly likely that I might be misremebering what I thouht would be the obvious reaction as what actually hapened.)

Copw will stop killing when they start getting punished for it, when they stop etting rewarded for it and when they are no onger encouraged to treat people as less than human, killing some of them will not achieve that. If you kill enough cops so that they're actually scared to be racist then it's possible but you'd need to kill a ot and people get stubborn when under threat.

jef costello

Gulai Polye

If the cops shoot more blacks as a result of this more cops will die. Their choice

Do you really believe this?

Yes if this has not been true in the past, then its because people have not been ready for it. But people are beginning to change their perspective of things and they are getting ready.

This now deleted tweet from a former congressman was doing the rounds last night. Some background on him here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-joe-walsh-twitter-dallas-tweet-20160708-story.html

But people are beginning to change their perspective of things and they are getting ready

Who? What are they getting ready for? How do you know?

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/07/08/legal-experts-raise-alarm-over-shocking-use-killer-robot-dallas

With nonsense like what Gulai Polye is throwing around, this is worth a re-read (or a first read):

https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1972/01/cops.htm
Hal Draper

My target is also not the poor fool, aching with his miseries, who picked up the rifle and might just as well have shot himself in the head as those policemen. My target is the people who told him “all that background.” I refer to the self-styled radicals who, for some years now, have been burbling over with their rhetoric about “offing the pig,” and “picking up the gun,” and “revolution in the streets,” and “urban guerrillas,” and cheering every time somebody else bombs the window of a Bank of America branch, or terrorizes a PG&E power line, or incubates a revolution in a safety-deposit vault, or otherwise takes direct action in terrorism according to the most fashionable doctrines of 1890. Because it has been these bumpkin-blowhards of the Big Bang theory of revolution who have been very successful not in tearing apart the System, but in tearing apart what there was of a radical movement that was aborning.

In the whole history of movements of social dissent, in this or any other country, I doubt whether there was ever an emptier and more self-defeating theory of revolutionary action than this trend in our recent years which made “offing the pig” its main slogan, and orated about making the “revolution in the streets.” Of course, the two come down to the same thing, because if you sally out into the streets to make the revolution, it’s the pigs you’re going to meet. You are not going to run into the Board of Directors of General Motors in this your chosen battlefield, nor into the Cabinet, nor even the office boys of the Powers That Be: the enemy you meet “in the streets” is the hired scum, that’s all. And the cream of the jest is that, for every cop that is killed by some self-styled revolutionary bravo, not a hair is mussed on the head of the ruling class, who have a right to laugh themselves to death over these pseudo-revolutionary antics while, in public, they make a horrified outcry about the crimes of the subversives.

erica joy

Yesterday after I published this, Stewart reached out to me to say this: “You, or anyone else, can call in Black any day.” Not 3 hours after that, I learned of yet another brutal and senseless shooting of a Black man by a police officer. I did not watch that video either. I cannot. I cannot continue to watch Black people die at the hands of police. And like yesterday, I am grieving, hurting, mourning, aching, worrying, angry, and scared. Unlike yesterday, I will do this in a safe space. Today I am calling in Black.
Today I will give myself the space to grieve for Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and every other Black person that has been executed and all those that will be executed by the police, until we finally say enough is enough and put an end to the terrorism that we call modern day policing. There has to be a better way. This way that criminalizes blackness is destroying families, communities, and cultures. So while I encourage Black folks to call in Black today, I am encouraging everyone else, especially White folks, to stop shaking your heads, and moaning about the tragedies. I am specifically asking you, White people, to police your police.

I read this last night found it moving. I understand this is about emotional self preservation and totally get it if tactic used only for a sense of space. That said, it Would be amazing to see the idea of "calling in black" spread to collective action.

https://medium.com/@ericajoy/processing-e8bc638aae1a#.go7eclewk

Thanks for posting that OliverTwister.

OliverTwister have you ever wondered what does it actually mean to smash the state?

Khawaga

But people are beginning to change their perspective of things and they are getting ready

Who? What are they getting ready for? How do you know?

1 The oppressed ones
2 To make up their mind
3 Dont you have your eyes and ears open? Cant you smell it?

I don't think any of my senses can detect whether people are making up their minds. I'm no Prof Xavier.

Here's a bit of info about the 5 dead cops:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-09/the-five-police-officers-killed-in-dallas-shootings/7583244

Looks like they had all spent most of their adult lives as armed state enforcers. 1 ex-Navy, 1 ex-Army and 1 ex-prison guard.

Khawaga

I don't think any of my senses can detect whether people are making up their minds. I'm no Prof Xavier.

Of course, you would say that either way, wouldn't you?

Dont you have your eyes and ears open? Cant you smell it?

Just to point out, neither eyes nor eyes are particularly useful in olfactory terms.

I don't think any of my senses can detect whether people are making up their minds. I'm no Prof Xavier.

Khawaga, you have eyes and ears. You can speak with your friends, neighbours, workmates and families. I think you may allow yourself the liberty of gauging their perspectives. I do not know the Professor Xavier with whom you compare yourself but perhaps he could give you some leads.

Gulai |Polye

Yes if this has not been true in the past, then its because people have not been ready for it. But people are beginning to change their perspective of things and they are getting ready.

This is an assumption and/or wishful thinking based on nothing but - what? Any supporting facts? An idealised view from someone far away in Europe who claims to have a great sense of smell? A desire to see your insurrectionary fantasies played out by others? A very mechanical conception of the process of social change? That a lone gunman is any evidence of a rising class-based social movement that knows "what it actually means to smash the state"?

This is an assumption and/or wishful thinking based on nothing but - what? Any supporting facts? An idealised view from someone far away in Europe who claims to have a great sense of smell? A desire to see your insurrectionary fantasies played out by others? A very mechanical conception of the process of social change? That a lone gunman is any evidence of a rising class-based social movement that knows "what it actually means to smash the state"?

If you will excuse me your statement above appears to have as many assumptions about our comrade as you accuse him/her of.

Pfft, Gulai posted wishful thinking. He appears to mistake the killing of police officers with working class militancy. That's as silly as it gets.

Here's a bit of info about the 5 dead cops:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-09/the-five-police-officers-killed-in-dallas-shootings/7583244

Looks like they had all spent most of their adult lives as armed state enforcers. 1 ex-Navy, 1 ex-Army and 1 ex-prison guard.

Here is a little information that I have gleaned about Micah Johnson.

He grew up in the working class district of Mesquite, Dallas, with his sister, brother, mother and paternal grandfather. His parents, both workers, separated each other when he was a young boy. His father remarried but lived locally and was in regular contact with his son and first wife. Johnson worked for a sandwich making firm and as an army reservist (he was stationed in Afghanistan). It was in his role as army reservist that he became proficient in the use of firearms.
Source: http://m.smh.com.au/world/dallas-shooting-who-was-micah-xavier-johnson-20160710-gq2j3l.html

Sch...

If you will excuse me your statement above appears to have as many assumptions about our comrade as you accuse him/her of.

Assumptions are fine - except when they're presented as something more with no evidence beyond the end of your nose. See those question marks after my assumptions? They're saying, 'am I right?'

Yes Red, I suppose the fact that one lone proletarian was charged with the task of countering state sponsored terrorism single handedly is a sign of our weakness, not a sign of our strength. Needs must

one lone proletarian was charged with the task of countering state sponsored terrorism single handedly

Wait, who charged him to do that?

Hopefully every new generation is not condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past (though politicos often seem the most determined to do so). This seems relevant;
James Carr

In his Conclusion, he illustrates how the "guerrilla ideology" that gradually came to dominate the party ("the purely military resolution of power relations") is ultimately suicidal and futile both in and outside prison, and he blames the left, in part, for their role in encouraging this "false consciousness" in radical cons and ex-cons. In particular he refers to the murder of George Jackson and the Attica prison massacre of 1971 as examples of the practical consequences of this ideology. As he says, "Guerrilla ideology reduces all revolutionary questions to quantitative problems of military force" and "nothing could please the reactionary prison official more than a fight to the finish." http://libcom.org/library/james-carr-black-panthers-all-that

one lone proletarian was charged with the task of countering state sponsored terrorism single handedly

Wait, who charged him to do that?

His conscience.

P.S. Perhaps Micah was too impatient to wait for One Big Union to redeem the American working class from the daily atrocities committed against it. 'Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice.' My heart goes out to his loved ones; as for the families of the dead officers: they're better off without them. No?

PROLETARIAN LIVES MATTER

MERCENARIES DON'T COUNT FOR SHIT

Writing proletarian lives matter is basically the same as writing all lives matter.

JC wrote:

Like, I said, I'm not going to weep for those officers, but the glorification of spree killers and indirect murderous retaliation reminds me of the sort of politics that lead to mass liquidation of 'enemies' and gulags. I just don't find individual and atomized acts of terror all that appealing, and although they have a long history in far-left politics, their spectacular, disastrous failure has as long a history.

I haven't observed any glorification of Micah Xavier Johnson. Even the Black nationalist caucus has denied any connection with his action and I'm not sure whether his actions can be ascribed to politics ("far-left" or otherwise).

Khawaga:

Writing proletarian lives matter is basically the same as writing all lives matter.

Not really Khawaga. One is a classist slogan, the other is humanist. I wouldn't chose either: I was simply counterposing the liberal claptrap of Black Lives Matter..

Calling "Black Lives Matter" liberal claptrap is basically the same as writing all lives matter.

You've certainly twisted my head, Oliver: I can't get my head round that.

Not really Khawaga. One is a classist slogan, the other is humanist. I wouldn't chose either: I was simply counterposing the liberal claptrap of Black Lives Matter..

Then you are completely missing the point. And missing such a point is partly the reason why anarchism is so fucking white.

These young men are not being murdered because of their skin tone but because of their social class.

Khawaga, I think anarchism is black, not white: in it's origins and in it's destiny.

These young men are not being murdered because of their skin tone but because of their social class.

Really? Are you that blind? Is this some version of "I don't see colour"? This is precisely the sort of bs that makes people of colour or indigenous people say: I don't really feel that anarchism is speaking to or can explain my experience. Class can't, and a class analysis can only become better by recognising that how class domination is articulated is through various oppression based on race, gender etc.

Khawaga, I think anarchism is black, not white: in it's origins and in it's destiny

That's cool that you think it, but when I use my eyes when I go to anarchist meetings, book fairs, and events, anarchism looks pretty fucking white (and male). And going by some of the comments that have been posted on Libcom the last few weeks, anarchism has its fair share of straight up racists.

These young men are not being murdered because of their skin tone but because of their social class.

You have to be joking, and tbh, you're really not funny.

Do you use 'racist' in the English or the French sense? If by racist, you are insinuating that I discriminate on the basis of race (the English sense) then you are wrong. If, on the other hand, you are using the term in the French sense – that I believe in the existence of separate races – in that case you are correct. I believe our species to have two separate origins: Asiatic and African. The extent to which I believe this to be significant is minimal. At this point, on my side of the tracks, we are a hotchpotch.

If by racist, you are insinuating that I discriminate on the basis of race (the English sense) then you are wrong.

I wasn't insinuating that you're a racist, but that posters like Kinzog and Zeronowhere who posted some really vile racist shit here a few weeks back are out and out racists. I think you are just a bit confused and resort to some very crude class reductionism.

But are you going to answer some of the points I made or are you just trying to divert the discussion?

I don't know, in my francophone home everyone knows exactly what raciste means.

Sorry Khawaga, I misread what you wrote. I don't deny being confused at times but it is through our confusion that we gain clarity. Now to answer your points.

The categories you mention (race, gender) are not the cause of our oppression. They are just used to facilitate our oppression. Until relatively recently in history, skin tone or sex was not a determining factor in deciding who is oppressed and who is oppressor.

In ancient class societies – Mesopotamia, for example – the color of a person's skin was the result of their place in that society, not a cause. The laboring class were described as "black", the appropriating class as "white". This was because, in a primarily agrarian society, work literally blackened one's complexion.

Things changed with the dawn of the modern era. Then, due to the European slave trade (primarily a trade in Africans), a new racist ideology was promulgated to legitimise the trade in our own species. It should be noted that in the part of Europe that I reside, race was never the sole determinant of slavery. Here, agricultural laborers were referred to as "white slaves".

I don't know, in my francophone home everyone knows exactly what raciste means.

And equally, they know what "football" means.

Here, agricultural laborers were referred to as "white slaves".

Where is here?

I don't think you can make sense of class - especially in the US - without explicit consideration of race. What is slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and 'the new Jim Crow' if not a way of organising labour power and managing surplus populations? These practices aren't colourblind so nor can any adequate class analysis be. (Equally, class-blind race politics would be blind to the fact black politicians and cops don't seem to stem the tide of black bodies.)

I fail to see what point you are making, Schmoopie.

And equally, they know what "football" means.

That means this here.

Khawaga

I fail to see what point you are making, Schmoopie.

I think you mean scoring.

My original point was to express my solidarity with the action of Micah, unpopular as that position may be.

I don't think you can make sense of class - especially in the US - without explicit consideration of race.

One cannot make sense of race, universally, without explicit consideration of class.

Thanks Jef, you reminded of the first single I ever bought:

[youtube]vt82hXYNr_4[/youtube]

Apologies if I have disrailed this earnest discussion.

One cannot make sense of race, universally, without explicit consideration of class.

Why don't you actually try to engage with the critiques that people have levelled at you rather than, as Jef suggested you are, trying to score points.

Schmoopie

My original point was to express my solidarity with the action of Micah, unpopular as that position may be.

This seems like it probably warrants a ban.

Khawaga, I have tried to address your enquiry to the best of my ability.

OliverT. I apologise if I have offended you. We will both have to leave any decision to ban to the administrators of this website. As my view has not been expressed elsewhere in the media, I can see the administrators would have due cause to ban me for expressing this view here.

To peace!

I also thought that Hal Draper's critique of the ideology of 'offing the pigs', quoted by Oliver, was excellent. I think the discussion with Schmoopie should continue rather than be truncated by a ban. But I would say that he misunderstands Oliver if he thinks that the issue here is one of personal offense. The issue is that Schmoopie's position on Micah's actions (which are in the same vein as those of the GCI, of which he says he is a member) is actually dangerous, threatening the security of the revolutionary minority by identifying it with an essentially terrorist action. In the same way, but on a larger scale, Micah's recourse to the sniper rifle posed a direct threat to the security and lives of the demonstrators in the streets.

Well put, Alf. But in addition, Schmoopie just doesn't seem to understand why race can't and shouldn't be reduced to class. And importantly why such a view is an obstacle in organizing.

Alf

I also thought that Hal Draper's critique of the ideology of 'offing the pigs', quoted by Oliver, was excellent. I think the discussion with Schmoopie should continue rather than be truncated by a ban. But I would say that he misunderstands Oliver if he thinks that the issue here is one of personal offense. The issue is that Schmoopie's position on Micah's actions (which are in the same vein as those of the GCI, of which he says he is a member) is actually dangerous, threatening the security of the revolutionary minority by identifying it with an essentially terrorist action. In the same way, but on a larger scale, Micah's recourse to the sniper rifle posed a direct threat to the security and lives of the demonstrators in the streets.

Right. It's not a matter of being offended or not. It's about rhetoric like that actually being potentially very dangerous.

Khawaga

Not really Khawaga. One is a classist slogan, the other is humanist. I wouldn't chose either: I was simply counterposing the liberal claptrap of Black Lives Matter..

Then you are completely missing the point. And missing such a point is partly the reason why anarchism is so fucking white.

I don't know, very few anarchists would miss the meaning and importance of "black lives matter". I mean, I guess you could be saying that there's implicit attitudes within the wider anarchist movement that mirror Schmoopies obvious nonsense here, but I really don't think his take on the matter is widely shared within the movement.

If by racist, you are insinuating that I discriminate on the basis of race (the English sense) then you are wrong. If, on the other hand, you are using the term in the French sense – that I believe in the existence of separate races – in that case you are correct. I believe our species to have two separate origins: Asiatic and African.

Holy shit.

Race is a social construct that exists far more as a lived experience and is meaningless in any biological or historical sense.

You also make the key mistake of assuming that racism has to be overt and conscious in terms of actions - "discriminate". Failing to recognize the racial bias that exists in policing, education, the wider economy - that shit reinforces larger racist arguments about the position and worth of people of color.

Huge amounts of the racism the underpins American society is passive, unconscious, and institutional. You really need to re-examine why you don't seems to understand that if you intend to continue calling yourself an anarchist.

This is all basic shit.

The issue is that Schmoopie's position on Micah's actions (which are in the same vein as those of the GCI, of which he says he is a member)

What's the GCI? And who's the purported member - Schmoopie or Micah?

Chili is most likely referring to the Internationalist Communist Group (gci-icg).

I think the discussion with Schmoopie should continue rather than be truncated by a ban.

That is noble of you, Alf. I'm sorry I couldn't accept your kind offer to attend the local meeting of the ICC but you will understand my natural wariness of party builders.

Personally I find Hal Draper turgid and if you will excuse me once again, White.

yes, the International Communist Group, and I believe Schmoopie said he was a member, although I am not sure what he means by this exactly. On the thread about whether the ICG are "barmy", I found Steven quoting Schmoopie saying he was a member, but couldn't find the original post. In any case, perhaps Schmoopie should clarify.

I have also referred to Steven's post (http://libcom.org.libcom.org/forums/thought/internationalist-communist-group-icg-barmy-or-not) and I note that a substantial number of comments have been removed by the administrators. I have clearly stated my relationship to GCI in my introductory comment on this site. I espouse their perspective with one reservation. To save you trawling through the lengthy libcom.org "welcome" page I will tell you that my reservations with GCI are with regard to what I perceive as the group's Eurocentricity. I excuse this fact, as I do Marx's unawareness of Ethiopian prehistory, because it is the result of ignorance not malice.

Yeah, just to piggyback on what most everyone else is saying--race and class are so significantly intertwined here in the US that this crude workerist approach (reaching parody levels, honestly)* comes across, with a generous interpretation, as insensitive at best.

Schmoopie, I'm going to assume good-faith on your part so I will engage and hope I don't regret it...

The "All lives matter" response to BLM has been used by-and appropriately identified as--racist(s) for roughly two years now. This is why you received such a strong rebuke right off the bat. The phrase has become a dog-whistle for racists of all stripes.

As others have said more eloquently than I could, the phrase "Black Lives Matter" doesn't have an implied but invisible "only" preceding it. It is in response to a death by cop rate for unarmed African-Americans that is 3.5 times higher than unarmed White Americans. It is in response to a society in which extrajudicial murders by a militarized police force are ignored and accepted (either blatantly or passively). As a result you then can begin to understand that BLM is in response to overwhelming evidence that, currently, Black Lives Do Not Matter and is an effort to change that.

Assuming you are ignorant of all of this, it does beg the question about your real-life political circles. I totally get that you don't live in the states, so the day-to-day importance of BLM is likley diminished by distance somewhat. But the emergence of BLM, though obviously a defensive movement, is one of the most significant developments in the struggle for social justice in the US in a long time. It began as an organic, horizontal, direct action movement that rejected the establishment Civil Rights leaders and mantras, including the sanctity of non-violence.

Now of course things have changed over time somewhat predictably. As someone above mentioned DeRay has decided to become a politician and there are several other assorted bastardizations and betrayals common when movements begin to degenerate and continue on their ultimate path towards recuperation. (As an aside, today the Dallas PD Chief made an appeal that others have made, asking people to come off the protest line to become cops in order to help make changes to policing. This approach is particularly effective amongst many 'well-meaning, respectable' liberals because they have absolutely no critique of the structural societal role of the police.) That said, this trajectory does nothing to diminish the important work that has been and contimues to be done.

I mention all of this to say, if you are unaware of a lot of this and are dedicated to libertarian emancipatory politics, it appears to be a sign of both 1) a need to broaden your real world contacts and 2) the unconscious structural racism mentioned above. Again to reiterate: I'm not calling you a racist.

Finally, as others have stated-- cheerleading "propaganda by the deed" is handing the state justification for repression on a silver platter.

*The crude workerism is highly reminiscent of that article that made the rounds a couple months back by some trot group denouncing solidarity with the Stanford swimmer's victim because it represented a victory for gender identity politics.

Edited to add-- i just saw the comments about the GCI, which I think reinforces my point above
As I recall they organise along secret cadres??

Jesuithitsquad, I appreciate your good faith and your comments.

I am not rebuking you for not reading this whole thread but I did not raise the slogan, ALL LIVES MATTER, quite the opposite. I did counterpose the slogan, PROLETARIAN LIVES MATTER, to the oh so populist slogan amongst liberal activists, BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Your next point simply mimics bourgeois sociology. We know that the core of American labour is composed of African descendents so it is only "natural" that the descendents of Africans should bear the brunt of state terror. It is the stick the state uses in conjunction with the carrot of the capitalist wage.

By the way your pseudonym gives me the screaming-heeby-geebies.

Finally, and this is in answer to several of the immediately preceeding comments, the state does not require any justification for repression in this time. As a Crown Court Judge once said to me, "All options are available [to the state]."

Schmoopie

Jesuithitsquad, I am not rebuking you for not reading this whole thread but I did not raise the slogan, ALL LIVES MATTER, quite the opposite. I did counterpose the slogan, PROLETARIAN LIVES MATTER, to the oh so populist slogan amongst liberal activists, BLACK LIVES MATTER."

The fact of the matter is that in the United States that white proletarian lives matter more then the lives of black proletarians and the adoption of the slogan (ALL) PROLETARIAN LIVES MATTER as a counterpoise to the slogan BLACK LIVES MATTER is little more then a pretentious falsehood that would serve no end except to shift the focus away from the unique persecution facing African-American workers in the context of the United States.

Schmoopie--

You know what, you're right. I misquoted you, but it doesn't impact the overall message of my post. As was pointed out by several others, the 'prole lives matter' approach is more or less the same thing as all lives matter to which you responded about the slogan being liberal claptrap, which is a flat-out idiotic, ignorant response. I explained to you why this is a very real issue, and not just sloganeering. Of course as communists it's our responsibility to fight against cross-class alliances, but to be honest, I haven't seen much of that myself. In fact, BLM is significant precisely because it rejected--on a fundamental level--the leadership of establishment figures.

I knew I'd likely wasted my time, but I didn't expect you to be quite so blase´ and robotic in your response.

There are those of us to whom this isn't just some abstract internet argument because it touches our lives personally. If You're incapable or unwilling to see how collectively fighting the police to end the killing of our friends, families and comrades is part of the international class struggle, then you're living in an 1890"s fantasy land.

ETA-spot on sike

"O Canada" changed to "All lives matter" at a baseball game. Head of Police Federation praises off-duty cops who refused to work at a basketball game where players warmed up wearing 'Black lives matter' jerseys.

Careful what you write online...after dallas, police are stepping up arrests for social media posts.

https://theintercept.com/2016/07/12/after-dallas-shootings-police-arrest-people-for-criticizing-cops-on-facebook-and-twitter/

Alf wrote:

Schmoopie's position on Micah's actions (which are in the same vein as those of the GCI, of which he says he is a member) is actually dangerous, threatening the security of the revolutionary minority by identifying it with an essentially terrorist action

So clearly the popular proletarian song "Harry Roberts is our friend..." is dangerous and threatens "the security of the revolutionary minority by identifying it with an essentially terrorist action". Poor ICC, endangered by Schmoopie's comments. And this pathetic comment gets 9 up votes!!!!

"Security" for the vast majority, regardless of whether they start to move against this society or not, is an ideology - it doesn't exist. This is especially true for young blacks in the USA, though obviously the rest of the proletariat as well. But apparently the ICC and the self-styled "revolutionary minority" are somehow privileged and enjoy the luxury of "security" (or its illusion).

I neither support nor oppose Micah Johnson's actions - the way most people pose it here it comes over as a moral question. The question is of strategy. Voluntarism implies an inability to know how to wait, how to proceed. It's all a question of timing - maybe if he'd waited a couple of days what he did would have been far clearer and would have made far more sense, given the rising anger in the US about killer cops.

Curious Wednesday

So clearly the popular proletarian song "Harry Roberts is our friend..." is dangerous and threatens "the security of the revolutionary minority by identifying it with an essentially terrorist action". Poor ICC, endangered by Schmoopie's comments. And this pathetic comment gets 9 up votes!!!!

That song may have shown proletarian anger, but Harry Roberts didn't do anything for the working class.
I'm not sure I agree entirely becase while this kind of action is used to legitimise violence against militants and the working class in general it's hardly necessary (they didn't start killing black people because of something like this) and as the ICC themselves argue as soon as militants pose any kind of danger to the state they can expect to face violence whether they use and advocate it or not.

While singing the Harry Roberts song might all be a bit of a laff over a few beers or when attempting to wind up some individual dibble on a nice demo that isn't likely to get you, your mates or anyone else injured or killed, it's actually got fuck all to do with building a revolutionary movement any more than the actions of Micah Johnson do. I take Curious Wednesday's comment about voluntarism and timing though. A developing mass resistance movement versus some "lone gunman" effectively breaking up demonstrations of collective anger by that same developing resistance movement. Well, you've really got to know which side you're on here. To be fair, I'm not 100% against voluntarism and it can occasionally play a positive role, though more often than not, it's basically just "all about me" bullshit.

...the 'prole lives matter' approach is more or less the same thing as all lives matter...

Except that the former acknowledges the existence of the class enemy – the bourgeoisie – and the latter denies it. As the personification of the bourgeois rule, the police are our class enemies, the more so when they adopt a policy of indiscriminate murder of our people in broad daylight.

One final point, on the matter of the danger posed to the demonstrators on the evening in question, Micah reached his targets, the police through their careless gunfire injured 11 bystanders.

Schmoopie

...the 'prole lives matter' approach is more or less the same thing as all lives matter...

Except that the former acknowledges the existence of the class enemy – the bourgeoisie – and the latter denies it. As the personification of the bourgeois rule, the police are our class enemies, the more so when they adopt a policy of indiscriminate murder of our people in broad daylight.
.

Oh ffs--do you actually read the responses people write or just scan for the little nuggets that match your existing ideas?

As people have repeatedly explained, the Prole lives in question here happen to be Black Lives. The cops are quite clearly the militarized arm of the bourgeoisie, right?

Sorry but the slogan, Prole Lives Matter (but please stop killing our Black comrades) and please, billionaires, come out in the streets so we can fight you instead of your representatives, the police! doesn't quite have a ring to it.

It's not as if BLM has business leaders standing arm in arm with working class and unemployed african-americans. In fact, it's quite the opposite; the establishment Black Bourgeoisie continue to condemn BLM tactics, and their repeated attempts to assert their authority have been largely beaten back.

Again, Black Lives Matter isn't perfect and there continue to be problems with recuperation.

BUT...

As I said before, if you can't see that defending these proles from the murderous, racist police is part of the class war simply because the conflict identifies, more specifically, which proles are being targeted, and because the actual fight happens in the streets instead of on the shop floor, then quite simply, you have a very reactionary class analysis.

Would you oppose the anti-raids movement because it's specifically fighting for migrants??

JC wrote

as the ICC themselves argue as soon as militants pose any kind of danger to the state they can expect to face violence whether they use and advocate it or not

Firstly how can"militants" pose a danger to the state if they don't either use or advocate anti-state violence? This fantasy that bureaucratic leninists like the ICC can pose a danger to the state simply because of their turgid "stopped-clock-correct-twice-in-the-day" analysis is simply a self-valorising intellectual's idiotic delusion of grandeur. Secondly, almost all proletarians face the violence of this society either now or in the long term, unless you define "violence" in the ideological terms that this society wants you to define it: the disasters that hit people's lives are already violent; future disasters will be incalculably more so.

Curious Wednesday #89

If what you say is true, why did the Spanish state murder Francisco Ferrer?

#90 Auld-bod:

why did the Spanish state murder Francisco Ferrer?

Brilliant comparison.

1909 Spain with the ICC in 2016.

As John McEnroe said....

And I´m sure you can´t ......
..............ever.

As a matter of fact, I wasn't just thinking about the ICC when I made those comments about the danger to the revolutionary minority. Saying on libcom that you are in solidarity with actions like killing cops on demonstrations in today's conditions of the class struggle, when the working class is still very far from taking up arms, means exposing the whole milieu around libcom to the danger of increased surveillance by the bourgeois state. I assume that this was also Oliver Twister's concern when he said that Schmoopie's comments merited a ban.

Looks like 3 cops killed in a shooting in Baton Rouge:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/17/baton-rouge-police-shooting-alton-sterling

No one seems to know the motives at this point.

Alf: change your underpants NOW!!!

In fact, at worst, Schmoopie endangers only himself - the state knows perfectly well that the ICC poses no danger whatsoever other than to those who believe in its supposed revolutionariness.

PS
Of course I don't think suicidal desperate attacks of vengeance are the way forward, but all this pathetic moralist shit, which never connects with such desperation, is just a sad justification for the so-called revolurionary minority being shit-scared of ever doing anything seriously innovative that could show the impotent dead-end of such acts, which at least have the merit of taking a risk, however unstrategic such risks are. The so-called revolutionary minority have nothing revolutionary about it - they´re just a bunch of blah blah pseudo-theoreticians defending their static "analysis".

The arguments in this thread have not been moralizing. That's your working clarseness speaking.

And you're referring to shooting up some insignificant cops as innovative? Have you read any history at all.

Curious Wednesday

Firstly how can"militants" pose a danger to the state if they don't either use or advocate anti-state violence? This fantasy that bureaucratic leninists like the ICC can pose a danger to the state simply because of their turgid "stopped-clock-correct-twice-in-the-day" analysis is simply a self-valorising intellectual's idiotic delusion of grandeur. Secondly, almost all proletarians face the violence of this society either now or in the long term, unless you define "violence" in the ideological terms that this society wants you to define it: the disasters that hit people's lives are already violent; future disasters will be incalculably more so.

Not advocating sniping cops does not mean that they don't advocate anti-state violence. And no-one has at all suggested that the state doesn't use violence or that the conception of it should be limited.

Curious Wednesday

PS
Of course I don't think suicidal desperate attacks of vengeance are the way forward, but all this pathetic moralist shit, which never connects with such desperation, is just a sad justification for the so-called revolurionary minority being shit-scared of ever doing anything seriously innovative that could show the impotent dead-end of such acts, which at least have the merit of taking a risk, however unstrategic such risks are. The so-called revolutionary minority have nothing revolutionary about it - they´re just a bunch of blah blah pseudo-theoreticians defending their static "analysis".

Shooting cops is not innovative and there is no merit in taking a risk just because it is a risk. No one has moralised here, but quite a few people have pointed out the drawbacks of such action and the small chance it has of achieving anything useful.

On a thread about police murder of black men, almost every post has been about the shooting of some police, first in Dallas, now in Baton Rouge - the latter not yet definitely connected with anything 'political' (the cynical would say that the police are presumably checking whether the suspects are black or white to decide if they're 'terrorists' or 'mentally disturbed').

Four pages in, are we any closer to coming to a position on how the working class in the US, particularly African-American members of the working class (because as we can see they're at least three times more likely to be murdered by the police than white members of the working class), can fight against the police departments that seem to murder with impunity?

In my view, individual acts of violence are rarely helpful. The shooting of the officers in Dallas seems to have merely upped the level of danger for everyone there. The state doesn't seem damaged, police departments if anything seem to have been more brutal in response, and probably the main result will be both increased surveillance of 'subversives' and an increased brutality of repression against any expressions of dissent from the working class. We're not in a revolutionary situation. If we were, things would obviously be different. But Micah Johnson wasn't part of a workers' militia or anything like. It's possible to understand his rage while also seeing that his tactics have likely made the situation even worse.

Here is the media identification of the Baton Rouge shooter:

Citing unnamed “sources,” CBS News reported that Mr. Long was a black man from Kansas City, Missouri, who committed the ambush on his 29th birthday. The network also identified him as an ex-Marine.

Post deleted by user

Re: slothjabber #98

Good post, especially this:

It's possible to understand his rage while also seeing that his tactics have likely made the situation even worse.

is exceptionally well-stated and puts to words exactly my feelings on the matter.

But this:

On a thread about police murder of black men, almost every post has been about the shooting of some police, first in Dallas, now in Baton Rouge -

I wouldn't agree with. While there have been several posts along these lines, I don't think I'd agree with your characterization of "almost every post" being about dallas etc.

Here's more on the suspected shooter in Baton Rouge from the New York Times:

[quote=NYT]Suspect Had Career As a Marine

The Baton Rouge gunman, whom the authorities identified as Gavin Long of Kansas City, Mo., was a Marine veteran who had served in Iraq.

Yvonne Carlock, the deputy public affairs officer for the United States Marines, provided these details of Mr. Long’s military service:

Rank: Sergeant

Date of Rank: July 1, 2008

Dates of Service: Aug. 22, 2005 to Aug. 21, 2010

Military Occupational Specialty: 0651, Data Network Specialist

Awards:
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal;
Iraq Campaign Medal;
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (3rd Award);
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal;
National Defense Service Medal;
Navy Unit Commendation Medal

Place Entered Service: Kansas City, Mo.

Deployments: Iraq: June 2008 to January 2009

Duty Assignments:
Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot San Diego;
School of Infantry, Camp Pendleton, Calif.;
Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School, Twentynine Palms, Calif.;
Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, Okinawa, Japan;
Marine Aircraft Group 38, 3rd Marine Air Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego
[/quote]

There does seem to be a pattern, with Christopher Dorner, Micah Johnson and now Gavin Long all having military experience -- including being expert marksmen and some being combat veterans.

Reminds me of a line in Radley Balko's Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces about how once the military trained cops, but cops have become more trigger happy -- and have more trigger time -- and are actually now training the military for combat activities like house-to-house searches and urban crowd control techniques in Afghanistan and Iraq.

dp

Alf

Saying on libcom that you are in solidarity with actions like killing cops...means exposing the whole milieu around libcom to the danger of increased surveillance by the bourgeois state

I dare anyone to attempt to try and review this websites security performance. You might discover the danger of bourgeois state surveillance is more real than you seem to think. This website is a massive honey pot, de facto or otherwise.

Juan- I wouldn't really disagree with any of your assessments here. I'm a little short on time atm, so I'm sorry for the abbreviated response.

A couple things--

So first, I probably should have specified that most of my thoughts on BLM have been referring to the wider protest movement of regular, non-activisty people and not to the actual BLM organizations themselves. I really don't have much time for the 'official' types, as it didn't take DeRay's candidacy to guess that most of them, even if their hearts are in the right place, are likely politicians in the making. So while your assessments are spot on about the self-described leadership I don't really think they apply much to regular folks who end up in the streets, full of rage at the latest murder. And really, we don't have a name for this part of the movement, so BLM has to serve as a short-hand.

Also, a lot of my assessments were conditioned with 'initially' and 'in the beginning' sort of caveats. That said, I could've been clearer, and probably painted with too broad of a brush.

Interesting info re: the anti-teacher union stuff. I wasn't aware of it, but it's also not terribly surprising.

Hieronymus:

There does seem to be a pattern, with Christopher Dorner, Micah Johnson and now Gavin Long all having military experience...

Rather than seeing the similarities between these killings, I see them as opposite poles. In the cases of Christopher Dorner and Gavin Long I see the actions of desperate madmen (in Long's case possibly manipulated by external forces – "sovereign citizens movement") that easily serve the normal functioning of capital. In Micah I see black activism drawing to its natural conclusion: the killed turning their guns on the killers – hardly a normal turn of events – but I concede, not necessarily revolutionary.

I said

Of course I don't think suicidal desperate attacks of vengeance are the way forward, but all this pathetic moralist shit, which never connects with such desperation, is just a sad justification for the so-called revolurionary minority being shit-scared of ever doing anything seriously innovative that could show the impotent dead-end of such acts, which at least have the merit of taking a risk, however unstrategic such risks are.

and I get these replies:

Khawaga:

you're referring to shooting up some insignificant cops as innovative?

jef costello:

Shooting cops is not innovative and there is no merit in taking a risk just because it is a risk.

I refer to these acts as an

impotent dead-end

Yet you persist in deliberately misreading this as me making out that shooting cops is innovative. Of course, it´s no more innovative than talking rubbish on an internet forum but at least it has more integity than implicitly defending a suffocating bunch of anti-life bureaucrats like the ICC.

I shan´t bother to respond to any further deliberate distortions of my comments - I'll do something far more interesting - have a cup of tea.

I'll do something far more interesting - have a cup of tea.

May I recommend rooibos: it has no bitter aftertaste?

I appreciate your comments – especially on the ICC. I agree with much that you right but I disagree that Micah was a "desperate" man. The manner in which he carried out the assassinations appears to me as cool, calm and collected.

Alf

As a matter of fact, I wasn't just thinking about the ICC when I made those comments about the danger to the revolutionary minority. Saying on libcom that you are in solidarity with actions like killing cops on demonstrations in today's conditions of the class struggle, when the working class is still very far from taking up arms, means exposing the whole milieu around libcom to the danger of increased surveillance by the bourgeois state. I assume that this was also Oliver Twister's concern when he said that Schmoopie's comments merited a ban.

That's right. I don't think Libcom should even put itself in a position where it could be seen to harbor advocacy for that kind of activity, as it does put everyone around it at some risk - which might not manifest for awhile. Imagine that kind of thing in a newspaper article or a courtroom statement.

that kind of activity...does put everyone around it at some risk

This claim is ignorant, cowardly...does anyone here know what an NSL is? Everyone of us is advocating the overthrow of established government. That's a capital offense called "treason" last time I checked.

Communism isn't about hiding in the shadows, with your senile clique, in fear of state repression. It has much more to do with standing up to it

Da Real MVP

sad justification for the so-called revolurionary minority being shit-scared of ever doing anything

Curious Wednesday, please keep it up. It's good to read some clarifying comments in regards to the ICC.

Slacktivist is clearly a bad ass.

And right as well, Khawaga. When an integral part of our program is the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie, it seems unlikely that the powers that be are going to go to great lengths over an Internet chat room.

Khawaga

Slacktivist is clearly a bad ass.

It only seems that way to the rest of us cowards.

I'm not a badass. I'm not paranoid. I'm full of character flaws and have no problem sharing this fact of life with total and complete strangers. I'm not trying to be some cool super militant. I'm just paying attention

Jesuithitsquad:

It only seems that way to the rest of us cowards.

I don't know whether I am a coward or not but every time I see your nomenclature pop up I fear a pogrom coming.

Does paying attention require accusing the libcom collective of complying with a National Security Letter? If they deny it would just be because of the NDA, right?

Yeah, slacktivist, like Schmoopie, seems to be living out a fantastical militant life.

jesuithitsquad

Does paying attention require accusing the libcom collective of complying with a National Security Letter? If they deny it would just be because of the NDA, right?

A bit of a Freudian slip. If you were not in the dark about these issues, you would know that you are forced by threat of law to comply with an NSL. You're also legally prohibited from telling anyone you've received it, including an attorney. Since libcom does not publish a regular security report, there can be no "canaries", and I'm left to presume the worst.

Khawaga

Yeah, slacktivist, like Schmoopie, seems to be living out a fantastical militant life.

No, I'm just not interested in any kind of reconciliation with the status quo, as it seems many posters here are.

That's precisely why I say you're living in a fantasy world. Your last post reeks of unfilled desire. When I engage in fantasies, I don't go on libcom puffing up my chest about how much more srsr I am about the clarse war. I play some boardgames or D&D.

Khawaga, what are you talking about my friend? You've completely lost me now. I've been a poster for three days here and have already made to feel not welcomed, for espousing non-reconciliatory opinions.

I'll go play some D&D or something better now, good idea. Or perhaps just prepare for work this evening.

But first...might I suggest an activity that you and some of the other posters here would probably find equally stimulating? Perhaps you should get off the web and go door-knock for Hillary Clinton or Jeremy Corbyn?

Your last post reeks of unfilled desire.

Last time I sought counsel like that it cost me £25 and you're doling it out for free. Tah mate.

slacktavist

If you weren't in the dark about these issues you'd know that you are forced by threat of law to comply with an NSL

Uh...

According to the new DOJ IG report on FBI’s use of NSLs, there are some Internet companies that have been refusing NSLs for some data since 2009 (this discussion appears on pages 71- 73).

slacktavist

You're also legally prohibited from telling anyone you've received it, including an attorney.

me, predicting your silly response

If they deny it would just be because of the NDA, right?

Slacktavist, NDA= non disclosure agreement.

You're definitely right about one thing though. Someone on this thread is definitely in the dark on these issues.

slacktivist

Khawaga, what are you talking about my friend? You've completely lost me now. I've been a poster for three days here and have already made to feel not welcomed, for espousing non-reconciliatory opinions.

I'll go play some D&D or something better now, good idea. Or perhaps just prepare for work this evening.

But first...might I suggest an activity that you and some of the other posters here would probably find equally stimulating? Perhaps you should get off the web and go door-knock for Hillary Clinton or Jeremy Corbyn?

Protip: if wanting to feel welcome is really high on your priority list, next time maybe don't show up acting like you're captain anarchies, saying 'yer doin it wrong' to everyone in sight, and making accusations about honey pots and collusion with the state.

you might get a completely different reception.

some internet rando

Slacktavist, NDA= non disclosure agreement.

Oh my, sorry. I'm terrible with acronyms. So we're both not in the dark. Why does libcom not have a security report with a canary, or lack thereof, then?

some internet rando

...

You're right about me being (overly) confrontational/oppositional, and not wanting to be welcomed by this crowd. I suppose that's why I got called a "badass" right away.

Still, looking at your post histories, almost all in this thread support some type of reformism or electoralism or unionism. That means as mentally problematic as I might seem or am, I still think your political outlook is terrible, especially when compared with some of the other posters here, like Schmoopie and Curious Wednesday.

Still, looking at your post histories, almost all in this thread support some type of reformism or electoralism or unionism.

Well, that's a big fat lie. What jesuithitman said. You come on here assuming people supporting electoralism or unionism, thinking that you are coming here to tell everyone how the class struggle is really waged. But your assumptions are wrong. And let's be honest, you did not check people's posting histories.

No, it's not. Reformism. Electoralism. Legalism. Democratism. Activism. Unionism. Support of nationalist movements. It's all there.

slacktivist

No, it's not. Reformism. Electoralism. Legalism. Democratism. Activism. Unionism. Support of nationalist movements. It's all there.

source pls

If you click on a poster's username, you'll arrive at a page with a link called "Track" in blue at the top and we won't have to derail the thread further for people here to become more familiar with each other's positions. For example here is yours:

http://libcom.org/user/4534/track
or; simply visit:
http://www.afed.org.uk/

It's funny how this feature is even available on a website such as this. What were we saying about the bourgeois security apparatus again?

slacktivist

No, it's not. Reformism. Electoralism. Legalism. Democratism. Activism. Unionism. Support of nationalist movements. It's all there.

Look, political differences are all well and good, but you're literally making shit up here. I'd guess you see thread names that I've posted in without actually looking at my posts because this is just flat-out untrue.

Nothing personal Mr. Hit Squad. Is that like the contras?

I hate to further derail, really---so sorry---and the thread, oh gosh, I'm so sorry, but here is your schtick for everyone to sift through:

http://libcom.org/user/6246/track

slacktivist

No, it's not. Reformism. Electoralism. Legalism. Democratism. Activism. Unionism. Support of nationalist movements. It's all there.

Lol whatever else you think about the ICC, I don't think you'd find any of that in their post history.

But also, if the only people you can find who agree with you are others who've just signed up, maybe you're on the wrong site.

OliverTwister

Lol whatever else you think about the ICC, I don't think you'd find any of that in their post history.

Oh dear, you're correct here. I'd find worse

Thread...anyone? Back to the thread? Please and thank you

slacktivist

If you click on a poster's username, you'll arrive at a page with a link called "Track" in blue at the top and we won't have to derail the thread further for people here to become more familiar with each other's positions. For example here is yours:

http://libcom.org/user/4534/track
or; simply visit:
http://www.afed.org.uk/

It's funny how this feature is even available on a website such as this. What were we saying about the bourgeois security apparatus again?

this contradicts your argument so i take it you admit you are talking shit

Oh fuck off.

Ok. Have a good evening.

Thread?

Slacktivist, where's the smoking gun. Either post an actual quite from someone or just admit that you are lying. It's quite pathetic this schtick. At least Schmoopie and Curious Wednesdays actually post arguments however much I disagree with them on some points. You truly are here to score magical internet points.

Start some threads. I'll be happy to participate. This one is for talking about Black people fighting back against murderous police, as we can all see from the title.

Khawaga, you are or have been involved or affiliated with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine for example, is this correct? If so this group deals with a number of problems dealing with the points I've raised. As I said---start up some threads, I'm happy to discuss and debate in the appropriate admin sanctioned protest area.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36828697

Cleveland police have asked Ohio's governor to suspend open-carry gun rights during the Republican National Convention.

The request comes after three officers were shot dead in Louisiana on Sunday.

The governor said he did not have the power to suspend the law, which allows licensed gun owners to carry weapons.

captain anarchies is shocked!--shocked i tell you--at this derailing. how dare you respond to their baseless accusations and bald-faced lies; must stay on topic.

.

*and just to clarify, I am not, nor have I ever been a member of the International Communist Current.

slacktivist:

I'm just not interested in any kind of reconciliation with the status quo

For real!

Slacktivist you're like the kid that shows up for dinner at his nan's house and calls her a fascist because her bourgeois meal contains meat, even though he hadn't told her that he had turned vegan.

Totally. On the Internet, I prefer "they", for future reference

Worth noting the press has demonstrated the Gavin fellow was also guilty of misogyny, and in both cases Police communicated they were after a group of individuals that turned out to be just one "lone wolf".

Thanks for keeping us on track, Juan. I find the blockades of the highways a very significant tactic and the authorities reaction to them shows how threatening they find them too. I also welcome your mention of the FBI in all this.

All adults arrested at the I-94 blockade (46 in total) have been charged with 3rd degree riot

jesus, anyone know of a trusted solidarity fund?

thanks for the updates juan.

as much as it pains me to agree with them today, i've also seen the info slacktavist reports above re: violence against women as a predicate to the 'lone wolf' attacks.

At the funeral of Philando Castile the preacher, Rev. Steve Daniels Jr., asked why racial profiling still happens.