Conflict erupts at Minneapolis, L.A. protests over George Floyd death

[Imperial Overlord]

De Blasio has been a career elected official after doing campaign management stuff early on (he worked for Charlie Rangel and Hillary Clinton when she ran for the Senate). He actually spent some time in Nicaragua helping the Sandinistas way back when.

All of which underscores what a complete disappointment he's been now.

Considering that the NYPD have already made it clear that they hate him and will hate him for ever for daring to suggest the NYPD might not be total above reproach in the past, now, and forever it is really disappointing. They aren't going to start loving him for covering their asses on this. They think that behavior is their due to by right and feudal compact.

[The Romulan Republic]

The Defence Secretary has voiced opposition to invoking the Insurrection Act. Perhaps we'll see a coup if Trump demands his resignation.

I very much doubt we're at the point of an actual military coup yet, though this resistance does bode well if he tries to order the military to uphold him after electoral defeat or rigging.

More likely, I think, they'll simply drag their feet and follow the letter of his requests as long as their legal, basically giving him the minimum they have to.

[The Romulan Republic]

On that note, retired General James Mattis, former Secretary of Defense and the first (and to the best of my recollections, only) Trump cabinet member to resign on a matter of principle, just spoke out condemning Trump's response and defending the protesters.

This is immensely important, I think. James Mattis has a reputation as a highly respected figure in the armed forces, and his words WILL carry weight.

https://theatlantic.com/politics/archiv ... on/612640/

James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump’s Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump’s performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

In his j’accuse, Mattis excoriates the president for setting Americans against one another.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis writes. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

He goes on to contrast the American ethos of unity with Nazi ideology. “Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that ‘The Nazi slogan for destroying us … was “Divide and Conquer.” Our American answer is “In Union there is Strength.”’ We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.”

Mattis’s dissatisfaction with Trump was no secret inside the Pentagon. But after his resignation, he argued publicly—and to great criticism—that it would be inappropriate and counterproductive for a former general, and a former Cabinet official, to criticize a sitting president. Doing so, he said, would threaten the apolitical nature of the military. When I interviewed him last year on this subject, he said, “When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country. They still have the responsibility of protecting this great big experiment of ours.” He did add, however: “There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever.”

That period is now definitively over. Mattis reached the conclusion this past weekend that the American experiment is directly threatened by the actions of the president he once served. In his statement, Mattis makes it clear that the president’s response to the police killing of George Floyd, and the ensuing protests, triggered this public condemnation.

“When I joined the military, some 50 years ago,” he writes, “I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”

He goes on to implicitly criticize the current secretary of defense, Mark Esper, and other senior officials as well. “We must reject any thinking of our cities as a ‘battlespace’ that our uniformed military is called upon to ‘dominate.’ At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.

Here is the text of the complete statement.

IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH
I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.

When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.

James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.

Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.

Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

[The Romulan Republic]

AOC appears to be joining the call for heavily defunding police, in a post focusing on police abuse of sex workers:

The first International Sex Workers’ Day was in 1975, when French sex workers occupied a church for 10 days to protest police violence. Today, we ask you to stand with sex workers in their continued fight against police harassment, violence, arrest and incarceration.

It is especially meaningful as communities rise up all over the country to demand an end to policing as our blanket solution to all community issues.

Let’s divest from policing and invest in healthcare, housing and education.

She also appears to be (implicitly) endorsing the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution.

God damn, I wish this woman were old enough to be President.

[The Romulan Republic]

And from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib:

Black folks in our country continue to be harmed and killed by those within institutions rooted in and built upon racism and white supremacist systems. We must respond with meaningful action. Here's what I'm committed to fighting for because #BlackLivesMatter.

I lift up and send gratitude to those who are engaged in movement work to push us to do better. Action is needed. Not tear gas. Not handcuffs. And for damn sure not military action. Dissent and freedom of speech must be protected. Read my full statement here: https://tlaib.house.gov/…/rep-tlaib-sta ... ionwide-ge….

[The Romulan Republic]

A reminder that this isn't just a US problem:



There have been major protests in solidarity around the world including Canada, and against Canadian police violence and racism in Canada, and the Montreal one turned violent.

[The Romulan Republic]

Reposting this from a Star Wars fan group on Facebook I follow. Anecdotal, uncorroborated, so take it with a grain of salt if you like, but I really hope its true:

Personal story: I know of story of a kid in the National Guard and went full Finn. He stated he would not fire on American citizens and is now facing action. Luckily the Chaplin is fighting for him to have any discipline against removed. And Star Wars isn’t political?

[Gaid]

Reposting this from a Star Wars fan group on Facebook I follow. Anecdotal, uncorroborated, so take it with a grain of salt if you like, but I really hope its true:

Personal story: I know of story of a kid in the National Guard and went full Finn. He stated he would not fire on American citizens and is now facing action. Luckily the Chaplin is fighting for him to have any discipline against removed. And Star Wars isn’t political?

Whether it's hard to believe or not you can look at the invocations of the Insurrection Act for pattern. When states requested it, it tended to be because during riots that were bad enough that were either total chaos or cities were burning.

When they didn't request help it was near rebellion or you can notice a pattern of forcing civil rights on the states.

There's some historical oddities back in Andrew Jackson's days. But once you get to relatively modern times, there's a distinct civil pattern to the use of military. And that's not what the current...uhh...threat follows.

[loomer]

So, you know how I keep harping on the 'outside agitator' canard? Well, the ramifications of it for people I know who are being blamed are beginning to kick off.

As the white house promulgates a baseless conspiracy theory that antifascist anarchists are caching weapons to incite riots and the FBI has admitted there is no evidence of antifascist involvement in inciting the rioting, the FBI are nonetheless pursuing Barr's witchhunt against anarchists in NYC and presumably other cities.

[Gaid]

So, you know how I keep harping on the 'outside agitator' canard? Well, the ramifications of it for people I know who are being blamed are beginning to kick off.

As the white house promulgates a baseless conspiracy theory that antifascist anarchists are caching weapons to incite riots and the FBI has admitted there is no evidence of antifascist involvement in inciting the rioting, the FBI are nonetheless pursuing Barr's witchhunt against anarchists in NYC and presumably other cities.

Coincidentally, Turkey is trying to do a lot with Antifa suddenly right after Trump's tweet. Because, you know, we technically don't have a domestic terrorism law?

[loomer]

So, the Vallejo PD shot a kneeling man through the windshield of their own cruisers during the protests.

I'll just make some accuracy edits to their headline, shall I? See what it might look like if this wasn't America being talked about.

Unarmed Latino SF resident was kneeling when fatally shot by Vallejo police executed by regime forces during civil unrest over police executions of unarmed Black men and women.

There, that's a little more accurate.

[Ace Pace]

Apparently Mattis (formerly of seemingly universal right wing adoration) has condemned Trump and backed the uprising.

If I understand properly the timeline is
Esper says american cities are a battlespace
Joint chiefs take him to a shed and eat him up
Former joint chief of staff chairman publishes oped
Esper retracts publicly his words
White house forces him to retract his retractions
Current chief of staff publishes letter reminding the military that their oath is to the consitution.
Air force National guard chief publishes similar letter
Mattis denounces Trump

[ray245]

Maybe a few, but I think others will just state that he's shown his colours as an agent of Goldstein, the Deep State, or whoever they blame.

Even a few changing their minds will help. Trump only won the electoral college by a tiny margin after all.

[loomer]

Regime forces continue to fire on crowds of protestors, and to deliberately target medics attempting to help critically injured protestors.

[The Romulan Republic]

Regime forces continue to fire on crowds of protestors, and to deliberately target medics attempting to help critically injured protestors.

They're doing shit to our own people, peaceful civilians many of them, that would be war crimes if done to enemy soldiers.

[loomer]

Another unarmed Black man killed by American law enforcement. This time in gaol by federal BOP correctional officers, with pepper spray. Heart attack is the official cause of death.

Now, if this were any other country, the headlines would be engaging with the fact that the gaol he was being kept in is notorious for its poor conditions, human rights abuses, sexual assault by officers on inmates, and overcrowding, had a destruction of records scandal just last month, and has repeatedly held political prisoners and protestors during its existence.

[The Romulan Republic]

A former rioter expresses disillusionment with rioting, and argues that voting Trump out is the only thing that will have any effect:

https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/lesl ... ts-1297002

"We have a president that's standing up there, calling us thugs and sending out National Guard," Jones told Seth Meyers on Tuesday's 'Late Night.' "He's not listening to anything anyone's going to say. I think the only thing he's going listen to is votes."
Leslie Jones shared her reaction to the protests across the country when she visited Late Night on Tuesday.

"I feel saddened," she said of watching the protests that began following the May 25 death of George Floyd. "I always tell everybody I'm 52 and I've seen a lot of stuff." Noting that she participated in the 1992 Los Angeles riots, she said, "It makes me sad because I'm looking at this and I'm knowing that this is not going to work."

"We have a president that's standing up there, calling us thugs and sending out National Guard," she continued. "He's not listening to anything that anyone's going to say. I think the only thing he's going to listen to is votes, and this is why I was telling everybody, if you're going to change something, you have to change it.

"You have to fight the same fight that they're fighting. You have to get into their ring," she added. "You have to get educated and you have to vote. It's just the only way."

Jones said she wished the protestors would have taken a different route to fighting against racial injustice and police brutality. "I wish we would've pulled a gangster move and not did nothing and just waited until November and just stomped his ass," she said.

The comedian said that she's mad that black-owned businesses have been damaged and that people have been hurt as a result of the protests. "Trust me, I hear the protesters — I'm black — of course I hear the protesters," she said. "I'm just knowing that they're not being heard."

While she hasn't marched in a recent protest, Jones said that she has been utilizing her platform to encourage voting. "I'm going to use my platform to make sure that everybody understands the importance of voting," she said. "When you don't vote, you're voting for him. A non-vote is a vote for Trump.

"A lot of people are making a good argument. 'We don't have nobody to vote for,'" she said. "Yes, we do. We have somebody other than him. We need to get him out, and then we need to start realizing what our system looks like.

"I think we all just need to realize that we're all human and living on the same Earth and need to start working together before we don't have nothing," Jones added.

Host Seth Meyers asked Jones about her relationship with cops following her former Saturday Night Live co-star Michael Che's comments about having never called 911 because he felt it was not a service for people like him.

"I've lived through a lot of stuff. My brother was a hard-core gangster. There's been many nights that I had to go pick him up in the alley after sheriffs had dropped him off or beaten him," she said. "For me, coming from Compton, the police is a bad thing."

"You grow up and you meet other people and you learn things," she continued. "I don't think all cops are bad. I think there's a percentage of them that are not trained well," adding that she thought cops need to be retrained.

She also reflected on the riots in 1992, which she participated in when she was 22. "That's why I understand the protesters, because there's probably nothing you could say to them right now that's going to make them not want to protest because there was nothing you could've said to me back then," she said. "I was ready to burn it down because I was like, 'We got to do something.'"

The comedian said that she "really thought we were doing something" during the 1992 riots. "We really thought, 'Hey, we're going to tear this up. They're going to pay attention.' And nothing happened. The officers got off," she said. "And the city was tore up for years. L.A. just really got back."

"The saddest part is all the businesses — the black businesses — that got torn down didn't get to come back," she added. "I feel like we were burning down our own house."

In another segment, Jones shared the one thing she wished she could have told her 22-year-old self, who brought a sledgehammer to the riots. "I think I would say, … 'What do you think that you're going change by going out here with that?" Jones said.

Its an interesting critique from someone who has been there before, and certainly understands where the rioters are coming from from personal experience.

[ray245]

Its an interesting critique from someone who has been there before, and certainly understands where the rioters are coming from from personal experience.

I'm not that surprised. We've seen numerous examples of riots and demonstrations failing to achieve their political goals, or have their movement hijacked by other actors even after they toppled a regime. The protests and movements that tend to succeed are those that are very well-organised, and are able to actually make use of the protests and anger to turn it into a political faction. Protest is merely one tool for political change, but relying on that alone is insufficient.

So in order for the protest to have a meaningful impact, this will mean pushing Biden hard to embark on reforms, actively lobbying the Democrats and ensure the Democrat party itself is able to get more people of diverse and minority backgrounds into the senate and congress. Otherwise, protests is merely a cycle that repeats itself without making any real change.

[loomer]

The embattled regime continues to fortify the Presidential Compound in fear of further popular uprisings against the abuses committed by the militarized ethnostate's police.

[loomer]

While the regime beats and shoots its own citizens, an autonomous anarchist commune has provided shelter to some of Minneapolis's most needy.

Remember, folks: Anarchists are bad. Anarchists are terrorists. The President Said So.

[loomer]

Another first hand account of regime forces trapping and attacking a peaceful protest march. Arrests nationwide now exceed 10,000.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Regime forces continue to fire on crowds of protestors, and to deliberately target medics attempting to help critically injured protestors.

They're doing shit to our own people, peaceful civilians many of them, that would be war crimes if done to enemy soldiers.

Every time they use tear gas that would be a war crime if used in combat. I keep checking this thread and it gets more and more depressing. Maybe the US will have their own version of the Tianamen Square tank guy photo before long.

[loomer]

There is good news here and there - the removal of confederate statues, Minneapolis's councillors considering abolishing the police, and while I don't think it's been posted, Atlanta's decision not to expand jails - but yeah, it's a pretty grim picture. It's grimmer when you don't buy into the copaganda that the various 'dancing/kneeling/hugging cop' photos represent.

[Gaid]

Every time they use tear gas that would be a war crime if used in combat. I keep checking this thread and it gets more and more depressing. Maybe the US will have their own version of the Tianamen Square tank guy photo before long.

NYPD has already driven a car into a crowd. On video. Not quite Tank Man. And the road it was on is not quite Lafayette Park if you want the symbolism of Tiananmen Square.

Granted that was closer to the beginning of the protests and since then pretty much every major city's PD and people have found a balance.

[loomer]

Every time they use tear gas that would be a war crime if used in combat. I keep checking this thread and it gets more and more depressing. Maybe the US will have their own version of the Tianamen Square tank guy photo before long.

NYPD has already driven a car into a crowd. On video. Not quite Tank Man. And the road it was on is not quite Lafayette Park if you want the symbolism of Tiananmen Square.

Granted that was closer to the beginning of the protests and since then pretty much every major city's PD and people have found a balance.

You joking? That roundup and beatdown I linked two posts up was last night. NOLA saw regime forces kettle protestors on a peaceful march onto a bridge and unleash tear gas onto them. Seattle and Portland had violent repressions of peaceful protests the night before.

The regime and the people have not 'found a balance'. The regime is continuing to shoot, beat, and gas peaceful protestors en masse.