...with embarrassment AND rage!
Okay, so OPTINSTL IS SO WRONG! Allow me to explain- the new North County transit center was planned originally for the Metrolink. While the bathrooms are great, the bus center is essentially worthless without a train. Why did OPTINSTL not notice there is no train right away? Because it is such a no-brainer! WHY WASTE 10 MILLION DOLLARS ON THAT "TRANSIT CENTER" WITHOUT A METROLINK???
Like the other bus transit centers, the overdevelopment of the CWE with Cortex, the extra-long Grand buses, North County transit center is just another big fat joke at the expense of the transit-dependent public. The self-congratulations and PR will just keep coming from $80-350K-a-year executives that drive cars from their county homes. They will keep spending money on stupid sh*t that makes it appear they are doing something, and leave the riders to stand around out in the sun and rain and snow, waiting for their slow buses on stupid routes.
Please, transit rider, CALL METRO AND COMPLAIN. ASK THEM QUESTIONS! TELL THEM WHAT YOU NEED!
They will not change until we make them change!
EVERY DIME THEY SPEND IS PUBLIC MONEY!
OPTINSTL
OCCUPY! PUBLIC TRANSIT Image by Eric Drooker for Occupy Wall Street, click on image for Drooker's website
Showing posts with label saint louis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saint louis. Show all posts
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
NEXTSTL POST NAILS IT ON NORTH COUNTY TRANSIT CENTER
Great article on North County Transit Center.
https://nextstl.com/2016/03/north-county-transit-reconfiguration-symptom-not-treatment/
EDIT/PS: Optinstl doesn't always agree with Nextstl but they are always a good source of info. Metro DOES need to focus on the areas like North County that are mostly transit dependent. But Nextstl also seems to support Cortex, which is the biggest waste of money and a giant boondoggle that really only benefits Cortex itself. The CWE metrolink serves this area just fine. (Regardless of Cortex being non-profit entity, nothing they are proposing there is going to fundamentally change the area. Like Ballpark Village, it will just pull business away from previously existing local businesses, and it is unlikely that it will flourish- if it does indeed flourish at all- for more than a decade.)
Was just reading this post on Cortex. https://nextstl.com/2016/03/202424/
We heard Field Foods was going to be the economic saviour with a grocery store two years ago. Fields is a Boston investor's high end boutique grocery store that got a $12 million dollar grant for the food desert in Peabody Clinton area, NOT the Lafayette Square area. And while the cashiers and other low paying staff come from the area, the management and executives are all from Boston- or were when the store first opened in January 2014. The store has hardly lived up to any of its' promises in terms of sales tax revenues, and mostly seems to compete with locally owned Culinaria downtown.
And remember when Lofts were going to revitalize downtown? A lot of DINK'S (double income no kids) moved down there, and shocker, the area is declining again as they have kids and move back to the suburbs or more kid-friendly areas of the city.
The only thing that is going to revitalize St. Louis is a living wage and development in areas that need jobs and public transportation. Anything North of Delmar, for starters.
https://nextstl.com/2016/03/north-county-transit-reconfiguration-symptom-not-treatment/
EDIT/PS: Optinstl doesn't always agree with Nextstl but they are always a good source of info. Metro DOES need to focus on the areas like North County that are mostly transit dependent. But Nextstl also seems to support Cortex, which is the biggest waste of money and a giant boondoggle that really only benefits Cortex itself. The CWE metrolink serves this area just fine. (Regardless of Cortex being non-profit entity, nothing they are proposing there is going to fundamentally change the area. Like Ballpark Village, it will just pull business away from previously existing local businesses, and it is unlikely that it will flourish- if it does indeed flourish at all- for more than a decade.)
Was just reading this post on Cortex. https://nextstl.com/2016/03/202424/
We heard Field Foods was going to be the economic saviour with a grocery store two years ago. Fields is a Boston investor's high end boutique grocery store that got a $12 million dollar grant for the food desert in Peabody Clinton area, NOT the Lafayette Square area. And while the cashiers and other low paying staff come from the area, the management and executives are all from Boston- or were when the store first opened in January 2014. The store has hardly lived up to any of its' promises in terms of sales tax revenues, and mostly seems to compete with locally owned Culinaria downtown.
And remember when Lofts were going to revitalize downtown? A lot of DINK'S (double income no kids) moved down there, and shocker, the area is declining again as they have kids and move back to the suburbs or more kid-friendly areas of the city.
The only thing that is going to revitalize St. Louis is a living wage and development in areas that need jobs and public transportation. Anything North of Delmar, for starters.
KIRKWOOD DEATH; LOOP TROLLEY; NORTH COUNTY TRANSIT CENTER
I assume this fatality was either a cargo train or Amtrak. However, this would be the second time in two weeks that someone has been hit on the tracks. (See last post.)
http://www.kmov.com/story/31501918/emergency-crews-responding-after-pedestrian-hit-by-train-in-kirkwood
For the most part, train tracks are privately owned and leased. If you have ridden on Amtrak you learn this, because they have to stop A LOT for cargo trains, and local Metrolinks. Not all of the tracks are well maintained, and Amtrak often has to stop or has problems due to problems with the tracks. Sometimes these are long waits because they have to wait for the track owning companies to come make the repairs.
No entity that is private and for profit is going to put safety first. No entity that is funded by government money but not publicly owned is going to put safety first. Railroad tracks, like public transit, should be owned by the public and maintained at the highest standard. Amtrak is completely subsidized by the government.
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-industry-standard-should-be-safety.html
The Loop Trolley has encountered another error. Shocking (*sarcasm*). The main focus is on the fact that cars might be hit. With that narrow a margin, this screams "pedestrian injury/fatality." PLEASE REMEMBER that the Trolley got a big chunk of money for "urban revitalization" (http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-loop-trolley-sucking-up-more.html). Originally the Trolley was to run down Forest Park Parkway. But to keep the Urban Circulator funds, they had to re-route the trolley through an "urban area"- in this case, the part of the Loop in the city. (Let's not forget that this Trolley is about making sure no local "park and ride" and rural tourists have to set foot on a Metro bus to go drink beer and eat cheeseburgers at Blueberry Hill. That is ALL this trolley is really about.)
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2016/03/18/trolley-tracks-east-of-skinker-may-be-too-tight-for-comfort
I find the city and county planners, street services, and MODOT, do be completely blind to pedestrians and pedestrian safety. The lights at the corner of Skinker and Delmar are a perfect example. (I haven't actually been at that corner in awhile, completely avoiding it even if I had to go to the Loop by turning on Olive or Vernon, since I am always coming from the north. So maybe they fixed it. I doubt it. I pointed it out to them a few times when I first moved back here.)
Stand at any of the corners and watch the light sequence. In each cycle there is a 30 second or so period where traffic is only moving from two directions- meaning no left or right turns. The car traffic has usually slowed at this point. During this time there is the inevitable crossing of pedestrians against the light, because of the lag. There is also a turn light that comes up during this time, which adds to the confusion. I can't recall which direction now, even though I used to encounter it daily a few years ago. Day and night I've seen near misses as someone comes speeding to catch the light before they think it is going to change, and pedestrian confusion- that is, stepping out into the walkway because the instinctual, intuitive understanding of how traffic lights are normally sequenced, and not expecting that out of sequence turn light.
(There is one turn light that looks like it was added much later than the rest. At one point I made a little diagram of where the light needed to be sequenced. I'm pretty sure it was the right turn onto Delmar from northbound Skinker, and the lag was the north-south flow of traffic on Skinker. But I can't recall exactly and have no idea where those notes are. This is all from memory.)
Even with all the focus on Washington University students- many of whom walk and bike in the area, and live in the Loop- the people that make all the decisions do not walk or use public transit. You need nothing more than a heavy snowfall to prove this. The ploughs come out immediately, and the streets are clear. But all the snow is piled up on the sidewalks. Even in the Loop and other areas with heavy foot-traffic, shoveling sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owners and businesses.
North County though, has to be the worst in terms of street planning and pedestrian safety. To get to the new North county transit center on foot- and a lot of times it is faster to walk from your last connection than wait for a bus- you have to walk on a shoulder. The bus stops in front of Centene have no shelter and trash cans. The bus stop across from Centene-- west/south side- is on the shoulder and then there is a slope into a little ditch before the fence separating the 270 freeway. Super fun to stand there at night. (Again, *sarcasm*.)
(http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/metro-does-not-take-responsibility-for.html)
It's always strange to me, when people talk about our "infrastructure". Only in the last two hundred years have roads been mostly for something other than pedestrians. Their were pedestrian fatalities from carriage accidents, but certainly not as many. Horses in a wooden carriage versus horsepower and 2000 pounds of metal are a very different situation for the person on foot.
I heard President Obama say, when one of the highway bonds was up for the voters, "This is what we do- we build roads and bridges." (Or something like that.) True. But no one in the world has more than 65 years of experience building and maintaining roads solely for use of the internal combustion engine. In this country the population of people and the amount of cars on the road doubled since the 1970's and we are only now seeing what a mistake it was to ditch the railroads for trucks and public transit for private automobiles.
All one has to do to see how blind to pedestrians the planners are is go look North County Transit Center. (Or Maplewood. The worst, in my opinion, as detailed in the optinstl link above, and here again: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-industry-standard-should-be-safety.html)
These planners and city leaders, and most of the Metro executives, have never ridden the bus except on rare occasions, and seem to walk only for exercise or because they have dogs, and usually then, only in their own neighbourhoods. (And sidewalks are often missing in areas that were "developed" after the 1950's. Who needed them right? We will all just drive a block to the store or park, etc.)
If St. Louis monitored pedestrian traffic as much as car traffic, there would be sidewalks and lighting in most parts of North County (and south and west county, too, actually).
There is nothing more troubling than seeing people with small children standing out on that shoulder in front of Centene, or the many other bus stops just like it.
And this last schedule change seemed to bring a higher than usual amount of bus stop closings. I'm all for efficiency, but I don't trust the way Metro does things. For example, on Chambers they are eliminating two bus stops. On paper it makes sense. But these two bus stops sit at the bottom of two hills, right where an apartment complex is. That means that the people in wheelchairs or with health issues will have to go up the hill to catch the 61.
Route changes should not be made by asking the advice of random people motivated enough to go to one of the meetings, or briefly surveyed at Open Houses, even if they are held at transit centers. Metro should have neighborhood liaisons that are employed or compensated by Metro to determine and tailor public transit to the community's needs.
Please, call Metro today and tell them what you need for a better, faster, safer transit experience: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-metros-new-survey-should-be.html
Call Metro every time you ride!
http://www.kmov.com/story/31501918/emergency-crews-responding-after-pedestrian-hit-by-train-in-kirkwood
For the most part, train tracks are privately owned and leased. If you have ridden on Amtrak you learn this, because they have to stop A LOT for cargo trains, and local Metrolinks. Not all of the tracks are well maintained, and Amtrak often has to stop or has problems due to problems with the tracks. Sometimes these are long waits because they have to wait for the track owning companies to come make the repairs.
No entity that is private and for profit is going to put safety first. No entity that is funded by government money but not publicly owned is going to put safety first. Railroad tracks, like public transit, should be owned by the public and maintained at the highest standard. Amtrak is completely subsidized by the government.
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-industry-standard-should-be-safety.html
The Loop Trolley has encountered another error. Shocking (*sarcasm*). The main focus is on the fact that cars might be hit. With that narrow a margin, this screams "pedestrian injury/fatality." PLEASE REMEMBER that the Trolley got a big chunk of money for "urban revitalization" (http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-loop-trolley-sucking-up-more.html). Originally the Trolley was to run down Forest Park Parkway. But to keep the Urban Circulator funds, they had to re-route the trolley through an "urban area"- in this case, the part of the Loop in the city. (Let's not forget that this Trolley is about making sure no local "park and ride" and rural tourists have to set foot on a Metro bus to go drink beer and eat cheeseburgers at Blueberry Hill. That is ALL this trolley is really about.)
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2016/03/18/trolley-tracks-east-of-skinker-may-be-too-tight-for-comfort
I find the city and county planners, street services, and MODOT, do be completely blind to pedestrians and pedestrian safety. The lights at the corner of Skinker and Delmar are a perfect example. (I haven't actually been at that corner in awhile, completely avoiding it even if I had to go to the Loop by turning on Olive or Vernon, since I am always coming from the north. So maybe they fixed it. I doubt it. I pointed it out to them a few times when I first moved back here.)
Stand at any of the corners and watch the light sequence. In each cycle there is a 30 second or so period where traffic is only moving from two directions- meaning no left or right turns. The car traffic has usually slowed at this point. During this time there is the inevitable crossing of pedestrians against the light, because of the lag. There is also a turn light that comes up during this time, which adds to the confusion. I can't recall which direction now, even though I used to encounter it daily a few years ago. Day and night I've seen near misses as someone comes speeding to catch the light before they think it is going to change, and pedestrian confusion- that is, stepping out into the walkway because the instinctual, intuitive understanding of how traffic lights are normally sequenced, and not expecting that out of sequence turn light.
(There is one turn light that looks like it was added much later than the rest. At one point I made a little diagram of where the light needed to be sequenced. I'm pretty sure it was the right turn onto Delmar from northbound Skinker, and the lag was the north-south flow of traffic on Skinker. But I can't recall exactly and have no idea where those notes are. This is all from memory.)
Even with all the focus on Washington University students- many of whom walk and bike in the area, and live in the Loop- the people that make all the decisions do not walk or use public transit. You need nothing more than a heavy snowfall to prove this. The ploughs come out immediately, and the streets are clear. But all the snow is piled up on the sidewalks. Even in the Loop and other areas with heavy foot-traffic, shoveling sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owners and businesses.
North County though, has to be the worst in terms of street planning and pedestrian safety. To get to the new North county transit center on foot- and a lot of times it is faster to walk from your last connection than wait for a bus- you have to walk on a shoulder. The bus stops in front of Centene have no shelter and trash cans. The bus stop across from Centene-- west/south side- is on the shoulder and then there is a slope into a little ditch before the fence separating the 270 freeway. Super fun to stand there at night. (Again, *sarcasm*.)
(http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/metro-does-not-take-responsibility-for.html)
It's always strange to me, when people talk about our "infrastructure". Only in the last two hundred years have roads been mostly for something other than pedestrians. Their were pedestrian fatalities from carriage accidents, but certainly not as many. Horses in a wooden carriage versus horsepower and 2000 pounds of metal are a very different situation for the person on foot.
I heard President Obama say, when one of the highway bonds was up for the voters, "This is what we do- we build roads and bridges." (Or something like that.) True. But no one in the world has more than 65 years of experience building and maintaining roads solely for use of the internal combustion engine. In this country the population of people and the amount of cars on the road doubled since the 1970's and we are only now seeing what a mistake it was to ditch the railroads for trucks and public transit for private automobiles.
All one has to do to see how blind to pedestrians the planners are is go look North County Transit Center. (Or Maplewood. The worst, in my opinion, as detailed in the optinstl link above, and here again: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-industry-standard-should-be-safety.html)
These planners and city leaders, and most of the Metro executives, have never ridden the bus except on rare occasions, and seem to walk only for exercise or because they have dogs, and usually then, only in their own neighbourhoods. (And sidewalks are often missing in areas that were "developed" after the 1950's. Who needed them right? We will all just drive a block to the store or park, etc.)
If St. Louis monitored pedestrian traffic as much as car traffic, there would be sidewalks and lighting in most parts of North County (and south and west county, too, actually).
There is nothing more troubling than seeing people with small children standing out on that shoulder in front of Centene, or the many other bus stops just like it.
And this last schedule change seemed to bring a higher than usual amount of bus stop closings. I'm all for efficiency, but I don't trust the way Metro does things. For example, on Chambers they are eliminating two bus stops. On paper it makes sense. But these two bus stops sit at the bottom of two hills, right where an apartment complex is. That means that the people in wheelchairs or with health issues will have to go up the hill to catch the 61.
Route changes should not be made by asking the advice of random people motivated enough to go to one of the meetings, or briefly surveyed at Open Houses, even if they are held at transit centers. Metro should have neighborhood liaisons that are employed or compensated by Metro to determine and tailor public transit to the community's needs.
Please, call Metro today and tell them what you need for a better, faster, safer transit experience: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-metros-new-survey-should-be.html
Call Metro every time you ride!
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
SHOOTING AT BUS STOP
Too many guns, not enough school or civic opportunities, too great a racial divide between North and South, too many young people that don't see a good future for themselves and decide to take what power they can. More cops aren't going to solve the problem.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31482991/3-teenagers-shot-at-north-st-louis-bus-stop
http://www.kmov.com/story/31482991/3-teenagers-shot-at-north-st-louis-bus-stop
Monday, March 14, 2016
METRO NEEDS BIG CHANGES
"Big Changes to Buses" comes the headlines today.
http://www.kmov.com/Clip/12282774/big-changes-coming-to-metrobus-routes-monday
http://www.nextstopstl.org/17968/metro-releases-new-north-county-service-plan/
They change the buses all the time, but it never makes anything better. This is because Metro does not do enough research on what transit riders need, and when they do, it's the wrong way.
Their blog congratulates holding FOUR "open house" transit meetings. Four. To change the entire bus system.
At least they came to the transit centres. But it is still not enough. They really need to have someone out every day, soliciting information from passengers, and they need to have surveys. (You can always volunteer the OPTINSTL survey information when you call them. http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-metros-new-survey-should-be.html)
I also find it amusing that they always congratulate themselves for figuring out that North County is the most transit dependent area. The focus is always on "reducing traffic congestion". Very few people with cars are going to give up driving to ride the sloooooow buses. The train, maybe. But only to and from work and ball games. Of course, most of the money for the North County Transit Center came from funding to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.
Well, at least they are trying to appear like they are trying, and who knows? Maybe they really are. But four open house meetings? How many people decided these changes? It can't be more than 200. Hardly representative or comprehensive.
I still don't see how they can live down the shame of buying those used Grand buses. Love seeing them break down (*sarcasm*), and other than peak times, and between Mid-Town and Arsenal, they never seem very full. Remember how that was going to reduce congestion on Grand? Right.
It's up to the transit rider to call them, email, and generally communicate EXACTLY what we need to make public transit serve us, instead of the other way around.
Oh, and those sidewalks on Pershall, make sure there is plenty of lighting, too. That whole area along 270 is a nightmare for pedestrians, on the Pershall and over on the other side, on Dunn. If you live in North County you know how many accidents go unreported. This one wasn't. A transit friendly city is a pedestrian friendly city. That would mean that the planners and designers and engineers and executives would need to ride transit and do some walking.
More people are going to be walking over to Clocktower Aldi's and the Wal-mart, and down to the Home Depot on Halls Ferry. Don't just build the transit center and leave it, like you did in Maplewood for 7 years. Put in the sidewalks NOW.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31467896/pedestrian-suffers-serious-injuries-after-being-by-car-in-north-county
http://www.kmov.com/Clip/12282774/big-changes-coming-to-metrobus-routes-monday
http://www.nextstopstl.org/17968/metro-releases-new-north-county-service-plan/
They change the buses all the time, but it never makes anything better. This is because Metro does not do enough research on what transit riders need, and when they do, it's the wrong way.
Their blog congratulates holding FOUR "open house" transit meetings. Four. To change the entire bus system.
At least they came to the transit centres. But it is still not enough. They really need to have someone out every day, soliciting information from passengers, and they need to have surveys. (You can always volunteer the OPTINSTL survey information when you call them. http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-metros-new-survey-should-be.html)
I also find it amusing that they always congratulate themselves for figuring out that North County is the most transit dependent area. The focus is always on "reducing traffic congestion". Very few people with cars are going to give up driving to ride the sloooooow buses. The train, maybe. But only to and from work and ball games. Of course, most of the money for the North County Transit Center came from funding to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.
Well, at least they are trying to appear like they are trying, and who knows? Maybe they really are. But four open house meetings? How many people decided these changes? It can't be more than 200. Hardly representative or comprehensive.
I still don't see how they can live down the shame of buying those used Grand buses. Love seeing them break down (*sarcasm*), and other than peak times, and between Mid-Town and Arsenal, they never seem very full. Remember how that was going to reduce congestion on Grand? Right.
It's up to the transit rider to call them, email, and generally communicate EXACTLY what we need to make public transit serve us, instead of the other way around.
Oh, and those sidewalks on Pershall, make sure there is plenty of lighting, too. That whole area along 270 is a nightmare for pedestrians, on the Pershall and over on the other side, on Dunn. If you live in North County you know how many accidents go unreported. This one wasn't. A transit friendly city is a pedestrian friendly city. That would mean that the planners and designers and engineers and executives would need to ride transit and do some walking.
More people are going to be walking over to Clocktower Aldi's and the Wal-mart, and down to the Home Depot on Halls Ferry. Don't just build the transit center and leave it, like you did in Maplewood for 7 years. Put in the sidewalks NOW.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31467896/pedestrian-suffers-serious-injuries-after-being-by-car-in-north-county
ACCIDENT AT SWANSEA METROLINK
EDIT 17 April 2016: This accident is now a fatality. http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article71885612.html
I missed this in the news on March 6 and it does not appear to be widely reported. A man was struck by a train and his foot was severed and neck broken after a train ran over him at Swansea.
I keep checking the dates on these stories. It's not on any other news stations that I could find, and it isn't on Metro's Blog. In the old days, every news story contained the details of what happened- when, where, etc. Is this some new development in an old accident case? Or did this just happen on March 6th? These are the only two stories I could find:
http://www.kmov.com/story/31399856/family-members-of-man-hit-by-metrolink-train-speak-out
http://www.kmov.com/story/31467300/witness-failure-in-alert-system-allowed-man-to-be-run-over-by-metrolink-train
KMOV video is freezing my computer, so I will try to watch later and see if the video segments have more details.
I missed this in the news on March 6 and it does not appear to be widely reported. A man was struck by a train and his foot was severed and neck broken after a train ran over him at Swansea.
I keep checking the dates on these stories. It's not on any other news stations that I could find, and it isn't on Metro's Blog. In the old days, every news story contained the details of what happened- when, where, etc. Is this some new development in an old accident case? Or did this just happen on March 6th? These are the only two stories I could find:
http://www.kmov.com/story/31399856/family-members-of-man-hit-by-metrolink-train-speak-out
http://www.kmov.com/story/31467300/witness-failure-in-alert-system-allowed-man-to-be-run-over-by-metrolink-train
KMOV video is freezing my computer, so I will try to watch later and see if the video segments have more details.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
NEW METRO STATION IN FERGUSON
Couldn't find any local reporting on this. It was "Drumpfed", I guess. The orange-faced Amerikkkan Hitler got all the news this weekend.
I haven't been there yet, but will check it out tomorrow. I hope those restrooms are really "public". At Riverview the toilets are operated by the privately owned snack shop. (Which means it is only open when they are open and you have to get a key- or at least you did last time I used it, which was actually about 2 years ago. Will check that out this week, too.)
Also, they need to put in sidewalks all the way along Pershall. The construction has made the already dangerous walk on Pershall between West Florissant and New Halls Ferry a nightmare. Especially at night.
At least we have a train up here now. EDIT: Please see this post: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2016/04/optinstl-is-red-faced.html
http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12180965/st-louis-metro-celebrates-completion-of-north-county-transit-center
As for John Nations comments that "five years ago we identified" etc... Stop patting yourself on the back. North City and County are the most transit dependent areas you service and you don't deserve congratulations for figuring that out. Your own data proves that. And that new Cortex Metrolink stop is a big waste of money, rivalled only by the St. Charles turned to Shrewsbury extension that bankrupted the Agency in 2010.
I haven't been there yet, but will check it out tomorrow. I hope those restrooms are really "public". At Riverview the toilets are operated by the privately owned snack shop. (Which means it is only open when they are open and you have to get a key- or at least you did last time I used it, which was actually about 2 years ago. Will check that out this week, too.)
Also, they need to put in sidewalks all the way along Pershall. The construction has made the already dangerous walk on Pershall between West Florissant and New Halls Ferry a nightmare. Especially at night.
http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12180965/st-louis-metro-celebrates-completion-of-north-county-transit-center
As for John Nations comments that "five years ago we identified" etc... Stop patting yourself on the back. North City and County are the most transit dependent areas you service and you don't deserve congratulations for figuring that out. Your own data proves that. And that new Cortex Metrolink stop is a big waste of money, rivalled only by the St. Charles turned to Shrewsbury extension that bankrupted the Agency in 2010.
JOHN NATIONS NEEDS TO BE FIRED
I thought there was already a blog post with this title, and I was looking for it to add a few links.
So here is the gist of what I thought I'd already posted:
Metro and Bi State need to be separated. Metro carries the dinky little Bi-State Development Agency (the airport, arch trams and parking, etc). Metro needs to be run by people that have experience in Metro- in particular former drivers. John Nations has ridden the bus a few times as publicity stunt. A Metro executive told me that it wasn't feasible for someone like John Nations to commute from Chesterfield to Metro (via the Olive bus and the Metrolink). Why? Public transit in St. Louis is too slow.
The CEO appointment is to groom political careers. John Nations wants to be governor. Nations is famous for telling his drivers during negotiations that "As soon as I become Governor I'm changing Missouri to a Right To Work state and elimination the unions."
He gave himself a raise a while back. For $325K a year heading an agency where ALL monies are public- $350 million a year in government subsidies and grants, and rider fares- he can't ride his own transit 4 hours a day to get to and from work?
The people that work in minimum wage job in Chesterfield and live downtown do.
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/08/26/big-raise-for-metro-ceo-angers-union-bus-drivers/
Metro's drivers went 6 years without a contract. If you don't know about this please take a look:
From 2013:
http://labortribune.com/after-18-months-transit-union-talks-with-metro-going-nowhere/
2014 "oreo" incident:
http://fox2now.com/2014/09/12/racial-elements-fuel-dispute-between-metro-and-transit-union/#
"Rally for Respect" 2014
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-transit-union-approves-first-contract-metro-five-years-protests-oreo-incident
Page 5 of the doc, from the Union's magazine:
http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/SO_IT14_USWEB.pdf
Health care and pensions secure:
http://www.atu.org/media/releases/st-louis-metro-workers-declare-victory-secure-agreement-preserving-retirement-security
Don't forget that Metro is raising fares again this July. They need $5 million, the same amount of money they spend every year in "contributions to outside entities". This is usually political campaign contributions. By appointing CEO, the governor guarantees a contribution to his campaign. Call Metro if you think this is wrong. Call them and demand an explanation. Call them and demand the CEO salary be lowered - not to the $250K he received before, but 1/2 that- $125K. Demand the CEO ride public transit at least once a week.
So here is the gist of what I thought I'd already posted:
Metro and Bi State need to be separated. Metro carries the dinky little Bi-State Development Agency (the airport, arch trams and parking, etc). Metro needs to be run by people that have experience in Metro- in particular former drivers. John Nations has ridden the bus a few times as publicity stunt. A Metro executive told me that it wasn't feasible for someone like John Nations to commute from Chesterfield to Metro (via the Olive bus and the Metrolink). Why? Public transit in St. Louis is too slow.
The CEO appointment is to groom political careers. John Nations wants to be governor. Nations is famous for telling his drivers during negotiations that "As soon as I become Governor I'm changing Missouri to a Right To Work state and elimination the unions."
He gave himself a raise a while back. For $325K a year heading an agency where ALL monies are public- $350 million a year in government subsidies and grants, and rider fares- he can't ride his own transit 4 hours a day to get to and from work?
The people that work in minimum wage job in Chesterfield and live downtown do.
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/08/26/big-raise-for-metro-ceo-angers-union-bus-drivers/
Metro's drivers went 6 years without a contract. If you don't know about this please take a look:
From 2013:
http://labortribune.com/after-18-months-transit-union-talks-with-metro-going-nowhere/
2014 "oreo" incident:
http://fox2now.com/2014/09/12/racial-elements-fuel-dispute-between-metro-and-transit-union/#
"Rally for Respect" 2014
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-transit-union-approves-first-contract-metro-five-years-protests-oreo-incident
Page 5 of the doc, from the Union's magazine:
http://www.atu.org/atu-pdfs/SO_IT14_USWEB.pdf
Health care and pensions secure:
http://www.atu.org/media/releases/st-louis-metro-workers-declare-victory-secure-agreement-preserving-retirement-security
Don't forget that Metro is raising fares again this July. They need $5 million, the same amount of money they spend every year in "contributions to outside entities". This is usually political campaign contributions. By appointing CEO, the governor guarantees a contribution to his campaign. Call Metro if you think this is wrong. Call them and demand an explanation. Call them and demand the CEO salary be lowered - not to the $250K he received before, but 1/2 that- $125K. Demand the CEO ride public transit at least once a week.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
NEW WORLD, NEW REVOLUTION
"Voting and calling representatives won't do any good, we need a revolution! The whole system has to change!" I have said this myself in the past, and I have heard this from other people countless times.
"They would rather kill us all than change the system!" Said about the 1%.
I spent ten years in a revolutionary movement. I've never lived through a revolution, but I have talked to many people from Central and South America that have, and read about many revolutions in history.
Violent revolution is not a solution. It does change a lot of things in a seemingly "quick" fashion, but only because of years of work by a few individuals that were prepared for the moment of a mass uprising, and had a plan to take power. These people- for the most part- had their own agendas, and just ended up replacing the faces in power, and making cosmetic changes to the power structure. The masses of people have never been in power. There has never been a "people's government." (Iceland might be, but I haven't researched it enough yet. They did make a lot of changes without violence.)
And revolutions are wars, and wars are a nightmare. Everybody suffers. (A few psychopaths, like George H.W. Bush, prosper and thrive, and usually live to propagate more wars.)
There are 7 billion people on this planet, twice the population of all the civilizations before us, twice the population of the world in 1970, and we are running out of drinkable water on a global scale. Any mass death requires disposal of the dead, and treatment of wounded. We really don't have the resources for this. Our species can't afford to solve problems with violence anymore.
The American Revolution created a kind of Republic that is unique in the world. Freedom of and from religion, democratic mass voting (except for the President), the Constitution, all of these things were created after the revolution against the monarchy. People had to think up these new modes of government and bring them into existence. There was debate and disagreement, countless discussions.
None of the bloodshed and sacrifice of the revolution would have made a damn bit of difference without the work that came afterward.
For the first time in history, we could actually accomplish everything WITHOUT the violent uprising and war. We could create a whole new mode of government power, run by and for the people, without killing each other.
From roughly age 16 to age 26 I advocated armed revolution in the U.S. I sold newspapers and talked to people and went to demonstrations and organized conferences and rallies. I don't hold the same beliefs anymore but I learned a lot and talked to a lot of people about politics and things that really matter in their lives.
Back then (the 1980's) there was no internet and no cell phones. I remember trying to get information on the MOVE massacre in Philadelphia. I had to go to different libraries, look in card catalogs and at microfiche, track down people that had videotaped news segments. (Video machines were still very new then, and personal video cameras were cumbersome and heavy.) Then a leaflet had to be written and photocopied and distributed on the street in my spare time.
To talk to people I had to have all of the facts in my head or on a piece of paper in front me. Most people don't really want to know about things that are happening because it is disturbing. (Most people in our country have the luxury of avoiding political interaction with their government. This is very different than avoidance in poor countries where leisure time of any kind is very limited, and simply questioning politicians can mean imprisonment and/or death.)
Even in areas that were responsive and sympathetic - in the MOVE example we went to South Central Los Angeles- we were encountering people when they were out shopping, or running errands. They could buy the paper or take a leaflet, but to find out more, they had to keep in touch with us, calling the bookstore to find out when an action might be, or we had to call them.
It was a lot easier for people in power to lie and cover up dishonest and deadly actions. And many people who didn't want to be disturbed by cold, hard evidence of their governments misdeeds were able to dismiss the few people like me that they might encounter.
Research that took months and even years in 1985, can be found on line in minutes. Tens of petitions can be signed on line in an hour. Hundreds of elected officials can be emailed instantly in the time it took to write one letter and mail it.
A lot of people that say "there has to be revolution" really mean "I am not going to do anything until it gets so bad that I can't ignore it anymore." But a lot of people really don't think that anything can be done unless we overthrow the existing power structure, with violence. Which means they have to wait around until enough other people will revolt with them.
Which means things have to get really, really bad.
This is the first time in 35 years that I have felt like a revolutionary uprising might occur in the U.S.A. The only other time was in Los Angeles after the police that beat Rodney King were acquitted in 1992.
The revolt that is brewing is another sign of a new world. It's not the usual suspects this time. It's the Good Ole Boys that are taking over government buildings and hoarding guns and ammo. As someone said to me at a Ferguson protest "Equality feels like privilege or special treatment to the oppressed, and it feels like discrimination to the oppressor."
In Ferguson it was the mostly white Peacekeepers walking around with guns, not the Black Panthers. The paranoid delusions of the Dylan Roof's and the Donald Drumpf's are not completely paranoid or delusional. They are losing their privilege. America is not "Great" for racists anymore. The status quo no longer serves them first, because the rest of us demanded a more equitable and fair society.
The Armchair Revolution and Phoning It In are more effective now than an armed uprising. For the first time in history, we can make revolutionary change without making revolution. We can, literally, "call them on their bullshit." Make them answer to you and work for you.
Make this country great. Not "again", but for the first time. Your mind, your time, and your phone (or computer), are the only weapons you need.
"They would rather kill us all than change the system!" Said about the 1%.
I spent ten years in a revolutionary movement. I've never lived through a revolution, but I have talked to many people from Central and South America that have, and read about many revolutions in history.
Violent revolution is not a solution. It does change a lot of things in a seemingly "quick" fashion, but only because of years of work by a few individuals that were prepared for the moment of a mass uprising, and had a plan to take power. These people- for the most part- had their own agendas, and just ended up replacing the faces in power, and making cosmetic changes to the power structure. The masses of people have never been in power. There has never been a "people's government." (Iceland might be, but I haven't researched it enough yet. They did make a lot of changes without violence.)
And revolutions are wars, and wars are a nightmare. Everybody suffers. (A few psychopaths, like George H.W. Bush, prosper and thrive, and usually live to propagate more wars.)
There are 7 billion people on this planet, twice the population of all the civilizations before us, twice the population of the world in 1970, and we are running out of drinkable water on a global scale. Any mass death requires disposal of the dead, and treatment of wounded. We really don't have the resources for this. Our species can't afford to solve problems with violence anymore.
The American Revolution created a kind of Republic that is unique in the world. Freedom of and from religion, democratic mass voting (except for the President), the Constitution, all of these things were created after the revolution against the monarchy. People had to think up these new modes of government and bring them into existence. There was debate and disagreement, countless discussions.
None of the bloodshed and sacrifice of the revolution would have made a damn bit of difference without the work that came afterward.
For the first time in history, we could actually accomplish everything WITHOUT the violent uprising and war. We could create a whole new mode of government power, run by and for the people, without killing each other.
From roughly age 16 to age 26 I advocated armed revolution in the U.S. I sold newspapers and talked to people and went to demonstrations and organized conferences and rallies. I don't hold the same beliefs anymore but I learned a lot and talked to a lot of people about politics and things that really matter in their lives.
Back then (the 1980's) there was no internet and no cell phones. I remember trying to get information on the MOVE massacre in Philadelphia. I had to go to different libraries, look in card catalogs and at microfiche, track down people that had videotaped news segments. (Video machines were still very new then, and personal video cameras were cumbersome and heavy.) Then a leaflet had to be written and photocopied and distributed on the street in my spare time.
To talk to people I had to have all of the facts in my head or on a piece of paper in front me. Most people don't really want to know about things that are happening because it is disturbing. (Most people in our country have the luxury of avoiding political interaction with their government. This is very different than avoidance in poor countries where leisure time of any kind is very limited, and simply questioning politicians can mean imprisonment and/or death.)
Even in areas that were responsive and sympathetic - in the MOVE example we went to South Central Los Angeles- we were encountering people when they were out shopping, or running errands. They could buy the paper or take a leaflet, but to find out more, they had to keep in touch with us, calling the bookstore to find out when an action might be, or we had to call them.
It was a lot easier for people in power to lie and cover up dishonest and deadly actions. And many people who didn't want to be disturbed by cold, hard evidence of their governments misdeeds were able to dismiss the few people like me that they might encounter.
Research that took months and even years in 1985, can be found on line in minutes. Tens of petitions can be signed on line in an hour. Hundreds of elected officials can be emailed instantly in the time it took to write one letter and mail it.
A lot of people that say "there has to be revolution" really mean "I am not going to do anything until it gets so bad that I can't ignore it anymore." But a lot of people really don't think that anything can be done unless we overthrow the existing power structure, with violence. Which means they have to wait around until enough other people will revolt with them.
Which means things have to get really, really bad.
This is the first time in 35 years that I have felt like a revolutionary uprising might occur in the U.S.A. The only other time was in Los Angeles after the police that beat Rodney King were acquitted in 1992.
The revolt that is brewing is another sign of a new world. It's not the usual suspects this time. It's the Good Ole Boys that are taking over government buildings and hoarding guns and ammo. As someone said to me at a Ferguson protest "Equality feels like privilege or special treatment to the oppressed, and it feels like discrimination to the oppressor."
In Ferguson it was the mostly white Peacekeepers walking around with guns, not the Black Panthers. The paranoid delusions of the Dylan Roof's and the Donald Drumpf's are not completely paranoid or delusional. They are losing their privilege. America is not "Great" for racists anymore. The status quo no longer serves them first, because the rest of us demanded a more equitable and fair society.
The Armchair Revolution and Phoning It In are more effective now than an armed uprising. For the first time in history, we can make revolutionary change without making revolution. We can, literally, "call them on their bullshit." Make them answer to you and work for you.
Make this country great. Not "again", but for the first time. Your mind, your time, and your phone (or computer), are the only weapons you need.
THE OLD WAYS OF PROTESTING ARE NOT EFFECTIVE IN MODERN TIMES
In the Political Activist's Guide To St. Louis ( pag2stl.blogspot.com) I say that violent revolution won't work in a world of 7 billion people and the kinds of weapons that police and the military have now. We live in a world now where if we are going to survive and thrive, we need people to begin actively running their governments. Mao once said "all power comes from the barrel of a gun". That has to change. Violence just changes the faces in power, not the power itself.
Protests and counter protests, in the past, served to bring large groups of like minded people together, to raise energy, and to spread messages through the media coverage. That's the plus side, and those things are still effective.
But large protests and counter protests often end up as screaming matches, the arrests only benefit the police and courts, and the real work of educating the general public and making material changes still falls to a few dedicated people who do the solitary work of calls, petitions, education, etc, for weeks, months, years, after the protests are over and most of the people have returned to business as usual.
(The upcoming RNC counter protest in Cleveland bought the police a bunch of fancy riot gear and big budget for the summer: http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/uncucumbered/cleveland_prepares_for_republican_convention_riots?recruiter_id=17 )
Instead of counter-protesting when Drumpf or the KKK is having their rally, do it the day or night before, and go to the people that aren't in the KKK. You will reach more people about your concerns, and likely get the same or more media attention. And little chance of getting arrested and creating revenue for the cops through arrest fees and fines. (If you do get arrested PLEASE don't just take the plea and pay the fine, GO TO COURT and challenge everything you can. Even if you lose you will do the First Amendment a great favour.)
Instead of clumping together and focusing on the idiots that aren't going to change their minds no matter what you say, not too mention making it easier for the police to arrest you, stretch out side by side on the sidewalks, single file. You will still be protesting, but you will reach more people, and will have time to talk to them because you aren't shouting at the idiots.
I am NOT criticizing people that demonstrate, or shout at the cops or counter protesters (during Ferguson the police were the counter protesters). It's just that it is not effective anymore. We saw very clearly in Ferguson that they just send in the tear gas and jack up all the fines.
To change things means we need to protest every day, or every week, or every month, to the people in power. We have to educate the people that aren't paying attention to the issues on how the issues effect them.
For example, if all of the people that counter protested at the Drumpf rally yesterday had held the counter protest Thursday night at rush hour, on the sidewalk, single file, and then the next day during the rally called the Drumpf campaign headquarters here in St Louis, nationally, and also called local representatives and media, and told them why they think Drumpf is dangerous, it would have had greater impact. It wouldn't have made the same thrilling headline news of bloodied protesters and Drumpf drones screaming "fuck you whore" at counter protesters, but it would have had greater impact on the people who are on the fence or who aren't involved in politics at all.
And in Drumpf's case, it would have been a bummer for him and his supporters. They WANT a fight. We already know that. That's all he talks about. And they love being vilified. Being met with "crickets" would have been a let-down for Drumpf and his drones.
As someone who has worked for many years as a receptionist, switchboard operator, desk clerk, etc, I can tell you that the phone is one of the most effective tools of disruption to "business as usual". And it is invisible to anyone outside of the office. An overload of phone calls puts massive stress on any government or business entity. There is no nightly show that is going to run footage of Drumpf's office staff answering angry calls (unless it shuts the phone lines down).
No heroism to bask in on the nightly news, no vilification to uphold, no cross for the martyr to bear publicly.
For example, 35 people were arrested yesterday. A phone "demonstration" by 35 people for 6 hours, taking in to account breaks for the bathroom, etc, time waiting on hold, etc, could still have made approximately 20 calls each an hour, which totals 4200 phone calls. This would have taken extra time to prepare 120 short "scripts"- one for each call, or compiling 120 places to call with one script.
So- a list of 120 - the Mayor, the Governor, state and national congress members, Republican party hq's, Drumpf's headquarters, the board members of Peabody Opera House, the local and national media, etc- with the same message "I oppose Donald Trump, do you stand with me? etc". Which means 120 places getting 35 phone calls each. Or 120 places for each caller- Drumpf's business entities, elected officials, etc- with a tailored message for each place. 35 extra calls over a 6 hour period is a pain in the ass. Even if you are paid employee, and a lot of the people at the Drumpf offices are volunteers. Even the most hard-core believer would get worn out if this happened every time Drumpf spoke somewhere. Especially if the calls asked a lot of questions and requested detailed answers in a calm way.
Getting Drumpf's staff to quit is more effective than yelling at his followers. Convincing his fellow Republicans to come out publicly against him is almost too easy these days. And making Peaody Opera House sorry they booked the event would be a cakewalk. And you don't end up in jail and paying out money to the courts.
"Hi I am a registered voter and I was wondering if you could detail for me what era in American History your candidate is referring to when he says 'again?' When was America great in your candidate's opinion, and why was it great then? What specifically does he have planned to return our land to -this time in the past considered great-?"
(I took at look at the Drumpf supporters in St. Louis and I assure you that during Reagan's presidency these people were saying the same things they say now- replace "Muslim" with "Iranian". Remember the Moral Majority? Phyllis Schlafley hasn't written a new speech in 40 years. Even from a Drumpf drones' point of view there is no "great" to go back to. And it is not that hard to manipulate a conversation to get them to admit it. These people are the ultimate haters. And most lack the critical thinking skills that their candidate lacks as well. Try it sometime, it is fun. Ask leading questions, but frame them in their rhetoric.)
"Can you explain how your candidate's First Amendment rights were violated? I would like to see the First Amendment get a more thorough discussion in his speeches. What will he do to protect Freedom of Speech?" (Yes, really. Drumpf said his First Amendment rights were violated in Chicago last night: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/12/3759418/no-one-is-violating-trump-free-speech/)
"What is your candidate's stance on the TPP? Can you explain the TPP to me and how it will effect our economy for the better?"
"Your candidate says he is millionaire, but his tax returns say differently. He isn't evading his taxes or lying about his income is he? Can you explain the discrepeacy?"
"What does your candidate have to say about the Monroe Doctrine?"
"Many African slaves were Muslims, is your candidate going to deport anyone who has a Muslim ancestor?"
These people don't know shit about history or politics. Make them research the answers. Make them think.
I decided not to go to the Drumpf protest, but I was very proud of St. Louis to see that many people did, even though I am sorry that many were arrested. I am suggesting though, that courageous, motivated activists channel their energy differently. MAKE HEADACHES FOR DRUMPF, NOT HEADLINES.
Protests and counter protests, in the past, served to bring large groups of like minded people together, to raise energy, and to spread messages through the media coverage. That's the plus side, and those things are still effective.
But large protests and counter protests often end up as screaming matches, the arrests only benefit the police and courts, and the real work of educating the general public and making material changes still falls to a few dedicated people who do the solitary work of calls, petitions, education, etc, for weeks, months, years, after the protests are over and most of the people have returned to business as usual.
(The upcoming RNC counter protest in Cleveland bought the police a bunch of fancy riot gear and big budget for the summer: http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/uncucumbered/cleveland_prepares_for_republican_convention_riots?recruiter_id=17 )
Instead of counter-protesting when Drumpf or the KKK is having their rally, do it the day or night before, and go to the people that aren't in the KKK. You will reach more people about your concerns, and likely get the same or more media attention. And little chance of getting arrested and creating revenue for the cops through arrest fees and fines. (If you do get arrested PLEASE don't just take the plea and pay the fine, GO TO COURT and challenge everything you can. Even if you lose you will do the First Amendment a great favour.)
Instead of clumping together and focusing on the idiots that aren't going to change their minds no matter what you say, not too mention making it easier for the police to arrest you, stretch out side by side on the sidewalks, single file. You will still be protesting, but you will reach more people, and will have time to talk to them because you aren't shouting at the idiots.
I am NOT criticizing people that demonstrate, or shout at the cops or counter protesters (during Ferguson the police were the counter protesters). It's just that it is not effective anymore. We saw very clearly in Ferguson that they just send in the tear gas and jack up all the fines.
To change things means we need to protest every day, or every week, or every month, to the people in power. We have to educate the people that aren't paying attention to the issues on how the issues effect them.
For example, if all of the people that counter protested at the Drumpf rally yesterday had held the counter protest Thursday night at rush hour, on the sidewalk, single file, and then the next day during the rally called the Drumpf campaign headquarters here in St Louis, nationally, and also called local representatives and media, and told them why they think Drumpf is dangerous, it would have had greater impact. It wouldn't have made the same thrilling headline news of bloodied protesters and Drumpf drones screaming "fuck you whore" at counter protesters, but it would have had greater impact on the people who are on the fence or who aren't involved in politics at all.
And in Drumpf's case, it would have been a bummer for him and his supporters. They WANT a fight. We already know that. That's all he talks about. And they love being vilified. Being met with "crickets" would have been a let-down for Drumpf and his drones.
As someone who has worked for many years as a receptionist, switchboard operator, desk clerk, etc, I can tell you that the phone is one of the most effective tools of disruption to "business as usual". And it is invisible to anyone outside of the office. An overload of phone calls puts massive stress on any government or business entity. There is no nightly show that is going to run footage of Drumpf's office staff answering angry calls (unless it shuts the phone lines down).
No heroism to bask in on the nightly news, no vilification to uphold, no cross for the martyr to bear publicly.
For example, 35 people were arrested yesterday. A phone "demonstration" by 35 people for 6 hours, taking in to account breaks for the bathroom, etc, time waiting on hold, etc, could still have made approximately 20 calls each an hour, which totals 4200 phone calls. This would have taken extra time to prepare 120 short "scripts"- one for each call, or compiling 120 places to call with one script.
So- a list of 120 - the Mayor, the Governor, state and national congress members, Republican party hq's, Drumpf's headquarters, the board members of Peabody Opera House, the local and national media, etc- with the same message "I oppose Donald Trump, do you stand with me? etc". Which means 120 places getting 35 phone calls each. Or 120 places for each caller- Drumpf's business entities, elected officials, etc- with a tailored message for each place. 35 extra calls over a 6 hour period is a pain in the ass. Even if you are paid employee, and a lot of the people at the Drumpf offices are volunteers. Even the most hard-core believer would get worn out if this happened every time Drumpf spoke somewhere. Especially if the calls asked a lot of questions and requested detailed answers in a calm way.
Getting Drumpf's staff to quit is more effective than yelling at his followers. Convincing his fellow Republicans to come out publicly against him is almost too easy these days. And making Peaody Opera House sorry they booked the event would be a cakewalk. And you don't end up in jail and paying out money to the courts.
"Hi I am a registered voter and I was wondering if you could detail for me what era in American History your candidate is referring to when he says 'again?' When was America great in your candidate's opinion, and why was it great then? What specifically does he have planned to return our land to -this time in the past considered great-?"
(I took at look at the Drumpf supporters in St. Louis and I assure you that during Reagan's presidency these people were saying the same things they say now- replace "Muslim" with "Iranian". Remember the Moral Majority? Phyllis Schlafley hasn't written a new speech in 40 years. Even from a Drumpf drones' point of view there is no "great" to go back to. And it is not that hard to manipulate a conversation to get them to admit it. These people are the ultimate haters. And most lack the critical thinking skills that their candidate lacks as well. Try it sometime, it is fun. Ask leading questions, but frame them in their rhetoric.)
"Can you explain how your candidate's First Amendment rights were violated? I would like to see the First Amendment get a more thorough discussion in his speeches. What will he do to protect Freedom of Speech?" (Yes, really. Drumpf said his First Amendment rights were violated in Chicago last night: http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/12/3759418/no-one-is-violating-trump-free-speech/)
"What is your candidate's stance on the TPP? Can you explain the TPP to me and how it will effect our economy for the better?"
"Your candidate says he is millionaire, but his tax returns say differently. He isn't evading his taxes or lying about his income is he? Can you explain the discrepeacy?"
"What does your candidate have to say about the Monroe Doctrine?"
"Many African slaves were Muslims, is your candidate going to deport anyone who has a Muslim ancestor?"
These people don't know shit about history or politics. Make them research the answers. Make them think.
I decided not to go to the Drumpf protest, but I was very proud of St. Louis to see that many people did, even though I am sorry that many were arrested. I am suggesting though, that courageous, motivated activists channel their energy differently. MAKE HEADACHES FOR DRUMPF, NOT HEADLINES.
Friday, March 11, 2016
QUESTIONS FOR SAINT LOUIS TEENS
WHAT
DO YOU NEED
TO
CHANGE THE WORLD?
What
would you like to learn that you are not studying now? (Dance,
music, acting, filmmaking, astronomy, skating, sculpture, clothing
design, baking, ???)
What
do you think would make school better for you?
What
would make your neighbourhood better for you?
What
do you need in your life that you do not have now?
Do
you feel like you have a meaningful future ahead of you? If not, what
do you think needs to change?
Do
you feel that you have something to contribute to the world?
Do
you take pride in yourself? In your school? In your community? If
not, what would need to happen or change for you to feel proud?
What
changes would you like to make in your life? What do you need to
make those changes?
Is
there anywhere in St. Louis that you would like to go that you have
not been?
Anywhere
in Missouri that you would like to visit? In the U.S.? In the World?
Are
there enough after-school and weekend activities and venues for Teens
in St. Louis?
What
sort of activities or social events or clubs do you think would
reduce crime and gang violence in schools and neighbourhoods?
What
do you think would prevent kids from dropping out of school?
Answer
these questions to yourself first. Be as detailed as you can in your
answers. If you have the courage and the desire, write the answers
down, or make a video or audio recording, and share them. Share them
with your teacher, or an elected official, or church or community
group, or Imagine a Better St Louis or similar organization.
Every
great invention, all of our technology, every song, every movie,
every social change, everything
in human civilization began with a thought.
Don't
be afraid to ask for what you need. Youth are the future, and the
world looks to you for leadership. Begin shaping your world now, by
communicating what you need, and by sharing your solutions to the
problems in your community.
“May
your choices reflect your hopes, not
your fears.”
–
Nelson
Mandela
"If
one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million
realities." -- Maya
Angelou
If you want to print this as a leaflet and share it (it's two sided, half a page each side)
Thursday, March 10, 2016
SOLUTIONS NOT COP OUTS
EDIT: Please see this post, too:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2016/03/questions-for-saint-louis-teens.html
Instead of more cops, the same tired, ineffective response, over and over again, how about real solutions?
There are the obvious- put money into jobs and schools, etc.
But also GO ASK THESE KIDS WHAT THEY NEED.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31428741/group-of-juveniles-assault-rob-2-men-in-central-west-end
http://www.kmov.com/story/31431838/police-teens-responsible-for-recent-crimes-in-u-city-are-from-east-st-louis
And then ask all the other kids, too.
Don't just stop with kids, ask every single person that ends up in trouble with the law.
Is there anything you would like to be doing with your time? Is there any activities that you would want to do with your free time? (Sing, Dance, Make movies, fly a kite, run a marathon?)
What would you need to be able to do that? (A ride, lessons, a video camera?)
Do you feel you have a meaningful life and a future ahead of you?
What would you need to feel that way?
Instead of more cops, ask every kid in every junior high and high school these questions. There are actual solutions to these problems.
(The job of everyone in prison should be to answer these questions, too. Just asking these questions would bring about results, even if the person did not answer out loud.)
Also, Metro can barely pay the interest on its' bond debt with payments they get from St Louis County Prop A. Steve Stenger says more cops on Metrolink will be covered with Prop A. Please ask him how that is possible? Please ask how much of that money goes to Metro already and what do they spend it on? St. Louis really can't afford anymore bonds.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31424328/county-executive-pushes-to-double-number-of-officers-on-metrolink-lines
Or cops. More cops almost never reduce crime. In fact, more cops usually means more crime.
Solve the real issues. Make real changes.
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2016/03/questions-for-saint-louis-teens.html
Instead of more cops, the same tired, ineffective response, over and over again, how about real solutions?
There are the obvious- put money into jobs and schools, etc.
But also GO ASK THESE KIDS WHAT THEY NEED.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31428741/group-of-juveniles-assault-rob-2-men-in-central-west-end
http://www.kmov.com/story/31431838/police-teens-responsible-for-recent-crimes-in-u-city-are-from-east-st-louis
And then ask all the other kids, too.
Don't just stop with kids, ask every single person that ends up in trouble with the law.
Is there anything you would like to be doing with your time? Is there any activities that you would want to do with your free time? (Sing, Dance, Make movies, fly a kite, run a marathon?)
What would you need to be able to do that? (A ride, lessons, a video camera?)
Do you feel you have a meaningful life and a future ahead of you?
What would you need to feel that way?
Instead of more cops, ask every kid in every junior high and high school these questions. There are actual solutions to these problems.
(The job of everyone in prison should be to answer these questions, too. Just asking these questions would bring about results, even if the person did not answer out loud.)
Also, Metro can barely pay the interest on its' bond debt with payments they get from St Louis County Prop A. Steve Stenger says more cops on Metrolink will be covered with Prop A. Please ask him how that is possible? Please ask how much of that money goes to Metro already and what do they spend it on? St. Louis really can't afford anymore bonds.
http://www.kmov.com/story/31424328/county-executive-pushes-to-double-number-of-officers-on-metrolink-lines
Or cops. More cops almost never reduce crime. In fact, more cops usually means more crime.
Solve the real issues. Make real changes.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
JOHN NATIONS NEW PLAN TO CONTROL MORE OF SAINT LOUIS AND GET MORE PUBLIC MONEY
This article is just LOL (laugh out loud) hilarious.
http://www.kmov.com/story/30689292/metro-considers-creating-own-police-force
CEO John Nations, who gave himself a 75k a year raise, likes to tell his drivers that as soon as he elected Governor of Missouri will install "right to work" legislation and eliminate unions, and uses public money for $5 million in "contributions to outside entities" (typically political campaign donations, although Metro's fiscal reports don't say where they money went), wants his own police force.
Transportation Districts are a nice chunk of public money and power over the public. Don't kid yourself that the Loop Trolley is anything more than Joe Edwards war with Metro over having city buses (and bus stops) in his domain. Mr. Edwards wants to be sure that no one will have to set on a city bus to get to Blueberry Hill from the DeBaliviere Metro stop.
And John Nations just wants a bigger piece of the St. Louis pie for himself. There are a lot of things that would reduce crime in St. Louis, including on public transit, but more cops is not one of them.
John Nations and a good number of the current executive staff of Metro needs to be removed. Metro and Bi-State Development Agency need to be separated.
Don't believe the hype. It's just a way for Metro to get more public money.
Posted recently on other OPTINSTL blogs:
http://fergusonthemovement.blogspot.com/2015/12/it-is-time-to-take-it-to-courts.html
http://www.kmov.com/story/30689292/metro-considers-creating-own-police-force
CEO John Nations, who gave himself a 75k a year raise, likes to tell his drivers that as soon as he elected Governor of Missouri will install "right to work" legislation and eliminate unions, and uses public money for $5 million in "contributions to outside entities" (typically political campaign donations, although Metro's fiscal reports don't say where they money went), wants his own police force.
Transportation Districts are a nice chunk of public money and power over the public. Don't kid yourself that the Loop Trolley is anything more than Joe Edwards war with Metro over having city buses (and bus stops) in his domain. Mr. Edwards wants to be sure that no one will have to set on a city bus to get to Blueberry Hill from the DeBaliviere Metro stop.
And John Nations just wants a bigger piece of the St. Louis pie for himself. There are a lot of things that would reduce crime in St. Louis, including on public transit, but more cops is not one of them.
John Nations and a good number of the current executive staff of Metro needs to be removed. Metro and Bi-State Development Agency need to be separated.
Don't believe the hype. It's just a way for Metro to get more public money.
Posted recently on other OPTINSTL blogs:
http://fergusonthemovement.blogspot.com/2015/12/it-is-time-to-take-it-to-courts.html
Sunday, November 15, 2015
CHANGES TO OPTINSTL COMING
It is shocking to me how many hits the posts about Ferguson last year still get. (And how many errors and early information that wasn't verified I posted. Will do edits with "the cross out line" where I find those errors.) If you think a little blog on blogger is a wasted effort, I am here to assure you it is not. If you have something to say, start a blog.
Attached to this blog is one on Ferguson, and also another one Occupy Your Life (I think I had to spell it occupyurlife in the blogger url). I am going to moving posts that aren't about transportation to those sites (I'll leave the post with a link to the new location). I need to get this blog back on track about Metro and public transportation in St. Louis.
I am also working on a printed newsletter and/or "zine" for the STL area, and getting actual domain names and websites, not just Google blogs. Also in the early part of next year there will be OPTINSTL public actions- meeting places to conduct mass phone-ins, sign petitions, etc.
I fund all of my activities with my own money, and I don't want to get into advertising or sales. So things can be slow. But if you agree with anything you read here, as I say in the copyright blurb, go ahead and reprint it. You don't even have to give me credit (although if you try to pass off exact quotes as yours and someone searches, they will be directed here- so if you are selling something or writing a paper, better cover your tracks).
I think the most important post on this blog is I WANT TO LIVE IN A CITY WITH GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-want-to-live-in-city-with-great.html
I hope you do, too, and I hope you will be patient while I try to get things sorted. In the meantime, call Metro everytime you ride, and make the pledge "5 For 11" - to do five additional actions every month for the social change of your choice, during this year.
Attached to this blog is one on Ferguson, and also another one Occupy Your Life (I think I had to spell it occupyurlife in the blogger url). I am going to moving posts that aren't about transportation to those sites (I'll leave the post with a link to the new location). I need to get this blog back on track about Metro and public transportation in St. Louis.
I am also working on a printed newsletter and/or "zine" for the STL area, and getting actual domain names and websites, not just Google blogs. Also in the early part of next year there will be OPTINSTL public actions- meeting places to conduct mass phone-ins, sign petitions, etc.
I fund all of my activities with my own money, and I don't want to get into advertising or sales. So things can be slow. But if you agree with anything you read here, as I say in the copyright blurb, go ahead and reprint it. You don't even have to give me credit (although if you try to pass off exact quotes as yours and someone searches, they will be directed here- so if you are selling something or writing a paper, better cover your tracks).
I think the most important post on this blog is I WANT TO LIVE IN A CITY WITH GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-want-to-live-in-city-with-great.html
I hope you do, too, and I hope you will be patient while I try to get things sorted. In the meantime, call Metro everytime you ride, and make the pledge "5 For 11" - to do five additional actions every month for the social change of your choice, during this year.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
WHAT IS THE ATF REALLY DOING IN SAINT LOUIS? MORE MUSINGS ON THE SPIKES IN "RANDOM" VIOLENCE IN STL
Other than entrap people???
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/department-of-justice-launches-probe-into-atf-storefront-stings-b99209920z1-246360711.html
http://www.mainjustice.com/2014/02/21/ig-reviewing-atf-storefront-stings-for-systemic-deficiencies/
In case you missed it, there was a shooting on October 17th at the apartments behind Heal STL and also the Hands Up United offices on West Florissant, in Ferguson.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/atf-shots-miss-burglary-suspects-during-capture-in-ferguson/article_86f44a88-c31e-563a-a102-cbe51caa0cbf.html
Wondering if Friday's Ferguson shooting is related to the shooting in the same apartments on October 8th?
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/08/county-police-investigate-ferguson-shooting/16935009/
Turns out the ATF has been here for 2 years, stirring things up.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/four-month-atf-operation-in-st-louis-yields-arrests-seizures/article_42e103ee-7fd8-51ec-85b6-b4a87ba9f13e.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-shot-by-atf-agent-in-st-louis-dies/article_4fae8f64-f1f7-11e1-8f7c-001a4bcf6878.html
As the first two links make clear, the ATF is another law enforcement agency that creates crime. And they probably set off a lot of internal wars, once a gang member or criminal network gets whiff of either the agents, or the fact that someone new is cutting in on their territory.
Maybe another reason (in addition to financial instability, greater poverty, cuts to services, and an increase in heroin) for this years spikes in seemly random and unrelated violence is the ATF's presence?
I was spurred to look for signs of another global financial crisis waiting in the wings when the random violence began this spring, and it occurred to me that a rise in violence had preceded it. (Still willing to concede this is a coincidence, but I don't think so.)
I wonder if the truly "ruling" members of the Ruling Classes unleash the dogs (agency crackdowns)when they know that something is coming, in an attempt to create enough fear for a clampdown when the real shit--i.e., global financial collapse-- is pending?
This is something that a few years ago I would have thought was a conspiracy theory. There was ATF activity in St. Louis also, preceding the 08 meltdown, and accompanying the increase in violence. Again, this could be coincidence.
In 2006 a Washington University graduate was named Chief of Staff:
https://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2006/10/102706-atf-names-new-chief-of-staff.html
https://law.wustl.edu/magazine/Spring2008/classnotes.pdf
Here is the ATF in Jennings in 2007:
http://www.policeone.com/gangs/articles/1630510-Mo-town-breaks-street-gang-becomes-model-for-restoring-order/
Arrest in Florissant in 2007:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/05/21/daily30.html
Okay and WARNING this blog has reprints of two article about ATF at Rutledge Flea Market, but it is a blog by a White Supremacist that thinks all gun laws are devised to get "Guns out of white men's hands" etc. (The local racist HQ seems to be Kirksville. I think I can live without eating at that bread throwing restaurant.)
http://www.kirksvilletoday.com/20061214/feds-steal-1000-guns-in-rutledge/
An 08 Methamphetemine arrest in Springfield:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/stlouis052808.html
Two other finds, not wholly unrelated, this first one explains why so many people do not trust the DOJ at all:
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1154&issue_id=42007
And this one, about how the ATF signs off on permits, from a pro-gun site, talking about certain law enforcement people that are lenient, because "anyone that jumps through many hoops must be a good guy" or something equally silly.
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=8&f=32&t=328565
And just FYI and/or reminder, there were NO homicides in Ferguson until Michael Brown. And the two subsequent homicides, and other shootings, have NOT been related to the protesters or protests, unless you count the police firing at unarmed people.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/homicide-map-of-st-louis-area/html_0881b0f3-b41b-5382-9f3e-55314556191e.html
There has been plenty of violence in Saint Louis this year before August 9th. And things were bad in 2007 as well. Time to re-think the whole narrative about what is really going on North St. Louis city and North County. Saint Louis is not at all what it seems.
I am not against law enforcement truly protecting the public from crime, guns and etc. But we have to be able to trust these agencies, and if they operate on the principle that all black people in the hood are terrorists, and go out of their way to encourage people to commit crimes in order to arrest them, we have a problem.
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/department-of-justice-launches-probe-into-atf-storefront-stings-b99209920z1-246360711.html
http://www.mainjustice.com/2014/02/21/ig-reviewing-atf-storefront-stings-for-systemic-deficiencies/
In case you missed it, there was a shooting on October 17th at the apartments behind Heal STL and also the Hands Up United offices on West Florissant, in Ferguson.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/atf-shots-miss-burglary-suspects-during-capture-in-ferguson/article_86f44a88-c31e-563a-a102-cbe51caa0cbf.html
Wondering if Friday's Ferguson shooting is related to the shooting in the same apartments on October 8th?
http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/crime/2014/10/08/county-police-investigate-ferguson-shooting/16935009/
Turns out the ATF has been here for 2 years, stirring things up.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/four-month-atf-operation-in-st-louis-yields-arrests-seizures/article_42e103ee-7fd8-51ec-85b6-b4a87ba9f13e.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/man-shot-by-atf-agent-in-st-louis-dies/article_4fae8f64-f1f7-11e1-8f7c-001a4bcf6878.html
As the first two links make clear, the ATF is another law enforcement agency that creates crime. And they probably set off a lot of internal wars, once a gang member or criminal network gets whiff of either the agents, or the fact that someone new is cutting in on their territory.
Maybe another reason (in addition to financial instability, greater poverty, cuts to services, and an increase in heroin) for this years spikes in seemly random and unrelated violence is the ATF's presence?
I was spurred to look for signs of another global financial crisis waiting in the wings when the random violence began this spring, and it occurred to me that a rise in violence had preceded it. (Still willing to concede this is a coincidence, but I don't think so.)
I wonder if the truly "ruling" members of the Ruling Classes unleash the dogs (agency crackdowns)when they know that something is coming, in an attempt to create enough fear for a clampdown when the real shit--i.e., global financial collapse-- is pending?
This is something that a few years ago I would have thought was a conspiracy theory. There was ATF activity in St. Louis also, preceding the 08 meltdown, and accompanying the increase in violence. Again, this could be coincidence.
In 2006 a Washington University graduate was named Chief of Staff:
https://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2006/10/102706-atf-names-new-chief-of-staff.html
https://law.wustl.edu/magazine/Spring2008/classnotes.pdf
Here is the ATF in Jennings in 2007:
http://www.policeone.com/gangs/articles/1630510-Mo-town-breaks-street-gang-becomes-model-for-restoring-order/
Arrest in Florissant in 2007:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/05/21/daily30.html
Okay and WARNING this blog has reprints of two article about ATF at Rutledge Flea Market, but it is a blog by a White Supremacist that thinks all gun laws are devised to get "Guns out of white men's hands" etc. (The local racist HQ seems to be Kirksville. I think I can live without eating at that bread throwing restaurant.)
http://www.kirksvilletoday.com/20061214/feds-steal-1000-guns-in-rutledge/
An 08 Methamphetemine arrest in Springfield:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/stlouis052808.html
Two other finds, not wholly unrelated, this first one explains why so many people do not trust the DOJ at all:
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1154&issue_id=42007
And this one, about how the ATF signs off on permits, from a pro-gun site, talking about certain law enforcement people that are lenient, because "anyone that jumps through many hoops must be a good guy" or something equally silly.
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=8&f=32&t=328565
And just FYI and/or reminder, there were NO homicides in Ferguson until Michael Brown. And the two subsequent homicides, and other shootings, have NOT been related to the protesters or protests, unless you count the police firing at unarmed people.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/homicide-map-of-st-louis-area/html_0881b0f3-b41b-5382-9f3e-55314556191e.html
There has been plenty of violence in Saint Louis this year before August 9th. And things were bad in 2007 as well. Time to re-think the whole narrative about what is really going on North St. Louis city and North County. Saint Louis is not at all what it seems.
I am not against law enforcement truly protecting the public from crime, guns and etc. But we have to be able to trust these agencies, and if they operate on the principle that all black people in the hood are terrorists, and go out of their way to encourage people to commit crimes in order to arrest them, we have a problem.
Friday, October 17, 2014
REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER: WHO NEEDS WHO?
There is no such thing as a "job creator". A job creator is really a "profit creator". Profit for a few from the labor of many. Many of the "jobs" that make people rich -- being a CEO or investor-- add no value to our world or our economy.
There is plenty of work, SO MUCH that needs to be done, but not enough jobs. There is so much abundance, SO MUCH that is produced everyday, that goes to waste NOT because it isn't needed, but because it cannot be SOLD FOR PROFIT.
They tell us immigrants are stealing our jobs, that welfare is ruining the economy, but the moment a "job creator" figures out a way to move jobs somewhere with lower wages, they do.
They don't care about us. They don't care about anyone but themselves. They don't care about people starving or dying from diseases. There is never enough for what we really need, and always plenty of excuses for things we don't need- like war.
The "job creators" need us a lot more then we need them.
Please, on November the 5th, DON'T BUY ANYTHING. DON'T GO TO WORK. DON'T GO TO SCHOOL.
FOR ONE DAY, withhold your labor and your consumption.
Instead, stay home and call every government official that represents you, from local to national, and tell them what you want from your government: better schools, worker's rights, healthcare, etc. When you are done, start calling the big corporations that are draining us of our livelihoods and demand they end their unfair and unsafe practices.
The Anonymous Million Mask March is happening that day, and I've heard it will be in Ferguson. But other than getting yourself to the march, don't participate in this giant scam called Capitalism.
They say that we need them. SHOW THEM that they need us.
(EDIT: not saying quit your job or never buy anything again, I'm saying PUT THE RULING CLASS ON NOTICE. They say they "create" their wealth "all by themselves"? Really? This is Missouri, so SHOW ME how you get rich without labour or control of natural resources. Just for one day. Take a vacation day, call in sick, etc.)
There is plenty of work, SO MUCH that needs to be done, but not enough jobs. There is so much abundance, SO MUCH that is produced everyday, that goes to waste NOT because it isn't needed, but because it cannot be SOLD FOR PROFIT.
They tell us immigrants are stealing our jobs, that welfare is ruining the economy, but the moment a "job creator" figures out a way to move jobs somewhere with lower wages, they do.
They don't care about us. They don't care about anyone but themselves. They don't care about people starving or dying from diseases. There is never enough for what we really need, and always plenty of excuses for things we don't need- like war.
The "job creators" need us a lot more then we need them.
Please, on November the 5th, DON'T BUY ANYTHING. DON'T GO TO WORK. DON'T GO TO SCHOOL.
FOR ONE DAY, withhold your labor and your consumption.
Instead, stay home and call every government official that represents you, from local to national, and tell them what you want from your government: better schools, worker's rights, healthcare, etc. When you are done, start calling the big corporations that are draining us of our livelihoods and demand they end their unfair and unsafe practices.
The Anonymous Million Mask March is happening that day, and I've heard it will be in Ferguson. But other than getting yourself to the march, don't participate in this giant scam called Capitalism.
They say that we need them. SHOW THEM that they need us.
(EDIT: not saying quit your job or never buy anything again, I'm saying PUT THE RULING CLASS ON NOTICE. They say they "create" their wealth "all by themselves"? Really? This is Missouri, so SHOW ME how you get rich without labour or control of natural resources. Just for one day. Take a vacation day, call in sick, etc.)
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
MORE SPIKES & HOMICIDE VERSUS COP-ICIDE
So St. Louis city has had 5 homicides in the last 24 hours, and the count for the year is 109.
http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Police-searching-for-suspect-in-fatal-stabbing-in-north-St-Louis-279231232.html
I already said most of what I think about the spikes in violence in this post from July 15th:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/07/st-louis-spikes.html
Our country is becoming increasingly insolvent. There was no bail out in 2008, it was a band aid and only shifted the problem. Another economic crisis is looming. And who feels it first? The poorest.
Additionally, the heroin problem in the city has apparently gotten out of control in the last few years. It might mostly be poor, urban black men that have become addicts, but the problem has been noted as well among white, affluent teenagers in places like Webster Groves. (It was a headline in the Webster Kirkwood Times in 2010.)
Drugs don't miraculously surface in these neighborhoods. There's a two sided narrative in the media and mainstream white culture about black people in poor neighborhoods with high crime rates. Somehow, urban black people are portrayed as both lazy and shiftless, but at the same time motivated, crafty hustlers, running or part of criminal gang networks with enough motivation and organization to flood the streets with illegal drugs.
Neither is a correct description. And I guarantee you the drugs are coming in from much more organized, much more solvent, and much higher up and white-skinned "gangs." Drug balloon couriers, poor immigrants, biker and prison gangs, and drug cartels could not do this alone. Many of the drug planes that come from South America re-fuel at a former DEA agent's retirement home in Costa Rica. It's time to stop kidding ourselves about how drugs get into our country.
The mainstream has been swallowing the official story, i.e., the "Kool Aid", for so long that no one seems to really question it anymore. And the answer to almost every problem in North St. Louis is MORE POLICE.
If you go out to a "nice" neighborhood with good schools, a suburb that is mostly white, where the median income is $50K or above, and many of the mothers are unemployed "stay at home" moms, and you talk to people they will say things like: "I stay involved in my children's lives, and drive them to school and know all their friends and make sure they have lots of activities after school and build character and do family things together" etc.
These "respectable" people do all those things for their children because they want their children to have healthy experiences, develop a stable foundation for life, and keep away from kids that are considered a "bad influence", drugs, and dangerous mischief and crime. And they pat themselves on the back about what great parents they are when they succeed.
It never seems to occur to them that if they think their own children are so susceptible to "bad influences" in these "nice" neighborhoods with "good" parents, that kids in bad neighborhoods might be susceptible as well, and also be surrounded by bad influences. Their parents often work more than one job. And many are public transit dependent. Kids in North city and county schools do not take a lot of field trips or have well-funded after school programs. Gangs are rampant because teens want to form close bonds with their peers and find meaning in their lives. And the community does not offer many viable alternatives. (Youth centers might supply basketball courts, but they do not supply hopeful futures or meaningful lives.)
More ironic, is the outcry from these "decent" people that the "problem" with Brown and Myers started at home with their parents. Brown's parents weren't together, but both parents were active in his life, and he was on his way to his grandmother's when he was murdered. One of the first things his mother said when she arrived at Canfield Green was "do you know how hard it was for me to keep him in school to graduate?" I've heard the same thing from parents in the suburbs, facing much fewer obstacles! Moreover, many young men expressed their hopelessness about the future "why stay in school if I am going to get shot dead anyhow (by police or criminals)?"
(You know who DID NOT have a "good" family? Officer Darren Wilson. He had an absent father and his mother was a criminal. But the Kool Aid insists that all cops are honest and good, and all black men are liars and thugs.)
The Kool Aid drinkers might be surrounded by 2nd Amendment supporters with guns, but they don't live in areas where there is a lot of crime or violence. And these "decent" people mistake their privilege for integrity. I have had to restrain myself from laughing out loud when working among these "nice" white people (who usually assume I am just like them) when they pat themselves on the back for their successes in life. They no more chose to be born white and middle class than Brown chose to be born black and low income. And they congratulate themselves on surviving the comparatively small obstacles they have had to face, while diminishing the larger problems someone like Michael Brown, Jr. had to face. (He graduated from insolvent, unaccredited Normandy school district!)
Most of these "decent" people could not stand to ride public transit for four hours a day to fast food jobs for even a week, much less years. They moan about their inability to buy a more expensive car or go on a more expensive vacation, but seem to never consider what it would be like to go their entire lives without EITHER. These are the people that have fits when someone in their HOA doesn't mow their lawn often enough, can you imagine what sort of criminals these people would become if they lived in areas with crumbling buildings and vacant homes and few businesses or jobs? They'd be the first ones to start selling crack and heroin to make enough money to buy a car and move into a better area.
I invite you to look at the comments from the article that came out about John Crawford's murder * on August 6th, when the usual story of a "dangerous thug waving a gun in a Wal Mart" was shot and murdered by police. The "official story" has since been completely debunked, and do you see any retractions or apologies in there? No. Because these "decent" people are mostly racists that believe the only good "---" is a dead "---". One less lazy, unemployed, drug dealing, welfare thief off the streets. Hooray.
These people are not good or decent or better or more hard-working. They were simply lucky enough to be born in circumstances, and usually skin color, where they succeeded. And if they really believed all the congratulatory crap about themselves that they spewed, they wouldn't feel so threatened by affirmative action or social programs. They know that the current system does not have enough jobs (although there is plenty of work that needs doing) and that while there is excess and abundance, it is concentrated among the hands of very few people.
Instead of blaming the most power and richest in society, economic predators like Rex Sinquefield (what value does a hedge fund investor really bring to society? what has he done to make the world better that he deserves such wealth?) they blame the Crawfords and the Browns and the Myers. They blame the most oppressed in society. They blame dead black men.
If anyone bothers to take crime statistics in predominantly black communities and compare it to equal populations of white people and communities at the same income level it becomes obvious that crime is related to INCOME not COLOR. (But doing that would remove the smug superiority and congratulations that white privilege bestows on its' recipients. Then these folks would just be "lucky" and nothing more.)
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/vulnerableyouth/3/index.shtml
http://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2012/09/19/income-inequalitys-strange-relationship-to-violence/
Do police stop crime or prevent it? Rarely. As I said in the "Spikes" post linked to above, these cops don't know anything about the people in the neighborhoods they patrol, don't seem to understand black culture at all (not every kid with saggy pants is a gang member or criminal) and for the most part just come to do a mop up and report.
Moreover, since most of the cops seem to think all black men are potential terrorists, they often create crime. ** The police response to John Crawford, III, Michael Brown, Jr. and VonDerrit Myers, Jr. are glaring examples of that. And in both cases the victim's were maligned to justify their murders at the hands of the police.
If calling the police means you might be inadvertently putting someone else at risk (police far too frequently mistake cell phones and toy guns for real guns, and do not seem to be able to tell black men apart "they all look the same" etc.) why call the police at all? How can the police help when they do not live in these areas and have no or little respect for the humanity of the people they police?
And what is really sickening is that none of these privileged people seem to be able to understand WHY there are protests against "cop-icide" of black men like Crawford, Brown, and Myers (and so many more). Even the cops on the STLMPD CopTalk blog act as if all black people are the same person, and that criminals and gang shootings should be treated the same as police killings. (Ironically not realizing they are, like the protesters, calling the cops criminals and thugs.)
The post link below on the Cop Talk blog is representative of this ideology. In it a poster asks "where are the Reverends?" to pray and protest when a drug deal resulted in a shooting and death in downtown St. Louis, yesterday, after "Moral Monday" actions by clergy.
http://members.boardhost.com/stlouiscoptalk/msg/1413314561.html
I'll tell you where they were: among their congregations in the many churches in North St. Louis city and county. Every day. Doing everything they can to make life better for their neighborhoods. I am especially sick of people disparaging Muslim Anthony Shahid, as he is one of the ONLY people, black or white, that has consistently reached out to young black men in the most dangerous neighborhoods in St. Louis. He might be theatrical, contentious, and possibly a separatist, but he has done more than ANY police force in turning young men away from gangs and creating viable futures for black youth of North St. Louis.
If "Black on Black Crime", as it is called by the Kool Aid drinkers, is comparable to police murdering black men, than there is the real problem right there. A cop murdering an unarmed man is not the same as a drug deal gone bad. And if you don't get that, I don't care if you are black or white or any other race or nationality, YOU are the problem. The police should serve and protect, NOT judge and execute.
(And to mimic the Cop Talk poster: where is the outcry over "white on white crime", in the case of Eric Frein or Adam Lanza? Or any of the other millions of examples of white people murdering other white people? Is it only about race when it is black people? yeah, that's what I thought.)
Law and Order is not the same as Justice and Peace. The Nazis had plenty of laws. They had more laws than any other country. And the concentration and death camps were very ordered. Right now we have "Just Us"- lawyers and judges and municipalities that have created a system where traffic tickets are a profitable business venture.
We don't need more cops, or stronger law enforcement. We need more economic equality, more jobs, better schools, healthcare, and repair of neighborhoods and infrastructure. We don't need more "order" we need more DIS-order. These violent, militarized macho cops that think they are the law or are above the law need to go. And we need to root out the racist individuals and institutionalized racism and white supremacy in Saint Louis.
The protests against the police killings of black men have nothing to do with criminals of any color killing other criminals. And more police, and especially not the kind of police that are the majority of the force right now, are not the answer to crime. I'm sorry that people have to demonstrate for 68+ days and disrupt sports games and symphonies and march through neighborhoods chanting at night to get this dialogue going.
If you find this so inconvenient, and you have all the answers, please, come move into the Canfield Green apartments or to College Hill or any black community of your choice, and live for a year, or even a month. Please come and demonstrate- literally- exactly how things are supposed to be. Since your kids are so amazing, and you are such great parents, enroll your kids in Normandy or Riverview Gardens schools, and "Show Me" how everyone can be as perfect as you.
You will learn very quickly that it takes more courage to be a black man in the U.S. than to be a police officer in the U.S. Especially in the most crime ridden neighborhoods.
Otherwise, shut the hell up, because you don't know shit and you have nothing to offer. And if you are a cop that is reading this and you work anywhere in North city or county, and you wear a "I am Darren Wilson" armband, or are any of the posters in this sickening CopTalk thread (bragging about sending protesters to the hospital and squashing freedom of speech and demonstrations: http://members.boardhost.com/stlouiscoptalk/msg/1412902526.html ): PLEASE RESIGN NOW.
In regards to the protests, since we are PROTESTING THE POLICE, you, Officer I Am Darren Wilson, are really nothing more than a counter-protester!
Police ESCALATE the anger of protesters simply by being there. And police bring so much violence, and potential for violence, and desire for violence, with them!
Officers I Am Darren Wilson, please go work in one those lillywhite "nice" neighborhoods you live in. Or convince your fellow officers to go on extended blue flu. (Don't worry, if you are one of the "Good Cops" you will be re-hired.) We The People will be able to organize a new system of policing much easier if you are gone.
THE WHOLE DAMN SYSTEM IS GUILTY AS HELL! Time for change!
Footnotes:
*Crawford murder and comments:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/man-police-shot-in-walmart-killed-over-fake-gun-fa/ngw77/#cmComments
One of the most representative comments:
Lets see here. They go to Walmart and for whatever idiotic reason he grabs,I suppose a toy gun from the shelf, and I am guessing takes it out of the packaging. I think most come in some kind of card board packaging, then starts waiving it around pointing at people to the point were folks in the store sure must have thought it was a real gun since they called 911 to report that very thing. Im sure a commotion was started and people were getting the heck out of there. And at no time during this did this guy think... Hey Im waiving a toy gun around ???why???? freaking people out. Maybe I shouldnt do that??? Or maybe the cops are gonna get called... And then of course when they do he still is waiving it around refusing to put it down.???? Why?????what was the goal here. What normal person would do this?? why would anyone do this to the point of causing a panic in the first place and then when the police come you still are doing it and wont put it down as ordered.. .. That said dont be surprised that you get shot for your efforts. This guy made the decisions to act like he did and those actions and decisions led to his death. HIS ACTIONS AND HIS DECISIONS. So his babys mamma and or the girlfriend and baby momma to be can call the NAACP Jessie Jackson and try to make it racial all you want. Call Santa Clause if you want but the bottom line is this. He made the choice to act like he did and his actions caused the outcome. Lets not forget that his actions is what started this entire sequence of events and contributed to the death of a truly innocent woman who suffered a heart attack due Im sure in part to the stress of the incident when she was in the store. An incident that HE and HE alone chose to start. That is it period. The officers actions were just and correct. Good job. Im sorry that you have to go through this but you did the right thing. never forget that.
We now know 911 caller Ronald Ritchie lied, that Crawford was carrying a bb gun pointed downward, there were no other shoppers around, and that the Swat officers shot him in less than one minute after coming through the doors of the Wal-mart. You can watch the video with the 911 dispatch here: http://youtu.be/S9FtNOV6Qhk
** Cops create crime
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Man-films-local-officers-attempt-to-intimidate-him-under-false-pretences-249957921.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Two-Hillsdale-officers-allegedly-partner-with-drug-dealers-to-steal-heroin-253004751.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-police-officer-suspended-two-prosecutors-leave-jobs-amid/article_85b82473-efba-562f-b966-7c0ec0350feb.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/drug-search-trekies-stopped-searched-illinois_n_1364087.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-county-cop-charged-with-assaulting-man-with-baton/article_267e68a7-8496-5663-8c81-a951172a904f.html
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/04/man-sues-missouri-cops-claiming-deleted-footage-police-abuse/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/29/oklahoma-cop-charged-sexual-assaults/14830063/
http://youtu.be/h65WaOSS6sE
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/03/1333925/-Is-it-a-coverup-House-of-Cards-level-corruption-in-Ferguson-and-beyond
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/09/nixon_stumps_for_rep_jeff_roorda_an_ex-cop_who_says_body_cameras_make_people_less_safe.php
https://news.vice.com/article/el-paso-releases-video-of-cop-executing-handcuffed-man-wheres-the-anger
http://topconservativenews.com/2014/05/police-state-horror-reckless-driving-cop-that-charged-his-victim-with-fake-crimes-gets-to-keep-his-badge/
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/ky3-investigation-confidential-settlements-and-police-licensing/21048998_26075114
http://www.alternet.org/more-americans-killed-police-terrorists-crime-down-why-police-aggression
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-caught-millions-seized-assets-surveillance-gear-weapons-clowns/
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/19/3472902/police-economic-ferguson/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/10/11/cash-seizures-fuel-police-spending/
http://www.kmov.com/news/crime/Police-searching-for-suspect-in-fatal-stabbing-in-north-St-Louis-279231232.html
I already said most of what I think about the spikes in violence in this post from July 15th:
http://optinstl.blogspot.com/2014/07/st-louis-spikes.html
Our country is becoming increasingly insolvent. There was no bail out in 2008, it was a band aid and only shifted the problem. Another economic crisis is looming. And who feels it first? The poorest.
Additionally, the heroin problem in the city has apparently gotten out of control in the last few years. It might mostly be poor, urban black men that have become addicts, but the problem has been noted as well among white, affluent teenagers in places like Webster Groves. (It was a headline in the Webster Kirkwood Times in 2010.)
Drugs don't miraculously surface in these neighborhoods. There's a two sided narrative in the media and mainstream white culture about black people in poor neighborhoods with high crime rates. Somehow, urban black people are portrayed as both lazy and shiftless, but at the same time motivated, crafty hustlers, running or part of criminal gang networks with enough motivation and organization to flood the streets with illegal drugs.
Neither is a correct description. And I guarantee you the drugs are coming in from much more organized, much more solvent, and much higher up and white-skinned "gangs." Drug balloon couriers, poor immigrants, biker and prison gangs, and drug cartels could not do this alone. Many of the drug planes that come from South America re-fuel at a former DEA agent's retirement home in Costa Rica. It's time to stop kidding ourselves about how drugs get into our country.
The mainstream has been swallowing the official story, i.e., the "Kool Aid", for so long that no one seems to really question it anymore. And the answer to almost every problem in North St. Louis is MORE POLICE.
If you go out to a "nice" neighborhood with good schools, a suburb that is mostly white, where the median income is $50K or above, and many of the mothers are unemployed "stay at home" moms, and you talk to people they will say things like: "I stay involved in my children's lives, and drive them to school and know all their friends and make sure they have lots of activities after school and build character and do family things together" etc.
These "respectable" people do all those things for their children because they want their children to have healthy experiences, develop a stable foundation for life, and keep away from kids that are considered a "bad influence", drugs, and dangerous mischief and crime. And they pat themselves on the back about what great parents they are when they succeed.
It never seems to occur to them that if they think their own children are so susceptible to "bad influences" in these "nice" neighborhoods with "good" parents, that kids in bad neighborhoods might be susceptible as well, and also be surrounded by bad influences. Their parents often work more than one job. And many are public transit dependent. Kids in North city and county schools do not take a lot of field trips or have well-funded after school programs. Gangs are rampant because teens want to form close bonds with their peers and find meaning in their lives. And the community does not offer many viable alternatives. (Youth centers might supply basketball courts, but they do not supply hopeful futures or meaningful lives.)
More ironic, is the outcry from these "decent" people that the "problem" with Brown and Myers started at home with their parents. Brown's parents weren't together, but both parents were active in his life, and he was on his way to his grandmother's when he was murdered. One of the first things his mother said when she arrived at Canfield Green was "do you know how hard it was for me to keep him in school to graduate?" I've heard the same thing from parents in the suburbs, facing much fewer obstacles! Moreover, many young men expressed their hopelessness about the future "why stay in school if I am going to get shot dead anyhow (by police or criminals)?"
(You know who DID NOT have a "good" family? Officer Darren Wilson. He had an absent father and his mother was a criminal. But the Kool Aid insists that all cops are honest and good, and all black men are liars and thugs.)
The Kool Aid drinkers might be surrounded by 2nd Amendment supporters with guns, but they don't live in areas where there is a lot of crime or violence. And these "decent" people mistake their privilege for integrity. I have had to restrain myself from laughing out loud when working among these "nice" white people (who usually assume I am just like them) when they pat themselves on the back for their successes in life. They no more chose to be born white and middle class than Brown chose to be born black and low income. And they congratulate themselves on surviving the comparatively small obstacles they have had to face, while diminishing the larger problems someone like Michael Brown, Jr. had to face. (He graduated from insolvent, unaccredited Normandy school district!)
Most of these "decent" people could not stand to ride public transit for four hours a day to fast food jobs for even a week, much less years. They moan about their inability to buy a more expensive car or go on a more expensive vacation, but seem to never consider what it would be like to go their entire lives without EITHER. These are the people that have fits when someone in their HOA doesn't mow their lawn often enough, can you imagine what sort of criminals these people would become if they lived in areas with crumbling buildings and vacant homes and few businesses or jobs? They'd be the first ones to start selling crack and heroin to make enough money to buy a car and move into a better area.
I invite you to look at the comments from the article that came out about John Crawford's murder * on August 6th, when the usual story of a "dangerous thug waving a gun in a Wal Mart" was shot and murdered by police. The "official story" has since been completely debunked, and do you see any retractions or apologies in there? No. Because these "decent" people are mostly racists that believe the only good "---" is a dead "---". One less lazy, unemployed, drug dealing, welfare thief off the streets. Hooray.
These people are not good or decent or better or more hard-working. They were simply lucky enough to be born in circumstances, and usually skin color, where they succeeded. And if they really believed all the congratulatory crap about themselves that they spewed, they wouldn't feel so threatened by affirmative action or social programs. They know that the current system does not have enough jobs (although there is plenty of work that needs doing) and that while there is excess and abundance, it is concentrated among the hands of very few people.
Instead of blaming the most power and richest in society, economic predators like Rex Sinquefield (what value does a hedge fund investor really bring to society? what has he done to make the world better that he deserves such wealth?) they blame the Crawfords and the Browns and the Myers. They blame the most oppressed in society. They blame dead black men.
If anyone bothers to take crime statistics in predominantly black communities and compare it to equal populations of white people and communities at the same income level it becomes obvious that crime is related to INCOME not COLOR. (But doing that would remove the smug superiority and congratulations that white privilege bestows on its' recipients. Then these folks would just be "lucky" and nothing more.)
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/vulnerableyouth/3/index.shtml
http://politicalviolenceataglance.org/2012/09/19/income-inequalitys-strange-relationship-to-violence/
Do police stop crime or prevent it? Rarely. As I said in the "Spikes" post linked to above, these cops don't know anything about the people in the neighborhoods they patrol, don't seem to understand black culture at all (not every kid with saggy pants is a gang member or criminal) and for the most part just come to do a mop up and report.
Moreover, since most of the cops seem to think all black men are potential terrorists, they often create crime. ** The police response to John Crawford, III, Michael Brown, Jr. and VonDerrit Myers, Jr. are glaring examples of that. And in both cases the victim's were maligned to justify their murders at the hands of the police.
If calling the police means you might be inadvertently putting someone else at risk (police far too frequently mistake cell phones and toy guns for real guns, and do not seem to be able to tell black men apart "they all look the same" etc.) why call the police at all? How can the police help when they do not live in these areas and have no or little respect for the humanity of the people they police?
And what is really sickening is that none of these privileged people seem to be able to understand WHY there are protests against "cop-icide" of black men like Crawford, Brown, and Myers (and so many more). Even the cops on the STLMPD CopTalk blog act as if all black people are the same person, and that criminals and gang shootings should be treated the same as police killings. (Ironically not realizing they are, like the protesters, calling the cops criminals and thugs.)
The post link below on the Cop Talk blog is representative of this ideology. In it a poster asks "where are the Reverends?" to pray and protest when a drug deal resulted in a shooting and death in downtown St. Louis, yesterday, after "Moral Monday" actions by clergy.
http://members.boardhost.com/stlouiscoptalk/msg/1413314561.html
I'll tell you where they were: among their congregations in the many churches in North St. Louis city and county. Every day. Doing everything they can to make life better for their neighborhoods. I am especially sick of people disparaging Muslim Anthony Shahid, as he is one of the ONLY people, black or white, that has consistently reached out to young black men in the most dangerous neighborhoods in St. Louis. He might be theatrical, contentious, and possibly a separatist, but he has done more than ANY police force in turning young men away from gangs and creating viable futures for black youth of North St. Louis.
If "Black on Black Crime", as it is called by the Kool Aid drinkers, is comparable to police murdering black men, than there is the real problem right there. A cop murdering an unarmed man is not the same as a drug deal gone bad. And if you don't get that, I don't care if you are black or white or any other race or nationality, YOU are the problem. The police should serve and protect, NOT judge and execute.
(And to mimic the Cop Talk poster: where is the outcry over "white on white crime", in the case of Eric Frein or Adam Lanza? Or any of the other millions of examples of white people murdering other white people? Is it only about race when it is black people? yeah, that's what I thought.)
Law and Order is not the same as Justice and Peace. The Nazis had plenty of laws. They had more laws than any other country. And the concentration and death camps were very ordered. Right now we have "Just Us"- lawyers and judges and municipalities that have created a system where traffic tickets are a profitable business venture.
We don't need more cops, or stronger law enforcement. We need more economic equality, more jobs, better schools, healthcare, and repair of neighborhoods and infrastructure. We don't need more "order" we need more DIS-order. These violent, militarized macho cops that think they are the law or are above the law need to go. And we need to root out the racist individuals and institutionalized racism and white supremacy in Saint Louis.
The protests against the police killings of black men have nothing to do with criminals of any color killing other criminals. And more police, and especially not the kind of police that are the majority of the force right now, are not the answer to crime. I'm sorry that people have to demonstrate for 68+ days and disrupt sports games and symphonies and march through neighborhoods chanting at night to get this dialogue going.
If you find this so inconvenient, and you have all the answers, please, come move into the Canfield Green apartments or to College Hill or any black community of your choice, and live for a year, or even a month. Please come and demonstrate- literally- exactly how things are supposed to be. Since your kids are so amazing, and you are such great parents, enroll your kids in Normandy or Riverview Gardens schools, and "Show Me" how everyone can be as perfect as you.
You will learn very quickly that it takes more courage to be a black man in the U.S. than to be a police officer in the U.S. Especially in the most crime ridden neighborhoods.
Otherwise, shut the hell up, because you don't know shit and you have nothing to offer. And if you are a cop that is reading this and you work anywhere in North city or county, and you wear a "I am Darren Wilson" armband, or are any of the posters in this sickening CopTalk thread (bragging about sending protesters to the hospital and squashing freedom of speech and demonstrations: http://members.boardhost.com/stlouiscoptalk/msg/1412902526.html ): PLEASE RESIGN NOW.
In regards to the protests, since we are PROTESTING THE POLICE, you, Officer I Am Darren Wilson, are really nothing more than a counter-protester!
Police ESCALATE the anger of protesters simply by being there. And police bring so much violence, and potential for violence, and desire for violence, with them!
Officers I Am Darren Wilson, please go work in one those lillywhite "nice" neighborhoods you live in. Or convince your fellow officers to go on extended blue flu. (Don't worry, if you are one of the "Good Cops" you will be re-hired.) We The People will be able to organize a new system of policing much easier if you are gone.
THE WHOLE DAMN SYSTEM IS GUILTY AS HELL! Time for change!
Footnotes:
*Crawford murder and comments:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/man-police-shot-in-walmart-killed-over-fake-gun-fa/ngw77/#cmComments
One of the most representative comments:
Lets see here. They go to Walmart and for whatever idiotic reason he grabs,I suppose a toy gun from the shelf, and I am guessing takes it out of the packaging. I think most come in some kind of card board packaging, then starts waiving it around pointing at people to the point were folks in the store sure must have thought it was a real gun since they called 911 to report that very thing. Im sure a commotion was started and people were getting the heck out of there. And at no time during this did this guy think... Hey Im waiving a toy gun around ???why???? freaking people out. Maybe I shouldnt do that??? Or maybe the cops are gonna get called... And then of course when they do he still is waiving it around refusing to put it down.???? Why?????what was the goal here. What normal person would do this?? why would anyone do this to the point of causing a panic in the first place and then when the police come you still are doing it and wont put it down as ordered.. .. That said dont be surprised that you get shot for your efforts. This guy made the decisions to act like he did and those actions and decisions led to his death. HIS ACTIONS AND HIS DECISIONS. So his babys mamma and or the girlfriend and baby momma to be can call the NAACP Jessie Jackson and try to make it racial all you want. Call Santa Clause if you want but the bottom line is this. He made the choice to act like he did and his actions caused the outcome. Lets not forget that his actions is what started this entire sequence of events and contributed to the death of a truly innocent woman who suffered a heart attack due Im sure in part to the stress of the incident when she was in the store. An incident that HE and HE alone chose to start. That is it period. The officers actions were just and correct. Good job. Im sorry that you have to go through this but you did the right thing. never forget that.
We now know 911 caller Ronald Ritchie lied, that Crawford was carrying a bb gun pointed downward, there were no other shoppers around, and that the Swat officers shot him in less than one minute after coming through the doors of the Wal-mart. You can watch the video with the 911 dispatch here: http://youtu.be/S9FtNOV6Qhk
** Cops create crime
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Man-films-local-officers-attempt-to-intimidate-him-under-false-pretences-249957921.html
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Two-Hillsdale-officers-allegedly-partner-with-drug-dealers-to-steal-heroin-253004751.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-police-officer-suspended-two-prosecutors-leave-jobs-amid/article_85b82473-efba-562f-b966-7c0ec0350feb.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/drug-search-trekies-stopped-searched-illinois_n_1364087.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-county-cop-charged-with-assaulting-man-with-baton/article_267e68a7-8496-5663-8c81-a951172a904f.html
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/04/man-sues-missouri-cops-claiming-deleted-footage-police-abuse/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/29/oklahoma-cop-charged-sexual-assaults/14830063/
http://youtu.be/h65WaOSS6sE
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/03/1333925/-Is-it-a-coverup-House-of-Cards-level-corruption-in-Ferguson-and-beyond
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/09/nixon_stumps_for_rep_jeff_roorda_an_ex-cop_who_says_body_cameras_make_people_less_safe.php
https://news.vice.com/article/el-paso-releases-video-of-cop-executing-handcuffed-man-wheres-the-anger
http://topconservativenews.com/2014/05/police-state-horror-reckless-driving-cop-that-charged-his-victim-with-fake-crimes-gets-to-keep-his-badge/
http://www.ky3.com/news/local/ky3-investigation-confidential-settlements-and-police-licensing/21048998_26075114
http://www.alternet.org/more-americans-killed-police-terrorists-crime-down-why-police-aggression
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-caught-millions-seized-assets-surveillance-gear-weapons-clowns/
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/08/19/3472902/police-economic-ferguson/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/10/11/cash-seizures-fuel-police-spending/
Sunday, October 5, 2014
THE REVOLUTION IS BEING TWEETED & DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WHITE CULTURE RACISTS, RACISTS, & WHITE SUPREMACISTS
TWITTER REVOLUTION
In case you don't know already, the revolution is not being televised but it IS being tweeted. If you want to follow what is happening in Ferguson and the struggle to get justice for the murder of Mike Brown, you need to be on twitter. Check the hashtags #Ferguson, #JusticeforMikeBrown, #ArrestDarrenWilson, #Handsupdontshoot, and #Blacklivesmatter,
If you are over 25 and not used to social media, or only used to facebook (like me), twitter is kind of hard to navigate. And it is not a good venue for complex or deep discussion, since you are limited to 140 characters per tweet, and if you are responding to someone their @twitter handle takes up some of those characters as well. Ditto if you want to add those hashtags to the convo.
Also, it can be confusing who is talking and what they are saying. Irony and sarcasm don't always come across in a single tweet. And as with any social media, people can hide behind fake names and profile pics. A whole lotta white supremacists are using black profile pics to troll Ferguson tweeters. (Footnote 1- trolls, below)
There are also a lot of opinions expressed about racism and white people that I think are too broad and generalized, and this post is my attempt to break down what I see as the main forms of racism at work in our society.
RACISM AND THE RULING CLASS
So, first, I want to establish that I think all people have the capacity to be racist. I think it is hardwired in the "snake brain" the most primitive part of the human brain. If there aren't enough resources for everyone, the people that aren't the family or tribe or people are the ones that are going to be cut out.
And racism is worldwide. I can't find a people or culture where it is not present. Buddhists in Myanmar are racist against Royhinga Muslims and Karen Christians. I've heard Nigerians make racist remarks against the Fulani tribe (when a Fulani was in power). The Chinese discriminate against the Han people. Even among American white supremacists there are divisions over what constitutes "white" ("blood in the face" or DNA, etc).
Each individual person has to make a conscious decision to not be racist or prejudice.
This why racism is such an easy tool of oppression and oppressors. Racism presents itself (again, as far as I know) in every people that have become the dominant rulers of more than one people or culture.
And most individual people never move passed the culture they were raised in if they are part of the dominant or oppressor culture because they don't have to ("White privilege"). And while the dominated cultures and people's are forced to understand and live within the dominant culture- in order to get jobs, or even be allowed to survive- as outsiders that culture is not necessarily adopted, for any number of obvious reasons.
The rare person is the one that steps outside of their own culture and learns another, or many others, and then begins to view his own culture from an outside perspective. But the majority of people seem to fall into 2 categories: The conformists who mostly embrace it, the rebels who mostly reject it. Most people seem to do a combination of both. (I.e., the Catholic that goes to mass weekly, but believes that abortion is okay, etc.)
The Ruling Classes are separate. People with this much wealth and power have so much control over their environment at all times that they can live however they choose. The Bush family that gave us two Presidential regimes are oil people. Some of their best friends are bin Laden family members. The Ruling Classes don't really give a damn about skin color, or anything other than money and power. The very small percentage of people that run this world and that suck up most of the wealth are white, Arab and Chinese. And for class society to function the Ruling Classes need two things:
1) Cheap labour from a large group of people, most of whom are surplus workers (unemployed). That way people will continue to work for low wages because there aren't enough jobs. And will be too overwhelmed working to survive to create trouble.
2) Consumers with enough of the excess wealth & privilege that they will defend the system that benefits them, and also buy a lot of crap they don't really need, and go into a cycle of income and debt that will last a lifetime (house, cars, college, etc) and will be too overwhelmed being consumers to create any trouble.
If those two groups of people got together and realized that they were fighting each other, instead of fighting the people that are robbing them, then we would have a real revolution (and it wouldn't even need to be violent). So even though the ruling classes don't give a crap about what culture or race is dominant, they need racism and oppression to exist in the world. It's the best division to keep people fighting and blaming each other for all the poverty and struggle and lack and war in the world.
If there is a "they" it is the Ruling Classes.
THE WORKING OR LOWER CLASS FOX NEWS RACIST
But most people, everywhere, only see what is in front of them. And that white guy living in a rotting trailer, on food stamps, drinks the ruling class's "Kool Aid"- in other words, buys the story- that he is living in poverty because black people and lazy people and immigrants and women are stealing his fair share of the jobs and wealth. If it weren't for affirmative action and illegal aliens, he'd have a job. If it weren't for welfare fraud and "handouts" to undeserving people he wouldn't be on food stamps himself, etc.
In fact, he believes that if only all of these other poor, oppressed people around him weren't "stealing" from him, he'd be as rich as a Walton heir. He's white and he's a Christian and that is what all the people he admires are. Of course, it's the Walton heir who is the real thief. It is the Walton heir that engages in wage-slavery, sends jobs overseas to save profits by paying less for labour, etc. But Racist is blind to that or refuses to see it. (Footnote 2- status quo)
But what about that middle or upper middle class guy Racist? Trust me, no matter how big this person's house is, it still looks like a rotting trailer to him. He only sees up, he only thinks about acquiring more, and views everyone that is not exactly like him as somehow "stealing" from him.
And even if it isn't about material wealth for the Racist, it is about having more of something- superiority, worth, religious destiny, etc. This kind of Racist doesn't feel like there is enough of whatever it is for everyone, and he is determined to have as much as he can for himself .
This type of person feels so entitled and so overburdened by diversity of any kind that he is pretty much a hopeless case, and makes up the majority of the trolls. (And is also an embryonic white supremacist, more on that in a minute.) This Racist might be worth a try in person, but on the internet it does not appear to be a worthwhile endeavour, except for maybe in a public forum or comments section, if you think you might reach the next type of racist.
THE UNAWARE "WHITE CULTURE" RACIST
Then there are the middle and upper classes that often seem more liberal or radical because they have enough privilege and comfort that they can recognize racism's existence in some parts of society. They don't need their privilege as much and are not afraid to recognize it exists, even if they know it gives them an unfair advantage.
This is where cultural racism comes in. There are a lot of white, middle class liberals that voted for Obama, but still think that anything North of Delmar is a rain of bullets and gang drivebys. They hate rap music, saggy trousers and "Ebonics" (meaning the English of black culture). They don't judge black people by their skin colour, but by the black person's culture or cultural identity.
This kind of white culture person (WCP) is not against skin color, so they get real upset when someone calls them a racist, because they probably know alot of people like the regular Racist, listed above.
In other words, they have black friends, voted for a black President, may even go at time to predominantly black areas to shop, travel to black and brown countries on vacation, etc, but somewhere inside them, sometimes very deep inside, they actually believe that black people that are black culturally are scary and different and dangerous. They are often afraid of black neighborhoods-- even those without crime-- because they don't understand black culture.
Moreover, this kind of liberal white person is often a kind of "reverse racist". They feel personal guilt for having white privilege, and even though they find some or many aspects of black culture offensive they feel that they must "make up" for the institutionalized racism against black people in this country.
And that often leads to continuing to also view all black people as a group instead of individually, but by romanticizing each black person they encounter as being saints, instead of "thugs". No black person can ever do wrong, which means black people are still not fully human, with individual flaws and characters, etc. It's also the "those poor people, they can't help it, I need to save them" hero/savior attitude. Etc.
They try too hard, make themselves uncomfortable, and get defensive. This group is not hopeless. I know because I have successfully argued with many of them in the past. Among many white people I know that are fighting for justice for Mike Brown and support the Ferguson protesters, the consensus among us is that WCP that we really need to be dealing with. These are the people we know that ask us, genuinely confused but really trying to understand, why we are not afraid to go to a protest, or go to (or live in) areas they find intimidating, etc.
(I should add that I know a few black people that are also "white culture racists". Not kidding. If I shut my eyes while talking to these men their words sound like white men's words.)
White culture person (WCP): I get the First Amendment and freedom of speech and peacefully protesting, but this civil disobedience, like sitting in the street, or banging drums and walking through the neighborhoods chanting after 11 at night, how can you support that?
Me: The protesters are doing the same things that white people- and the Civil Rights movement- have done throughout US history to affect change. Make sure you are not viewing them through the mainstream lens of "all black people are inherent 'thugs' and 'criminals' " and then look again. What makes them different from the suffragists? Or Occupy?
This isn't just about Mike Brown and one racist cop, this is about institutionalized racism and 450 years of oppression.
Consider how hard black people have had to fight for their rights in this country. If this had happened in Kirkwood and Michael Brown had been white, Darren Wilson would have been in jail after the first night and a silent candlelight vigil. St. Louis has quarantined the black lower classes in North city and county, far from all the white people in power. They have to make a lot of noise. These kids have to shout at the top of their lungs all day and all night to get anyone to really listen or take them seriously simply because they are black.
WCP: How is (whatever protester action) helping anything? What is it doing? It might be alienating people that might otherwise be on the side of the protesters."
Me: Most of the people that would be alienated by civil disobedience are unlikely to affect any real change in ANY sphere of society or any issue. You should be thanking the protesters for challenging the status quo and revealing just how fascistic our society has become. Save your condemnations for the police that teargassed their own citizens. I'd rather have drums banging than teargas in my neighbourhood wouldn't you? I'd rather have people protesting than cops shooting unarmed teenagers.
(I also suggest bringing up the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia in the 80's, in addition the the teargassing down in Ferguson, when talking to the WCP.)
I've been having the above type of conversation with WCP for a long time, before Brown's murder. If I recognize that a person has the ability or desire to change but is really trapped by the system or beliefs they live in, I try to remain open and not be too reactive. Because I WANT them to come talk to me about things like Brown's murder and the Ferguson protests. Otherwise they are just talking to other white people who might be racist or might be clueless.
So, if you encounter a WCP you feel like has real questions, try to stay open to them, even if they are really angry or generally repulsive. Trust your heart. Sometimes the most imprisoned people are yelling the loudest and/or angriest. Also, remember you may not get an immediate reaction to your words. It could be hours, days, months, years, etc. Get your ego and need for immediate change out of your head for better results.
What also helps with these kind of White Culture People (WCP) is to bring up parallels in their own ancestry and history. (This on my personal blog: http://www.laladyrae.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-on-how-to-explain-things-to-fox.html )
You probably will have to have the same conversation over and over again with each WCP. In regards to Browns death, even the white people that think Brown's death was awful, that even if he did punch Wilson, etc, he didn't deserve to die. The WCP might also think that there were legitimate grounds for Wilson shooting Brown. And this is tricky, because it really requires that the WCP understand things they have no experience with. But if they have a mind that wants to be open, they will listen and try.
The official story that Mike Brown grabbed for Wilson's gun or attacked Wilson in any way is flat out unbelievable. But you have to be able to see cultural and class differences to see why.
"Nice" middle class white people are cultured to not argue with the police. And your well-meaning WCP is probably one of these people. Their idea of protest is to rent a community room and have speakers and food and to march with a permit, single file on a sidewalk during daylight hours when the weather is nice. They are voters and taxpayers and their phone calls to City Hall get answered when they call politicians and judges. They sign petitions and expect legislation to follow. They are taken seriously by the Ruling Classes and the government. (At least to a point, but this post is long enough.)
In their minds, they know that white people are, in fact, often disrespectful to police and shove store clerks. They know that Webster Groves has a growing population of white high school students addicted to heroin. And maybe even they themselves have stolen cigarettes or bought beer illegally, or used a fake I.D. to get into a bar, or even been disrespectful to police But Webster is not poor and is not violent. It's not that white people are inherently nice or better, but that the middle classes are mostly white, and middle class culture is not poor or openly violent.
And since the WCP matters to society, is the part of society the Ruling Classes rely on to "keep order", the police are not likely to shoot white suburban teenagers for being mouthy. If that were the norm, yours truly would have been shot by police 30 years ago.
To really get through to the WCP you need to bring these things up. You need to point out how many white people would be afraid of Mike Brown simply because he was a large black man. All white people know that paranoid white woman that clutches her purse and cringes when she sees a large black man. All white people know someone that becomes either overly friendly or overly hostile when a black person shows up at an otherwise usually all white social function.
In fact, the WCP you are trying to reach probably has similar conversations with the purse clutcher. As in, "That's my friend so and so, he's employed, professional, speaks English like a white person, listens to white music not rap, stop judging all black people." (I've overheard these convo's.)
Institutionalized racism and mainstream media work hard to equate black culture as synonymous with gangster criminals. So when your WCP hears that Mike Brown and Dorian Johnston were disrespectful to a policeman and shoved a store clerk, they are vulnerable to exactly the manipulation Jackson and McCulloch have used so skillfully, even if they are not skin-color racist.
So now, get your White Culture Person to think about life from Mike Brown's shoes. Ask them to imagine how often Brown would have been seen as a threat and had to deal with either that over-arching false niceness, or heavy handed hostility- both of which were rooted in fear.
And even if Darren Wilson was the first time Brown had interacted with the police (and I really doubt that, not because I think he had a juvenile record, but because I have never met a black male over the age of 10 that has not been stopped/harassed/questioned/detained by the police) why would ANYONE think Brown grabbed for Wilson's gun?
You can only buy that if you believe that Brown really was a lawless thug and thief with no regard for his own life. If you point out that he was a teenager, that he was likely used to much worse police harassment than an order to "get the fuck on the sidewalk", and that he knew well that any interaction with the police needed to be taken more seriously by a black person than a white person, what you see is a teenage kid trying to assert what little dignity he has. "We almost to our destination," Johnson said he and Brown responded to Wilson's order.
(That Wilson was concerned about Brown and Johnson's safety as pedestrians in the street is ludicrous. The OPTINSTL blog is entirely about how little anyone in power cares about pedestrians and transit riders of any color, in most areas of St. Louis city and county. You might be able to convince me that Wilson was irritated about his vehicle's right of way being impeded by two men he obviously viewed as "thugs", with or without knowledge of the alleged stolen cigarillos or incident with the clerk at Ferguson Market, which I also think is bogus.)
My take on what happened: I can see Brown being a rebellious teenager and fed up with being targeted by cops, and "mouthing off"- i.e., not immediately obeying or saying "yes sir" at Wilson.
But punching a cop and trying to steal his gun? That would be a big step even for a hardened criminal or gang member. EVERY black man would know that brought a death sentence. And tragically, in Brown's case, that death sentence was handed down simply for "contempt of cop".
(And probably because Wilson did open his car door suddenly, to grab for Brown through the window, and Brown did pull his arm away, and the door bounced back. And there was "the tussle" which Wilson ended when he pulled out his gun and Brown and Johnson fled instead of immediately surrendering on their knees, in submission, which is what all the racists seem to think is what should have happened. Whereas I think Brown running away probably saved Johnson's life as well. Or at least saved Johnson from being shot and injured.)
You can only buy the official story if you view all black men as criminals and terrorists. And if you buy that all policeman are good and that there is no institutionalized racism or corruption. And WCP usually only need to be really challenged on these two beliefs, and given freedom to express views that they hold that they do not realize are racist and unfounded in reality. (In other words, give them the chance to throw out the bathwater, and save the baby.)
Just keep pointing out to WCP the far too many examples of police brutality and abuse against black people, particularly black men. As a white person with any knowledge and understanding of the black community, and especially how differently black people are treated by the police, the best thing you can do is challenge WCP on their racism.
THE SERIOUS WHITE SUPREMACISTS
Now, about those white supremacists. This is a whole different breed of person. These people are not mainstream. And while there are certainly many white supremacists in the Ruling and middle classes, the culture itself comes from poor white people, like the Fox News watching trailer trash Racist I described earlier.
There is a reason the biggest white supremacy group, the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), is a prison gang. These Kluxers and White Revolution and neo-nazi's (WR) are the white boys that have the same type of encounters with the police that black people do. Except these guys really are all criminals. And ironically, whereas black men are all mostly viewed as being the same by police, these white men are singled out and known individually in their communities. In other words, to be white and have the police treat you like a black person, you have to work to distinguish yourself. (Another example of institutionalized and cultural racism and oppression, think about it. White people retain their own identities, are recognized as individuals, etc.)
Being white is the only thing that makes feel better about themselves. It gives them a lot of people to blame for their problems in the world. That's pretty sad and scary, in and of itself. Coupled with the fact that these are very violent men by nature. The more violent and hateful they are, the more they feel like real men. Real men fight. Real men kill. Real men hate their enemies and give them no quarter. They equate violence and lack of mercy with strength and power.
(Take a look at these mugshots of the Aryan Brotherhood leadership. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Trials-seek-to-crush-Aryan-Brotherhood-2502116.php That is a genuinely scary person. If cops like Darren Wilson cannot tell the threat difference between a big, cocky teenager with black skin and a guy like that Aryan Brotherhood leader pictured, they should not be carrying a gun. Worse, if Wilson and cops like him are white supremacists, I don't want them carrying guns at all.)
But most importantly, white supremacists have made a conscious decision to exclude everyone but other white people that believe in white supremacy. I have white skin and they hate me. There is really no way to get through to them. You can humiliate them by pointing out world population statistics and how no matter what they do, white people are becoming the minority. (Footnote 3)
You find more middle class whites in the neo-Nazi and White Revolution groups. The level of violence is usually in direct proportion to how violent the person (men mostly) is as an individual. All seem to have very violent fantasies, but whether they become violent has to do with culture and opportunity. They are essentially less isolated and more united Adam Lanza's and James Holmes. More integrated into their family lives and society (precisely because it is that white family and white society they are avenging/protecting) than the "average" random shooter (who is violent and delusional but cut off from any unified group or culture). But violent sociopaths nonetheless.
These people are only dangerous if events in Ferguson or the U.S. become chaotic or violent enough for them to feel comfortable enough to fit their own violent acts in without being noticed. I doubt at this point that will happen, because there are too many of the WCP on our side or on the fence.
However, on the third or fourth night of the protests after Brown's murder, there was a news report of four armed white men in a car on West Florissant. My first thought when I heard this was that these were White Revolution people had been motivated to see if in the chaos, they might be able to go shoot some ----- (you know the word).
I do worry about individual sociopaths trying to instigate violence, but so far the movement seems to be very strong and very good at isolating and removing troublemakers. Another worry I had was that KKKops might try to start a race war, but the few that have been exposed by livestreams and their own social media pages have shown that society is not on their side.
On the internet the only directly effective way to deal with the white supremacists trolls is with non-violence and humor, as violence only escalates things, and as they have no ability to respond to humor. Humiliation, especially sexual humiliation, delivered by white women these men find attractive or desirable. Also making light of what they say ("haha you called me a N--- lover, oh I'm so hurt, no one has every called me that before." or "Oh I'm so shocked you used a racial slur, how offensive, gee I've never heard that before! Go away troll and come back when you have some new material! lol")
They are deadly serious and racist hate is their entire life's meaning. If you can, make them insignificant and then ignore them as much as possible.
Otherwise, it is best to get to know who they are and keep an eye on them, be watchful about any situation involving them escalating (hence the humor) and to continue working to create an environment that is hostile and excluding to them.
I think the best way to continue creating a diverse and "anti-racist" environment is to keep talking to the WCP, the white cultural racist person, about racism and racists and the institutionalized racism of this country, and pointing out how a country where everyone was truly equal would benefit us all.
I hope this is helpful.
Thanks for reading this. Sorry it is so long. Below are things I edited out and turned into footnotes. I also deleted stuff that really needs to be stand alone blog posts. I have a hard time not going off on tangents.
1) TROLL- A troll is someone that makes it a point to follow and respond antagonistically. For instance, regarding Mike Brown and Ferguson, I am attacked by trolls. But I sometimes am a troll when I go to right wing sites and make antagonistic comments to them. Then there is trolling the trolls- finding the haters and racists and following them back, attacking all their posts. Something I enjoy at times, but lately have had no time for. There are just too many of them and they all say the same things.
2) STATUS QUO Ironically, it is the lower classes- working and poverty level-- that often have to invest the most into the current status quo just get a step up on the ladder. The idea of a revolution or change means that the ladder will be toppled, and all humans fear change. If the ladder goes, then so goes the only chance to better his life that he can see in his narrow little world. And since he has so few opportunities for advance in his own life, he unwittingly fights to preserve the status quo that is actually his enemy, too.
3) ARYAN BROTHERHOOD With the Aryan Brotherhood, despite what you hear about the amount of black men that are locked up, the prisons are still full of mostly white people, because white people are the majority in this country.
But in places like Los Angeles, as Hispanic people (either born here or immigrants) become the majority, their numbers grew in the prison system, too. The Aryan Brotherhood had to form alliances with gangs like the Mexican Mafia and El Salvador's MS-13. The Aryan Brotherhood had to include brown skinned gangs or risk those gangs uniting with the black gangs against them. (All oppressive systems follow the same principles. And all are rooted in the use of violence, fear and hate.)
In case you don't know already, the revolution is not being televised but it IS being tweeted. If you want to follow what is happening in Ferguson and the struggle to get justice for the murder of Mike Brown, you need to be on twitter. Check the hashtags #Ferguson, #JusticeforMikeBrown, #ArrestDarrenWilson, #Handsupdontshoot, and #Blacklivesmatter,
If you are over 25 and not used to social media, or only used to facebook (like me), twitter is kind of hard to navigate. And it is not a good venue for complex or deep discussion, since you are limited to 140 characters per tweet, and if you are responding to someone their @twitter handle takes up some of those characters as well. Ditto if you want to add those hashtags to the convo.
Also, it can be confusing who is talking and what they are saying. Irony and sarcasm don't always come across in a single tweet. And as with any social media, people can hide behind fake names and profile pics. A whole lotta white supremacists are using black profile pics to troll Ferguson tweeters. (Footnote 1- trolls, below)
There are also a lot of opinions expressed about racism and white people that I think are too broad and generalized, and this post is my attempt to break down what I see as the main forms of racism at work in our society.
RACISM AND THE RULING CLASS
So, first, I want to establish that I think all people have the capacity to be racist. I think it is hardwired in the "snake brain" the most primitive part of the human brain. If there aren't enough resources for everyone, the people that aren't the family or tribe or people are the ones that are going to be cut out.
And racism is worldwide. I can't find a people or culture where it is not present. Buddhists in Myanmar are racist against Royhinga Muslims and Karen Christians. I've heard Nigerians make racist remarks against the Fulani tribe (when a Fulani was in power). The Chinese discriminate against the Han people. Even among American white supremacists there are divisions over what constitutes "white" ("blood in the face" or DNA, etc).
Each individual person has to make a conscious decision to not be racist or prejudice.
This why racism is such an easy tool of oppression and oppressors. Racism presents itself (again, as far as I know) in every people that have become the dominant rulers of more than one people or culture.
And most individual people never move passed the culture they were raised in if they are part of the dominant or oppressor culture because they don't have to ("White privilege"). And while the dominated cultures and people's are forced to understand and live within the dominant culture- in order to get jobs, or even be allowed to survive- as outsiders that culture is not necessarily adopted, for any number of obvious reasons.
The rare person is the one that steps outside of their own culture and learns another, or many others, and then begins to view his own culture from an outside perspective. But the majority of people seem to fall into 2 categories: The conformists who mostly embrace it, the rebels who mostly reject it. Most people seem to do a combination of both. (I.e., the Catholic that goes to mass weekly, but believes that abortion is okay, etc.)
The Ruling Classes are separate. People with this much wealth and power have so much control over their environment at all times that they can live however they choose. The Bush family that gave us two Presidential regimes are oil people. Some of their best friends are bin Laden family members. The Ruling Classes don't really give a damn about skin color, or anything other than money and power. The very small percentage of people that run this world and that suck up most of the wealth are white, Arab and Chinese. And for class society to function the Ruling Classes need two things:
1) Cheap labour from a large group of people, most of whom are surplus workers (unemployed). That way people will continue to work for low wages because there aren't enough jobs. And will be too overwhelmed working to survive to create trouble.
2) Consumers with enough of the excess wealth & privilege that they will defend the system that benefits them, and also buy a lot of crap they don't really need, and go into a cycle of income and debt that will last a lifetime (house, cars, college, etc) and will be too overwhelmed being consumers to create any trouble.
If those two groups of people got together and realized that they were fighting each other, instead of fighting the people that are robbing them, then we would have a real revolution (and it wouldn't even need to be violent). So even though the ruling classes don't give a crap about what culture or race is dominant, they need racism and oppression to exist in the world. It's the best division to keep people fighting and blaming each other for all the poverty and struggle and lack and war in the world.
If there is a "they" it is the Ruling Classes.
THE WORKING OR LOWER CLASS FOX NEWS RACIST
But most people, everywhere, only see what is in front of them. And that white guy living in a rotting trailer, on food stamps, drinks the ruling class's "Kool Aid"- in other words, buys the story- that he is living in poverty because black people and lazy people and immigrants and women are stealing his fair share of the jobs and wealth. If it weren't for affirmative action and illegal aliens, he'd have a job. If it weren't for welfare fraud and "handouts" to undeserving people he wouldn't be on food stamps himself, etc.
In fact, he believes that if only all of these other poor, oppressed people around him weren't "stealing" from him, he'd be as rich as a Walton heir. He's white and he's a Christian and that is what all the people he admires are. Of course, it's the Walton heir who is the real thief. It is the Walton heir that engages in wage-slavery, sends jobs overseas to save profits by paying less for labour, etc. But Racist is blind to that or refuses to see it. (Footnote 2- status quo)
But what about that middle or upper middle class guy Racist? Trust me, no matter how big this person's house is, it still looks like a rotting trailer to him. He only sees up, he only thinks about acquiring more, and views everyone that is not exactly like him as somehow "stealing" from him.
And even if it isn't about material wealth for the Racist, it is about having more of something- superiority, worth, religious destiny, etc. This kind of Racist doesn't feel like there is enough of whatever it is for everyone, and he is determined to have as much as he can for himself .
This type of person feels so entitled and so overburdened by diversity of any kind that he is pretty much a hopeless case, and makes up the majority of the trolls. (And is also an embryonic white supremacist, more on that in a minute.) This Racist might be worth a try in person, but on the internet it does not appear to be a worthwhile endeavour, except for maybe in a public forum or comments section, if you think you might reach the next type of racist.
THE UNAWARE "WHITE CULTURE" RACIST
Then there are the middle and upper classes that often seem more liberal or radical because they have enough privilege and comfort that they can recognize racism's existence in some parts of society. They don't need their privilege as much and are not afraid to recognize it exists, even if they know it gives them an unfair advantage.
This is where cultural racism comes in. There are a lot of white, middle class liberals that voted for Obama, but still think that anything North of Delmar is a rain of bullets and gang drivebys. They hate rap music, saggy trousers and "Ebonics" (meaning the English of black culture). They don't judge black people by their skin colour, but by the black person's culture or cultural identity.
This kind of white culture person (WCP) is not against skin color, so they get real upset when someone calls them a racist, because they probably know alot of people like the regular Racist, listed above.
In other words, they have black friends, voted for a black President, may even go at time to predominantly black areas to shop, travel to black and brown countries on vacation, etc, but somewhere inside them, sometimes very deep inside, they actually believe that black people that are black culturally are scary and different and dangerous. They are often afraid of black neighborhoods-- even those without crime-- because they don't understand black culture.
Moreover, this kind of liberal white person is often a kind of "reverse racist". They feel personal guilt for having white privilege, and even though they find some or many aspects of black culture offensive they feel that they must "make up" for the institutionalized racism against black people in this country.
And that often leads to continuing to also view all black people as a group instead of individually, but by romanticizing each black person they encounter as being saints, instead of "thugs". No black person can ever do wrong, which means black people are still not fully human, with individual flaws and characters, etc. It's also the "those poor people, they can't help it, I need to save them" hero/savior attitude. Etc.
They try too hard, make themselves uncomfortable, and get defensive. This group is not hopeless. I know because I have successfully argued with many of them in the past. Among many white people I know that are fighting for justice for Mike Brown and support the Ferguson protesters, the consensus among us is that WCP that we really need to be dealing with. These are the people we know that ask us, genuinely confused but really trying to understand, why we are not afraid to go to a protest, or go to (or live in) areas they find intimidating, etc.
(I should add that I know a few black people that are also "white culture racists". Not kidding. If I shut my eyes while talking to these men their words sound like white men's words.)
White culture person (WCP): I get the First Amendment and freedom of speech and peacefully protesting, but this civil disobedience, like sitting in the street, or banging drums and walking through the neighborhoods chanting after 11 at night, how can you support that?
Me: The protesters are doing the same things that white people- and the Civil Rights movement- have done throughout US history to affect change. Make sure you are not viewing them through the mainstream lens of "all black people are inherent 'thugs' and 'criminals' " and then look again. What makes them different from the suffragists? Or Occupy?
This isn't just about Mike Brown and one racist cop, this is about institutionalized racism and 450 years of oppression.
Consider how hard black people have had to fight for their rights in this country. If this had happened in Kirkwood and Michael Brown had been white, Darren Wilson would have been in jail after the first night and a silent candlelight vigil. St. Louis has quarantined the black lower classes in North city and county, far from all the white people in power. They have to make a lot of noise. These kids have to shout at the top of their lungs all day and all night to get anyone to really listen or take them seriously simply because they are black.
WCP: How is (whatever protester action) helping anything? What is it doing? It might be alienating people that might otherwise be on the side of the protesters."
Me: Most of the people that would be alienated by civil disobedience are unlikely to affect any real change in ANY sphere of society or any issue. You should be thanking the protesters for challenging the status quo and revealing just how fascistic our society has become. Save your condemnations for the police that teargassed their own citizens. I'd rather have drums banging than teargas in my neighbourhood wouldn't you? I'd rather have people protesting than cops shooting unarmed teenagers.
(I also suggest bringing up the bombing of MOVE in Philadelphia in the 80's, in addition the the teargassing down in Ferguson, when talking to the WCP.)
I've been having the above type of conversation with WCP for a long time, before Brown's murder. If I recognize that a person has the ability or desire to change but is really trapped by the system or beliefs they live in, I try to remain open and not be too reactive. Because I WANT them to come talk to me about things like Brown's murder and the Ferguson protests. Otherwise they are just talking to other white people who might be racist or might be clueless.
So, if you encounter a WCP you feel like has real questions, try to stay open to them, even if they are really angry or generally repulsive. Trust your heart. Sometimes the most imprisoned people are yelling the loudest and/or angriest. Also, remember you may not get an immediate reaction to your words. It could be hours, days, months, years, etc. Get your ego and need for immediate change out of your head for better results.
What also helps with these kind of White Culture People (WCP) is to bring up parallels in their own ancestry and history. (This on my personal blog: http://www.laladyrae.blogspot.com/2014/08/more-on-how-to-explain-things-to-fox.html )
You probably will have to have the same conversation over and over again with each WCP. In regards to Browns death, even the white people that think Brown's death was awful, that even if he did punch Wilson, etc, he didn't deserve to die. The WCP might also think that there were legitimate grounds for Wilson shooting Brown. And this is tricky, because it really requires that the WCP understand things they have no experience with. But if they have a mind that wants to be open, they will listen and try.
The official story that Mike Brown grabbed for Wilson's gun or attacked Wilson in any way is flat out unbelievable. But you have to be able to see cultural and class differences to see why.
"Nice" middle class white people are cultured to not argue with the police. And your well-meaning WCP is probably one of these people. Their idea of protest is to rent a community room and have speakers and food and to march with a permit, single file on a sidewalk during daylight hours when the weather is nice. They are voters and taxpayers and their phone calls to City Hall get answered when they call politicians and judges. They sign petitions and expect legislation to follow. They are taken seriously by the Ruling Classes and the government. (At least to a point, but this post is long enough.)
In their minds, they know that white people are, in fact, often disrespectful to police and shove store clerks. They know that Webster Groves has a growing population of white high school students addicted to heroin. And maybe even they themselves have stolen cigarettes or bought beer illegally, or used a fake I.D. to get into a bar, or even been disrespectful to police But Webster is not poor and is not violent. It's not that white people are inherently nice or better, but that the middle classes are mostly white, and middle class culture is not poor or openly violent.
And since the WCP matters to society, is the part of society the Ruling Classes rely on to "keep order", the police are not likely to shoot white suburban teenagers for being mouthy. If that were the norm, yours truly would have been shot by police 30 years ago.
To really get through to the WCP you need to bring these things up. You need to point out how many white people would be afraid of Mike Brown simply because he was a large black man. All white people know that paranoid white woman that clutches her purse and cringes when she sees a large black man. All white people know someone that becomes either overly friendly or overly hostile when a black person shows up at an otherwise usually all white social function.
In fact, the WCP you are trying to reach probably has similar conversations with the purse clutcher. As in, "That's my friend so and so, he's employed, professional, speaks English like a white person, listens to white music not rap, stop judging all black people." (I've overheard these convo's.)
Institutionalized racism and mainstream media work hard to equate black culture as synonymous with gangster criminals. So when your WCP hears that Mike Brown and Dorian Johnston were disrespectful to a policeman and shoved a store clerk, they are vulnerable to exactly the manipulation Jackson and McCulloch have used so skillfully, even if they are not skin-color racist.
So now, get your White Culture Person to think about life from Mike Brown's shoes. Ask them to imagine how often Brown would have been seen as a threat and had to deal with either that over-arching false niceness, or heavy handed hostility- both of which were rooted in fear.
And even if Darren Wilson was the first time Brown had interacted with the police (and I really doubt that, not because I think he had a juvenile record, but because I have never met a black male over the age of 10 that has not been stopped/harassed/questioned/detained by the police) why would ANYONE think Brown grabbed for Wilson's gun?
You can only buy that if you believe that Brown really was a lawless thug and thief with no regard for his own life. If you point out that he was a teenager, that he was likely used to much worse police harassment than an order to "get the fuck on the sidewalk", and that he knew well that any interaction with the police needed to be taken more seriously by a black person than a white person, what you see is a teenage kid trying to assert what little dignity he has. "We almost to our destination," Johnson said he and Brown responded to Wilson's order.
(That Wilson was concerned about Brown and Johnson's safety as pedestrians in the street is ludicrous. The OPTINSTL blog is entirely about how little anyone in power cares about pedestrians and transit riders of any color, in most areas of St. Louis city and county. You might be able to convince me that Wilson was irritated about his vehicle's right of way being impeded by two men he obviously viewed as "thugs", with or without knowledge of the alleged stolen cigarillos or incident with the clerk at Ferguson Market, which I also think is bogus.)
My take on what happened: I can see Brown being a rebellious teenager and fed up with being targeted by cops, and "mouthing off"- i.e., not immediately obeying or saying "yes sir" at Wilson.
But punching a cop and trying to steal his gun? That would be a big step even for a hardened criminal or gang member. EVERY black man would know that brought a death sentence. And tragically, in Brown's case, that death sentence was handed down simply for "contempt of cop".
(And probably because Wilson did open his car door suddenly, to grab for Brown through the window, and Brown did pull his arm away, and the door bounced back. And there was "the tussle" which Wilson ended when he pulled out his gun and Brown and Johnson fled instead of immediately surrendering on their knees, in submission, which is what all the racists seem to think is what should have happened. Whereas I think Brown running away probably saved Johnson's life as well. Or at least saved Johnson from being shot and injured.)
You can only buy the official story if you view all black men as criminals and terrorists. And if you buy that all policeman are good and that there is no institutionalized racism or corruption. And WCP usually only need to be really challenged on these two beliefs, and given freedom to express views that they hold that they do not realize are racist and unfounded in reality. (In other words, give them the chance to throw out the bathwater, and save the baby.)
Just keep pointing out to WCP the far too many examples of police brutality and abuse against black people, particularly black men. As a white person with any knowledge and understanding of the black community, and especially how differently black people are treated by the police, the best thing you can do is challenge WCP on their racism.
THE SERIOUS WHITE SUPREMACISTS
Now, about those white supremacists. This is a whole different breed of person. These people are not mainstream. And while there are certainly many white supremacists in the Ruling and middle classes, the culture itself comes from poor white people, like the Fox News watching trailer trash Racist I described earlier.
There is a reason the biggest white supremacy group, the Aryan Brotherhood (AB), is a prison gang. These Kluxers and White Revolution and neo-nazi's (WR) are the white boys that have the same type of encounters with the police that black people do. Except these guys really are all criminals. And ironically, whereas black men are all mostly viewed as being the same by police, these white men are singled out and known individually in their communities. In other words, to be white and have the police treat you like a black person, you have to work to distinguish yourself. (Another example of institutionalized and cultural racism and oppression, think about it. White people retain their own identities, are recognized as individuals, etc.)
Being white is the only thing that makes feel better about themselves. It gives them a lot of people to blame for their problems in the world. That's pretty sad and scary, in and of itself. Coupled with the fact that these are very violent men by nature. The more violent and hateful they are, the more they feel like real men. Real men fight. Real men kill. Real men hate their enemies and give them no quarter. They equate violence and lack of mercy with strength and power.
(Take a look at these mugshots of the Aryan Brotherhood leadership. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Trials-seek-to-crush-Aryan-Brotherhood-2502116.php That is a genuinely scary person. If cops like Darren Wilson cannot tell the threat difference between a big, cocky teenager with black skin and a guy like that Aryan Brotherhood leader pictured, they should not be carrying a gun. Worse, if Wilson and cops like him are white supremacists, I don't want them carrying guns at all.)
But most importantly, white supremacists have made a conscious decision to exclude everyone but other white people that believe in white supremacy. I have white skin and they hate me. There is really no way to get through to them. You can humiliate them by pointing out world population statistics and how no matter what they do, white people are becoming the minority. (Footnote 3)
You find more middle class whites in the neo-Nazi and White Revolution groups. The level of violence is usually in direct proportion to how violent the person (men mostly) is as an individual. All seem to have very violent fantasies, but whether they become violent has to do with culture and opportunity. They are essentially less isolated and more united Adam Lanza's and James Holmes. More integrated into their family lives and society (precisely because it is that white family and white society they are avenging/protecting) than the "average" random shooter (who is violent and delusional but cut off from any unified group or culture). But violent sociopaths nonetheless.
These people are only dangerous if events in Ferguson or the U.S. become chaotic or violent enough for them to feel comfortable enough to fit their own violent acts in without being noticed. I doubt at this point that will happen, because there are too many of the WCP on our side or on the fence.
However, on the third or fourth night of the protests after Brown's murder, there was a news report of four armed white men in a car on West Florissant. My first thought when I heard this was that these were White Revolution people had been motivated to see if in the chaos, they might be able to go shoot some ----- (you know the word).
I do worry about individual sociopaths trying to instigate violence, but so far the movement seems to be very strong and very good at isolating and removing troublemakers. Another worry I had was that KKKops might try to start a race war, but the few that have been exposed by livestreams and their own social media pages have shown that society is not on their side.
On the internet the only directly effective way to deal with the white supremacists trolls is with non-violence and humor, as violence only escalates things, and as they have no ability to respond to humor. Humiliation, especially sexual humiliation, delivered by white women these men find attractive or desirable. Also making light of what they say ("haha you called me a N--- lover, oh I'm so hurt, no one has every called me that before." or "Oh I'm so shocked you used a racial slur, how offensive, gee I've never heard that before! Go away troll and come back when you have some new material! lol")
They are deadly serious and racist hate is their entire life's meaning. If you can, make them insignificant and then ignore them as much as possible.
Otherwise, it is best to get to know who they are and keep an eye on them, be watchful about any situation involving them escalating (hence the humor) and to continue working to create an environment that is hostile and excluding to them.
I think the best way to continue creating a diverse and "anti-racist" environment is to keep talking to the WCP, the white cultural racist person, about racism and racists and the institutionalized racism of this country, and pointing out how a country where everyone was truly equal would benefit us all.
I hope this is helpful.
Thanks for reading this. Sorry it is so long. Below are things I edited out and turned into footnotes. I also deleted stuff that really needs to be stand alone blog posts. I have a hard time not going off on tangents.
1) TROLL- A troll is someone that makes it a point to follow and respond antagonistically. For instance, regarding Mike Brown and Ferguson, I am attacked by trolls. But I sometimes am a troll when I go to right wing sites and make antagonistic comments to them. Then there is trolling the trolls- finding the haters and racists and following them back, attacking all their posts. Something I enjoy at times, but lately have had no time for. There are just too many of them and they all say the same things.
2) STATUS QUO Ironically, it is the lower classes- working and poverty level-- that often have to invest the most into the current status quo just get a step up on the ladder. The idea of a revolution or change means that the ladder will be toppled, and all humans fear change. If the ladder goes, then so goes the only chance to better his life that he can see in his narrow little world. And since he has so few opportunities for advance in his own life, he unwittingly fights to preserve the status quo that is actually his enemy, too.
3) ARYAN BROTHERHOOD With the Aryan Brotherhood, despite what you hear about the amount of black men that are locked up, the prisons are still full of mostly white people, because white people are the majority in this country.
But in places like Los Angeles, as Hispanic people (either born here or immigrants) become the majority, their numbers grew in the prison system, too. The Aryan Brotherhood had to form alliances with gangs like the Mexican Mafia and El Salvador's MS-13. The Aryan Brotherhood had to include brown skinned gangs or risk those gangs uniting with the black gangs against them. (All oppressive systems follow the same principles. And all are rooted in the use of violence, fear and hate.)
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