2020 Protests megathread

[PSOL]

CHAZ is getting mainstream attention

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

[lfromnj]

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1271154145739800578

Ted cruz's meme game on twitter is once in a while surprisingly good

[NOVA Green]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

Well, to be fair (although I don't believe I was one of those individuals calling for a Waco style resolution), the individuals and organizations behind the "Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation" were a bit more than "just a bunch of rednecks taking over an abandoned hunting cabin", but rather included some hardcore activists and organizers, including a current Washington State Republican Legislator Matt Shea, an avowed White Supremacist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Shea

The story behind the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation is an interesting read if anyone has 10-15 minutes to get the "Reader's Digest" version:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge

Needless to say there's a bit of a difference between a small number of people taking over a few City Blocks in Seattle to try to establish an "alternative center", versus essentially a massive number of armed militants seizing a Federal Wildlife Refuge, with convoys of hundreds of armed Militia supporters on the perimeters...

Although I certainly don't support extreme Government overreaction to deal with those types of folks, there are many overlaps between groups like the 3% ers,  as well as many of these other Militia type Organizations, and active White Supremacist organizations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Percenters

The Anti Defamation League (as always) does a good job in profiling this movement, albeit focusing primarily on the core organizers rather than all of the other "supporters" who provided an exterior armed perimeter patrol to prevent a forcible eviction of the occupiers....

(Again a good 10-15 minute read or skim through in 5 Min).

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Anatomy-of-a-Standoff-MalheurOccupiers.pdf

Needless to say, I believe any comparison between the current protest movement sweeping the nation and these types of militia formations  is not only misguided, but additionally demonstrates how real the threat of massive domestic terrorism coming from such Right Wing Militia and White Supremacist groups is, as it was when the Oklahoma City Federal Building was hit back in the early '90s, when we have armed militia vigilante style "counter demonstrators" showing up to challenge a few hundred local peaceful protesters in rural parts of the country "because I saw it on a local Facebook chat group that Antifa was coming to town to burn it down...."

[CultureKing]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

..one was done by a fringe heavily armed militia with white supremacy ties that took over a number of public buildings. They also used a public service (ranching lands) and refused to pay even at a deeply subsidized and outdated rate.

The other is a loose gathering of unarmed publicly supported protesters who shut down 2 streets and are in a public park.

[NOVA Green]

One of the questions that I've been pondering is that it appears that both the overall size (measured by number of participants), reach (measured by number of cities that have experienced protests) and intensity (as measured by police-protester confrontations) has diminished since this past Weekend.

Part of this could simply be that the media is not as extensively covering the protests during this current work-week (for many), protesters are finally feeling like their voices are being heard (political elites both at local and federal levels are actively discussing or moving forward with various "reforms"), protest fatigue from many protesters who have been involved in such activities on a daily or weekly basis, depending upon scheduled activities, decreased presence of "casual protesters", changed patterns of policing of even protests activities that might be viewed as more confrontational met with disproportionate law enforcement reaction, etc....

The question is will the protest movement continue to attract significant numbers in upcoming weeks and months or dwindle in both size, reach, and intensity?

One could certainly imagine that this might be a temporary movement in abeyance

Abeyance depicts a holding pattern in which a social movement manages to sustain itself and mount a challenge to authorities in a hostile political and cultural environment, thereby providing continuity from one stage of mobilization to another. Abeyance carries with it the connotation of movement decline, failure, and demobilization relative to peaks of mobilization. When a movement declines, it does not necessary disappear. Rather, pockets of movement activity may continue to exist and can serve as starting points of a new cycle of the same or a new movement at a later point in time. During periods of abeyance, movements sustain themselves but develop distinct repertoires of contention that are different from the mobilizing structures and tactical repertoires of movements in a stage of mass mobilization. A social movement in abeyance may provide linkages to new rounds of mobilization through activist networks , an established repertoire of goals and tactics , and by constructing a collective identity that can serve as a symbolic resource for subsequent mobilization.

Here are just a few academic articles that discuss social movement theory, were abeyance is one item of many from a long and storied history of international political-sociology....

https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1248.pdf

https://politicsir.cass.anu.edu.au/research/projects/gender-research/mapping-australian-womens-movement/understanding-evolution-social-movements

So hypothetically, even if the size, reach, and intensity of the immediate protests following the murder of George Floyd (combined with various other historical issues throughout the country), decline significantly, what will happen further down the line if real reforms don't appear coming, an additional visible incident of a police officer murder, lack of conviction of officers involved in the murder, etc?

I don't know about y'all but unfortunately I suspect this is not the last such incident we will see...

What happens next??

[HisGrace]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

..one was done by a fringe heavily armed militia with white supremacy ties that took over a number of public buildings. They also used a public service (ranching lands) and refused to pay even at a deeply subsidized and outdated rate.

The other is a loose gathering of unarmed publicly supported protesters who shut down 2 streets and are in a public park.

Every news article I've read about this says there are armed guards and I've seen pics of guys with big rifles (not sure if actual assault rifles). The rapper has a big gun collection that he has been distributing to people. Some guy trying to annex part of the city and recruiting people to serve as his personal vigilante law enforcement is clearly not a good situation. There was video where they beat up some guy and threatened to shoot him just for graffiti, if an actual cop did that there'd probably be another round of riots. Again, if this were some "Patriot movement" right wing nut trying to pull something like this virtually no one would think it should be tolerated.

[NOVA Green]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

..one was done by a fringe heavily armed militia with white supremacy ties that took over a number of public buildings. They also used a public service (ranching lands) and refused to pay even at a deeply subsidized and outdated rate.

The other is a loose gathering of unarmed publicly supported protesters who shut down 2 streets and are in a public park.

Every news article I've read about this says there are armed guards and I've seen pics of guys with big rifles (not sure if actual assault rifles). The rapper has a big gun collection that he has been distributing to people. Some guy trying to annex part of the city and recruiting people to serve as his personal vigilante law enforcement is clearly not a good situation. There was video where they beat up some guy and threatened to shoot him just for graffiti, if an actual cop did that there'd probably be another round of riots. Again, if this were some "Patriot movement" right wing nut trying to pull something like this virtually no one would think it should be tolerated.

Oh Brother... here we go again.

White Men with Guns= Good
Black Men with Guns= Bad

This is something if you look at the classic B&W Cowboy movies from the '50s, where the "good guys" wore "white hats" and the "bad guys" wore "black hats".

In 1966 the young Black College Men that founded the Black Panther Party chose to arrive at the State Capitol of California, then Governed by racist Governor Ronald Reagan, exercising their right to "open carry".

A few dozen armed Black Men "storming the capitol in Sacramento" got massive media press, but also was met with massive murders, assassinations, and repression at the hands of the racist FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

Now in 2020 we have tons of extremely heavily armed White folks storming state capitol buildings throughout the Country, vigilantes and militia type folks shooting down joggers in the streets of small town Georgia, White Supremacist mobilization, intimidation, and even murder at a level we haven't seen for almost (30) years, and you are tripping about this???

Dude--- read some books, educate yourself.... "you are out of your element Donny"....

Although you likely are young and haven't had enough exposure to issues like this from many of us Middle-Aged and Older Posters, you clearly need to read a much wider variety of news sources than whatever bizarre websites you are following on Twitter or over the Internets....

Maybe I am 100% off base, and perhaps a bit rude or abrasive in my style right now, but man are you living in the same world as 80% of America is over these past few weeks?

[NOVA Green]

King County, Washington will no longer allow Metro Buses to transport Law Enforcement to or from Demonstrations....

https://kingcountymetro.blog/2020/06/11/metro-ends-practice-of-providing-buses-to-law-enforcement/

[GeneralMacArthur]

Update from day 3 of the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone" (CHAZ)

Today it has truly morphed into a block party thanks to attention from the mainstream media.  A massive crowd of people showed up to participate in various art projects.  The main one being a "BLACK LIVES MATTER" street mural similar to the one in DC.  A couple folks in nearby apartments moved some of their furniture out into the street to create hang-out areas.  The original anarchists and communists have been entirely sidelined as 90% of the people showing up don't care about anarchism or communism, they care about BLM and want to do art/music to support that.  The local food carts that are usually a few blocks over have moved into the area as well, a pretty obvious move given that's where the crowds are, but shows that capitalism is alive and well in the CHAZ contrary to Fox News fearmongering.

The police, including Chief Best, showed up today to do some sort of inspection of the East Precinct.  They brought some of their more media-friendly officers to interact with the protesters on-camera and it seems to have gone pretty well.  Nobody attacked the police or anything and they just walked in and out, again contrary to the "separatist enclave" vibe some folks were trying to make happen.

Basically, it's a block party, and tomorrow and this weekend I expect will be more of the same.  Everyone showing up to drink beer, buy food, make art, listen to music, hang out with their friends, throw a blanket down in the park and soak up some sun, and feel like they're participating in the BLM movement by doing so.  Most of the dumb occupy/anarchist stuff has already fallen by the wayside and it'll all be forgotten by the end of the weekend.

[GeneralMacArthur]

wut?  I didn't know you were a hater, NOVA.

The CHAZ was pissing me off because it was a bunch of anarchists and communists playing make-believe and distracting attention from the protests.  Making BLM look stupid and spoiling the moment.  And also making my neighborhood and city look stupid, although we are stupid so that's OK.

Now that it's just a block party and it's mostly gone back to being about black lives, I am cool with it.

[Badger]

wut?  I didn't know you were a hater, NOVA.

The CHAZ was pissing me off because it was a bunch of anarchists and communists playing make-believe and distracting attention from the protests.  Making BLM look stupid and spoiling the moment.  And also making my neighborhood and city look stupid, although we are stupid so that's OK.

Now that it's just a block party and it's mostly gone back to being about black lives, I am cool with it.

I sort of felt this way at first, but like you have mellowed a bit for the moment.

Anyone who isn't on a a d should go over there at least to read bgwah's thread with numerous photos as be actuallyives there. Very very instructive.

 Also, while I wasn't too happy to see RAZ and some of his boddies play vigilante, two points remain. First off, as bgw aah notes, Gangsta's getting into fights in Cal Anderson park at 4 a.m. is something that's been going on for decades and certainly has nothing to do with the new autonomous Zone. Secondly, if these were armed white guys roughing up some White antifa dude spraying graffiti on a building in their neighborhood, Fox and all the right-wing would be calling on Trump to give him the presidential medal of freedom.

[Xing]

Funny how this “autonomous zone” gets different treatment than others. It is basically a party at this point, despite every right-wing outlet framing it as a violent communist takeover of the entire city (nothing going on in my neck of the woods, so don’t judge the whole city.)

[NOVA Green]

wut?  I didn't know you were a hater, NOVA.

The CHAZ was pissing me off because it was a bunch of anarchists and communists playing make-believe and distracting attention from the protests.  Making BLM look stupid and spoiling the moment.  And also making my neighborhood and city look stupid, although we are stupid so that's OK.

Now that it's just a block party and it's mostly gone back to being about black lives, I am cool with it.

Not a hater, just get a little frustrated once in awhile like everyone else, so deleted it is...

tbf, I actually view you overall as a pretty solid poster, although we obviously had some different perspectives during the relatively short primary season...

Regardless of the whole CHAZ scene, the question that I posed upthread still stands in terms of where does the overall National Protest Movement go from here over the next few weeks, months, etc...??

[NOVA Green]

So although it is likely evident to most of you on Atlas being geeks on this sort of stuff, still worth a read...

NYT: One Big Difference About George Floyd Protests: Many White Faces
Early demographic data shows a significant presence of white protesters.

White protesters made up 61 percent of those surveyed in New York over the weekend, according to the researchers, and 65 percent of protesters in Washington. On Sunday in Los Angeles, 53 percent of protesters were white....The researchers who collected data last weekend found that the crowds were overwhelmingly young and well educated. More than three quarters of those surveyed were under the age of 34, and 82 percent of white protesters had a college degree, while 67 percent of black protesters had one....Since 2017, as many as 27 million people have taken part in protests opposing Mr. Trump, equal to about 8 percent of the population, according to researchers from Harvard University and the University of Connecticut.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/us/george-floyd-white-protesters.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

I know NYT has a Paywall, and currently they have a subscription for 99 Cents a Week, so honestly probably not a bad investment overall, especially as we move closer to the key stretch of the GE Campaigns....

[NOVA Green]

Mass Evictions of Tenants currently covered under Federal Assistance $$$ is likely to start hitting once current Fed programs expire on 7/31.

Although in various States & Municipalities might have additional protections, we are currently looking at a situation where working-class Americans (Disproportionately Black & Brown) are in a real threat of being forced into homelessness within the immediate future.

The Republican Scrooge Party has giving Trillions of bailout $$$ to support companies and individuals who don't need the money, while meanwhile enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire on 7/31 as well, within communities hit hardest by the "Trump COVID-19 Great Depression".

How will all this play out on the streets of America, regardless of various police reforms and tinkering around the edges caused by a Mass Mobilization following the murder of George Floyd?

Getting to a point that many community activists might start to look at various forms of resistance against evictions as we start to see the housing crisis hit hardest....

This is the Great Depression 2.0, although many of us older folks, educated folks, White folks, might have the ability to work remotely bcs of COVID-19, but still need to carefully consider how extensive all of these factors combine to create what is effectively a volatile situation in which Revolutionary Movements have historically been born....

“The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors,' and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, callous 'cash payment.' It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom—Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.

The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage laborers.

The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.”

[Mr. Reactionary]

[HillGoose]

bruh i'm actually totally in favor of Freetown Christiana part 2, ppl in Seattle r wildin. Hopefully this one doesn't ban hard drugs lmao

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

..one was done by a fringe heavily armed militia with white supremacy ties that took over a number of public buildings. They also used a public service (ranching lands) and refused to pay even at a deeply subsidized and outdated rate.

The other is a loose gathering of unarmed publicly supported protesters who shut down 2 streets and are in a public park.

Every news article I've read about this says there are armed guards and I've seen pics of guys with big rifles (not sure if actual assault rifles). The rapper has a big gun collection that he has been distributing to people. Some guy trying to annex part of the city and recruiting people to serve as his personal vigilante law enforcement is clearly not a good situation. There was video where they beat up some guy and threatened to shoot him just for graffiti, if an actual cop did that there'd probably be another round of riots. Again, if this were some "Patriot movement" right wing nut trying to pull something like this virtually no one would think it should be tolerated.

I keep hearing this about, "armed guards" with "AK47s". (Sadly, the vast majority of journalists are gun-ignorant and tend to call anything that isn't a pistol or a classic hunting rifle an "AK47".) However, I've yet to see any actual coverage of them myself. (Perhaps people are confusing footage of Mr. Trump's "unidentified security forces" in DC?)

Or maybe you're watching Fox News too much? (By which I mean, at all.)

Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

Fox News published digitally altered and misleading photos on stories about Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in what photojournalism experts called a clear violation of ethical standards for news organizations.

As part of a package of stories Friday about the zone, where demonstrators have taken over several city blocks on Capitol Hill after Seattle police abandoned the East Precinct, Fox’s website for much of the day featured a photo of a man standing with a military-style rifle in front of what appeared to be a smashed retail storefront.

The image was actually a mashup of photos from different days, taken by different photographers — it was done by splicing a Getty Images photo of an armed man, who had been at the protest zone June 10, with other images from May 30 of smashed windows in downtown Seattle. Another altered image combined the gunman photo with yet another image, making it appear as though he was standing in front of a sign declaring “You are now entering Free Cap Hill.”

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/timothypmurphy/status/1271809778017357824

[CultureKing]

Ok, this free zone Paris Commune larping needs to end right now. This shouldn't be tolerated.

If these were right wingers declaring a free state we'd all be declaring them traitors and comparing them to the Confederacy.

Remember when some rednecks took over an abandoned hunting cabin in Oregon and Wolverine and other lefties on here were demanding the military use tanks and napalm?

I know I do!

..one was done by a fringe heavily armed militia with white supremacy ties that took over a number of public buildings. They also used a public service (ranching lands) and refused to pay even at a deeply subsidized and outdated rate.

The other is a loose gathering of unarmed publicly supported protesters who shut down 2 streets and are in a public park.

Every news article I've read about this says there are armed guards and I've seen pics of guys with big rifles (not sure if actual assault rifles). The rapper has a big gun collection that he has been distributing to people. Some guy trying to annex part of the city and recruiting people to serve as his personal vigilante law enforcement is clearly not a good situation. There was video where they beat up some guy and threatened to shoot him just for graffiti, if an actual cop did that there'd probably be another round of riots. Again, if this were some "Patriot movement" right wing nut trying to pull something like this virtually no one would think it should be tolerated.

I keep hearing this about, "armed guards" with "AK47s". (Sadly, the vast majority of journalists are gun-ignorant and tend to call anything that isn't a pistol or a classic hunting rifle an "AK47".) However, I've yet to see any actual coverage of them myself. (Perhaps people are confusing footage of Mr. Trump's "unidentified security forces" in DC?)

Or maybe you're watching Fox News too much? (By which I mean, at all.)

Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

Fox News published digitally altered and misleading photos on stories about Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in what photojournalism experts called a clear violation of ethical standards for news organizations.

As part of a package of stories Friday about the zone, where demonstrators have taken over several city blocks on Capitol Hill after Seattle police abandoned the East Precinct, Fox’s website for much of the day featured a photo of a man standing with a military-style rifle in front of what appeared to be a smashed retail storefront.

The image was actually a mashup of photos from different days, taken by different photographers — it was done by splicing a Getty Images photo of an armed man, who had been at the protest zone June 10, with other images from May 30 of smashed windows in downtown Seattle. Another altered image combined the gunman photo with yet another image, making it appear as though he was standing in front of a sign declaring “You are now entering Free Cap Hill.”

Yeah.. I've been through the area numerous times and haven't seen a single gun or been approached (well, except by folks offering food/drinks/etc.). At this point it feels like a block party with a racial/social justice theme linking everything together.

I think it's funny that the media has tried to ID leaders.. it's a VERY decentralized effort.

[PSOL]

CSIS is concerned about the international optics of this decision

[PSOL]

African American individual found hanging from a tree in SoCal under dubious circumstances, protesters out in the streets from it

Well ••••, possibly yet again another lynching in AmeriKKka.

In other news, Atlanta police chief resigns as mayor wants officer fired

[Crumpets]

Crosspost from AAD

I made my own pilgrimage to the CHAZ today. Here were my general observations:

- The very first sign I saw something was going on was two pro-Trump counter-protesters, waving giant Trump flags. If they are safe just a block or two away, the danger is probably pretty overstated.
- I saw only two armed people in total and they were both outside of the CHAZ. I got the impression from the people around talking with them that they might have either been counter-protesters or Boogaloo Boys or something along those lines. There was also an SUV with "QAnon" written on it, so they may also be of that persuasion.
- The social distancing situation was much better than I had been anticipating. It was not difficult at all for me to navigate the place while staying (more or less) 6 ft away from other people. There were definitely crowds where people were bunched together, but you could avoid them if you just wanted to pass through. If estimate over 95% of poeople there were wearing masks.
- There were yuppie women walking their dogs and parents with their kids in Radio Flyer wagons walking around. Again, no sense of violence or tension at all.
- The businesses seemed okay - no broken windows or fires that I saw. I wouldn't necessarily want to commute through there if big crowds weren't my thing and I might not want some of the more vulgar graffiti on my business without someone talking to me, but at the same time, I saw absolutely no sign of the "abuse" and "extortion" of local businesses that have been reported on some places.
- Bgwah posted above some of the medical volunteer vehicles, which I hadn't heard of and which were interesting to see in person. The one I saw looked pretty reminiscent of some of the first responder vehicles I've seen in Syria, albeit with a cardboard license plate that read "BLM"

All in all, as Bgwah noted, it doesn't feel hugely different than that part of town usually does if the roads are closed. If anything, it felt a bit less chaotic than when I've been there for music festivals or Pride. Sure there was an edge to the atmosphere, but I really can't say I saw anything that really shook me or struck me as truly reprehensible. It's not my thing, and I'm not going to be moving there any time soon, but if I had a choice between the CHAZ and the constant clashes that were going on before it was established, I'd take the CHAZ any day. I don't know whether it will go down the Zucotti Park path or the Freetown Christiania/Exarcheia path, but I lean towards the former. I'm not going to lead the push to try to take it down, though.

I took some pictures which I posted on the AAD thread, for anyone who wants to check them out.

[Donald Trump’s Toupée]

Can a man get a haircut at the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone?

Asking for a friend.