"I CANNOT BELIEVE I STILL HAVE TO PROTEST THIS SHIT!!"

[kpete]

:large
https://twitter.com/callmedollar/statuses/500071682321551360

France Francois was concerned her sign may be perceived as "rage," but she held it up anyway because she had a right to feel angry. Ms. Francois held the sign at last week's National Moment Of Silence in DC.

"I'm glad it sparked some conversation because I think, throughout the nation, we're all asking ourselves this question," she said. 'How did we come here again? How did we find ourselves in this very same space?'"
Francois said the sentiment behind the sign is rooted to her days as a student at Florida State University when she protested the death of Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old boy who died after being beaten by boot camp personnel. After months of silence from authorties over his death, Francois, along with other students from Tallahassee Community College, Florida A&M University and Florida State University staged a 34-hour sit-in at then- governor Jeb Bush's office, in Tallahassee, Fla.

http://www.alternet.org/woman-behind-powerful-mike-brown-protest-photo-defies-respectability-politics

[BronxBoy]

1. Ain't that the truth n/t

[Punkingal]

2. Amen to that.

That really says it all, doesn't it?

[billhicks76]

21. Been Reported That Homeland Security

Has been command and control since the beginning. This makes sense because every town I have seen that has a big protest had Homeland Security vehicles first on the scene. And they always are running things. Those Feds live close by and would take over instantly as they always do. This is being underreported by the naive media.

[Punkingal]

27. No doubt they are there...

And the media isn't naive, they are complicit.

[livetohike]

3. Yes, this and other things too. We've entered some sort of

time warp .

[jwirr]

4. Seems like a lot of things that we fought for in the 60s are a battle ground again. It is depressing

[SharonAnn]

38. Yes, I fought for women's rights and now my granddaughter has to do the same.

[jwirr]

39. And poverty issues. We are going backwards in a era when we have new problems we should be

addressing like climate control and here we are once again back in the 60s.

[johnlucas]

46. And actually that's what's good about it

The Confederates couldn't wait long enough to be themselves & that impatience presents an opportunity to root them out of this country's political consciousness once & for all.

Time makes people forget.
The struggles your ancestors faced get taken for granted.
Newer generations get spoiled & they start to forget what's at stake.

There are some in the newer generations like me who look back lovingly at those freedom fights captured in black & white.
And tragedies like this give the newer generations a chance to participate in their OWN freedom fight.

The Confederates just couldn't wait long enough to let the memories fade.
People's parents & grandparents who lived through this time can pass on the history & the lessons.
This is what happens when you see those long lines at the voting booth.

But a voting booth line is just a taste.
Now they get to participate in the real thing.

The Confederates in their predictable overreach have UNITED people.
AGAINST THEM.

The killings are extremely sad but the outcome will make you extremely happy.
The Confederates' time is up. History is being made as we speak.
CHANGE Is Coming.
John Lucas

[jwirr]

49. Hadn't thought about that. I am 73 years old and went through a few riots. Keep forgetting that

there are so many who do not remember.

[johnlucas]

51. I think this phenomenon starts when you hit about 30 or so

Like when you remember a TV show or a song & quote it.
Some of the ones younger than you don't know what the HELL you're talking about.
And you look at them crazy because OF COURSE they should remember!
Then you realize "Damn Diff'rent Strokes came out in 1978 & these kids were born in 1999. How WOULD they know?!"

I mean sure with reruns & oldies stations the younger ones can get familiar but most likely they just ain't gonna know offhand.

I was born in 1976, close enough to the 1950's/1960's Civil Rights Movement to know of somewhat, not TOO far out to forget.
Think about somebody born in 2004, 40 years after the Civil Rights Act passed.
How is that person gonna appreciate what those times mean really?

I know videogame history being born only 4 years after the videogame industry began in 1972.
I lived the whole thing & saw all the evolutions.
How do I convey this knowledge to kids born in 2010?
THEY won't even remember the Wii era much less the eras of the PlayStations not to mention the Sega vs. Nintendo wars not to mention the Atari era!
It's all abstract & ancient history because they live in a newer time.

Some will listen to your stories & be in awe at the past.
Others will be bored as you tell those old stories.

Luckily I was shown the music of the 1960s & always had appreciation for Booker T & the MGs.
They ain't gonna know if we don't show them.
And sometimes that ain't even enough.
Sometimes they gotta live it themselves.

The past carries a lot of burdens, that's for sure.
But the past hides some gems as well & some look back to rediscover them.
Sometimes what's old is new all over again.
Everything goes in cycles on Planet Earth.
John Lucas

[jwirr]

52. K&R

[Cha]

5. Thanks to the corporatemedia and the republicons we do. I know redundant.

[RufusTFirefly]

6. And guess what? While they're rolling back civil rights, they're picking our pockets n/t

[cantbeserious]

8. + 1,000

eom

[zeemike]

14. I guess they figure if we are stupid enough to let them pick our pockets.

They might as well roll back civil rights too.

[F4lconF16]

28. I think that rolling back our civil rights is three things.

One, a distraction for letting them pick our pockets.

Look, gay rights!--something that shouldn't be a big issue now, but still is because of the right's stirring up of their base. If it weren't for leadership attacking LGBT, then I think most people wouldn't care. Also, on the flip side: hey white people! Criminal thugs are taking your shit! It's them, not us!

Two, a side effect of letting them pick our pockets.

The farther rightward they go economically (which helps them), the more rightward they're forced to go socially. Hence, tea party hatred and idiocy furthering civil rights rollback.

Three, and most importantly, a way to pick our pockets.
If you can't vote, you can't remove their hands from our pockets. It's that simple.

[riqster]

36. Damn right. So vote while you still can.

[TheKentuckian]

32. Truth rings from here

[tavalon]

7. I'm sad that she was worried about appearing rageful

She has every right to feel rage, anger, disgust, sadness, frustration................ An unarmed teen was murdered by a police officer.

[truth2power]

16. Thank you, tavalon, for following through on this...

Someone (I don't remember who it was) started a thread a day or two ago. The title of the thread was, "Why do we take the bait" and the poster encouraged everyone to say, over and over, when the smear artists start their bull shit....

An unarmed teen (or black teen) was murdered by a police officer. That is the ONLY relevant issue.

An unarmed teen was murdered by a police officer.

An unarmed teen was murdered by a police officer.

An unarmed teen was murdered by a police officer.

[tavalon]

20. I just watched John Oliver on his new show,

say those identical words as the opening line to a phenomenal 15 minute segment on Ferguson and the race issues they have there.

So, I'm not the only one staying on point and his staying on point is so helpful to our cause.

I feel vaguely weird as a white woman, calling this "our cause", but damn it, what happens to one of us happens to us all. Racism must be ostracized to the point where it gets forgotten. I don't want it back in the closet, I want it gone.

[truth2power]

22. Amen. n/t

[roody]

25. Hell, yes, it's our cause.

[uponit7771]

31. +1

[kpete]

33. amen

allright


peace to us all
kp

[johnlucas]

48. tavalon, this IS your cause. You are WE. We are YOU.

That's been the entire problem the whole time.
White folks not identifying with us as one of them.

You remember what that Niemöller guy said.

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

This IS your cause.
And when White people join the Black people & every other non-White in this country, the evil of White Supremacy, of White Dominion will be defeated once & for all.
THEN and ONLY THEN will this country make good on that slogan E Pluribus Unum.
Out of Many, One.

Don't feel weird.
It only feels weird because it's not done nearly enough.
When these Confederate Gestapo see White folks protesting in the streets with the Black folks then they will know they are defeated for sure.
Who are they gonna fire on then?

Speak out! Get up, stand up! Stand up for your rights!

The Civil War was fought long before 1861 & it continues on long after 1865.
Racial subjugation & hatred go to the very origins of this country.
It will NEVER be what it is supposed to be until that sickness is excised.
When you see this battle as your own, you will speed up the day when the sickness is healed.

John Lucas

[mimi85]

55. John, that was so well written

I looked up your name on Amazon. No kidding.

[tavalon]

56. Thank you

That is how I feel. This is not a "black problem". This is our problem. All of us. And we need to fix it.

[niyad]

9. depressing k and r

[billhicks76]

10. Make This Go Viral

Post everywhere on FB and Twitter.

[BobbyBoring]

11. How did we come here again?

Near as I can tell, the election of a 1/2 black President is "Partially to blame".
Wish I could offer more than that, but I'm empty,!

[AuntPatsy]

12. Perfect sign of the times, it really covers so many issues..

[L0oniX]

13. It should be that all racists are made to feel unwelcome and unacceptable everywhere in the USA.

IMO anyone connected to the KKK should be kicked out. They should have no part or home in what America is today. This country is a melting pot ...and that's real core USA. If you want everyone to be like you then move back to that fucked up country you think is your fatherland ...but don't try to make this one your racist home.

[bigwillq]

15. Great sign

[daleanime]

17. Amen....

[Zorra]

18. Yep, I know that one. nt

[Buddha2B]

19. But isn't this partly the fault of us being

But isn't this partly the fault of us being lulled into a false sense of accomplishment, while the right wing reactionaries simply plot behind the scenes to tear down everything we built?

The class war has never stopped, it's just that a lot of people fooled themselves with a comfortable middle class lifestyle that everything was fairyland.

I've seen sexism, bigotry and racism is some right wingers to make me believe no progress ever occurred.

[WillyT]

23. HUGE K & R !!!

[moondust]

24. "How did we come here again?"

Progressive moral decay of creeping corporatism. Too many people chasing profits at any cost and no longer committed to truth, justice, or equality. JMO



K/R

[kpete]

34. moondust

what YOU said!

Too many people chasing profits at any cost and no longer committed to truth, justice, or equality

peace,
kp

[MrMickeysMom]

26. Yes…

Why?

I think because this is their last ditch effort to control us… that couldn't be more clear.

[Uncle Joe]

29. I love her shirt.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[kpete]

35. I love her shirt too

but we have fought this battle
for what seems FOREVER
- over a difference in melamine?



peace to us all,
kp

[Uncle Joe]

53. The forces of fear, hate and ignorance are powerful indeed.

It may take another hundred years or so to overcome them, even then they will be buried in the human psyche awaiting extreme circumstance; coupled with demagoguery to bring them to the surface.

Having said that I believe the forces of understanding, acceptance and agapae love are making progress but it's most definitely a marathon battle full of hills and vales.

Peace to us all.
UJ

[uponit7771]

30. +1

[Blue_In_AK]

37. Yes, absolutely!

I can't tell you how many times I've thought that in the last 15 years.

[Jack Rabbit]

40. K/R

[Lifelong Protester]

41. I give this a K & R

If you aren't wondering "I CANNOT BELIEVE I STILL HAVE TO PROTEST THIS SHIT!!", you aren't paying attention!

[Jamaal510]

42. "I CANNOT BELIEVE I STILL HAVE TO PROTEST THIS SHIT!!"

This is like a recurring theme among many of today's issues. With police brutality, voting rights, women's rights, poverty programs, corporations, and so on, these are all issues that many thought were settled decades ago, yet are still being fought over. While some of us want to bring the country into the 21st century, there is another force that ultimately wants it to regress back to how it was before the 20th century.

[Helen Borg]

43. Healthy rage, in my book!

[cheapdate]

44. Voter participation in the last municipal election in Ferguson, MO was 12%.

Among African-Americans eligible to vote, a mere 6% made the effort to do so.

Let that sink in.

[certainot]

45. that's what happens when we give 1200 coordinated radio stations a free speech free ride

to rewrite history, sabotage the national discourse, and give the 400 racist homophobic misogynist think tank coordinated shits the bully pulpit

[littlemissmartypants]

47. Here is the Original from last year... Moral Monday in NC.

http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/06/ncs-biggest-moral-monday-crowd-yet.html?m=1



In response to the devastating blows to women's health care rights. The motorcycle vagina bill, voted on in the middle of the night. While Wendy Davis filibustered in Texas, NC screwed it's female citizens.

Shine a light.

Love, Peace and the Righteous Fight!
~ Lmsp

[Enthusiast]

50. Kicked and recommended!

[Johnny Noshoes]

54. Stand together or fall alone....