5323

Oh well whatever nevermind.

5324

I’m not even joking about athletes getting on the right side of this being a catalyst for change.

Drew Brees – motherfucking Drew Brees – got absolutely raked over the coals over a terrible interview statement where he was all “a bloo bloo, the flag tho! a bloo bloo!” and walked it back.

Oklahoma football, like, doesn’t happen because the players are like “fuck all this racist shit”?

NBA playoffs are missing half or more of the stars because they are all like “fuck all this racist shit”?

NASCAR just straight eighty-sixes a dude for being all like “fuck yeah, racist shit!”?

This is the kind of thing that Gordy down the block notices.

5325

So bizarre. How do you fix that with a quick talk? The man is clearly a walking billboard for Trump & his racist bullshit.

5326

A statue protest turned violent today. But it’s unlikely you’ll be hearing much about this one on Fox.

(Not the right thread in specifics, but in spirit)

5327

I read that Albuquerque Journal article twice, and I still have no idea what happened.

5328

For some reason the idea of old 60 something not-so-starving artists in Santa Fe rioting over which bronze sculpture of past figures should be pulled down is mildly funny to me. It’s like, finally, our art matters. This hasn’t happened yet, but it might!

5329

I know the militarization of the police is widely understood by now, but that image of the ‘NM Civil Guard’ (whoever they are) being arrested is striking as the police (?) look completely indistinguishable from active-duty soldiers in a war zone. They are wearing green to be more camouflaged? So that civilians have trouble seeing them?

5330

I think I read that those guys were a swat team, which would make more sense for the gear, but still raises the question of why you would have a swat team near the protest, unless they were nearby in case the Civil Guard nuts did something stupid.

5331

I must admit that my knowledge of SWAT teams come from Irrational Games and some movies, but I thought they are usually in blue and black? The only advantage of green is being able to shoot people before they notice you.

5332

Our cops are just soldiers who don’t have to go overseas to shoot brown people.

5333

Texas is having a near-identical protest involving several players.

5334

Based on the tweets above and this WaPo article on the incident, it seems like everyone had been expecting the gang members, er, “militia” to show and something like this to happen for a while now:

The militia, which identified itself to a New York Times reporter covering the protest Monday, has a controversial history. The right-wing group has repeatedly shown up at Black Lives Matter protests in recent weeks with guns and militarylike garb…

5335

This story has been bubbling up through the news recently. Back in 2006 a police office tried to stop a fellow police office from keeping a suspect in a chokehold too long. She was fired for doing so. There are now calls to re-investigate the case.

This petition link has a news interview from the time of the incident.

Watch that video to the end to get an idea of just how bad the cop was that this woman was fired to protect.

5336

I had the same thought. Army spec ops cosplay, I guess.

5337

More readable article on the New Mexico shooting.

5338

On Trumps police “reforms”

Elaborating on the details of his police reform executive order, Trump said the department of justice would prioritize federal grants to police departments that pursue high standards on the use of force.

The president criticized the defund the police movement, lashing out against those who have called for reenvisioning the country’s public safety systems.

“reform” and “high standards” are just a means to fund the worst of the killer cop forces who have been defunded by local politicians. There is no good faith or genuine movement to alter police behavoiour on behalf of Trump, GOP and the white supremacists.

5339

So the feds are…defunding the (bad) police?

5340

I just see it as means to pass federal funds to fund police forces defunded by BLM supporting, PoC/Democrat dominated cities.

I don’t believe there is any genuine belief in reform by Trump, GOP and the supremacists.

5341

But here’s the headline:
image

5342

This may be the most bullshit presidential executive order I’ve seen in my lifetime.