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Flashback Best of the Web: The activist Left and the racism treadmill

racism america
The prevailing view among progressives today is that America hasn't made much progress on racism. While no one would argue that abolishing slavery and dissolving Jim Crow weren't good first steps, the progressive attitude toward such reforms is nicely summarized by Malcolm X's famous quip, "You don't stick a knife in a man's back nine inches and then pull it out six inches and say you're making progress." Aside from outlawing formalized bigotry, many progressives believe that things haven't improved all that much. Racist attitudes towards blacks, if only in the form of implicit bias, are thought to be widespread; black men are still liable to be arrested in a Starbucks for no good reason; plus we have a president who has found it difficult to denounce neo-Nazis. If racism still looms large in our social and political lives, then, as one left-wing commentator put it, "progress is debatable."

But the data take a clear side in that debate. In his controversial bestseller Enlightenment Now, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker notes a steep decline in racism. At the turn of the 20th century, lynchings occurred at a rate of three per week. Now, racially-motivated killings of blacks occur at a rate of zero to one per year.1 What's more, racist attitudes that were once commonplace have now become fringe. A Gallup poll found that only 4 percent of Americans approved of marriages between blacks and whites in 1958. By 2013, that number had climbed to 87 percent, prompting pollsters to call it "one of the largest shifts of public opinion in Gallup history."

Tornado1

Atlanta Police deny there is a walkout while protesters stage sleep-in

Ex-Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder
Atlanta Police said there was no walkout, but dozens of officers were off the job Wednesday night thanks to a rash of sick calls. The sick-out came hours after charges were filed against ex officer Garrett Rolfe and Officer Devin Brosnan in the Rayshard Brooks' case.

The buzz of patrol officers staging walkouts and refusing to answer calls from Precincts 3,5,6 and others began circulating social Wednesday evening. CBS46 confirmed the walkout through sources at 8:30 p.m.

APD attempted to quiet the noise of a walkout by tweeting:


Comment: Despite APD claims, numerous reports and Tweets suggest otherwise:




Bullseye

Abolishing the police because they've failed rape victims leaves vulnerable women without any protection

defund police
© Reuters / Patrick Fallon
US police have failed to protect rape victims, but singling them out allows the corrupt system, which enables that failure, to continue its abuses by other means - and leaves vulnerable women without any protection at all.

Making the argument for feminists to climb on board the police-abolition bandwagon, the Guardian's Moira Donegan reasons cops are not only incompetent when it comes to handling rape cases - they're part of the problem. She holds up the high rate of domestic abuse in police households and cites several notorious examples of cops raping women in their custody, declaring the protector has become the predator and insisting the only solution is to end the institution once and for all.

The question of who will arrest and prosecute rapists if the police are abolished is pushed aside - even though it's asked in the title of her article - and the reader is left with the impression that police are actually responsible for more violence against women than, well, rapists. Listening to her argument, however, could put women in real danger.

'Cops are terrible at solving rape, therefore we should get rid of them' is the kind of cringeworthy hot take that's suddenly everywhere as cries to "defund the police" begin to drown out the "Black lives matter" chants that initially defined the George Floyd protests. But like the "defund the police" movement itself, scapegoating cops for the justice system's abysmal treatment of sexual assault victims is a dangerous oversimplification.

Comment:


Attention

Black Lives Matter protest of 80 people in tiny Ohio town where just 13 black residents live is overrun by 700 white counterprotesters armed with weapons

counter protest violence
Police break up a fist fight between a protester and counter protester Monday. A Black Lives Matter protest of around 80 people in a tiny Ohio town home to just 13 black residents was overrun by 700 white counterprotesters armed with rifles, handguns and baseball bats.
A Black Lives Matter protest of around 80 people in a tiny Ohio town which is home to just 13 black residents was overrun by 700 white counterprotesters armed with rifles, handguns and baseball bats at the weekend.

Heavily armed white men and women from motorcycle gangs and 'back the blue' groups flocked to the small town of Bethel on Sunday shouting 'Blue lives matter!' and 'All lives matter!'

They faced off with the small group of village residents who had been demonstrating peacefully calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality across America.

Comment: It's been said many times before, but the backlash against the social justice agenda is likely going to be brutal. Expect more of this in the future.

See also:


Biohazard

SOTT Focus: Do Covid-19 Statistics Represent 'Excess Deaths' or State-sponsored 'Homicide'?

coronavirus nursing homes covid-19
Throughout the course of the COVID Operation, we have seen that COVID "attribution" data has been unreliable and manipulated. World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed Cause of Death guidelines. Financial incentives are part of the manipulated equation, unvalidated tests are used, "presumptive COVID "cases" count as "COVID cases", distinctions between death WITH COVID-19 and deaths BY/FROM COVID-19 are not being made. Importantly, comorbidities such as age, cardiovascular health etc. are largely negated as the spotlight burns on COVID-19. All of these biases corrupt the data.

Rigorous epidemiological studies, on the other hand, rely exclusively on "All Cause" mortality data. (1) Using "All Cause" data, Dr. Denis Rancourt demonstrates in "All-cause mortality during COVID-19: No plague and a likely signature of mass homicide by government response" that "the total number of winter-burden all-cause 'excess' deaths for the season ending in 2020 (area above the summer baseline) is not statistically larger than for past years, and it remains to be seen how low the summer 2020 trough will be."

Comment: Professor Rancourt makes a compelling case, and the news backs him up.


Dominoes

As Cream of Wheat mascot follows Aunt Jemima & Uncle Ben out the door, who really benefits from this purge?

Uncle Ben's Rice, Cream of Wheat, Aunt Jemima syrup, Mrs. Butter-Worth's syrup
© Reuters / Brendan McDermid; B&G Foods; Reuters / Brendan McDermidB&G Foods is the latest company to scrub a mascot deemed an offensive racial caricature, following a spate of similar moves by other corporations.
B&G Foods has retired the black 'chef' mascot who once graced its Cream of Wheat packaging, the latest character to get the chop as corporations realize they can score easy social-justice points by axing images of nonwhite people.

Announcing the packaging change in the kind of self-flagellating press release that has become familiar in recent weeks, B&G stated they were "initiating an immediate review of the Cream of Wheat brand packaging" because of "concerns regarding the Chef image." The brand promised to "proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism" and reminded consumers that they "unequivocally stand against prejudice and injustice of any kind."

Cream of Wheat fans might wonder how the anonymous smiling chef perpetuates systemic racism, but they know better than to voice their doubts out loud. No one - from large corporations to the people who buy their products - wants to be seen as racially insensitive, and the range of behaviors that fall under that heading appears to be expanding rapidly.

There are plenty of good arguments for scrapping these brand icons. Aunt Jemima, of pancake syrup fame, was named after a minstrel song, and the character herself based on the offensive "mammy" racial stereotype; the original model for the character was born a slave in the South. Over the last 70 years, Quaker gradually lightened Jemima's skin and made her thinner, finally ditching her "mammy" bandana entirely for the most recent 1989 reinvention. In short, she's been "problematic" since day one, even before you get to the ingredients in the products marketed under her name (spoiler alert: Aunt Jemima syrup contains no actual maple syrup, but it does have a lot of high fructose corn syrup).

Info

'That 70s Show' actor Danny Masterson charged in 3 rapes

danny masterson
© Annie I. Bang/Invision/APIn this March 24, 2014 file photo, actor Danny Masterson arrives at Youth for Human Rights International Celebrity Benefit in Los Angeles. Masterson, known for his roles in "That '70s Show" and "The Ranch," has been charged with raping three women, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials announced Wednesday. The incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003, officials allege. Masterson's attorney Tom Mesereau said his client “is innocent, we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify.”
"That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson was charged with the rapes of three women in the early 2000s, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday, the culmination of a three-year investigation that resulted in a rare arrest of a famous Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era.

The three counts of rape by force or fear against Masterson were filed Tuesday, and an arrest warrant isssued. Masterson, 44, was arrested late Wednesday morning, jail records showed. He was released a few hours later after posting bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 18.

Masterson's attorney Tom Mesereau said his client is innocent, and "we're confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify."

Comment: The rabbit hole goes much deeper on this one. See: Scientology conspiracy: Leah Remini Calls 'Bullsh*t' on the LAPD and Danny Masterson


Pistol

Best of the Web: Mayhem in Minneapolis: Violent crime explodes since riots and moves to defund police - 8 people shot Tuesday over 2-hour period


Comment: Imagine our shock upon learning this...


shootings minneapolis crime
© Minn. Star-Tribune
Nine people were wounded by gunfire across Minneapolis Tuesday, including a two-hour span that saw eight shot, adding to a recent rash of violence since last month's unrest over the police killing of George Floyd.

Police Department statistics show that a record 149 people have been shot since the start of the year — nearly half were shot within the past three weeks.

The most recent violence started shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, when patrol officers responded to calls of gunfire in the 2900 block of Columbus Avenue, only to learn that a male victim had been dropped off at an area hospital.

A preliminary investigation showed that the shooting was preceded by an argument between a group of people, according to police, who offered few other details.

Nine shot in Minneapolis
map minneapolis shootings
© Star-Tribune
Nine people were shot and one stabbed in separate incidents across Minneapolis Tuesday and early Wednesday.

Comment: If you can, make 2020 the year you moved out of the city.


Burka

Best of the Web: Street battles rage between rival foreign Muslim militias in French city of Dijon


Comment: There has been almost no media coverage about this incident in France...


dijon france police
© AFP / Philippe Desmazes
The French city of Dijon was rocked by chaotic scenes reminiscent of a war zone as rival gangs clashed following an assault on a Chechen teen - but was it more a "battle of territories" in a drugs war than simple score-settling?

For several nights, the rule of law seemed suspended in parts of the historic French tourist town, as Chechen and Maghreb gangs openly brandished weapons and took over city streets, prompting surreal scenes and leaving residents in fear of venturing outside their homes.

Footage posted to Twitter showed a car speeding through a group of Chechens and flipping over, like a scene from a video game. The situation finally calmed on Monday, after the government deployed militarized police units to quell the unrest. Dijon Mayor François Rebsamen accused the Chechen community of attempting to "enforce its own right and law of retaliation."

On social media, some offered the knee-jerk explanation that the violence gripping the French city was simply the inevitable result of immigration - and, indeed, the non-integration of Muslim immigrants in France has led to plenty of cultural clashes. Yet, the reality of how Dijon became the center of all-out gangland warfare is more complicated.



Comment: Pretty much. And govts, irrespective of their intentions, are helping that scenario to happen.


Pistol

Shooting charge dropped against suspected New Mexico shooter

Albuquerque shooting
© Fight For Our Lives/Social Media via REUTERSAttendees help a man who was shot and wounded during clashes between protesters trying to pull down a statue of Juan de Onate and armed members of civilian militia group New Mexico Civil Guard in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. June 15, 2020, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
A New Mexico prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a shooting charge against an Albuquerque man suspected of shooting a protester and called for further investigations after allegations the protester was armed at the time he was shot.

Torrez dropped an initial aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge against Steven Baca, 31, after images emerged online showing protester Scott Williams, 39, holding what was rumored to be a knife before he was allegedly shot by Baca. Torrez said he expected Baca to claim self defense in the case.

"There have been rumors on social media about what transpired in the final seconds before this and we are actively looking into those and whether or not this was justified," Torrez told an online press briefing. "The reason he is not facing that charge right now is because this investigation is not complete."

Comment: Judging from the video circulating online (now difficult to find), Baca was pretty clearly trying to flee the scene and was being ganged up on when he fired the shots. And at one point, he was pretty clearly hit with a skateboard. It would be difficult to argue he was the attacker at that point, regardless of what he did beforehand.