25 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

1. This is about ten minutes long, but at the end, you'll say "Wow". Trevor Noah on the riots this week. For those who don't know, he grew up in South Africa under apartheid.https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=271504123969416

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   1. When comedians get serious, they are often profound.

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2. There were provocateurs at the Friday night riots in downtown Denver. Channel 9 cameras picked up a couple signs saying "F… the System" and "F….the Police."

   Would not be surprised to learn of some far right wingers also inciting things in the crowd. Of course, the gun boys would be in disguise. People "might" notice them in their fatigues and carrying AR-15s.

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   1. And the police response to good ol’(white) boys carrying guns and proclaiming disrespect for laws would be quite different than that of people of color doing the same things.

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   2. Half of my gene pool comes from Minnesota and a good share of my 58 cousins reside in the greater Minneapolis area.  A few of them have married into the communities of color so they have some authenticity when they speak.  Here is a note from one of them this morning: 

      People from outside Minnesota need to understand that what started as a peaceful protest movement has at this point been co-opted by outsiders bent on destruction. Still seeing lots of national media blame the arson and destruction on "protesters". Gov. Walz this morning estimated in a press conference that tens of thousands of people were in the streets last night, and 80% or more were from out of state. Mayor Carter from St Paul said that literally everyone arrested in his city was from out of state. Gov. Walz stated that he is collaborating with the US Secretary of Defense, and has intelligence that demonstrates that right wing paramilitary groups have arrived in Minneapolis en masse, are organizing on the internet, and are deliberately using protesters as cover. He reported that he has intel of involvement from russian intelligence. Says he will be announcing more specifics and evidence in days to come. Sound far-fetched to you? You're not here. We laid in bed last night listening to helicopters overhead and gunfire nearby and seeing the glow of fires through our window.

      Social media is full of reports of white men in tactical gear, open-carrying, lurking near peaceful protectors. Close friends report that they are a constant presence at 38th and Chicago, the site of George Floyd's murder, which has consistently been a reverent and peaceful site. Peaceful protesters report feeling scared. There are many reports that white men that no one knows are the first people to take hammers to windows and start fires, before disappearing into the crowd. Our neighborhoods are full of black pickup trucks without license plates speeding around, menacing protesters, and committing acts of arson and robbery. I have personally seen this. My neighborhood commercial hub was hit last night. I arrived a few minutes later, but neighbors on the scene reported that it was white men in pickup trucks who quickly smashed windows and fled the scene when neighbors heard noise and started to arrive. Large groups mass together and set fire to buildings, and prevent law enforcement and firefighters from getting onto the scene. Firefighters are being shot at and having batteries and other objects thrown at them. Other groups spread out, taking advantage of the chaos, and move around in small groups attacking commercial nodes around the city.

      Minneapolis is a not a big place. Particularly in social justice circles, people know each other. Lots of reports of "we don't know these people". 

      If you are struggling to understand "why people are destroying their own neighborhoods". They're not. We're under attack.

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3. I am 75 years old today.  It has been quite a ride. Thanks for the company.

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   1. I’ll shock you and be the first to wish you a happy birthday, and many more.

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   2. Hope you will celebrate well, albeit without rushing out to do so.

      I appreciate you sharing the viewpoints developed in your 75 years … especially those spent here in Colorado.

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      1. ^^^this^^^.  Like the argument about Bev Bledsoe, Fred Anderson, Bud Moellenber, they just don't make 'em like V anymore! 

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   3. The eyes of age have stories to tell of things unknown to the young ones. Every white hair, every blemish on the skin, every wrinkle are borne of the daily scrum of life. 

      It is an honor to be in your company, V. It is a pleasure to disagree with you about stuff…

      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, V. I look forward to celebrating your next one with a handshake or a hug…and a mug…if that mean old virus lets us.

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   4. Happy Day!

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      1. Party hearty and bop till ya drop!

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   5. Happy, happy 75th birthday, V!  Have a great day!  On this day of unprecedented ‘peak human race’ we are also looking at the dark underbelly of said race square in the eye. The yin and the yang of this great experiment we call ‘America’

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   6. Congrats on being "70 Something", V.

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   7. Happy Birthday V!  You're younger than two of my sisters who are still having the time of their lives 🙂  My parents would have just celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary the day before you were born.

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4. Happy Birthday, V! Quite an illustrious date: https://www.onthisday.com/

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5. Have some kind of fun today, V, and thrive at 75!

    

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6. How is there always a tweet for everything???

   

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   1. 2020 has become a repeat of many of the terrible disasters we have faced in the last century.  And who do we have to lead us out of the wilderness?

      It has been a year of national trauma that started out feeling like another 1998 with impeachment, then another 1918 with a killer pandemic combined with another 1929 given the shattering economic fallout. Now add to that another 1968, a year of deep social unrest.

      It is fair to say that 2020 has turned out to be a year that has frayed the fabric of American society with an accumulation of anguish that has whipsawed the country and its people. But in some ways, Mr. Trump has become a combatant on one side of the divide rather than a mender of it, a totem for the nation’s polarization.

      “I am daily thinking about why and how a society unravels and what we can do to stop the process,” said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University. “The calamity these days is about more than Trump. He is just the malicious con man who lives to exploit our vulnerabilities.”

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7. Thanks to all who sent kind thoughts Saturday on my 75th birthday.  Friends and family, including the furry kind, are what get us through this life.  

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8. I cannot recall a day when there ends up being only one post, but it appears it was headed in that direction. So, I thought I would send you all a greeting and a hope.

   I hope the reason no one has posted today is everyone is having a great time doing something else. I worry that is not the case. I suspect it may also be something of a burnout in many cases. I feel it. Things are not looking good and even I, the eternal optimist, am having a bad day. I am worried for our country.

   One thing is important to remember…we have only ourselves to blame and only ourselves upon which we can depend. Speak up. Get involved. Vote.

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   1. I’m afraid the voting – i.e. November – will not come soon enough. I’m not convinced we can survive until then, let alone until January 2021. Time for the deus ex machina. 

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   2. Duke, Speaking only for myself, I am processing this upside down reality. I am overwhelmed, frustrated, and afraid for my country. 

      Upside down and inside out: 

      Yes, there really are outside agitators, and they appear to be getting what they want: More chaos, less civil society, deteriorating relations between police and citizens, disrespect for the rule of law, exploiting racial oppression to foment a desired “race war” outcome.
       

      We can’t count on the Federal government to reverse that damage, because at the highest executive levels, our Federal government appears to want more chaos and more civil unrest. My guess is that Trump wants the situation to get so bad that people will applaud his choice to institute martial law and cancel an election he would lose. 

      Unlikely chaos-fomenting buddies:  the “Boogaloo Bois”, possibly Putin-funded and trained foreign agents provocateurs, and some naive or opportunistic/adventurist leftist white “allies”. Some antifa are true social justice warriors; others are posers who are out for themselves. Watch actions, not words.

      I’m frustrated because coronavirus concerns are keeping me from participating in the protests, where I could observe body and facial expression and decide for myself who is for real. And express my own grief and outrage  over the murder of George Floyd, and all the rest of the lives that mattered. Plus, white people like myself have demonstrated that they can’t be trusted to follow leaders of color, and can’t be trusted to keep actions civil and peaceful. So they are being asked to leave the protests. I’m not sure what allies can do in lockdown. The usual calls and emails to those in power?

      And so I clean and bake and care for my grand baby, fix and organize and weed the garden, because it is comforting and peaceful. I pray, too, in my heathen Unitarian way, because sometimes prayer is your most effective option. 

       

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      1. A Daily Kos participant with the screen name grog frequently reacts to the Abbreviated Pundit Review — he went to the Denver demonstration on Sunday. He wrote:

         We biked downtown and joined this meandering protest march.  Lot of anger and a *lot* of 18-29 year olds.  We were, by far, the oldest people marching.  When things stopped at the Capitol, I did see a handful of people who probably marched in the 60s but they were “standing”, not walking.  Other than a couple of Gen Xers, it was us and everybody 30-40 years younger than us.  Pohlice presence during our 3 hours down there was minimal.  However, when we peeled off at 5pm to head home, we had one of those armored, paramilitary vehicles with 4 Denver SWAT guys hanging on the back, full gear.  We figured the city was gearing up to enforce the curfew, at least downtown, starting at 8pm.  As Mrs grog put it during the march “Some of these kids are just getting warmed up, just wait until tonight.” 

         Two things struck me as I have been watching. 

         • There is a great deal MORE engagement and concern about Mr. Floyd's death than any of the 49 people in the WAPO database of those shot and killed by police in the past 5 years while Black, Unarmed, & Not Fleeing. The combination of extended suffering and callous disregard by a long-term officer, recorded, shared broadly on social media, into a society that is sensitized to problems, with extensive opportunities for demonstration. The nexus of factors has meant demonstrations of protest in many locations.
         • There are some who say "nothing has changed." And my sense is there has been some (not enough) change. A bit less than 30 years ago, Rodney King was brutally assaulted by 4 officers, and the incident was recorded. There were minimal protests until the officers were acquitted at trial. Riots in Los Angeles (and virtually nowhere else): "During the five days of unrest, there were more than 50 riot-related deaths — including 10 people who were shot and killed by LAPD officers and National Guardsmen. More than 2,000 people were injured." Thus far, after Mr. Floyd's death, I've not read of any police shooting deaths, and only 3 deaths even tentatively linked to the protests.

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