St. Louis County police chief Belmar

[tblue37]

has a large confederate flag prominently displayed on his wall. The picture was obtained by Anonymous.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/13/1321206/-Gentle-Giant-Michael-Brown?detail=hide

:large

On edit; The young man is the police chief's son. Anonymous started hounding Belmar's whole family, but then backed off on that and just attacked the city's official computers.

The Internet crashed at City Hall. E-mail systems were hit. Phones died. City officials told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a flood of traffic targeting the city’s site “just kept coming.”

[SamKnause]

1. K&R

Thank you Anonymous !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[etherealtruth]

2. No surprise, but still ... wtf? n/t

[AverageJoe90]

3. Unbelieveable. n/t

[tblue37]

6. All too believable, I fear. nt

[Hoyt]

4. Come on, it's just a symbol of heritage. . . . . . of hatred.

[loyalsister]

11. When you see it in a state that didn't secede

hatred is the most likely reason.

[VanGoghRocks]

12. Um, technical note, Missouri was a slave state. IIRC, it had two

competing state legislatures for a time, one pro-Union, the other pro-Traitor.

I was thinking what St. Louis needs is a good old-fashioned dose of John "Pathfinder" Fremont and his "Contraband of War" proclamation that preceded Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation by about 18 months (and earned Fremont a stout rebuke from Lincoln at the time who was desperately seeking to keep the so-called Border States on board or neutral).

[loyalsister]

14. I know that

The fights over secession in MO were internal - not part of the larger conflict.
The "competing state legislature" was not officially recognized as a legislative body. It was a protest more than anything.

[VanGoghRocks]

16. Well, there was some pretty vicious fighting in the southwest corner (around Springfield) at

Wilson's Creek (near Branson, IIRC). The fighting raged up and down the western side of the state, reaching as far north as KC at one point.

Didn't mean to come off as a pedantic know-it-all, just wanted people to remember MO's checkered past

[calimary]

17. Welcome to DU, VanGoghRocks!

Glad you're here! And it's a good point. Remembering some history is always a beneficial thing.

[loyalsister]

23. Lexington has a state maintained civil war site

The rivalry with KS goes back to that era as it was a fierce abolitionist state.
In Columbia there is a Robert E. Lee Elementary school across town from USS Grant elementary (Lee is on the east side). When you consider the school named for Thomas Hart Benton and Elliot Battle who led desegregation movement here, the abolition side wins.

Battle lines were drawn between north and south in this small city. Christian College was home to the local abolitionists. MU has buildings named for famous slave owner\confederate sympathizers. There is also a "little Dixie" wildlife area.

MO Civil War history is pretty complex. STL borders IL, making the waving of a confederate flag all the more ironic.

[bullwinkle428]

13. When I see these ass-pipes in my state of residence proudly displaying

it (non-slave state of Iowa), I don't need an Enigma Machine to deduce their reasoning behind its display.

[calimary]

19. "Ass-pipes"? I like it!

That flag - the more I see it the less I like it. I don't know why it's displayed except as some cock-eyed act of "defiance" or something. It's bullshit. Should be long-retired bullshit. And its whole meaning is insulting, especially as it seems to have been revived rather aggressively in the Obama era. It's nothing to be proud of. It's nothing but a reminder of some of the worst of times - and what seems to be an attempt by its defenders to keep those times alive.

[eShirl]

5. ah yes, the American version of the Swastika

crypto confederates

[Enthusiast]

7. Precisely.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[calimary]

21. THAT is a good one, eShirl! "The American version of the Swastika.

Seems to fit, considering the context in which we see it so frequently these days.

[tblue37]

24. +A brazillion! nt

[malaise]

8. Send this photo to Chris Hayes, Rachel and Lawrence O'Donnell n/t

[BrainDrain]

9. Man, I LOVE

Anonymous!

[calimary]

22. Welcome to DU, BrainDrain!

Last edited Thu Aug 14, 2014, 03:33 PM - Edit history (1)

Good to have you with us! It's really astonishing to watch this play out. Distressing and perplexing and all those things. But there's a part of me that gets it, too.

But I find the WHOLE THING illuminating as a very telltale study of human nature. One would think there'd be people in charge at some level, who might be aware of causal behavior. CONSEQUENCES of behavior.

What can be learned from a situation in which a decisive majority black population is "policed" or "patrolled" or "managed" by an authoritative force that looks like it really belongs in the Green Zone halfway around the planet from a Missouri community. What can be learned from such lopsidedness and what it can reasonably be expected to provoke at the least provocation? What can be learned? What would be expected?

You can look at al Qaeda. You can look at the teabaggers. You can look at the so-called "sovereign citizen" movement and the gun goons. You can look at Occupy. You can look at Anonymous. You can look at the blogs. You can look at the whistleblower. Hell, you can look at Pox Noise and Edward Snowden both. What happens when you try to put a stopper on a foaming bottle of champagne? What happens when you shake up a can of soda and then are crazy enough to flip the tab off close to your face? You're gonna have an explosive consequence. That which is suppressed, or feeling like it's suppressed, WILL act out. WILL erupt. WILL blow out of its confines. WILL react.

Human Nature.

[madokie]

10. Pretty much explains whats going on in Ferguson right now

[randome]

15. If Anonymous -or 'some' Anonymous- didn't get it wrong, the best thing to do is fire this dude.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[tblue37]

18. Eventually, I suspect he will be pressured into resigning, but if they just

scapegoat him, it won't help at all. Remember Rachel's report a couple of nights ago about how the evidence of racial profiling in Missouri 14 years ago got the lieutenant commander fired for telling his guys to go out and arrest black people? Then Missouri began to collect statewide data about racial profiling, yet for the past 14 years since they began to collect that data, nothing has changed. The firing of that lieutenant command did not do anything to fix or even mitigate the problem.

Similarly, if even they fire this guy, nothing will change, because they will pretend that he was the problem, when in reality, he is just a symptom. The problem is systematic, starting at the top and pervading the entire police force in that state and in every other state in this country.

[randome]

20. And Governor Nixon doesn't appear to be up for the task.

There has been a perfect storm brewing for too long.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[Maru Kitteh]

25. I don't think I could be less surprised /eom

[tblue37]

26. I know, right? nt

[TorchTheWitch]

27. why are you posting a private photo

of the police chief's son? If it even is. Anonymous has gotten a hell of lot wrong with this case, and the chief's son has nothing to do with anything.

It's also a TOS violation to post personal/private information about people here that is not in the news...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice
"Respect people's privacy.

Do not post or link to any private/personal information about any person, even if it is publicly available elsewhere on the Internet."

For fuck's sake, nobody knows who the hell this guy is, and it's obviously a private photo.

And great job Anonymous for attacking the City's computers since all that does is hurt the citizens of the city. Bunch of dipshits. Were they so "brilliant" in taking down 911 as well so citizens of the city that need immediate help can't get it???

[freshwest]

28. Unfortunately, Rush is in the State Hall of Fame in Missouri. Democrats objected to it, including

Governor Nixon, but his hands were tied. The statues are approved by the State Speaker of the House, a raving rightwingnut.

I won't go and listen to Rush or read his blog, he's too nauseating. Little wonder what the POS of work has to say about Ferguson today.

First heard Rush in the early days of Clinton's administration. I know a racist dog whistle when I hear one, and it was mor than apparent he was seducing otherwise normal people into his regressive shit.

Since PBO got in office, he's more brazen with his racist programming for 'skulls full of mush' as he calls them, than ever. The GOP never crosses him, as they fear his cult followers.

Remember, this beast is on armed forces radio daily and is funded by the Koch brothers, as revealed by Dick Armey as he was rousted from Freedom Works. Other articles prove his long association with them.

But then, Kansas where the Koches directly intervened to ruin the public schools, and MO are neighbors.

And no telling how many LEOs walking the streets were indoctrinated by the first master of hate radio. He is the Confederacy's champion by stealth.

[littlemissmartypants]

29. NSA

I know you're not busy...But are you listening?

I LOVE YOU ANONYMOUS!

Love, Peace and the Righteous Fight!
~Lmsp

[littlemissmartypants]

30. Kicking. Thank you. nt