Amaryllis
Amaryllis's JournalBlack Woman Bus Passenger Shuts Down Racist Border Patrol Agents Illegally Demanding Documentation
From June 9, but I didn't see it and this is inspiring as well as informative:
https://newsone.com/3807917/racist-border-patrol-tiana-smalls/
How A Black Woman Shut Down Racist Border Patrol Agents
Tiana Smalls' story has gone viral.
By Parker Riley
Posted June 9, 2018
When possible, we all have to find ways to resist. Whether it is filming police assaulting an unarmed man, peacefully protesting by kneeling, or what a young woman did on a Greyhound bus — shutting down some clearly racist border patrol agents.
On June 7, Tiana Smalls wrote on her Facebook that she was on a Greyhound bus from Bakersfield, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. When crossing the state line over to Nevada, the bus driver made an announcement, “We are being boarded by Border Patrol. Please be prepared to show your documentation upon request.”
“Show us your documentation” sounds very much like “Show us your papers” — Tiana was not here for it. According to her, she stood up loudly and said, “This a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights. You don’t have to show them sh*t. This is illegal. We are We are not within 100 miles of an international border so that (sic) have no authority to ask you for anything. Tell them to f*ck off!”
Using Google, she translated what she said to the people on the bus who only understood Spanish. As the border agents got on the bus, they said they were about to ask people for “documentation. Smith says she stood up and yelled, “I’m not showing you sh*t! I’m not driving this bus, so you have no right to ask me for anything! And the rest of you guys don’t have to show them anything, either! This is harassment and racial profiling! Don’t show them a goddamn thing! We are not within 100 miles of a border so they have no legal right or jurisdiction here! Google it.”
Smith said the agents looked “exasperated” and eventually got off the bus. Pretty damn epic. Read her whole full post below, which has gone viral.
Smalls has received tons of media requests from the post. She wrote on her Facebook, “I didn’t do what I did, or share it for accolades or thanks. I appreciate the support, but I’m just little old me. All I wanted to do was let people know that that can and should speak up… even if that means risking being arrested.” She also added, “If you want to thank me, speak up the next time you see someone being discriminated against, just speak up. That’s all I want. I appreciate the love , but please, just pay it forward.”
LInk for her FB post:
https://www.facebook.com/tiana.daniels2/posts/10156424031421382
Anyone else frustrated by endless analysis of why GOP does nothing, without addresing main reason?
All these articles asking why GOP won't stand up to Trump. It is so vastly more than catering to their base.
They are complicit! Compromised themselves. They are protecting themselves! Or at least trying to. So much info out there about them taking Russian money, etc. Same with NRA. In it up to their eyeballs. Trump is not the ONLY one in Putin's pocker. I'm sure I don't need to list all the examples of GOP complicity; most of you know them well.
Here is just ONE example: (Sure you all can provide many more)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210658072
Remember Lawrence screaming about Ryan being at center of Nunes scandal & media totally missing it?
This is why Ryan won't get rid of Nunes:
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10028865654
From March 28, 2017. I am copying the whole OP here:
O'Donnell tonight: Ryan at center of Nunes scandal. R in as deep as N; this why R won't remove Nunes
O'Donnell again tonight showed clip of Ryan saying he "had to brief the speaker first" before going to WH. Asks, "Why are no reporters picking up on Ryan involvement in Nunes scandal? I’ve showed this clip three times of Nunes saying he had to brief the speaker before he did anything else, and yet no one is picking up on it."
"Ryan is at the center of the scandal. The press apparently didn’t hear it when he said it in the WH driveway when he said he first went to Ryan before going to the WH. Everything he did after that would have been at the direction of Ryan. "
"The Nunes scandal is Paul Ryan’s scandal. That is why Ryan won’t remove him. Ryan is in it as deep as Nunes is. If Nunes can lose the chairmanship over it, Ryan can lose the speakership over it. "
I have wondered myself why more aren't picking up on this, even on DU. See this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028850749
for O'Donnell show video and transcript from Thursday where he raises this question of why no one seems to be picking up on Ryan's involvement and says Nunes is covering up for Ryan; that Nunes fell on his sword for Ryan.
This is very important; it means Ryan is colluding as well as Nunes! Not only colluding, but directing Nunes. Much more in the thread from the Thursday show linked to above, but O'Donnell feels it so important that he brought it up for the third time tonight.
MoJo asking for $ to hire senior reporter/data scientist by 6- 30 to counter Trump's info warfare.
The Real Russia Scandal Is Hiding in Plain Sight. Yet Trump May Get Away With It.
A letter to Mother Jones readers from David Corn.
Jun. 8, 2018 3:33 PM
Earlier this week, I wrote a piece, “Donald Trump Is Getting Away With the Biggest Scandal in American History,” that struck a chord with a lot of people. And I’ve been thinking a lot about where we go from here, because demonstrating that Trump is “getting away” with this is important but still frustrating.
Here’s the gist of what I wrote. The Trump-Russia scandal has become something of a mud-wrestling match, with the president’s partisans refusing to acknowledge the fundamental facts of this episode and distracting public attention from the key facts about which there truly isn’t any doubt: Trump and his associates engaged in serious wrongdoing during the 2016 campaign. On this, there is no confusion, no he-said-she-said, no speculation. The evidence is rock-solid.
snip
In previous scandals, it was not necessary to remind the public repeatedly of the essential elements of the story. No one disputed the Watergate burglary had transpired—the issue was White House involvement and the cover-up.
But this time, Trump and his amen chorus have been claiming there is no Russia scandal—that the real shocker is a secret FBI plot against him. And by forcing politicians and the media to debate whether the Russia scandal actually exists, Trump wins. He has succeeded in diverting attention from how his campaign actions benefited Putin.
Much of the media framing of the Russia scandal has—sometimes unwittingly—let Trump define the terms of debate. The driving question has become whether Trump directly collaborated with Moscow’s covert operation—and whether Trump, as president, tried to thwart the investigation and obstruct justice. Instead of helping the American public understand the gravity of the attack—and the continuing threat—the media often present the Russia scandal mostly as a political problem for Trump.
So what can we do about it? The problem is there is no organized force with as loud a bullhorn countering Trump’s disinformation in fundamental terms.
snip
At Mother Jones, we see our job as providing the day-in, day-out reporting that is critical to holding the powerful accountable and to do this while presenting the broader context. In the chaotic media environment of this moment, it is crucial to provide both information and understanding. Journalism that only focuses on the latest leak or revelation and fails to depict the wider and deeper story is simply not powerful enough to counter the firehose of lies, propaganda, and disinformation.
Trump’s tweets and phony narratives deserve attention—and debunking. But not at the expense of reporting and explaining the big picture.
And this is where I ask you to support Mother Jones during our pledge drive—because if we can raise another $155,000 by June 30 we’ll have enough resources to bring on a senior reporter and a data scientist to tackle the sort of information warfare Trump wages every day.
We may not have Trump’s bully pulpit, but we can produce a steady drumbeat of stories that break news on the scandals and that expand our understanding of what they mean. Mother Jones’ independence and the fact that we’re supported primarily by readers like you allow us to punch well above our weight. One example: I was the only reporter in Washington (or anywhere else) who reported on the existence of the Steele memos and the FBI’s interest in them before the election. And I am confident that our readers—and I mean you—want us to keep digging into this scandal, so much of which is hiding in plain sight.
We are here to counter the disinformation and b.s. To do it with facts and kick-ass reporting. To not get lost in the aggravating chaos and helter-skelter that is engineered to keep the American public from grasping the full truth. Every day we are battling the lies and misdirection.
But this is no lie: We can only do this with the support and help of folks like you. I’ll tell you, it’s not fun to ask for money. I know how hard it is to squeeze a buck out of me! But if you want to be part of our team and this mission, please give what you can. I promise you this: We will do the type of journalism that exposes the deceit and deceptions that are threatening our nation—and make you proud.
More:
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2018/06/the-true-russia-scandal-is-fully-known/?utm_source=mj-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=in-the-mix-2018-06-09
Merkley asking people to sign petition RE detention centers/family separation:
I'm on Merkley's email list. Got this today:
Yesterday, I was in Brownsville, Texas. I went to visit an immigration detention center housing children who have been separated from their families.
When I arrived, I was barred entry. The police were called on me.
What are they hiding?
Sign the petition: tell Donald Trump to immediately reverse this inhumane policy and reunite these families.
https://www.jeffmerkley.com/petition/family-separation/e/
America is better than this. The policies of the Trump administration — conducted in our names — are inhumane and unacceptable.
Imagine the horror these children are feeling when they're ripped from their parents' arms. Imagine not knowing when you'll see your family again.
I won't stop speaking out until these children are reunited with their families. Please join me. We must be heard.
Sign my petition right now.
Jeff
****
Please K and R for visibility.
I used to be a 911 dispatcher. BBQ Becky type racist calls happened daily.
I used to be a 911 dispatcher. I had to respond to racist calls every day.
The viral police call on a black family barbecuing in Oakland was an everyday occurrence.
By Rachael Herron Updated May 31, 2018, 1:55pm EDT
Several videos showing racial profiling of black Americans by police and white Americans have recently gone viral — in one video, a white woman calls the cops on a group of black people barbecuing in a park in Oakland. In another, a white student calls 911 when she sees a black classmate sleeping in a dormitory common room. In this essay, a former police dispatcher remembers the racist calls she used to take every day and law enforcement’s rules that forced her to respond to every caller, regardless of the incident.
It was the end of an 18-hour shift. My butt hurt from sitting in one place with only a couple of five-minute bathroom breaks. My brain hurt from staying awake that long, and my stomach ached from all the coffee I’d drunk to keep myself alert.
But the phones rarely stopped.
“911, what’s the address of your emergency?” I said into the headset.
The man gave me his address and then said, “There’s a woman pushing a shopping cart in front of my house.”
This one stumped me. I worked in a large metropolitan area. Yes, the city where I worked was affluent, and most people used their cars to get groceries. But surely he’d seen a person using a personal grocery cart before.
“I’m sorry, I’m not getting it. What’s the problem?” I waited for more clarification as I racked my brain for the correct penal code under which this infraction might fall.
“You need to get out here now.”
“Um.” A dispatcher has to be cautious about how she phrases things. Of all the jobs in emergency services — firefighters, police officers, nurses, doctors — dispatchers are the only ones who are recorded during every single thing they do. Everything they say — and their whole job is speaking — is part of public record. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re reporting.”
“She’s black.”
Lots more at link. Well worth the read:
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/5/30/17406092/race-911-white-lady-calls-police-on-black-family-bbq-oakland
Conclusion:
With some rudimentary math, I’ve worked out that I’ve answered at least a quarter of a million 911 calls in my career. Amid the meaningless, racially charged calls, I’ve gotten so many by concerned citizens who genuinely want to help someone who is hurt or in danger. Good typically wins over evil. But it’s awfully damn close sometimes. And we all have to pick a side.
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