So far, it appears that the growing and spreading Resistance is very, very white, largely female, and pissed as hell that this clown is allowed to fuck with the national consciousness this way.
Additionally, The Resistance appears to be largely middle and upper-middle class types who see that their benefits, rights and privileges are liable to be threatened or withdrawn by the advent of the Trump regime.
This is not to discount any other participants and interests involved in the ongoing series of protests, demonstrations, and actions that seem to have taken on a life of their own and have spread throughout the country. I can't be in the streets, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!😀) so I don't have much personal contact with the Resisters, but I am still part of a peace and justice community that participates. Many of those in the community are well off white women but not all. But then, this is New Mexico, and it is as nearly polyglot here as any place in the US. And Wypipo are not always the most important social and political interests.
The Women's March was full of women of color, some of them quite a bit more radical than their white sisters. But that radical energy seemed to get rechanneled into more conventional and largely ineffective (because it's non-threatening) activism almost immediately. Activisim was channeled into raising a ruckus at congressional town halls and offices over various issues including the repeal of Obamacare. In other words, standard Democratic Party issues.
But then with the Muslim ban, a spontaneous resistance arose from below the Party apparat that the Democrats tried to get in front of. The immigration and refugee issue is one that Democrats have always been conflicted over. It has to do with how immigrants and refugees are seen by the owners and sponsors, and it's not a particularly pretty picture at all. Much of it is obscured by sentiment. Trump and his toadies are taking off the veil of sentiment, becoming openly harsh and unforgiving about the Others Who Don't Belong Here, but that's been hidden or open policy for most of my life.
The spontaneous uprising had to do with human rights and simple justice -- something the Democrats had avoided with regard to immigrants and refugees for many years, so it was kind of funny watching the spin from the Dems as the demonstrations filled airports and demanded the release forthwith of travelers who were being detained pursuant to the White House diktat.
Exploiting the issue has been customary since then. But I don't think the People are necessarily being listened to in this matter.
It's much more nuanced than the question might appear, and it has almost nothing to do with the fearmongering of the regime.
It had much more to do with simple justice. The US war machine and neoliberal economic policies have created the refugee crisis and keep it going despite ongoing efforts to bring this phase of American Imperialism to a conclusion. Simple justice requires that the US accommodate the refugees that it has created, either in the United States or in other lands, and that the US handle immigration justly. None of those things are happening, as power centers exercise essentially arbitrary authority over who does and does not enter the country on a nearly random basis. The chaos at the airports came about due to the extension of that arbitrary authority. Nope. Not gonna fly.
The Dem effort to get in front of it was pretty pathetic from my perspective, but now that the issue is in the courts, we can all move on to other things.
Which would be?
For now, the Resistance appears to be mostly preventional. Prevent the horrors to come. Stop the madness.
And then build a better future.
I don't know that you can do it that way, though. The Color Revolutions showed us that unless you have a Better Future Plan queued up and ready to go, the neolibs and the fascists will move right in and take over. Every time. The follow up is grim. If we're ever going to defeat the fascists and the dominant paradigm of rule, we're going to have to have something very much better ready to go.
We don't. Far from it.
We have to look beyond the desires of the Wypipo.
For me, the model of resistance and that better future is that of the Water Protectors and their allies.
The struggle continues.
Showing posts with label water protectors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water protectors. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Friday, January 27, 2017
Water Protectors On Duty
By now everyone's heard that Trump has "restarted" the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline "shut down" by Obama. I use the scare quotes because what's actually happened is a little less declarative than the Narrative would have it.
Obama didn't actually shut down the pipelines, he deferred final decisions on them to a later time, when he was out of office. Trump has not restarted them, he has picked up the ball where Obama left it, and is considering whether to run with it.
I split hairs like this because what is actually going on in this chaotic situation often varies quite a bit from the Narratives put out by the White House and countered by the media. There are lies and lies and more lies, in a blizzard of falsehood -- coming from all sides -- and it's almost impossible for the Rabble to sort out fact from fiction under the circumstances.
Chaos is the key, and keeping things as chaotic and unpredictable as possible appears to be the way Trump intends to rule until he is deposed.
But he's not the only one who can play that game.
Not by a long shot.
Meanwhile up in frozen North Dakota, the Water Protectors were planning to decamp from Sacred Stone and Oceti Sacowin, packing up and moving away from the Standing Rock reservation and setting up camp again at other reservations by invitation. This was to be a voluntary evacuation, but it was in line with the SRS Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault's repeated requests (orders?) that the Water Protector camps be vacated "for the safety" of the campers. Or something.
His position was that while the Environmental Impact Statement ordered by Obama was being prepared, protection/provocation by Water Protectors was counter productive. The less conflict at the site during the process, the better in his view. There have been recent incidents of violence (by police) against Water Protectors at the Backwater Bridge, a continuous flashpoint at Standing Rock. Archambault said he wanted the bridge reopened,, and that couldn't happen so long as incidents of violence kept happening there.
So he issued another request/order that the Water Protectors leave, and he and the tribal council essentially seized the millions of dollars raised for the Water Protectors and declared it tribal funds to use as the tribal council determined. I don't know what happened to the warehouse full of supplies sent to the camps, but last I heard, the tribe was refusing to release them to the camps.
As a point of reference, there have been widespread Water Protector actions primarily against pipelines all over the country since things calmed a bit at Standing Rock. This is the kind of activism that takes on a life of its own, and by spreading out so much -- rather than being concentrated in one spot -- the Water Protectors are ensuring their survival come what may.
It's not unlike the way Occupy dispersed after the coordinated violent crack down against it in 2011 and 2012. While I haven't got around to updating my Occupy links -- many are dead now -- I am quite aware that Occupy is still around and is still active, though for the most part they keep a low profile. As one of the Occupy mottos says, "You can't kill an idea."
That's pretty much where things stood on Monday. On Tuesday everything changed when Trump signed his pipelines memorandum. Keystone XL and Dakota Access were suddenly placed on the track for eventual approval, regardless it seemed of anything else.
The evacuation of the camps at Standing Rock halted and a call went out for Water Protectors to return -- so long as they were physically able to do so and could be self-sufficient once there.
The call did not go out from Archambault, it was issued by Chad IronEyes, one of the Standing Rock Sioux activists who has stayed on top of the evolving situation there and who has occupied the space between the Tribal Chairman and Council and the Water Protectors.
I haven't checked the activist notices today yet, but after Trump's action, there were demonstrations by Water Protectors and their allies in many cities throughout the country. As the Water Protectors reassemble in North Dakota, the state is preparing to force the issue and prohibit protest in so far as they can by law. They've even come up with some kind of law that legalizes running down protesters who block roads -- as long as it's an "accident."
Yes, well. We've already seen that happen during the actions last year. Sport, dontchaknow.
And there have been violent incidents at the Bridge in which numerous Water Protectors and allies have been injured by rubber bullets, water cannon, and other weapons wielded by the police. They've even set up a missile launcher apparently to shoot down drones flown by Water Protectors in order to document what's going on.
Please understand, this is all a dry run for the eventual suppression of any and all popular revolts and uprisings that might come to pass in the future.
The Indians at Standing Rock know this; many of their allies do too. But the general public remains oblivious.
I've pointed out in other fora that serious protest action in the United States has historically been met with serious and deadly force. Kent State is a well known example, but there were many others in those days and previously. Massacres of Indians, of course, were routine in the 19th Century, but strikers, protesters, and other activists who were perceived as threats by The Powers That Be were frequently subjected to use of deadly force by private guards as well as the National Guard and police, occasionally by the Regular Army.
People who understand this history of suppression of dissent know that the Water Protectors, as some of the most successful activists in recent times, are at severe risk of injury or death at the hands of the authorities, no matter where they are, but particularly so in North Dakota. I don't know how many have been injured so far, but hundreds were injured during the action on November 20-21 when water cannon were first turned on the activists at the Bridge.
This is deadly serious.
I've pointed out that the Water Protectors have been showing the way to effective resistance under the current circumstances. They are rebels, yes, but they are not in the mold of past resistance efforts. They are a step beyond them. First, they are grounded in Native American spirituality, something a lot of Anglos like to play with, but something few of them understand or can relate to. It's a different way of looking at the relationship between the Spirits and the People. It's a much more powerful thing than most Anglos can imagine, and it's part of the reason why so many of the Water Protectors can endure the suppression and the violence unleashed against them by the authorities. It's a reason why the Water Protectors understand they might lose from time to time, and they understand the Dakota Access Pipeline might be completed no matter what they do, but that in the end, they will be vindicated and victorious.
They have endured so much so far, and the struggle is re-engaged, not only at Standing Rock but all over the country now.
It is part of the emerging struggle against the forces of wealth and power so perfectly expressed through the elevation of Trump and his cronies to run the government of these United States.
Water Protectors have led the way. They are the vanguard.
Where the struggle goes from here, we'll have to wait and see -- unless, of course, we are involved in actions to change the situation for the better.
Obama didn't actually shut down the pipelines, he deferred final decisions on them to a later time, when he was out of office. Trump has not restarted them, he has picked up the ball where Obama left it, and is considering whether to run with it.
I split hairs like this because what is actually going on in this chaotic situation often varies quite a bit from the Narratives put out by the White House and countered by the media. There are lies and lies and more lies, in a blizzard of falsehood -- coming from all sides -- and it's almost impossible for the Rabble to sort out fact from fiction under the circumstances.
Chaos is the key, and keeping things as chaotic and unpredictable as possible appears to be the way Trump intends to rule until he is deposed.
But he's not the only one who can play that game.
Not by a long shot.
Meanwhile up in frozen North Dakota, the Water Protectors were planning to decamp from Sacred Stone and Oceti Sacowin, packing up and moving away from the Standing Rock reservation and setting up camp again at other reservations by invitation. This was to be a voluntary evacuation, but it was in line with the SRS Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault's repeated requests (orders?) that the Water Protector camps be vacated "for the safety" of the campers. Or something.
His position was that while the Environmental Impact Statement ordered by Obama was being prepared, protection/provocation by Water Protectors was counter productive. The less conflict at the site during the process, the better in his view. There have been recent incidents of violence (by police) against Water Protectors at the Backwater Bridge, a continuous flashpoint at Standing Rock. Archambault said he wanted the bridge reopened,, and that couldn't happen so long as incidents of violence kept happening there.
So he issued another request/order that the Water Protectors leave, and he and the tribal council essentially seized the millions of dollars raised for the Water Protectors and declared it tribal funds to use as the tribal council determined. I don't know what happened to the warehouse full of supplies sent to the camps, but last I heard, the tribe was refusing to release them to the camps.
As a point of reference, there have been widespread Water Protector actions primarily against pipelines all over the country since things calmed a bit at Standing Rock. This is the kind of activism that takes on a life of its own, and by spreading out so much -- rather than being concentrated in one spot -- the Water Protectors are ensuring their survival come what may.
It's not unlike the way Occupy dispersed after the coordinated violent crack down against it in 2011 and 2012. While I haven't got around to updating my Occupy links -- many are dead now -- I am quite aware that Occupy is still around and is still active, though for the most part they keep a low profile. As one of the Occupy mottos says, "You can't kill an idea."
That's pretty much where things stood on Monday. On Tuesday everything changed when Trump signed his pipelines memorandum. Keystone XL and Dakota Access were suddenly placed on the track for eventual approval, regardless it seemed of anything else.
The evacuation of the camps at Standing Rock halted and a call went out for Water Protectors to return -- so long as they were physically able to do so and could be self-sufficient once there.
The call did not go out from Archambault, it was issued by Chad IronEyes, one of the Standing Rock Sioux activists who has stayed on top of the evolving situation there and who has occupied the space between the Tribal Chairman and Council and the Water Protectors.
I haven't checked the activist notices today yet, but after Trump's action, there were demonstrations by Water Protectors and their allies in many cities throughout the country. As the Water Protectors reassemble in North Dakota, the state is preparing to force the issue and prohibit protest in so far as they can by law. They've even come up with some kind of law that legalizes running down protesters who block roads -- as long as it's an "accident."
Yes, well. We've already seen that happen during the actions last year. Sport, dontchaknow.
And there have been violent incidents at the Bridge in which numerous Water Protectors and allies have been injured by rubber bullets, water cannon, and other weapons wielded by the police. They've even set up a missile launcher apparently to shoot down drones flown by Water Protectors in order to document what's going on.
Please understand, this is all a dry run for the eventual suppression of any and all popular revolts and uprisings that might come to pass in the future.
The Indians at Standing Rock know this; many of their allies do too. But the general public remains oblivious.
I've pointed out in other fora that serious protest action in the United States has historically been met with serious and deadly force. Kent State is a well known example, but there were many others in those days and previously. Massacres of Indians, of course, were routine in the 19th Century, but strikers, protesters, and other activists who were perceived as threats by The Powers That Be were frequently subjected to use of deadly force by private guards as well as the National Guard and police, occasionally by the Regular Army.
People who understand this history of suppression of dissent know that the Water Protectors, as some of the most successful activists in recent times, are at severe risk of injury or death at the hands of the authorities, no matter where they are, but particularly so in North Dakota. I don't know how many have been injured so far, but hundreds were injured during the action on November 20-21 when water cannon were first turned on the activists at the Bridge.
This is deadly serious.
I've pointed out that the Water Protectors have been showing the way to effective resistance under the current circumstances. They are rebels, yes, but they are not in the mold of past resistance efforts. They are a step beyond them. First, they are grounded in Native American spirituality, something a lot of Anglos like to play with, but something few of them understand or can relate to. It's a different way of looking at the relationship between the Spirits and the People. It's a much more powerful thing than most Anglos can imagine, and it's part of the reason why so many of the Water Protectors can endure the suppression and the violence unleashed against them by the authorities. It's a reason why the Water Protectors understand they might lose from time to time, and they understand the Dakota Access Pipeline might be completed no matter what they do, but that in the end, they will be vindicated and victorious.
They have endured so much so far, and the struggle is re-engaged, not only at Standing Rock but all over the country now.
It is part of the emerging struggle against the forces of wealth and power so perfectly expressed through the elevation of Trump and his cronies to run the government of these United States.
Water Protectors have led the way. They are the vanguard.
Where the struggle goes from here, we'll have to wait and see -- unless, of course, we are involved in actions to change the situation for the better.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
The Training -- Post Review
Well.
Interesting view of how "law enforcement" is supposed to see their role and behavior during a protest whether or not it involves a so-called "riot" or "civil disturbance."
This particular training document was pulled out of the FEMA vaults by Unicorn Riot who's been on scene and subject to North Dakota "law enforcement" for much of the Water Protector actions over the past many months. Their media reps have been arrested and been witness to much of the violence perpetrated by "law enforcement" against the Water Protectors, and their documentary evidence will no doubt be utilized in the numerous pending lawsuits against the North Dakota and allied "law enforcement" bodies, and in the many pending trials of arrested Water Protectors.
That aside, the FEMA training document is much lighter on specifics than I anticipated. It's an overview of a course of training for crowd control rather than a detailed course itself. It contains some details of training that is applied in the field, and some of us have witnessed just how it's been done under differing conditions and perceptions of "threat" from the crowds of protesters/protectors. While this course advises "law enforcement" to resist the urge to resort to force, and even resist the urge to dress up in RoboCop costumes, we know that too often "law enforcement" can't resist resorting to violence and gross intimidation of loud but unarmed and often unresisting protesters. They just can't help themselves, can they?
No, says the training guide. Don't do that. Keep use of force to only what's necessary under the circumstances. Don't provoke the crowd. Be respectful. Yadda yadda. All the things "law enforcement" is supposed to do but doesn't. People have a constitutional right to protest ("peaceably") without force used against them.
Right.
Of more interest, perhaps, are the descriptions of protester "types" and what they do. This is yet more of the "intelligence" of our Overlords, wherein X is presumed to mean Y and Z is the expected outcome. Except that's not what happens. Yet "law enforcement" -- or whatever Overlord interest -- acts as if X->Y->>=Z is true no matter what. Leading to appalling episodes such as the assault on the Water Protectors the night of November 20-21. It didn't matter what was really going on, all that mattered was that a "riot" was under way that had to be suppressed.
It wasn't true, but it was believed by "law enforcement" to be true.
What actually happened has still not been acknowledged by "law enforcement."
Still, this training manual is an interesting read if you want to know how our ever more notorious police think -- or are expected to think.
The document is interesting for the way it characterizes threats, how the psychology of crowds is perceived, and what force protection and munitions should be employed against protesters.
Other than that, it's potentially useful against "law enforcement"... but we'll let that mellow for a while...
Interesting view of how "law enforcement" is supposed to see their role and behavior during a protest whether or not it involves a so-called "riot" or "civil disturbance."
This particular training document was pulled out of the FEMA vaults by Unicorn Riot who's been on scene and subject to North Dakota "law enforcement" for much of the Water Protector actions over the past many months. Their media reps have been arrested and been witness to much of the violence perpetrated by "law enforcement" against the Water Protectors, and their documentary evidence will no doubt be utilized in the numerous pending lawsuits against the North Dakota and allied "law enforcement" bodies, and in the many pending trials of arrested Water Protectors.
That aside, the FEMA training document is much lighter on specifics than I anticipated. It's an overview of a course of training for crowd control rather than a detailed course itself. It contains some details of training that is applied in the field, and some of us have witnessed just how it's been done under differing conditions and perceptions of "threat" from the crowds of protesters/protectors. While this course advises "law enforcement" to resist the urge to resort to force, and even resist the urge to dress up in RoboCop costumes, we know that too often "law enforcement" can't resist resorting to violence and gross intimidation of loud but unarmed and often unresisting protesters. They just can't help themselves, can they?
No, says the training guide. Don't do that. Keep use of force to only what's necessary under the circumstances. Don't provoke the crowd. Be respectful. Yadda yadda. All the things "law enforcement" is supposed to do but doesn't. People have a constitutional right to protest ("peaceably") without force used against them.
Right.
Of more interest, perhaps, are the descriptions of protester "types" and what they do. This is yet more of the "intelligence" of our Overlords, wherein X is presumed to mean Y and Z is the expected outcome. Except that's not what happens. Yet "law enforcement" -- or whatever Overlord interest -- acts as if X->Y->>=Z is true no matter what. Leading to appalling episodes such as the assault on the Water Protectors the night of November 20-21. It didn't matter what was really going on, all that mattered was that a "riot" was under way that had to be suppressed.
It wasn't true, but it was believed by "law enforcement" to be true.
What actually happened has still not been acknowledged by "law enforcement."
Still, this training manual is an interesting read if you want to know how our ever more notorious police think -- or are expected to think.
The document is interesting for the way it characterizes threats, how the psychology of crowds is perceived, and what force protection and munitions should be employed against protesters.
Other than that, it's potentially useful against "law enforcement"... but we'll let that mellow for a while...
Monday, December 5, 2016
Basking In the Glow of Victory (Such As It Is...)
The naysaying started immediately, within seconds of the announcement that the Army Corps of Engineers would not approve the easement for the DAPL crossing of the Missouri River at the border of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
"Oh, you savages haven't really won anything! You'll see!"
Yes, well. Noted.
Dave Archambault II, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, was asked by a reporter minutes after the announcement if he thought this ruling meant that this fight was over. He gave her a look the way he does and considered for a moment. "Yes," he said, "it's over." Since I know he's not delusional -- no one in the public eye seems more grounded in reality at the moment -- it was obvious to me that he was "making a statement."
The fight that's been going on for months, this fight, is done. Victory to the Water Protectors and their allies around the world. The overall struggle, beyond this phase, in this place, for these ends and objectives, is continuing. And there may well be more struggles over the pipeline at Standing Rock. That's a given.
And of course, forces are marshaled to overturn the ruling denying the easement. Many observers wonder if the pipeline company has gone ahead with their drilling anyway and will announce the completion of the work sooner rather than later. That's as may be. And that would mark a different phase of the struggle or perhaps a different struggle altogether.
What the Water Protectors have won is what they were asking for: a thorough Environmental Impact Statement, consideration of re-routing the pipeline away from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, consultation with the Tribe over any project of its kind, and respect for Treaties and Treaty rights.
All of these things were requested/demanded from the Corps and the regulatory bodies well before the project started construction, as made clear in the recording of the Tribal Council meeting of September 30, 2014 that I posted earlier. There really were no new demands by the Tribe through all the twists and turns of the actions by Water Protectors and the so-called "law enforcement" of the region (supplemented by mercenaries from other areas and private companies.)
What the Tribe wanted was all very clear and was based on the requirements of the laws that were flagrantly ignored by North Dakota, the Army Corps, and by the pipeline companies. At no time were Tribal officials requesting or demanding anything outside the requirements of those laws. They were demanding that the laws be observed.
If those laws were observed and the pipeline went through anyway, the Tribe would still object, but at least the pipeline would be a lawful (if wrong) intrusion -- of which there have been so many over the centuries.
But in this case, North Dakota, the Army Corps, and the pipeline companies appeared to collude in order to circumvent the laws in existence that regulated pipeline routing and construction, and which required close consultation with Tribal interests along any proposed route, required a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, and required respect for and honoring of Tribal Treaties.
This collusion to circumvent the laws regarding these matters was the core of the objections by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the pipeline. Of course there were many other reasons to object, most of which were highlighted during the campaign by the Water Protectors.
So, after months of campaigning against the pipeline, a campaign that attracted world-wide support, and after hundreds of arrests on bogus charges, after hundreds were injured (some seriously) in police assaults on Water Protectors, and after the pipeline was nearly completed, and after thousands of veterans assembled at Standing Rock to protect the Water Protectors from the pipeline protectors the government in Washington and the Army Corps in (Nebraska?) bestirred themselves to declare: "Ooops, we shoulda done this the right way, shouldn't we? Let's have a do-over, mkay?"
Damb.
It's not too little, too late, it's more like WTF?
But this isn't anything new to the Tribes. They know WTF inside and out.
So. This is an important victory, despite the naysayers. Anything could happen from this point. A spanner has been thrown in the works, and at least temporarily the actual regulations and laws about these things are supposed to be followed.
Nevertheless, the pipeline may still be finished on the current route and even on the current schedule (though that's unlikely -- even if Trump reverses the ruling by the Corps.)
I think everybody involved in the campaign is aware of that, and has been all along.
And the campaign isn't ending.
My understanding is that the camp "Oceti Sakowin" will remain at least until these matters are settled. Some of the veterans will stay on site for the duration; they're not going anywhere. Their assignment and duty is to protect the Water Protectors come what may. The numbers in the camp will fluctuate as they have throughout the campaign to date (I heard that yesterday there were an estimated 16,000 in the camp or more). There is little doubt that the pipeline companies in collusion with the authorities in North Dakota -- but without overt federal support at least until the Trump regime takes power -- will attempt to circumvent law and suppress the Water Protectors as they have been accustomed to do.
This is not naysaying, it's reality, one that the Standing Rock Sioux and the Water Protectors know all too well.
The struggle continues.
Yesterday's victory is gratifying. It gives courage to those of us who seek a better future for us all.
Much gratitude to the Water Protectors who have shown us the way.
"Oh, you savages haven't really won anything! You'll see!"
Yes, well. Noted.
Dave Archambault II, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, was asked by a reporter minutes after the announcement if he thought this ruling meant that this fight was over. He gave her a look the way he does and considered for a moment. "Yes," he said, "it's over." Since I know he's not delusional -- no one in the public eye seems more grounded in reality at the moment -- it was obvious to me that he was "making a statement."
The fight that's been going on for months, this fight, is done. Victory to the Water Protectors and their allies around the world. The overall struggle, beyond this phase, in this place, for these ends and objectives, is continuing. And there may well be more struggles over the pipeline at Standing Rock. That's a given.
And of course, forces are marshaled to overturn the ruling denying the easement. Many observers wonder if the pipeline company has gone ahead with their drilling anyway and will announce the completion of the work sooner rather than later. That's as may be. And that would mark a different phase of the struggle or perhaps a different struggle altogether.
What the Water Protectors have won is what they were asking for: a thorough Environmental Impact Statement, consideration of re-routing the pipeline away from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, consultation with the Tribe over any project of its kind, and respect for Treaties and Treaty rights.
All of these things were requested/demanded from the Corps and the regulatory bodies well before the project started construction, as made clear in the recording of the Tribal Council meeting of September 30, 2014 that I posted earlier. There really were no new demands by the Tribe through all the twists and turns of the actions by Water Protectors and the so-called "law enforcement" of the region (supplemented by mercenaries from other areas and private companies.)
What the Tribe wanted was all very clear and was based on the requirements of the laws that were flagrantly ignored by North Dakota, the Army Corps, and by the pipeline companies. At no time were Tribal officials requesting or demanding anything outside the requirements of those laws. They were demanding that the laws be observed.
If those laws were observed and the pipeline went through anyway, the Tribe would still object, but at least the pipeline would be a lawful (if wrong) intrusion -- of which there have been so many over the centuries.
But in this case, North Dakota, the Army Corps, and the pipeline companies appeared to collude in order to circumvent the laws in existence that regulated pipeline routing and construction, and which required close consultation with Tribal interests along any proposed route, required a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, and required respect for and honoring of Tribal Treaties.
This collusion to circumvent the laws regarding these matters was the core of the objections by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the pipeline. Of course there were many other reasons to object, most of which were highlighted during the campaign by the Water Protectors.
So, after months of campaigning against the pipeline, a campaign that attracted world-wide support, and after hundreds of arrests on bogus charges, after hundreds were injured (some seriously) in police assaults on Water Protectors, and after the pipeline was nearly completed, and after thousands of veterans assembled at Standing Rock to protect the Water Protectors from the pipeline protectors the government in Washington and the Army Corps in (Nebraska?) bestirred themselves to declare: "Ooops, we shoulda done this the right way, shouldn't we? Let's have a do-over, mkay?"
Damb.
It's not too little, too late, it's more like WTF?
But this isn't anything new to the Tribes. They know WTF inside and out.
So. This is an important victory, despite the naysayers. Anything could happen from this point. A spanner has been thrown in the works, and at least temporarily the actual regulations and laws about these things are supposed to be followed.
Nevertheless, the pipeline may still be finished on the current route and even on the current schedule (though that's unlikely -- even if Trump reverses the ruling by the Corps.)
I think everybody involved in the campaign is aware of that, and has been all along.
And the campaign isn't ending.
My understanding is that the camp "Oceti Sakowin" will remain at least until these matters are settled. Some of the veterans will stay on site for the duration; they're not going anywhere. Their assignment and duty is to protect the Water Protectors come what may. The numbers in the camp will fluctuate as they have throughout the campaign to date (I heard that yesterday there were an estimated 16,000 in the camp or more). There is little doubt that the pipeline companies in collusion with the authorities in North Dakota -- but without overt federal support at least until the Trump regime takes power -- will attempt to circumvent law and suppress the Water Protectors as they have been accustomed to do.
This is not naysaying, it's reality, one that the Standing Rock Sioux and the Water Protectors know all too well.
The struggle continues.
Yesterday's victory is gratifying. It gives courage to those of us who seek a better future for us all.
Much gratitude to the Water Protectors who have shown us the way.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Keeping it Together; Flying Apart; A Gathering of Nations
The Standing Rock resistance actions in North Dakota have been an inspiration to me just as they have been to millions of allies and supporters around the country and the world. We've had friends go up there a number of times, and we wish we could go too, to stand in solidarity with the Water Protectors and Grandmother Earth Defenders, but it's not an option for us at the moment due to age and infirmity in my case and Ms Ché's intensive class schedule in hers.
So we support them how and when we can. It's an obligation on the one hand; a blessing on the other. Part of the inspiration for me is that those on the front lines are sticking together no matter what comes their way. They are strong in spirit and they stand united against the Black Snake; that's the key to their ultimate victory which I'm more convinced that ever will come, regardless of whether the Black Snake eventually tunnels under the Missouri River-Lake Oahe it is poised to violate.
Indigenous resistance around the world has gathered strength from the resistance in North Dakota, but at the same time, the Standing Rock resistance gains strength and power from indigenous resistance movements in the rest of the world. It's a circle, and it is a circle that is spreading ever outwards as the Dominant Society flies apart.
That's what it looks like to me. Many observers have been trying to "make sense of" the rise of Rightist-Racist National-Populism throughout the Euro-American cultural sphere. What's going on? Why is it happening? And why the focus on it, when there are other powerful movements in the rise as well?
To me, it's a sign that the Dominant Euro-American socio-economic and political experiment is coming apart, nearing its end. It's been bankrupt for some time. The opposition to its unfettered continuance has reached a tipping point. Repent and all that.
I've been seeing more and more commentary that says the EU is dead and cannot be resuscitated. Other commentary suggests the crisis election in the United States will lead to... something, call it an end to the 40 year long experiment in neoLibCon rule and potentially the break up of the US into regionally autonomous units. Self-determination and independence movements are growing and spreading everywhere, and the United Empire (US and (primarily) its European allies) has shown itself to be highly vulnerable to these movements wherever they crop up and regardless of their ideological or religious foundations.
The United Empire has been engaged in -- indeed, has provoked -- what amounts to Endless War against shadows and internalized fears for over fifteen years. It creates its own enemies, fights them, supposedly defeats them, then wonders why they keep coming back. How can that be? Who are these "enemies?" Why are they always there?
They're shadows. They're fears. They don't go away. They can't be defeated, they can only be denied. But by denying them, they are strengthened. It's the most amazing thing.
Fear can be a useful and normal state of mind in some circumstances. It can goose the adrenalin to enable remarkable bursts of strength and feats of daring. But it can't be maintained over the long term without causing serious physical and psychological damage.
Those who live in fear all the time, as our governments do and as they and their propagandists try to induce the People to do, are crippled in spirit and in strength. The fight or flight mechanism is meant as a temporary expedient, not the central fact of one's existence, but in the Dominant Society, it is becoming the only thing.
It's obvious that since the (s)election Americans have been whipsawed between abject fear and despair, and some sort of wan hope that It (eventually) Gets Better. The efforts to normalize what's happening are ongoing, but the Chaos merely grows -- regardless of what "side" one is on -- and as it grows, the fears take over. As I've said, it's a classic Shock Doctrine tactic for control of the masses, but it's a risky one, too, as its results become less and less manageable and predictable.
This is one reason why positive and active resistance is necessary. The Water Protectors and the Grandmother Earth Defenders are the example of what resistance can and should look like. There are all kinds of other resistance movements, many of which look nothing like the Water Protectors, and they act nothing like them, either. Direct attacks on the Empire generally won't succeed, but a Butterfly Effect can cause the course of Empire to change. Not necessarily for the better, however.
We hear all the time that the Empire is on its last legs, collapsing, yadda yadda, and I've never believed it. With every turn of the screw, the Empire is strengthened. It's doing fine, and it will survive the lot of us. This widespread return to White Rightism/White Supremacy within the Imperial construct is a defense mechanism, deeply ingrained in the psyches of Euro-Americans, that they can never truly escape. They're defending the Empire (of the mind) against the Savage Hordes of Dusky "Mud People" at the gates. It's been that way for thousands of years, and I don't see it changing for the better any time soon.
The Water Defenders in North Dakota include the feared "Savages" -- but they also include a broad cross-section of non-Indian allies on the front lines as well as in every other possible venue they can find in the US and around the world. Soon, a contingent of US military veterans will converge on the Standing Rock Reservation to protect the Water Protectors from the violent repression of the Pipeline Protectors.
The Vets may number in the hundreds or thousands, who can say. But they will appear like the wild bison appeared during one of the law enforcement "engagements" with the Water Protectors.
Every time this happens, the pipeline protectors lose some of their courage (not that they had much to begin with, they have shown themselves to be cowards through and through) and some more of them leave the fight against phantoms they've been assigned to battle.
Of course should they choose to use "overwhelming force" against their phantom foes, the consequences may be "victory" in the immediate case, just the opposite over time. The Water Protectors are using their spiritual strength to stand firm against the physical violence and repression being used against them to protect the pipeline, but in the end, Power will have to yield. The coward will yield to the brave.
The Standing Rock resistance represents the largest gathering of Indigenous nations in modern history, perhaps ever. The unity of purpose and spirit at Standing Rock is unprecedented though it is inspired by Native Resistance movements everywhere and is part of them.
As long as they stand and stay together, they will succeed.
So we support them how and when we can. It's an obligation on the one hand; a blessing on the other. Part of the inspiration for me is that those on the front lines are sticking together no matter what comes their way. They are strong in spirit and they stand united against the Black Snake; that's the key to their ultimate victory which I'm more convinced that ever will come, regardless of whether the Black Snake eventually tunnels under the Missouri River-Lake Oahe it is poised to violate.
Indigenous resistance around the world has gathered strength from the resistance in North Dakota, but at the same time, the Standing Rock resistance gains strength and power from indigenous resistance movements in the rest of the world. It's a circle, and it is a circle that is spreading ever outwards as the Dominant Society flies apart.
That's what it looks like to me. Many observers have been trying to "make sense of" the rise of Rightist-Racist National-Populism throughout the Euro-American cultural sphere. What's going on? Why is it happening? And why the focus on it, when there are other powerful movements in the rise as well?
To me, it's a sign that the Dominant Euro-American socio-economic and political experiment is coming apart, nearing its end. It's been bankrupt for some time. The opposition to its unfettered continuance has reached a tipping point. Repent and all that.
I've been seeing more and more commentary that says the EU is dead and cannot be resuscitated. Other commentary suggests the crisis election in the United States will lead to... something, call it an end to the 40 year long experiment in neoLibCon rule and potentially the break up of the US into regionally autonomous units. Self-determination and independence movements are growing and spreading everywhere, and the United Empire (US and (primarily) its European allies) has shown itself to be highly vulnerable to these movements wherever they crop up and regardless of their ideological or religious foundations.
The United Empire has been engaged in -- indeed, has provoked -- what amounts to Endless War against shadows and internalized fears for over fifteen years. It creates its own enemies, fights them, supposedly defeats them, then wonders why they keep coming back. How can that be? Who are these "enemies?" Why are they always there?
They're shadows. They're fears. They don't go away. They can't be defeated, they can only be denied. But by denying them, they are strengthened. It's the most amazing thing.
Fear can be a useful and normal state of mind in some circumstances. It can goose the adrenalin to enable remarkable bursts of strength and feats of daring. But it can't be maintained over the long term without causing serious physical and psychological damage.
Those who live in fear all the time, as our governments do and as they and their propagandists try to induce the People to do, are crippled in spirit and in strength. The fight or flight mechanism is meant as a temporary expedient, not the central fact of one's existence, but in the Dominant Society, it is becoming the only thing.
It's obvious that since the (s)election Americans have been whipsawed between abject fear and despair, and some sort of wan hope that It (eventually) Gets Better. The efforts to normalize what's happening are ongoing, but the Chaos merely grows -- regardless of what "side" one is on -- and as it grows, the fears take over. As I've said, it's a classic Shock Doctrine tactic for control of the masses, but it's a risky one, too, as its results become less and less manageable and predictable.
This is one reason why positive and active resistance is necessary. The Water Protectors and the Grandmother Earth Defenders are the example of what resistance can and should look like. There are all kinds of other resistance movements, many of which look nothing like the Water Protectors, and they act nothing like them, either. Direct attacks on the Empire generally won't succeed, but a Butterfly Effect can cause the course of Empire to change. Not necessarily for the better, however.
We hear all the time that the Empire is on its last legs, collapsing, yadda yadda, and I've never believed it. With every turn of the screw, the Empire is strengthened. It's doing fine, and it will survive the lot of us. This widespread return to White Rightism/White Supremacy within the Imperial construct is a defense mechanism, deeply ingrained in the psyches of Euro-Americans, that they can never truly escape. They're defending the Empire (of the mind) against the Savage Hordes of Dusky "Mud People" at the gates. It's been that way for thousands of years, and I don't see it changing for the better any time soon.
The Water Defenders in North Dakota include the feared "Savages" -- but they also include a broad cross-section of non-Indian allies on the front lines as well as in every other possible venue they can find in the US and around the world. Soon, a contingent of US military veterans will converge on the Standing Rock Reservation to protect the Water Protectors from the violent repression of the Pipeline Protectors.
The Vets may number in the hundreds or thousands, who can say. But they will appear like the wild bison appeared during one of the law enforcement "engagements" with the Water Protectors.
Every time this happens, the pipeline protectors lose some of their courage (not that they had much to begin with, they have shown themselves to be cowards through and through) and some more of them leave the fight against phantoms they've been assigned to battle.
Of course should they choose to use "overwhelming force" against their phantom foes, the consequences may be "victory" in the immediate case, just the opposite over time. The Water Protectors are using their spiritual strength to stand firm against the physical violence and repression being used against them to protect the pipeline, but in the end, Power will have to yield. The coward will yield to the brave.
The Standing Rock resistance represents the largest gathering of Indigenous nations in modern history, perhaps ever. The unity of purpose and spirit at Standing Rock is unprecedented though it is inspired by Native Resistance movements everywhere and is part of them.
As long as they stand and stay together, they will succeed.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Examples to Learn From
The Power Structure of this country appears to be doing everything it can to prop up the unfortunate "election" of Donald Trump to the Presidency. It's quite a remarkable scene when you think about it.
Not only is he unsuited to the office, he's totally unprepared and obviously at sea as the reality of what he's in for engulfs him. I'd be laughing if it weren't such a dangerous situation for so many Americans and people around the world.
Truly, I don't think he expected to win the office and he was quite prepared to hector Hillary from the sidelines, probably from his own TeeVee show and network set up and run by his compadre Roger Ailes. That's what I believe they were going for and expected to do. It would make them lots of money and serve as a brake on a Hillary White House.
In other words, they expected to play the Opposition Game the way it's been played by the Right for decades -- and to profit from it handsomely.
Had that happened, there would be grumpiness and grumbling from Trump loyalists to be sure, but he would have been able to give them a whole alternate universe in which to lick their wounds and do virtual battle against The Hag -- until she was either driven from office or so tied up in knots her regime would be declared a failure. Blah blah blah. It seems to me the groundwork was already done for this enterprise, and all they needed was a Hillary victory to launch. Stars and dollar signs were in their eyes.
And then... the unthinkable happened. They were given the Presidency instead. Now there will be no launch. No dollar signs. No alt.universe for their Loyalists to play in. This is as real as it gets.
Jeebus dancing on a Ritz. Whose idea was this? Well, it is what it is, and I imagine I'll be exploring it for some time to come. I had little interest in the campaign and the candidates while that shit-show was going on, but we're here now, and my interest in what to do about it is pretty intense.
He was given the keys to the Kingdom, and he's obviously as stunned as everyone else is. The Caucasian Id has been unleashed -- to what object I don't know, but there it is. White folks running wild doing what they want to whoever they decide to Other. It's ugly now and getting uglier. The worst of it is falling on the children, the brown, the black, the differently abled, the suspected queer, the suspected Muslim, or anyone at all who doesn't fit the New Model (White) Conformity.
That id has largely been kept in check for generations, and now it's let loose again to prey at will on the different and the vulnerable. Whose idea is this? What is the freaking purpose?
The United States has long since ceased to be a 'White' country, unlike some of the revanchist nations of Europe which have been reclaiming their 'Whiteness' in the face of the brown hordes of refugees driven from their homes (by EuroAmerican Imperialist destruction) in the Middle East and North Africa.
Until 'this' happened, Americans seemed quite content not to be 'White' any more, and the election of Barack Obama (twice) was supposed to be redemptive proof. He's still a very popular president. The efforts to turn him into a caricature and to "Nigger-ize" him never worked. At least not that I ever saw, but then, I'm not keyed in to the alt.White universe. I don't know how those people think. I don't know what they believe. I don't even know who they are or where they are.
It's just alien to me.
At least from my point of view these people are simply fringe, free to believe whatever they want, but not free -- until now -- to act on it.
Now they feel they've been liberated, and their Champion is going into the White House.
America will be White and Right again! Yay!
Why would Our Betters want this to happen? Why would they allow it to happen? Why are they trying so hard to prop it up? What's the deal here?
Obama himself is part of this process of propping up the inconceivable. He's been going out of his way to be kind and generous and welcoming and helpful to the Incoming Inconceivable, extending his hand and opening his heart, yadda yadda, which is not only eye-popping, but is also deeply disturbing. WTF, Dude?
Whoa. Something's going on we don't know anything about. Things are not what they appear. But maybe we got a hint of it when Michelle Obama so warmly embraced War Criminal George W. Bush at the opening of the Museum of African American Culture a few months ago. That was really shocking to a lot of people who sincerely believe that man should be in the dock at The Hague. Until he is, he should be shunned. But no. The Obamas and the Bushes and the Clintons -- and the Trumps? -- are all very good friends. Well, maybe the Trumps will be brought into the Circle if they ever get their act together enough to warrant inclusion. They haven't done so yet, but they're being given every opportunity. Why?
And what do we do about it?
Always we're being told just to calm down, accept the inevitable, don't fight it, everything will be fine, "he's not as bad as you think," yadda yadda, and I'm sorry, no, we're not going to just roll over for Trump, not this time...
I'm so old that I've heard this same litany about rightists installed in office -- going back to Reagan's gubernatorial victory in California in 1966. Every time, the same litany has been repeated: "Just calm down, accept it, 'he's not as bad as you think', everything will be fine." And every time it gets worse.
Every fucking time.
Reagan's election in 1966 was considered catastrophic at the time. Many innocents would be hurt. And guess what? It was and they were. Almost exactly as predicted. And so it's gone with every subsequent reiteration of Rightist Rule, over and over and over again.
And now this.
No, not again. Not when it is so obvious that something is dreadfully wrong with our electoral process, and not when he himself has no inkling of what to do now or even, seemingly, how he got this prize.
WTF?
I despise what he did during the campaign, boosting White Supremacy, inciting violence, and conning so many people into believing his bullshit. That all has violent and destructive repercussions on the innocent playing out right now. What he did was release the Caucasian Id from any restraint, sowing the wind. He will reap the whirlwind, but in the meantime a lot of people who shouldn't be hurt will be.
That's happening right now.
He told his followers to "Stop it!" as one would tell a dog, but they're not stopping. Why should they? In their mind, their victims deserve it. They lost! Oh, jeebus.
So what do we do?
Among the examples to learn from are the Water Protectors now and for months facing down Authority run amok in North Dakota. Other examples include the rebels in Ireland who ultimately defeated the British. The independence movement in India which eventually led to the exit of the British Empire. Anti-colonialists everywhere, including our own 18th Century revolution. The Zapatistas. And on and on.
Examples not to follow include SYRIZA in Greece, bless their hearts. It appears the Socialists everywhere are simply exhausted and out of steam. They have nothing much to offer any more, and they are obviously too willing to concede to their opponents almost before the struggle is engaged. Does that sound like the Democratic Party as well? Of course it does.
But make no mistake, the Democrats are just as much captive to the neoLibeCon, aristocratic ruling clique as are the Republicans, as are nearly all ruling parties throughout the West and much of the rest of the world.
The struggle we must engage in now is ultimately against that entire ruling ideology. Though we have to take it one step at a time.
I cite the examples I do because each of them based their struggle on simple principles: sovereignty, self-worth and spiritual renewal. If you think about it, that's what many of the White Rightists after too, only they want what they want in order to harm others, not to lift them up.
In other words, while the struggle we must engage in may be similar to that of the White Right, the objectives are quite different.
Strategies and tactics of where we go from here are actually very well worked out long since, the rule book of how to do it is already written. We don't have to reinvent the wheel, but we have to resist efforts to divide us (Shut up, Democratic "helpers" -- you're not helping!) and we must be aware of and remain focused on the end game -- why we fight, in other words.
We will win, though probably not in my lifetime.
You never know, though. As we've seen, things can change in a twinkling.
Not only is he unsuited to the office, he's totally unprepared and obviously at sea as the reality of what he's in for engulfs him. I'd be laughing if it weren't such a dangerous situation for so many Americans and people around the world.
Truly, I don't think he expected to win the office and he was quite prepared to hector Hillary from the sidelines, probably from his own TeeVee show and network set up and run by his compadre Roger Ailes. That's what I believe they were going for and expected to do. It would make them lots of money and serve as a brake on a Hillary White House.
In other words, they expected to play the Opposition Game the way it's been played by the Right for decades -- and to profit from it handsomely.
Had that happened, there would be grumpiness and grumbling from Trump loyalists to be sure, but he would have been able to give them a whole alternate universe in which to lick their wounds and do virtual battle against The Hag -- until she was either driven from office or so tied up in knots her regime would be declared a failure. Blah blah blah. It seems to me the groundwork was already done for this enterprise, and all they needed was a Hillary victory to launch. Stars and dollar signs were in their eyes.
And then... the unthinkable happened. They were given the Presidency instead. Now there will be no launch. No dollar signs. No alt.universe for their Loyalists to play in. This is as real as it gets.
Jeebus dancing on a Ritz. Whose idea was this? Well, it is what it is, and I imagine I'll be exploring it for some time to come. I had little interest in the campaign and the candidates while that shit-show was going on, but we're here now, and my interest in what to do about it is pretty intense.
He was given the keys to the Kingdom, and he's obviously as stunned as everyone else is. The Caucasian Id has been unleashed -- to what object I don't know, but there it is. White folks running wild doing what they want to whoever they decide to Other. It's ugly now and getting uglier. The worst of it is falling on the children, the brown, the black, the differently abled, the suspected queer, the suspected Muslim, or anyone at all who doesn't fit the New Model (White) Conformity.
That id has largely been kept in check for generations, and now it's let loose again to prey at will on the different and the vulnerable. Whose idea is this? What is the freaking purpose?
The United States has long since ceased to be a 'White' country, unlike some of the revanchist nations of Europe which have been reclaiming their 'Whiteness' in the face of the brown hordes of refugees driven from their homes (by EuroAmerican Imperialist destruction) in the Middle East and North Africa.
Until 'this' happened, Americans seemed quite content not to be 'White' any more, and the election of Barack Obama (twice) was supposed to be redemptive proof. He's still a very popular president. The efforts to turn him into a caricature and to "Nigger-ize" him never worked. At least not that I ever saw, but then, I'm not keyed in to the alt.White universe. I don't know how those people think. I don't know what they believe. I don't even know who they are or where they are.
It's just alien to me.
At least from my point of view these people are simply fringe, free to believe whatever they want, but not free -- until now -- to act on it.
Now they feel they've been liberated, and their Champion is going into the White House.
America will be White and Right again! Yay!
Why would Our Betters want this to happen? Why would they allow it to happen? Why are they trying so hard to prop it up? What's the deal here?
Obama himself is part of this process of propping up the inconceivable. He's been going out of his way to be kind and generous and welcoming and helpful to the Incoming Inconceivable, extending his hand and opening his heart, yadda yadda, which is not only eye-popping, but is also deeply disturbing. WTF, Dude?
Whoa. Something's going on we don't know anything about. Things are not what they appear. But maybe we got a hint of it when Michelle Obama so warmly embraced War Criminal George W. Bush at the opening of the Museum of African American Culture a few months ago. That was really shocking to a lot of people who sincerely believe that man should be in the dock at The Hague. Until he is, he should be shunned. But no. The Obamas and the Bushes and the Clintons -- and the Trumps? -- are all very good friends. Well, maybe the Trumps will be brought into the Circle if they ever get their act together enough to warrant inclusion. They haven't done so yet, but they're being given every opportunity. Why?
And what do we do about it?
Always we're being told just to calm down, accept the inevitable, don't fight it, everything will be fine, "he's not as bad as you think," yadda yadda, and I'm sorry, no, we're not going to just roll over for Trump, not this time...
I'm so old that I've heard this same litany about rightists installed in office -- going back to Reagan's gubernatorial victory in California in 1966. Every time, the same litany has been repeated: "Just calm down, accept it, 'he's not as bad as you think', everything will be fine." And every time it gets worse.
Every fucking time.
Reagan's election in 1966 was considered catastrophic at the time. Many innocents would be hurt. And guess what? It was and they were. Almost exactly as predicted. And so it's gone with every subsequent reiteration of Rightist Rule, over and over and over again.
And now this.
No, not again. Not when it is so obvious that something is dreadfully wrong with our electoral process, and not when he himself has no inkling of what to do now or even, seemingly, how he got this prize.
WTF?
I despise what he did during the campaign, boosting White Supremacy, inciting violence, and conning so many people into believing his bullshit. That all has violent and destructive repercussions on the innocent playing out right now. What he did was release the Caucasian Id from any restraint, sowing the wind. He will reap the whirlwind, but in the meantime a lot of people who shouldn't be hurt will be.
That's happening right now.
He told his followers to "Stop it!" as one would tell a dog, but they're not stopping. Why should they? In their mind, their victims deserve it. They lost! Oh, jeebus.
So what do we do?
Among the examples to learn from are the Water Protectors now and for months facing down Authority run amok in North Dakota. Other examples include the rebels in Ireland who ultimately defeated the British. The independence movement in India which eventually led to the exit of the British Empire. Anti-colonialists everywhere, including our own 18th Century revolution. The Zapatistas. And on and on.
Examples not to follow include SYRIZA in Greece, bless their hearts. It appears the Socialists everywhere are simply exhausted and out of steam. They have nothing much to offer any more, and they are obviously too willing to concede to their opponents almost before the struggle is engaged. Does that sound like the Democratic Party as well? Of course it does.
But make no mistake, the Democrats are just as much captive to the neoLibeCon, aristocratic ruling clique as are the Republicans, as are nearly all ruling parties throughout the West and much of the rest of the world.
The struggle we must engage in now is ultimately against that entire ruling ideology. Though we have to take it one step at a time.
I cite the examples I do because each of them based their struggle on simple principles: sovereignty, self-worth and spiritual renewal. If you think about it, that's what many of the White Rightists after too, only they want what they want in order to harm others, not to lift them up.
In other words, while the struggle we must engage in may be similar to that of the White Right, the objectives are quite different.
Strategies and tactics of where we go from here are actually very well worked out long since, the rule book of how to do it is already written. We don't have to reinvent the wheel, but we have to resist efforts to divide us (Shut up, Democratic "helpers" -- you're not helping!) and we must be aware of and remain focused on the end game -- why we fight, in other words.
We will win, though probably not in my lifetime.
You never know, though. As we've seen, things can change in a twinkling.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Debra White Plume Speaks
https://www.facebook.com/peoplesmediaproject/videos/930968280365577/
Sorry for the Facebook link, but as of yesterday, there was no direct link to the video on the peoplesmediaproject YouTube page.
Sorry for the Facebook link, but as of yesterday, there was no direct link to the video on the peoplesmediaproject YouTube page.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Call Out The Guard -- Update: The Court Denies Injunction Against the Pipeeline
Powwow in Bismark coming up this weekend, so what does the gov do? Calls up the National Guard to Protect the Pipeline from all those Wild Indians.
This won't end well.
Court denies injunction.
Protests to continue.
This won't end well.
Court denies injunction.
Protests to continue.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Wild Indians
Up in North Dakota there is a huge gathering of Indians and allies who have been camping and protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline for months. They call themselves "Water Protectors" -- among other things -- and their goal is to prevent the construction of this pipline that is supposed to carry crude oil from Montana to Illinois, crossing the Missouri River twice as it does.
The complaint is that oil pipelines can't be secured from leaks and blow outs and water contamination is inevitable if the pipeline is constructed and put in operation. The Indians are trying to preserve and protect the water. Note has also been made of the fact that the route of the pipeline goes through Indian burial grounds, sacred sites and ceremonial grounds, and that already, numerous Indian remains have been destroyed by over enthusiastic bulldozers, including last Saturday when there was a violent confrontation between the protectors of the water and the protectors of the bulldozers. It did not turn out well.
Attack dogs were set upon the crowd by the security guards who'd been hired by the construction company and numerous individuals were bitten -- including a horse.The guards used pepper spray on the protectors. There were reports that a child was bitten by one of the dogs, but a published photo of the purported child victim had actually been taken in 2012, so the incident on Saturday in which a child was bitten was not yet documented as of Saturday.
The guards claimed that four of their number had to be hospitalized (a lie) and that two of their dogs were injured severely enough to be seen by a vet (unknown if true.) The guards claimed that the water protectors attacked them with sticks, flagpoles and horses, but it's clear from video of the incident that the attack came entirely from the guards and their dogs, and that at least one of the dogs actually turned on its handler and attacked her. At least one dog escaped from the leash and went wild in the crowd. In several cases, the protectors tried to defend themselves as best they could against the onslaught of dogs and pepper spray, and in other cases, protectors attempted to defuse the situation.
Story and video from Democracy Now!
Nasty business. Indian Country Today has a good story on the incident and there is more in their news section.
Students at the Institute of American Indian Arts where Ms Ché is studying are collecting food, water and donations to send to North Dakota in support of the action. The campsite is said to host thousands at this point, almost doubling during the weekend after Saturday's violence.
These incidents and protests are becoming more and more common as our neoLibCon overlords insist on exercising their might against any and all popular outcries. This pipeline, like so many others, simply isn't needed, and it is an active danger to water supplies for millions of Americans including the Standing Rock Sioux who are spearheading the protests. Our overlords do not care, and when they are challenged this way, they have a tendency to double down -- until they give up.
Give up they will, but not without any number of incidents like Saturday's.
People have been and are gonna get hurt. It's the way these things play out. But I don't see the Indians and their allies giving up.
It may be a small matter in the vast eternal scheme to stop this madness, but it has to be done.
March in Solidarity, October 6, 2016
The complaint is that oil pipelines can't be secured from leaks and blow outs and water contamination is inevitable if the pipeline is constructed and put in operation. The Indians are trying to preserve and protect the water. Note has also been made of the fact that the route of the pipeline goes through Indian burial grounds, sacred sites and ceremonial grounds, and that already, numerous Indian remains have been destroyed by over enthusiastic bulldozers, including last Saturday when there was a violent confrontation between the protectors of the water and the protectors of the bulldozers. It did not turn out well.
Attack dogs were set upon the crowd by the security guards who'd been hired by the construction company and numerous individuals were bitten -- including a horse.The guards used pepper spray on the protectors. There were reports that a child was bitten by one of the dogs, but a published photo of the purported child victim had actually been taken in 2012, so the incident on Saturday in which a child was bitten was not yet documented as of Saturday.
The guards claimed that four of their number had to be hospitalized (a lie) and that two of their dogs were injured severely enough to be seen by a vet (unknown if true.) The guards claimed that the water protectors attacked them with sticks, flagpoles and horses, but it's clear from video of the incident that the attack came entirely from the guards and their dogs, and that at least one of the dogs actually turned on its handler and attacked her. At least one dog escaped from the leash and went wild in the crowd. In several cases, the protectors tried to defend themselves as best they could against the onslaught of dogs and pepper spray, and in other cases, protectors attempted to defuse the situation.
Story and video from Democracy Now!
Nasty business. Indian Country Today has a good story on the incident and there is more in their news section.
Students at the Institute of American Indian Arts where Ms Ché is studying are collecting food, water and donations to send to North Dakota in support of the action. The campsite is said to host thousands at this point, almost doubling during the weekend after Saturday's violence.
These incidents and protests are becoming more and more common as our neoLibCon overlords insist on exercising their might against any and all popular outcries. This pipeline, like so many others, simply isn't needed, and it is an active danger to water supplies for millions of Americans including the Standing Rock Sioux who are spearheading the protests. Our overlords do not care, and when they are challenged this way, they have a tendency to double down -- until they give up.
Give up they will, but not without any number of incidents like Saturday's.
People have been and are gonna get hurt. It's the way these things play out. But I don't see the Indians and their allies giving up.
It may be a small matter in the vast eternal scheme to stop this madness, but it has to be done.
March in Solidarity, October 6, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)