mellowtigger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mellowtigger) wrote2021-04-18 06:54 pm
mellowtigger) wrote2021-04-18 06:54 pm
Entry tags:
it gets stranger
Last night, I called 911 from the bulletproof bathtub upstairs, as usual, after more than a dozen shots were fired very near my house. Several hours later, around 4am, shots were fired at National Guard troops who are positioned at a major intersection about 3 blocks from my house. I really think that national news is not depicting the authoritarian power on display in the Twin Cities right now. There are many troops stationed everywhere, from downtown to dog parks. This gas station video is the most-watched example of what's happening here.
On Friday night / Saturday morning, authorities detained the press at the site of recent protests. All of them. Rounded them up, forced them to the ground, and took photos of each of them. They're also doing similar to the community medics. Journalists from MPR, Reuters, StarTribune, and CNN called out the absurdity of how everyone is being treated. ACLU spoke out. Doctors are marching. There's even a protest being organized by local schoolteachers.
Meanwhile, there was significant confusion for most of the week about who was responsible for the tear gas. The Brooklyn Center mayor denied responsibility, and it was hard to track down just who was responsible. It continued to be used, even after Brooklyn Center explicitly prohibited its use within their city limits. After defying the local orders about tear gas, police then decided that anyone showing up with a gas mask should be charged with a felony. Critics were quick to point out the absurdity of criminalizing the preparation for a hostile environment.
Police laid siege (pictured at right) to a local Brooklyn Center church that was giving sanctuary to people fleeing cop violence. Authorities here have a history of slashing car tires, and there is a claim that they are doing it again now. There are also claims that they are covering their squad car identification, and one of these groups was previously known to cover their badge identification.
Be honest, now, wouldn't you enter a church to get away from this (picture below), knowing that they're doing (bloody/bruised pictures in these links) this, this, this, and this to civilians, all while acting like an occupying force and using chemical weapons forbidden during wartime?
In stark contrast, during one night when authorities agreed that they would not act like thugs (acknowledging the judicial restraining order placed on them), the protesters dispersed on their own without incident. Just like the peaceniks have been saying. Escalation by authorities is what contributes to the very problem that people are trying to protest!
Our Minnesota governor, unfortunately, has already asked for additional support from Ohio, beyond the thousands of military troops already here. This coming week will not go well.
On Friday night / Saturday morning, authorities detained the press at the site of recent protests. All of them. Rounded them up, forced them to the ground, and took photos of each of them. They're also doing similar to the community medics. Journalists from MPR, Reuters, StarTribune, and CNN called out the absurdity of how everyone is being treated. ACLU spoke out. Doctors are marching. There's even a protest being organized by local schoolteachers.
Meanwhile, there was significant confusion for most of the week about who was responsible for the tear gas. The Brooklyn Center mayor denied responsibility, and it was hard to track down just who was responsible. It continued to be used, even after Brooklyn Center explicitly prohibited its use within their city limits. After defying the local orders about tear gas, police then decided that anyone showing up with a gas mask should be charged with a felony. Critics were quick to point out the absurdity of criminalizing the preparation for a hostile environment.
Police laid siege (pictured at right) to a local Brooklyn Center church that was giving sanctuary to people fleeing cop violence. Authorities here have a history of slashing car tires, and there is a claim that they are doing it again now. There are also claims that they are covering their squad car identification, and one of these groups was previously known to cover their badge identification.Be honest, now, wouldn't you enter a church to get away from this (picture below), knowing that they're doing (bloody/bruised pictures in these links) this, this, this, and this to civilians, all while acting like an occupying force and using chemical weapons forbidden during wartime?
In stark contrast, during one night when authorities agreed that they would not act like thugs (acknowledging the judicial restraining order placed on them), the protesters dispersed on their own without incident. Just like the peaceniks have been saying. Escalation by authorities is what contributes to the very problem that people are trying to protest!
Our Minnesota governor, unfortunately, has already asked for additional support from Ohio, beyond the thousands of military troops already here. This coming week will not go well.