Our Collapsing Civilization

[Mongrel]

Content warning: It is exactly what it says in the tweet; second journalist tagging along with the interview just gets grabbed by a cop right then and there.

[Brantly B.]

Without context that looks like a comedy skit. You clowns.

[Mongrel]

One of the things that fascinates me about the current Belorussian resistance is that it's seemingly composed nearly entirely of women.

Sure, some of this is because the male portion of it has already been arrested or disappeared so heavily that "My husband is in the dungeons, so I am taking his place." is a common cause of participation, but that's not the whole story. There's a whole infrastructure of female leadership and mentorship, right up to the main opposition leaders, all three of whom are women.

Most of the images or profiles you see of the kangaroo courts and arrests, of the barred local candidates, the journalists (and there's been a LOT of journalists), expatriate supporters, and even regular old stubborn individuals are of women. While I'm sure there's still a great many men in the movement as well (Lukashenko's actual support is reputed to be dogshit low, like 20%, and men are certainly mentioned in more comprehensive articles), they're all but invisible.

Gonna be at least a little disappointed if this doesn't end up being called the Babushka Revolution.

[mharr]

Time to move the UK's sleepwalk into fascism across to this thread, I think. The true story on all those police injuries during the Bristol "Kill the Bill" protests has started to surface, much more quietly than the front page 'violent leftist anarchists' narrative.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ty-dissent

An NHS worker on duty that night told the Observer that no officers were treated in the hospital designated for the police, whereas the hospital designated for protesters was inundated with injured people. The worker, who also asked not to be named, said: “Over the course of the night the hospitals that were taking protesters filled and the hospital taking police did not see a single officer.”

Plus rounding up the Gypsies. Historically always a good sign, especially following a silent genocide of 140,000 sick and disabled people. (We lost as many grandparents to systemic abuse and neglect as we did to Covid over the last few years, with 1% of the media attention.)

[Büge]

Plus rounding up the Gypsies. Historically always a good sign, especially following a silent genocide of 140,000 sick and disabled people. (We lost as many grandparents to systemic abuse and neglect as we did to Covid over the last few years, with 1% of the media attention.)

Romani. "Gypsy" is a slur.

[mharr]

Yep, and that's the language they're selling it with. At best. Of course while the Romani are the primary target, including anyone else outside the mainstream living in a tent, mobile home or converted bus is a feature, not a bug.

Following the standard playbook, not even trying to hide it. They don't need to. I am nothing like far enough away from this.

Meanwhile, Manchester police strip a female protester in public while attempting arrest. Media mostly silent on this one so far.
⇳ Click to Expand Summary

[Mongrel]

Not gonna post any of the very numerous and prominent pictures circulating today, but apparently the Texas border patrol is rounding up Haitian refugees... on horseback... using whips.

[Yoji]

(whistles, impressed) Well now, THAT'S gonna be one for the history books.

I know so many of these people are just incapable of caring about other people, but I can't help but wonder if any of them ever stop and think about how they're going to look in retrospect.

[Friday]

No. They don't even know what "introspection" means, much less engage in it.

That's not a joke, or hyperbole, by the way. I actually literally mean that they are not even aware of the word or concept.

[KingRoyal]

They're an agency that had whips and horses ready to go run down migrants, I don't think they gave any thought to how it looks

[mharr]

And if they did, they're convinced of their own ascendancy anyway. People that might frown on this are just a blip before American Jesus returns to lead them to global dominion.

[Yoji]

And now, quite predictably, wingnuts are trying to downplay the whole thing by pointing out the patrolmen were using "long reigns," not "whips."

I think this calls for an experiment.

I've got a shinai in my bedroom, and I'm going to use it to beat Tucker Carlson within an inch of his life. In response, he will likely say something like "OH GOD HELP ME, THIS PSYCHOPATH IS HITTING ME WITH A SWORD/CLUB/STICK" And while I can see how he could mistake it for those things, it is clearly a shinai to anyone in the know. Just a tool used in practicing swordplay, not a weapon per se, which makes the whole affair not anywhere near as bad as it looks.

[KingRoyal]

Regardless of whether it's a reign or an actual whip, the term for hitting someone like that is still "whipping." It's just the usual conservative tactic of trying to make the issue about technical semantics instead of violence. Like how gun nuts want to emphasize that it's an Assault Rifle 15 or whatever.

[Mongrel]

but also

[Yoji]

Right-wing police within a shabby government are actively conspiring to make things worse? No me digas, Sherlock.

Maddow made the point on Friday's show how a typical fascist play is to sow chaos while selling order. And... well, we're seeing it here, we saw it in the Arizona fraudit, and we've seen it from the GOP in general for a long time. I'm not sure what difference it would've made, but I wish I'd understood what's been going on sooner.

[Brantly B.]

If Biden were halfway competent that plan would backfire when he visibly and demonstrably kicks their asses for it.

If.

[beatbandito]

After white students displayed Confederate flag at school, Black students suspended for planning protest

"Police will be present here at school and if students insist on encouraging this kind of activity they will be disciplined for encouraging unrest."

[Mongrel]

Well, this is almost certainly something despicable (thread confirms some fundamentalist nonsense is involved).



Bad news, yes, but because Polish authorities are being notified, hopefully they will be able to do something before fuckface here kidnaps 60 kids for his apocalypse bible camp. The mayor of the town he's in already smelled a big greasy stinky manky rat.

[Mongrel]

For a rather more literal interpretation of the thread title, it seems the 5th circuit (those wacky pranksters!) wants SCOTUS to abolish the entire administrative state.

But what am I talking about? If this is all ruled invalid, then wouldn't that only invalidate legislation from the last... *checks notes*... 89 years. Ah.

[Crick]

Could this ruling be appealed and overturned?