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See if this tracks:
Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012.
George Zimmerman acquitted in July 2013 - most likely cause of spike b/w 2013/14.
Eric Garner and Michael Brown, summer 2014.
Freddy Grey, spring 2015 - Baltimore riots.
Visible BLM protests in colleges, big one in Mizzou. https://twitter.com/ZachG932/status/1288275021190832128
Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012.
George Zimmerman acquitted in July 2013 - most likely cause of spike b/w 2013/14.
Eric Garner and Michael Brown, summer 2014.
Freddy Grey, spring 2015 - Baltimore riots.
Visible BLM protests in colleges, big one in Mizzou. https://twitter.com/ZachG932/status/1288275021190832128
That's right, white supremacy was being blamed while a black man was in charge of America. And this shouldn't surprise you if you were awake at the time. Common narrative regarding GOP obstructionism in Congress was "they are only acting like this because the President is black."
The middle of Obama's second term that these narratives began gaining heat. I was in college at the time. Before 2012, we were talking about wall street, "the 1%," corporate control of America, "the patriarchy.". Mid 2013, narrative begins rapidly shifting to race.
Intersectionality was already introduced, but it was beginning to gain big traction. Beta-testing of using it for co-optation of protest movements completed at Occupy -progressive stack, centering the marginalized regardless of content of their contribution.
By late 2014, we were no longer that interested in pursuing those who caused the financial crisis of '08. Class issues and the problem of accumulation of wealth within a tiny percentage of the public fell out in favor of racist cops, white privilege, and white supremacy.
"We are the 99%?"
Nuh uh. You white oppressor, me POC oppressed. The marginalized voices must be centered. White males go to the back of the line.
The whole thing, black people being killed by cops -- capitalism used those things to shield itself, and succeeded.
Nuh uh. You white oppressor, me POC oppressed. The marginalized voices must be centered. White males go to the back of the line.
The whole thing, black people being killed by cops -- capitalism used those things to shield itself, and succeeded.
Now you are a class reductionist, probably a fascist who hates Jews, if you prefer to have the conversation be about the centralization of wealth and the depredations of global capitalism without making sure to frame it in such a way that the true culprit is "white supremacy."
Every single revolutionary leftist has been memed into pursuing the far-right agenda of fomenting race war. Far-right, noticing that economic conditions of white people are actually pretty shitty nowadays, began sounding more left wing. Bannon/Trump show up. "Economic populism."
We are still at zuccotti park, but now it's the whole country -- thinking we showed up to protest predatory capitalism, and realizing we're actually here to make sure black trans lesbians have their voice heard while hippies and cops fight over the right of squatters to shoot up.
This shit isn't supposed to make sense, my friend. The lines are supposed to be blurred. The words aren't supposed to mean what they're supposed to mean. You're not supposed to know what to do, who your enemies or allies are, or what you're even upset about anymore.
Economic populism, class solidarity, etc. -- these things posed a threat to the like who profited from crashing the economy. Godforbid people began naming names, boycotts, the heads of politicians who enabled the collapse along with the finance capitalists.
So the propaganda organs (who do you think owns them? hello) were directed to search for, cherry pick, and center the stories which would splinter solidarity along class lines,,, by making every story enflame racial tensions and resentments - so they did. And now we're here.
Occupy is ancient history. Occupy Democrats is an NPC meme page. The story we all care about now is White Supremacy, Black Lives Matter, Abolish Cops. That 1% who fucked everyone for decades laugh all the way to the bank which they own, call you racist, and write BIG check to BLM
