Oakland Community Demands Justice for John Crawford III at East-Side Walmart | AmericaWakieWakie
January 18th, 2015
Pictured: John Crawford, 22, was shot and killed Aug. 5th by police in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek, Ohio, while holding a toy rifle in a Walmart. He was remembered today as protesters shutdown an East Oakland Walmart and placed stickers on products reading “WARNING: Persons of color picking up this object may be subject serious injury or death at the hands of Walmart and police”. It has been 163 days since Crawford was gunned down by two police officers, neither of which were indicted.
This action, like several others across the Bay Area this weekend, took place in response to the Anti-Police Terror Project’s call for a weekend of reclaiming MLK’s militant legacy of direct action, a call which came initially from Ferguson Action. The Anti-Police Terror Project is a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition of concerned and committed institutions, organizations and individuals committed to ending state sanctioned murder of Black, Brown & Poor People.
(Photo Credit: Twitter)
Today in Foolishness (1/15/15): Twitter goin’ AWF on the release of this years lily-white Oscar nominations. Beyond embarassing snubs in the acting and directing categories, this years nominations lack diversity in even the technical nominations. Y’all thought I was clowning about the Golden Globes— you ain’t seen nothing yet! #staywoke #representationmatters
France and Charlie - MASTERPOST
Hey tumblr,
I prefer to think that most of you reblog misinformed stuff from people whose agenda seem very shady to me out of ignorance.
Here are some answers to your questions with SOURCE.
I will now unfollow everyone reblogging shit without an explanation.
Feel free to spread and reblog this post.
Try to UNDERSTAND that some countries work differently than yours. And if you wanna have an opinion, go inform yourself FIRST.
Reblogging stuff WRITTEN IN ENGLISH by US/UK PEOPLE IS FUELING US IMPERIALISM !Behold, how people who have no notion of what US imperialism or imperialism in itself is call posts on a microblogging website as things “fueling US imperialism”, not even in a Third-World country but in France, one of the most imperialist countries in recent history and one of the biggest allies of the United States of America in most of their imperialist actions. Hands down the most stupid crap I’ve heard about all this. French people calling themselves victims of imperialism now. Wow. Victimization much?
WAS CHARLIE HEBDO RACIST ?
No it was a satirical newspapers. (x)
About satire and France you can read this (x).
About Charlie’s illustrations this post will explain you the context (x)
[Don’t you think if the Christiane Taubira’s illustration was indeed racist she would have sued them ?! She has sued a deputy who has compared her to a monkey (x)]
You may not appreciate satire, it’s your right. But we’re a secular country and respecting religions doesn’t mean abiding to their laws.What kind of explanation is that? Calling something satire doesn’t detract from its racism. It’s been years that anti-racist activists spoke up about Charlie Hebdo’s racism and criticized as part of the dominant discourse against Muslims. It’s not about respecting or disrespecting religions, it’s not about a few drawings of Prophet Muhammed. What people point out is the use of racist and islamophobic tropes in their works and the more general picture of racism and islamophobia as being very present mainstream medias as whole, how racism has always been part of the French left too. How satire is a good excuse when you portray Black girls victims of Boko Haram as wellfare queens or say “French people as dumb as n*ggers”? How constantly portraying Muslims as scary hook-nosed caricatures isn’t islamophobic? It’s time to stop thinking that calling your work satirical is enough to defend yourself from being labelled as racist. Being anti-racist means deconstructing racist tropes and the racist mainstream discourse in society, not re-using them uncritically and call it “satirical” just because you put the FN symbol next to it. The fact that Christiane Taubira didn’t sue them doesn’t mean anything. The thing with anti-black and other racist tropes is that it doesn’t target only the individual mocked but is part of a long history of racist representations against French minorities that aims to legitimize institutional racism against them. Satire is calling out and mocking dominant discourse, not belittling already marginalized and oppressed groups.
WHY DO YOU SAY CHARLIE DEFEND FREEDOM OF SPEECH ?
I don’t say that. The european law, indirectly voted by the citizens of Europe do. See this post (x). (/!/ full of legal sources)Law doesn’t exist in a vacuum but is often the reflection of dominant ideas, often at the expense of marginalized groups. Saying that the law says so is no excuse and is a pretty amoral way of thinking. The law and how it is applied need to be criticized (especially from the point of view of ethics), not taken at its face value.
Freedom of speech includes the right to offend. But we punish antisemitic, racist, and homophobic public discourse. Satire being ironic, it’s not tantamount to a hate speech on the contrary.
The irony of using a quote of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a notorious islamophobe and one of those intellectuals that has constantly excused and pushed for State policies criminalizing Muslims and imperialist ventures in Muslim-majority countries.It’s important to recognize that free speech is not a neutral notion, but has been instrumentalized and portrayed as a value of the “civilized West” and helped to construct an image of the Muslim world as backwards and barbaric. In France, it also is used to describe Islam and French Muslims as a threat to the French Nation which helped to justify, for example the law of 2004 which banned the hijab in school and other policies (including, police violence) against economically, politically and socially marginalized people.
WERE THEY ALL WHITE ?
They weren’t all white (see Zineb didn’t die because she wasn’t there thankfully (x)) and Mustapha Ourad (who corrected mistakes (x) for instance).
And wth is that question anyway ? Good grief.
WHAT IS SECULARISM ANYWAY ?
janiedean made a great post here (x).
CAN I DISPLAY MY RELIGION IN PUBLIC PLACES ? DOES THE LAW PREVENT ME FROM WEARING A HIJAB ?
The law voted in 2010 you’re talking about is this one (x)
It forbids ANYONE to hide their FACE in PUBLIC SPACES.
Nothing. forbids. you. to wear whatever you want at home.
Nothing forbids you to wear a hijab. because your face is visible.
And laïcité forbids EVERYONE WORKING FOR A PUBLIC SERVICE to show their religious belief because they represent the State which is neutral (recently a court in Lyon reminded that within private enterprise a worker can wear a hijab (x))Nice how people just are blind to how laïcité has been instrumentalized these last two decades and how it’s been interpreted in a very restricting manner for French Muslims. You’re saying you’re a jurist, so go read the case law of the Conseil d’Etat and how it has been modified throughout the late 80s and early 90s and its correlation with the political and media discourse at that time that became increasingly hostile towards Islam. That’s what I’m saying when law is often the reflection of the dominant and mainstream ideas, no matter how racist they are.
WHAT DO FRENCH MUSLIM THINK ABOUT CHARLIE ?
Here have some reactions.
I cannot tell you about everyone… But at least the following are not US bloggers :
- Diam’s : “I am french, muslim and apalled” (x)
- Jamel Debbouze : “I feel sad and hopeless” (x)
- Tareq Oubrou (Imam in Bordeaux) : feels “disgusted” “they will be judged before God” (x)
- Hassen Chalghoumi (Imam in Drancy) : “We are terrified, devastated and angered. This isn’t the Prophet, this is their prophet, their hatred. They are barbaric. They are criminals. They are the devil, they have lost their soul, they have sold it to Hell. Today every french family is crying. They have killed our policemen, who protect our freedom, who protect us, who protect me.”And last but not least the Algerian writer Kamel Daoud’s tribute (x). Not french, but very interesting stance on the situation.
Also Igiaba Scego, Italian Somali writer and muslim tribute : not in my name (x)
Last some drawings by illustrators from Maghrebi illustrators (x)
The nerve of you to tokenize French Muslim personalities like that. And who of all people? Diam’s and Jamel Debbouze, LOL. And Hassan Chalghoumi who’s constantly called out by French Muslims as an opportunist and whom most of us refuse to have as a representative. That’s so flagrant of how you see most of us, as clowns whose only job is entertaining you and making this country’s white people feel good and constantly re-assuring them that this country isn’t racist despite its terrible history. You could have used so many other French Muslims who are intellectuals, anti-racist activists and who dedicate their life to fight against Islamophobia and racism like Marwan Mohammad, Abdellali Hajjat, Rokhaya Diallo, activists from CCIF (the most important French organization against Islamophobia) and others who have also called out Charlie Hebdo’s racism in the past and have been doing so for a decade at least, who are people constantly attacked by mainstream medias and accused of being “communautarists” and of dividing French people because they dare to speak out about French racism and islamophobia and also have a hard time making their voices heard. That’s the kind of people you should be talking about and mentioning, not freaking tokens.
And nothing you’ve posted here say their thoughts about Charlie Hebdo. What do you think? That those who have called out Charlie Hebdo’s racism and islamophobia in the part are happy its journalists and cartoonists were killed?
WHO IS CHRISTIANE TAUBIRA ? DOES SHE SUPPORT CHARLIE ?
Christiane Taubira is one of the best justice minister we’ve had. She’s educated, smart, a smooth politician, can quote poetry by memory and supported same sex marriage…. and Charlie Hebdo (x) (link to her twitter don’t silence her. Don’t use the color of her skin to get notes and followers by distorting what she thinks.)See the kind of stupid identity politics here. “She supported Charlie Hebdo, she is a Black woman so Charlie Hebdo isn’t racist”. Who’s using the color of her skin there?
DID THE MEDIA TALKED ABOUT LASSANA BATHILY ?
Yes ! (x)(x). Very sorry for you if YOUR racist medias didn’t.
WHO IS JEAN MARIE LE PEN ?
Dieudonné’s friend (who is antisemitic AND racist) and the leader of the extreme right wing party here.
The guy is awful, and so is his daughter Marine. (x)
Jean-Marie Le Pen recently claimed “I am not Charlie” just so you know (x)First, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s political power is almost nonexistent now. And the fact that he used this phrase doesn’t discredit from the criticisms behind #JesuisCharlie movement. Plenty of racist people used the phrase of “Je suis Charlie” yet how come it doesn’t discredit the phrase in your eyes? How come you’re still supporting it? Mosques have been vandalized with “Je suis Charlie” messages, someone attempted to set a Muslim woman’s home on fire and wrote “Vive Charlie” on her mailbox but still, this movement is fair game even though it puts under the rug this newspapers’ history of racism and islamophobia and disguises these two things as “free speech”. Got it.
IS FRANCE A RACIST COUNTRY ?
Is there such thing as a racist country ? Yes, if the institutions and the laws ARE racist. And here, they are not.
Some elements :
- We forbid racist movements to exist (art 3 loi 1 er juillet 1901 et la loi n° 72–545 du 1er juillet 1972) [reminder the KKK is legal in the US]
- Article 1 of French constitution of 1958France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. It shall be organised on a decentralised basis.
Statutes shall promote equal access by women and men to elective offices and posts as well as to position of professional and social responsibility.
- Refugees/ clandestine immigrants may have access to free healthcare under conditions (x)(x)- university fees are significantly lower than US/UK because you know we promote free education for everyone :)
- Art L 1132-1 of the Code du Travail fordibs employement discrimination
- La loi n° 2001-434 du 21 mai 2001 — dite « Loi Taubira » — tendant à la reconnaissance de la traite et de l’esclavage en tant que crime contre l’humanité : la qualification d’un fait historique au nom du devoir de mémoire. (RECOGNIZE SLAVERY AS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY)
- Some laws forbidding racist and antisemitic and islamophobic discourses (x)Those laws might be effective against individual cases of racism but they don’t do crap to combat institutional racism and islamophobia. Not when we have a prison system in which 60% of inmates are Muslims (ie. of Maghrebi and West African origins) because most happen to live in precarious situations that makes criminality easier and because racialized poor individuals are more harshly punished by the justice system than the other demographics. Not when most victims of police violence are Maghrebi and Black youths from the suburbs and not even one case even lead to any condemnation. Not when racial profiling is such a huge issue in this country. If you wanna mention the situation of refugees and undocumented immigrants so much, why don’t you mention the current horrific situation in Calais, in northern France? Why don’t you mention how the European Union’s policies (which France is a part of) is very much responsible for the many deaths of undocumented migrants and refugees in places like Lampedusa? But haha, my bad, France isn’t racist just because a piece of paper “forbids” employment discrimination even though it’s still widespread.
- Oh and speaking about islamophobia remember when France spoke about this veryyyy controversial matter in 2003 (x)(x)
In 2003 how many of you supported France back then ?
It was in 2003. We are in 2015 now, and so far, France sent soldiers in Afghanistan and in Mali, keeps backing dictators in third-world country. Ben Ali in Tunisia wasn’t so long ago.
Of course France has its problems. But you, my little US/UK/IDK friend are NOT entitled to speak about it.Why wouldn’t they be entitled? As long as they don’t spread misinformation, what’s the problem in pointing out how racist France is when it’s a country whose foreign policy still impacts Third-World countries in a very negative way. This blind patriotism is so stupid and misguided.
Let’s rather hear Audrey Pulvar. A french journalist but also a WOC and feminist (x)
Another example of how you so don’t use and tokenize people for their ethnicity and skin-color. :’)
And let’s hear the Imam of Drancy because this man is wonderful and very human. I wish tumblr was like him (x)
Oh, such a wonderful person he is. I still remember when he said once that he didn’t put his children in a public school because he didn’t want them around “Beurs (French slang for Arab) and Blacks”. “Very human”. Who cares that most Muslims constantly call him out for being manipulative and lying about calling himself a representative of Muslims.
Also… where were you tumblr when France was under homophobic attacks from every religious community during the implementation of same sex marriage ?
Nice how you say French LGBT were under attacks from “every religious communities” even though Jewish and Muslim people and organizations hardly participated in anti same-sex marriage rallies which were the work of Catholic organizations (who are also disgustingly racist and islamophobic). But right, it’s every religious people in France’s doing even though most Muslims hardly politically mobilize due to their constant marginalization in society.
Where were you the the ABCD de l’égalité of minister Najat Valaud Belkacem which promoted the education children about gender equality couldn’t be implemented because of radical religious extremists’ pressure ? (x)(x)(x)
Where were you ? Nowhere. You don’t promote education tumblr. You only care about your own popularity and gaining followers even if you have to resort to bullshit to do so.
By spreading misinformation you spread hate. By spreading hate you endanger the people you’re so prone to silencing.Thanks for your amazing denial of French racism. If American bloggers often spread misinformation about other places, you also definitely do. Charity begins at home, as people say, and you might want to inform yourself about your country before crying over what other people are rightfully saying about it.
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I have these very deep feelings that white people who want to join black organizations are really just taking the escapist way to salve their consciences. By visibly hovering near us, they are “proving” that they are “with us.” But the hard truth is this isn’t helping to solve America’s racist problem. The Negroes aren’t the racists. Where the really sincere white people have got to do their “proving” of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America’s racism really is – and that’s in their own home communities; America’s racism is among their own fellow whites.
…I’ll go so far as to say that I never really trust the kind of white people who are always anxious to hang around Negroes, or who hang around in Negro communities. I don’t know – this may be a throwback to the years when I was hustling in Harlem and all of those red-faced, drunk whites in the afterhours clubs were always grabbing hold of some Negroes and talking about “I just want you to know you’re just as good as I am – ” And then they got back in their taxicabs and black limousines and went back downtown to the places where they lived and worked, where no blacks except servants had better be caught.”
”Malcolm X (via smidgetz)
Just a reminder that its only been two days and already two cops are once again not being indicted for
illegallymurdering unarmed and innocent black men for doing literally nothing.one hashtag after another.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET THE WOMEN!
I’ve noticed a lack of awareness for black female victims of police, so I’ve made a list.
#Ferguson #ShawShooting
Cops dress down for an armed white protest, but get on full riot gear for unarmed black protesters. But it’s not a race issue right?
(10/25)
SAMUEL L JACKSON CHALLENGES CELEBRITIES TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY THE SAME WAY THEY WAS DOWN TO RIDE WITH THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE.