rabble rouser of the month, august 2014...

runner up...

Ferguson Protestors

making the ferguson people the rabble rousers of the month should be a no-brainer decision. they should get that award and there is no love lost to them because they did not.

because people that only watch mainstream news would never have any idea why ferguson happened, they shouldn't be qualified to talk about what is happening.  the secret that people in st. louis (and most other places in the US) understand well is that cops shoot (black) people (or whoever they don't like) on a regular basis, to varying degrees of acceptability. it goes on all over the country every single day, for decades at least, if not since 1776 or long before that.  people learned how to treat people they didn't like by reading columbus' diary.  a few weeks of tear gas and related shootings, people are sick of hearing about ferguson and want it stop. but when it happens day after day for all time, the people that have to keep dealing with it get sick of it and want it to stop.

believe whatever particular version of the news surrounding the shooting makes sense to you. in the end, that doesn't have hardly anything to do with the situation. listen to the direct words of people living on the streets in ferguson, over some major news agency from a satellite studio that only intervened on the situation reluctantly for their own credibility after others entered ferguson. funny how different stories emerged after the major news went into ferguson nearly a week after the protests started as opposed to what was being reported by citizen journalists on the street at the time.

no matter the circumstances of the  trigger event, what happened since?  1. people decided to protest police brutality.  that is not a rare occurence, such protests happen in cities across america many times per year.  when people get sick of bullshit, they protest.  2. when ferguson protesters assembled, police moved in with force to turn back protests.  3. response of (2) on (1) resulted in numerous violent exchanges.  people were unreasonably assaulted and that pissed them off.  they reacted.  and the police continued to harrass them, albeit a bit less so once the tv cameras showed their gestapo-like mentality and showed the world who was who in ferguson, missouri.  if the police and other "authorities" have no credibility in the aftermath, why should i have any reason to suspect that they were credible in the first place?

cheers to people willing to stand up for their rights and beliefs in the face of certain annihilation. all the black men and women in the streets cannot defeat the same military that blows every other nation off the map.  such people have to be really desperate to try those odds.  they have to have nothing left to lose.  the essence of the rabble rouser award is for people penalized for doing what is right and for people willing to demand justice even amid the repercussions.

and for all the awesomeness ferguson has bestowed upon us, we go a different direction with this month's award.  ferguson will be a rallying cry, but at the same time not the entire focus of attention. for to focus too much on one thing creates injustice unseen otherwise. last month's award was given to eric garner for the exact reason that ferguson should get it this month. almost as if a precursor to the people in ferguson. being a rabble rouser is not to be a prophet, but funny how coincidence works. we keep watching, but we make sure more injustices don't occur.

natomas slimm also made the statement.  he produced the operation ferguson video which can be seen to the right.  slimm also called in to KEOL to discuss the matter, which can be streamed or downloaded here.











now, for the august rabble rouser of the month...


Luke O'Donovan 

luke o'donovan is not news. it was a year and a half ago that he was beaten by five other men that yelled homophobic slurs while observers did nothing to help.  luke was news this past august however, when he was found guilty of using a knife to repel the attack and save himself. a ten-year sentence, with the possibility of discussing the matter in two and half years. in other words, going to prison for a good spell because he was hated and beaten.

gay rights are obviously at a watershed time in 2014 USA, but luke's case is more basic than even that.  if we just forget for a moment that this was a hate crime, something simpler is a huge problem.  if someone is being attacked by an angry mob (for any reason, good or bad) and observers are standing on the sideline not assisting that person who is at an obvious disadvantage, how is that person supposed to survive other than protecting themself?

they say missouri police were attacked and used force to protect themselves.  this is in no uncertain terms, exactly what luke ferguson did.  why should only some people be afforded this basic human right of self-defense?  but for some it is a crime, apparently. if you said, one day in prison, or one dollar in fine for luke, i'd say "fuck!" but ten years??  the (in)justice system can eat a dick!

someone attacks you, you defend yourself.  that is all.

anything else?
for other commentary, please do not ask me to talk about the football season. yes, it has started.  take this, and do not ask questions: for once, the NFL is actually supreme to the NCAA.  one makes no attempt to hide their corruptness and BS.  the other feasts off the bad image of the other.  forget them both.