Saturday, May 30, 2020

REVOLUTION IN AMERICA!

"But racism is encouraged in a definite social context, of deepening social inequality under 21st century capitalism, where the ruling class makes every effort to divide and split the working class. More than 1,000 people are victims of police violence in America each year, and while a disproportionate number are black, the largest number are white. What nearly all have in common is that they come from the working class, most from its poorest layers."

Mass protests voice outrage over police murder of George Floyd


30 May 2020
Tens of thousands of people, mainly young and working class of all races, have taken to the streets of American cities to protest the police murder in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man who died with a policeman’s knee on his throat for nine minutes, while horrified bystanders pleaded for his life and recorded the killing in videos that have shocked the world.
Thousands defied the 8 p.m. curfew imposed by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and quickly extended to neighboring St. Paul, to many suburbs in surrounding Hennepin and Ramsey counties, and to all of Anoka and Dakota counties in the Twin Cities exurbs.
A protester confronts San Jose police as they advance on May 29, 2020, as people demonstrate nationwide in response to George Floyd dying while in police custody [Credit: AP Photo/Ben Margot]
The sheer extent of the curfew demonstrates that the state and local authorities were concerned about violence not merely in a small inner-city neighborhood in south Minneapolis, but about eruptions in any area populated by the working class throughout the huge metropolitan area, home to more than three million people.
There were reportedly large numbers of people in the streets both in south Minneapolis and in the downtown area, chanting slogans like “No justice, no peace, prosecute the police!” They ignored the curfew order and the patrolling military vehicles.
Some 500 National Guard troops were sent into the city by Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat. They are guarding infrastructure and have not yet been deployed directly against the population. Walz, himself a retired command sergeant major in the National Guard, is the third governor in recent years to call out the troops to deal with unrest provoked by police murders, following Democrat Jay Nixon in Missouri (Ferguson) in 2014, and Republican Larry Hogan in Maryland (Baltimore) in 2015.
The Washington Post reported overnight, “Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, had spoken with Walz on Friday.” The two officials offered support, but Walz did not request any military assets “at this time,” according to a Pentagon official who spoke to the newspaper.
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp called out the National Guard early Saturday morning after a protest in Atlanta over the death of George Floyd was attacked by police, touching off violent clashes outside the CNN headquarters in that city.
Thousands of demonstrators, black and white in near-equal numbers, chanted “We can’t breathe” as they assembled in Centennial Park, marched to the State Capitol and then rallied outside the CNN Center, whose executives ordered the building closed.
Governor Kemp, one of the most notorious advocates of ending all social distancing and reopening all businesses despite the danger of COVID-19, suddenly discovered the pandemic, issuing a statement declaring, “We encourage protesters to exercise their Constitutional rights safely, especially in light of COVID-19.”
Soon after, police began attacking demonstrators with mace, pepper spray and teargas. Some protesters responded by smashing windows, throwing rocks and bottles at the police, and setting one police car on fire. Kemp then called out the troops.
There was a large demonstration in Brooklyn, New York on Friday night, the second night of direct clashes between thousands of protesters and the police. After protesters marched with peaceful chants of “Black lives matter” and “We want justice,” police waded into the crowds and made as many as 100 arrests, filling up buses from the Department of Corrections to take people off to jail.
Some protesters threw water bottles and other projectiles, and an empty police van was set on fire and burned to a shell. Riot-equipped police units cleared the area around the Barclay Center, where large numbers of demonstrators had gathered.
In Washington, DC, the Secret Service locked down the White House after a crowd gathered outside chanting against the police and President Trump. Other large protests were reported in Detroit, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and other cities.
In Milwaukee, hundreds of youth and college students blocked traffic on I-43 as they walked into downtown to protest the murder of George Floyd and the beating death of Joel Acevedo, killed by an off-duty Milwaukee policeman. Protesters also blocked freeways in Oakland and San Jose, California.
Minnesota state and local officials clearly hoped that the indictment of Derek Chauvin, the cop whose knee was on George Floyd’s neck, would slow the momentum of the protests. But the charges brought against Chauvin, of third-degree murder and manslaughter, were the most minimal possible given the video evidence.
No charges have been brought against the three other cops involved in the killing—Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung, who held Floyd down by the back and legs while Chauvin slowly killed him, and Tou Thao, who kept onlookers from interfering with the execution.
Moreover, the charging document released late Friday afternoon reads like a brief for Chauvin’s defense, not his prosecution. It claims that Floyd’s autopsy revealed “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation. Mr. Floyd had underlying health conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.”
The document concludes that three factors contributed to Floyd’s death: “The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.”
While President Trump has provided the most vitriolic rhetoric against those protesting police violence, denouncing them as thugs, the dirty work on the streets has been carried out at the orders for the most part of Democratic Party politicians like Governor Walz in Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and countless other Democratic mayors and their hand-picked police chiefs.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former leader of the Congressional Black Caucus and prominent supporter of Bernie Sanders, told a press conference Friday that residents of Minneapolis were understandably angry with the police but should not take this out on the National Guard. He said the troops came as helpers rather than occupiers, citing their efforts in the coronavirus crisis.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the leader 
of the Democratic Party as its presumptive 
presidential nominee, blamed the American 
people rather than the police for the murder 
of Floyd. “With our complacency, our silence, we are complicit
in perpetuating these cycles of violence,” he preached, invoking 
racism, “the original sin of this country,” as the cause.
There is no doubt that racism was an important element in the murder of George Floyd. But racism is encouraged in a definite social context, of deepening social inequality under 21st century capitalism, where the ruling class makes every effort to divide and split the working class. More than 1,000 people are victims of police violence in America each year, and while a disproportionate number are black, the largest number are white. What nearly all have in common is that they come from the working class, most from its poorest layers.





Watch: NYPD Whack Rioter with Car Door, Houston Police Horse Tramples Protester

riots
Screenshots via @NickAtNews/@vikthewild
1:18

Protesters and rioters took tumbles during Friday evening’s protests around the country, videos captured and posted online reveal.
During riots in Brooklyn, New York, over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a rioter was standing in the road when a New York City Police Department (NYPD) vehicle opened its car door to shove him out of the way.
Rioters were apparently throwing cement at the NYPD police vehicles as they drove away.

Police car just drove by demonstrators on Classon Ave in Brooklyn -- some of whom had been throwing cement -- and opened passenger side door into a protester.






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Likewise, a woman in Houston, Texas, was trampled during a protest as she held a sign, and a white police horse toppled her from behind. Protesters watching the incident immediately began throwing objects at the officers.


Riots and protests first started this week in Minneapolis as a response to resident George Floyd dying in police custody. Footage of the incident showed an officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he laid on the ground in handcuffs.
Breitbart News is following live the riots and protests across the United States.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.









Video: Louisville Journalist Hit by Non-Lethal Bullets on Live TV During Protest

LOUISVILLE, KY - MAY 29: Police in riot gear stand in formation during protests on May 29, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Protests have erupted after recent police-related incidents resulting in the deaths of African-Americans Breonna Taylor in Louisville and George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
1:38

Kaitlin Rust, a reporter for WAVE 3 News, appeared to have been hit with non-lethal bullets fired by a Louisville Metro Police Department officer amid heated protests in downtown Louisville Friday evening, reports WAVE 3 News.
Timothy Burke, a former Daily Beast employee, tweeted footage of the purported incident, which occurred on WAVE 3 News’ live broadcast and was later published on the news outlet’s website.


At one point in the video, Rust could be heard screaming, “I’m getting shot. I’m getting shot,” before judging she had been hit with rubber bullets. She then reported they were “pepper bullets.”
Several hundred protesters demonstrated downtown in response to a trio of LMPD officers being involved in the March death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot dead when a no-knock warrant was served at her home. Earlier Friday, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced he plans to suspend no-knock warrants.
On Thursday evening, at least seven civilians were shot amid the protests in downtown Louisville. Earlier in the evening, Taylor’s family released a statement urging demonstrators to be “peaceful, go home and keep fighting for truth.”
Friday’s protests come as multiple cities across the U.S. are experiencing protests over the death of George Floyd, who died Monday after a now fired-Minneapolis police officer put his knee on his neck while in custody. On Friday, the ex-cop, Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death.








VIDEO: Vehicle Drives Through Group of Protesters in Bakersfield, California

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - MAY 29: People march during a protest sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 29, 2020 in Oakland, California. Earlier today, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was taken into custody for Floyd's death. Chauvin has been accused of kneeling on …
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
0:47

A vehicle sped up and drove through a group of protesters in Bakersfield, California, according to videos posted online.
Protesters gathered outside the Bakersfield Police Department and surrounded a car before it suddenly sped up and knocked people to the ground.
Protesters around the country gathered in major cities to protest the death of  George Floyd while he was subdued by a police officer in Minneapolis. The police officer was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday.



Another video angle showed protesters surrounding the car before it sped off.


Another video showed what appeared to be the car leaving the scene.

this is the car that sped through the blm protest in bakersfield. it was a man in a white shirt that was driving !!




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"But racism is encouraged in a definite social context, of deepening social inequality under 21st century capitalism, where the ruling class makes every effort to divide and split the working class. More than 1,000 people are victims of police violence in America each year, and while a disproportionate number are black, the largest number are white. What nearly all have in common is that they come from the working class, most from its poorest layers."


Hundreds of thousands stage multiracial demonstrations against police violence in a powerful show of working-class unity

30 May 2020
The demonstrations of thousands of working people and youth that have swept the country in response to the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These demonstrations—which are taking place in the midst of the pandemic despite the serious risks involved—are a powerful and inspiring manifestation of a deep-rooted commitment to the defense of democratic rights, hatred of fascistic police and the Trump administration, and a profound commitment to the unity of all sections of the working class.
On Friday night, thousands continued their protest in Minneapolis, in defiance of a curfew imposed by the state government. Outside of Minneapolis there were significant protests Friday in Houston, Texas, Floyd’s hometown; Atlanta, Georgia, where protesters forced their way into the headquarters of CNN; New York City, where dozens were arrested after being attacked by police, and protesters have reportedly overrun police precincts in Brooklyn; Lexington and Louisville in Kentucky, where protesters also demanded justice for Breonna Taylor, who had been killed by police in March; Washington, D.C., outside the White House, which temporarily went into lockdown; Fort Wayne, Indiana, where police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd; and Las Vegas, Nevada, where protesters shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip.
There have been demonstrations of hundreds and in many cases thousands of people in San Jose, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Omaha, Nebraska; Detroit, Michigan; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Kansas City and St. Louis in Missouri; and many other cities throughout the country.
This expanding movement has been triggered by the brutal murder of George Floyd, but it gives expression to mounting anger over social inequality, poverty, mass unemployment, the destruction of the social safety net, and wars without end. The desperate situation confronting the working class has been intensified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State and local governments have responded with a massive police mobilization. In Minneapolis, the Democratic Party governor of Minnesota has mobilized hundreds of National Guard troops, which began to deploy throughout the city yesterday. In Georgia, the National Guard was deployed to Atlanta late Friday night after the governor declared a state of emergency. Police in other cities have attempted unsuccessfully to suppress demonstrations with tear gas and rubber bullets.
On Friday, in an attempt to contain protests, Minnesota state officials announced that they had arrested and charged, on the lower-level offense of third-degree murder, Derek Chauvin, the cop who kneeled on Floyd’s neck until he was strangled to death. The other three cops involved, however, still remain at large. Already, malicious justifications for the actions of Chauvin are being advanced, including the claim that Floyd’s death was not the product his brutal arrest but “underlying health conditions” and “potential intoxicants.”
Trump took to Twitter late Thursday to denounce protesters as “THUGS” and threaten a violent military intervention. “Any difficulty and we will assume control, but when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
This quote repeated the infamous phrase used by the racist Miami police chief Walter Headley in 1967 to signal a violent crackdown of the mass protests of blacks against racist police violence. Trump’s threat is not idle. Late Friday night, the Associated Press reported that the Pentagon has ordered the Army to ready several active-duty military police units to deploy to Minneapolis.
That Chauvin’s brutal crime occurred in Minneapolis is no accident. Last October, Trump delivered a speech at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis dedicated to praising cops and denouncing socialists and the “radical left.” Police officers donned shirts with the slogan, “Cops for Trump” at the rally and waved banners reading, “Law & Order vote Trump.”
“The respect we have for law enforcement is unbound,” Trump declared at the time. What was meant by “unbound” respect was made clear by the head of the Minneapolis Police Federation Bob Kroll. He said, “The first thing President Trump did when he took office was… to start, let cops do their job, put the handcuffs on the criminals instead of us.”
The White House was actively involved in the organization of the heavy-handed efforts of the Minneapolis police to suppress the protests. Early Friday morning, cops carried out a provocative arrest of a media team with CNN, which is frequently denounced by Trump, as they were broadcasting live. The action was calculated and intended to send a message to Trump’s opponents within the media and to the population at large.
Trump’s fascistic and anti-socialist tirades are aimed at soliciting the support of the police and military, on the basis of fascistic and anti-communist appeals. His denunciation of protesters as “thugs” stands in contrast to his praise of right-wing fascists who have staged heavily-armed protests at state capitals in recent weeks demanding an end to measures aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic. They were encouraged by Trump’s calls to “liberate Minnesota,” among other states.
As always, the Democratic Party’s response is to issue hypocritical phrases about the “tragedy” of the latest police murder while doing everything it can to ensure that the underlying economic, political and social issues are covered over. Joseph Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, released a statement on Friday declaring the murder of Floyd an “act of brutality” for which the American people—and, particularly, white people—are responsible.
“With our complacency, our silence, we are complicit in perpetuating these cycles of violence,” Biden said. “Nothing about this will be easy or comfortable, but if we simply allow this wound to scab over once more without treating the underlying injury, we’ll never truly heal. The very soul of America is at stake.”
The murder of George Floyd and countless other atrocities were not carried out by “we,” the American working people, but by the police, an instrument of the state.
The police are not a cross section of American life. They are recruited from the most reactionary sections of the lower-middle class and politically backward workers and trained to hate and despise the poor and oppressed. They are a hostile occupying force in every working class neighborhood in the country. Many police recruits have served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they became inured to violence and death.
Increasingly, the police, funded with $100 billion every year, have been integrated into the military, armed with the most advanced weaponry, and developed into paramilitary organizations. Every year, 1,000 people are killed by police in the United States. A disproportionate number of those killed are African American. But police violence targets workers and poor people of all races and ethnicities, and the plurality of those killed are white.
While the Trump administration is systematically promoting police violence, the Democrats are implicated in state violence against working people. Police killings continued unabated under the Obama administration, which sided with police on every occasion where cases came before the Supreme Court.
In the case of Minneapolis, the mayor is a Democrat, as is the governor. Amy Klobachar, the former Democratic Party presidential candidate, was the prosecutor for Hennepin County who protected the police and opposed their prosecution for misconduct, including in a previous case involving Derek Chauvin himself.
For the past 50 years, the Democrats have specialized in the promotion of racialist politics—the insistence that the fundamental division in American society is between “white America” and “black America.” The politics of race has been used to argue that the solution to social problems, including racism, is to be found in hiring more black police officers and electing more black politicians. However, over these 50 years, the conditions of black workers have deteriorated, social inequality has reached record levels and police violence has intensified. In many cities, including in Minneapolis, police violence is overseen by black police chiefs or black mayors.
The eruption of mass demonstrations of workers and youth of all races triggered by the brutal murder of Floyd has given expression to a tremendous social solidarity, which belies the racial narrative. It is not a question of black against white, but the working class against the rich. This is a tremendous step forward.
The demonstrations mark a new stage in the development of the class struggle.
The very rapid development and spread of this movement is connected to the broader social and political crisis in the United States and internationally. The entire response of the ruling class to the coronavirus pandemic—its refusal to take any measures to protect the population, the handout of trillions of dollars to the rich, and now the homicidal back-to-work campaign as the pandemic spreads—has laid bare the oligarchic character of society.
An unprecedented catastrophe confronts tens of millions of workers and youth who have been thrown out of their jobs, face losing their homes, and confront the worst economic and social crisis since the Great Depression. Even as the pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, the Trump administration is spearheading a homicidal back-to-work campaign, hoping to use mass social distress to force workers to endanger their lives and the lives of their loved ones to pay for the handouts to the rich.
How shall the death of George Floyd be avenged? What is the way forward?
The fight against police brutality must be fused with the growing movement of the working class against unsafe working conditions, mass unemployment, social inequality and mass poverty. It is a fight against the capitalist system and for socialism.
The development of this struggle requires the independent political mobilization of the working class, in opposition to the Democrats and Republicans.
It is especially critical for workers and youth to understand that they are engaged in a battle that is global in scope. Establishing the unity of workers in the United States requires solidarity with the struggles of workers of all nationalities and ethnicities. A crucial element of this strategy entails uncompromising opposition to the brutal treatment of all migrant workers within the United States.
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