What Looks Like a Media Enabled False Equivalency on an Ordinary Day in #SweetHomeAlabama

Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck marched with over 20,000 supporters Saturday through the streets of Birmingham. The "All Lives Matter" march started at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and ended at the BJCC where Beck is holding a Restoring Unity Rally. (Joe Songer/jsonger@al.com).

Fresh off of what looks like Stupid on an ordinary day in Bama comes what looks like fake activism in Bama, thanks to Glen Beck, Chuck Norris, with Alveda King and Bishop Jim Lowe  thrown in for *cough cough*... color.

Led by conservative activist and talk show host Glenn Beck, more than 20,000 people chanting "All Lives Matter" marched the historic civil rights route from Kelly Ingram Park to Birmingham City Hall this morning.

"It's about taking our church out in the streets," Beck said. He said marchers came from as far away as China, Dubai and the Netherlands.

Actor Chuck Norris, a conservative activist known for his martial arts, action movies and TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger," marched about two rows behind Beck. Alveda King, a niece of civil rights activist the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., marched in the front row. Bishop Jim Lowe, pastor of the predominantly black Guiding Light Church in Birmingham, co-organized the march with Beck and marched with him at the front. As a child, Lowe attended Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where the march started, a headquarters church for the civil rights movement in Birmingham. Lowe and his sisters were in the church when a KKK bomb blew up the church and killed four little girls on Sept. 15, 1963.

Translation (H/T TRM), Links inserted for emphasis

They mocked a movement (Black lives Matter), they capitalized on the civil rights struggle concerning the desegregation of the Birmingham schools (with the screening of Woodlawn), they brought in thousands of people from around the country while keeping this a secret from the very people that live here, they disrespected the present leaders in our communities of color by not including them AND they make it a fundraiser! What could be worse than that? The fundraiser was NOT for our public schools or even the particular school that the movie was about (Woodlawn). nor was it about raising money for programs to help break the cycle of poverty (America has the highest childhood poverty rate of all developed countries) and it wasn't about improving race relations....no...the fundraiser was to rescue Christians in the middle east. Yup. All of this was a fundraiser to save the Christians from the Muslims in the middle east.

What's the matter with Alabama? 

We protest not to affirm the worth of our lives, but to expose the depth of the evil we face.

— deray mckesson (@deray) August 29, 2015

B-But They Looked So Happy Together....#SweetHomeAlabama #Hypocrisy

Governor Robert Bentley and First Lady Dianne Bentley watch the Inauguration Parade in Montgomery, Ala. on Monday January 19, 2015. , Mickey Welsh / Advertiser

Don't get me wrong, EYE am not gloating because a 50 year marriage is ending, EYE am gloating at the exposure of the rank hypocrisy of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, soon to be ex First Lady Dianne Bentley, and the Alabama media  who enabled them to lie to the citizens of Alabama.

According to a Facebook post by Donald Watkins, the warm, fuzzy, hand holding, and smiles in Montgomery, AL  on Jan. 19, 2015 were as phony as a three dollar bill.  EYE blame Dianne Bentley for enabling this charade too.  She should have informed the voters Bentley was a Bible thumping, cheater before the election. 

The First Lady was prepared to end the marriage last Fall after she discovered the Governor's extramarital affair. The Governor convinced her to wait until after the November general election before filing her divorce complaint. The Governor won his race by a landslide. The couple then separated in January.

The Governor spent the New Year's holidays in New Orleans with his paramour. They basked together in the warm glow of their professed love for each other. The First Lady spent her holidays in Alabama.

Let the Alabama Media Group tell it, the only clouds on an otherwise perfect day were A small group of protesters affiliated with Birthplace for Justice 

The group sang "We Shall Overcome," chanted "black lives matter," and then turned their back on Bentley as he spoke.
A person associated with the group said protesters were upset the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade was cancelled in favor of the inauguration parade.
"We protested today because in addition to it being the inauguration, it's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said member Michael Eric Grant in a statement. "We're fighting to keep his dream of unity and justice alive. We hope that Gov. Bentley will carry out his oath to office with a similar commitment."

So, for the past three years the republican Governor of Alabama has been having an affair with an unnamed (so far) reportedly younger paramour  right under our noses and not a peep in the press.   EYE wonder why?  Snark

Mainstream media organizations are afraid to report the details of Governor Bentley's secret love affair. Such reporting will likely cost the print media corporate advertising dollars and sponsorships, as well as revenues derived from legal notices published by the state of Alabama. It is well known that Bentley is mean-spirited, reckless, and vindictive. He is known to retaliate against individuals and entities that do not support this love affair. Additionally, they have a conflict of interest because nearly all of them endorsed Bentley's bid for reelection last November.

If Robert Bentley had been a democrat the media would have been on this like white on rice.  EYE sure do miss the good old days when the media prevented candidates and elected officials from lying to we the people, instead of enabling them. 

If Mrs. Bentley can be remembered for one thing as First Lady, she hopes that the people of Alabama will remember her stand for Christ. After all, the Bentleys feel that they have been called “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) and always strive to remain in God’s will.

Un Huh. 

#KatrinaAnniversary: "Katrina Victims Were Forced Into Exile"

Victims of Hurricane Katrina argue with National Guard troops as they try to get on buses headed to Houston on Sept. 1, 2005. Willie Allen Jr./St. Petersburg Times/ZUMA

President Obama celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by traveling to the scene of the crime, making a nice speech, taking some nice pictures, singing a little song, then boarding Air Force One and flying back to Washington, D.C. 

 Photo Op complete.

It's like DejaVoodoo

All Over Again 

The more things change

Ten years later, it looks like the same people in New Orleans have been left behind again. The population of New Orleans is noticeably smaller and noticeably whiter. While tens of billions of dollars poured into Louisiana, the impact on poor and working people in New Orleans has been minimal. Many of the elderly and the poor, especially poor families with children, never made it back to New Orleans. The poverty rate for children who did made it back remains at disturbingly high pre-Katrina levels, especially for Black children.

The more they don't change

Well you know, black people have been going around the country looking for good neighborhoods, trying to settle down there if they were allowed to. That is the history of black folks. And part of that history is also that white people constantly run away from those neighborhoods. And that's why those neighborhoods then become concentrations of black people and poor people. The poor part usually comes later. Because when there are no more white people there then capital is withdrawn, the employers leave, the public sector ceases to serve that community, and the police are brought in to prey on that community, which diminishes further upward mobility and causes downward mobility.

Shock 

Just two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, the city fired 7,500 public school teachers, launching a new push to privatize the school system and build a network of charter schools. Many accused lawmakers of trying to break the powerful United Teachers of New Orleans union. Today former President George W. Bush will return to the city to speak at the Warren Easton Charter High School. We speak to the New Orleans actor and activist Wendell Pierce, whose mother was a teacher and union member for 40 years, as well Gary Rivlin, author of "Katrina: After the Flood." He recently wrote a piece for The New York Times titled "Why New Orleans’s Black Residents Are Still Underwater After Katrina."

And Shame 

New Orleans actor and activist Wendell Pierce looks at how insurance companies discouraged poor and black families from returning to New Orleans after Katrina by refusing to honor homeowner policies. Pierce, whose great-grandfather came to New Orleans as a slave in the 1850s, talks about how Allstate gave his parents just $400 after they paid premiums for 50 year

The Obama surge in black optimism is over.

 Now, black Americans are back to their post-Katrina consensus; a deep sense that America is indifferent to their lives and livelihoods. Indeed, when read in that light, a movement like Black Lives Matter seems inevitable. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and its impact on the collective experience of black America, sowed the ground for a reckoning. Yes, Obama's election postponed it for a time, but the recent eruption of black death—at the hands of the state—gave it new urgency. And now, as we can all see, it's here.

Still waiting for HOPE and CHANGE we can BELIEVE in...

#KatrinaAnniversary "The Logic of Genocide"

Alan Chin 84-year old Milvertha Hendricks wrapped in an American flag blanket after spending five days on the street at the Convention Center. New Orleans ...

Today's Must Read by Glenn Ford

The best thing that could happen to poor Black people is for a Katrina-like catastrophe to hit their city, scattering them to the four corners of the country. So says an article in a leading “liberal” magazine, which maintains that “the forced exodus of Katrina should be replicated as public policy, for the good of both the purposely displaced and society as a whole.” In the real world, white supremacy and capitalism created the ghettos.

Katrina was a human rights disaster 

The human rights dimension of the disaster became clear immediately after Katrina struck, when the media struggled to find the right words to describe the estimated 1.3 million people uprooted from their homes and scattered around the country. Some called them "refugees" — a term met with outrage by Gulf residents, since it officially applies to citizens of another country crossing borders. "Evacuees" was also inaccurate, since tens of thousands of people — largely due to a flawed and scandal-ridden emergency response — were never "evacuated" after the storm hit.

Every Kid is Money  

This week commemorates a grim anniversary. Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It wiped out the entire public school system and cleared the way for what has become the nation's first fully charterized district. In the New Orleans Recovery School District, traditional neighborhood public schools are gone, replaced by privately run charter schools.

B-but President Obama says New Orleans is moving forward after Katrina.... 

"Not long ago, our gathering here in the Lower 9th might have seemed unlikely," Obama says in speech excerpts released by the White House. "But today, this new community center stands as a symbol of the extraordinary resilience of this city and its people, of the entire Gulf Coast, indeed, of the United States of America. You are an example of what's possible when, in the face of tragedy and hardship, good people come together to lend a hand, and to build a better future."

EYE guess it depends on what the definition of moving forward IS.... 

“Plan and simple, the recovery efforts of the last ten years in New Orleans mostly benefited White residents,” said Ernest Johnson, FFLIC’s Statewide Juvenile Justice Reform Campaign and Policy Director. “America’s comeback city is one where the Black median income remains less than one half of the White median income. It is a city where the Black unemployment rate is nearly three times the rate of White unemployment rate. It is a city where only 30% of residents in the predominately Black Lower 9th Ward have been able to return to their homes. It is evident that recovery was out of reach and unavailable to African Americans.”

The more things change..... the more they don't. 

A Personal Post On #BernieSanders #BlackLivesMatter #Sandernistas and #Censorship

Frequent contributor Chip said the following in response to this comment EYE made in response to A Personal Note on Bernie Sanders and BLM 

Hi RedEYE, No, I didn't take the writer's slam personally, but I did refute that as a Bernie supporter I am "embedded in a white savior ethos that discount black thought leadership as unintelligent and unworthy."

I don't think of Bernie as a "white savior." Generally, I agree with many of his positions, and disagree with a few others, but I don't expect to agree with all of any politician's positions. That's just unrealistic.
Nor do I think that Bernie discounts black thought leadership as unintelligent and unworthy. The writer doesn't provide any evidence of that; she just states it as if it is a fact.
Bernie does emphasize that there is a need to "stand together" against corruption and injustice.

Some supporters of any politician are ill-mannered. No candidate can be held accountable for the actions or inactions of their followers.

It's really very simple. If you don't support Bernie's positions, don't vote for him. No one is, or can, force you to do anything. I expect that some voters will prefer Hillary, some will prefer Bernie, and some will prefer other candidates. That's just politics.

EYE would like to say publicly how much EYE appreciate the tone and tenor of this comment.  It has always been my personal mantra tolerant people can agree to disagree without resorting to name calling, personal attacks, and insults.  It's political not personal.  EYE was afraid we were heading down the Left in Alabama (and others) road , where people who EYE thought were friends, banned me for life because they took a political disagreement personal.

This brings me to the actions of the #Sandernistas, and yes, EYE am holding Bernie Sanders accountable for the actions of his followers.

It was absurd, from the onset, that BLM activists had to take the stage and take the mike AT AN ALLEGED PROGRESSIVE SPACE to even initiate discussion of the genocide against Blacks by a militarized police force. That discussion should have already been ongoing, prominent and robust.
But having done so, the reaction of White sandernistas has been not solidarity with Black Americans, but a demand that Black Americans sit down, shut up, and demonstrate solidarity with THEM. “Bernie Sanders is your best hope. You need to support him and stop being disruptive.” This is the kind of thing that has been coming out of White Sandernista mouths. It’s not solidarity, it’s the liberal face of White supremacy.

In order to solve the problem you have to admit there is a problem. 

I could be wrong about that, but I don’t blame any person of color for having a lingering bad taste in their mouth from your shenanigans at this point.

The Black Lives Matter Movement now has a legislative agenda. 

Now, that the Black Lives Matter movement has an agenda, it must effectively push that agenda. It must demand that all local, state and federal governments adopt that agenda. They must pressure Democrats and Republicans to embrace that agenda. Before disrupting campaign rallies and other political gatherings, the Movement should make a diligent effort to meet with the candidates to discuss the agenda.

If the politicians fail to meet with the movement, the disruptions will be justified. By the way, when asked about meeting with Black Lives Matter, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) called the idea "ridiculous." He has an earned a disruption or two. We must demand that both parties pass legislation to end racial profiling and police brutality.

This includes you Bernie Sanders. Sir.

What looks like Stupid On An Ordinary Day in #SweetHomeAlabama

The crowd pic.twitter.com/89o5rZmJEQ

— Robert Costa (@costareports) August 21, 2015

EYE am sure no one is surprised Donald Trump bought his Reality TV Show, I mean, Presidential campaign to the Reddest of the Red, Republican, Confederate, Slave States, or, that it was held in a football stadium, or that  Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions was the ringmaster, I mean, organizer. After all this is The Heart of Dixie where football is King, and education not so much. It's also the home of what liberal, not to be confused with Fox News, commentators call the most brutal immigration act in history.  It's also the home of Congressman Mo "anything short of shooting them" Brooks (R. CD5). 

Ironic, Donald Trump held a rally Friday night in the belly of American racism, yet fortuitous. Alabama, one of the multi-state wombs the Southern Strategy gestated for several decades after the passage of 1960s federal civil rights legislation. Nevertheless, peremptorily Trump follows another ambitious liberal who flipped to champion the racist dogma in pursuit of elected office, the late Governor George Wallace (R) – ALA.

After Friday Night Lights Alabama Trump Style there is no doubt the white, male dominated media is enabling Trump, and his supporters are....downright nasty for lack of a better word.  EYE prefer to call them  Alabama's Bad Tooth Syndrome .

We often have a bad tooth that hurts. Sometimes it hurts bad, and sometimes it hurts really bad. We never know when or how much or how long it will hurt. We refuse to have it removed for fear of the intense pain. Therefore, we allow the pain to come and go for years, worsening over time. If we have the bad tooth removed, we will experience intense pain at the dentist, but the pain will be over in a day or two and our mouth will not only be pain free but healthy for years to come. Most people will suffer bad pain a hundred times over rather than suffer intense pain once. That’s the bad tooth syndrome.
Alabama has the bad tooth syndrome really bad.

Ya Think?

Attention media: 20,000 people turning out in Alabama to cheer a racist is not news ~Andy Borowitz

"Martin Luther King’s hate mail eerily resembles criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement"

Per Dave Matthews via Fusion

Indeed, this type of discourse is nothing new, as we can see when we examine the hate mail that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It’s overwhelming how the fear of the status quo being changed has been something white America can’t stop thinking about–and loudly announcing how it’s a problem–for so long now. These messages could have been written yesterday in the comments of a Facebook post as easily as they were on stationery or in a telegram 50 years ago.
Anonymity was key, of course.

Letters to MLK

"Nothing has changed except the technology", and NO, Mike Huckabee, MLK would NOT be "appalled by Black Lives Matter", he would be appalled anyone is listening to anything you have to say about  Black Lives Matter.   "What MLK Would be appalled at is the hideous racism that the Republican Party embraces against black Americans and Hispanics in this country." 

Personal Note on BLM and Bernie Sanders

I've been quiet, quiet for a reason. I have been trying to listen to this commentary on Bernie and BLM. So, I thought I would at least check in. 

I'm a Bernie supporter, and have been to see him in person at Madison and Dubuque. And, yes, the crowds are predominately white, despite the notable exception of a white woman in Dubuque who sported a "Black Lives Matter" t-shirt and introduced herself as a member of the Dubuque NAACP.  At those two rallies, the demographics and the season could explain the crowd's whiteness.

The black population in Madison is 7.3%  The Madison rally, which drew 10,000, happened before school started, so many students would not have attended the rally. That said, the number of African-American students at UW-Madison is only 2.9%, or 1,235 students.

Dubuque is a much smaller community than Madison, roughly only 25% as large, and its black population is only 4.0%. The rally itself was much smaller, too, with less than 2,000 people attending.

Income and wealth inequality is an important part of Bernie's proposals, and he notes that it is an important aspect of racial justice, too. He breaks his racial justice proposals into four violence categories: physical, political, legal, and economic, and as he writes about them, you can see how closely linked he recognizes them to be.

As more people learn about Bernie, an aspect that will be raised is: "How is he going to pay for all this?" Fortunately, his senatorial committee memberships on Budget, Joint Economic, Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resources, Veterans Affairs, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions position him well to make informed decisions about changes that will have huge, dynamic impacts on our economy and nation.

Bernie knows where to cut and where to tax to pay for his visionary changes, like free public college tuition, by imposing a small tax on Wall Street transactions.

Here's another example of the far-reaching change that Sanders envisions: worker co-ops.

"We need to develop new economic models to increase job creation and productivity. Instead of giving huge tax breaks to corporations which ship our jobs to China and other low-wage countries, we need to provide assistance to workers who want to purchase their own businesses by establishing worker-owned cooperatives. Studay after study shows that when workers have an ownership stake in the businesses they work for, productivity goes up, absenteeism goes down and employees are much more satisfied with their jobs."

And as banking and corporate systems have failed to meet the needs of the American economy and its workers, this one change could have a huge impact in bettering the lives of working Americans. It is literally people joining together to take control of their working lives and incomes.

One of Bernie's themes is "We Stand Together" (perhaps drawn from Nickelback) and indeed it is around that theme that he delivered these lines in Portland.

13. "If a bank is too big to fail, I think it's too big to exist."

12. "We must end the embarrassment of this country being the only country on earth that does not guarantee workers paid medical and family leave."

11. "We see kids getting criminal records for having marijuana, but the CEOs of these large institutions get away with theft."

10. On the Koch brothers: "When you have one family spending more than either political party, that is not democracy, that is oligarchy, and that has got to end."

9. On Republicans: "What they mean by family values is that our gay brothers and sisters should not be able to marry and enjoy all the benefits of citizenship. I disagree."

8. "Men, stand with the women and demand pay equity. There is no defensible reason why women are making 78 cents on the dollar. That has got to change."

7. On attendance: "Portland, you have done it better than anyone else."

6. "A minimum wage of $7 an hour is a starvation wage. I applaud those cities - Seattle, Los Angeles and others - that have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And that is exactly what we will do at the federal level."

5. On the very rich: "The have unlimited sums of money. But we have something they do not have. We have a united people."

4. "Every public college and university in America will be tuition-free."

3.  "The cost of war is real, and it is terrible. I believe that war should be the last resort, not the first resort."

2. On his Supreme Court nominees: "They will have to tell the American people that their first order of business will be to overturn Citizens United."

1. "This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class: Yes, we have the guts to take you on."

"Dream big!" Sanders bellows in rallies (though he was hoarse in Dubuque), and that is part of his rallying cry as he kick starts our peaceful political revolution.

Predominately Black Montgomery, AL is "poised to elect" a Black Mayor who votes against Black People? Really?

The Future First Black Mayor of Predominately Black Montgomery,AL?

What the what is wrong with  black voters and the democratic political establishment in Montgomery, AL?  I mean, really?  Are you really poised to elect Artur Davis the mayor based on the color of his skin, and not the content of his character?  

Are black voters really poised to elect a black man who was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against The Affordable Health Care Act?

Are black Montgomery voters really poised to elect a black man who Punk'ed Left in Alabama big time?

Are black  Montgomery voters really poised to elect a black man who was a democrat before he was a republican?

Are black Montgomery voters really poised to elect a black man who accused black voters of voter fraud?

Really black Montgomery voters? Or, is this a case of white democrats choosing who the black mayor of predominately black Montgomery will be?  I suspect it's the latter.

Interestingly, a few of Montgomery's "old school" black political "leaders" have teamed with Strange to back Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Harris, knowing that Harris has no realistic chance of winning. Their goal is to divide the black vote in the hopes that Strange will win reelection without a run-off. This calculated strategy appears to be failing. Harris' lackluster performance on the predominantly black County Commission on the issues of economic empowerment for African-Americans, as well as urban development and jobs on Montgomery's West side, has caused black voters to view Harris' candidacy with great skepticism.

So, here we go again, black voters don't really have anyone to vote FOR, so they will probably stay at home, and once again, whites will decide who mis-represents them.

Only in AmeriBama. Normally I don't condone voting for the lessor of two evils, but EYE am making an exception in this case.  With a black mayor like Artur Davis who needs republicans?

EYE #FeltTheBurn and it was HOT! HOT! HOT!

The parallels between the white moderates whom Dr. Martin Luther King criticized in 1963 and certain white progressives whom many Black activists are criticizing in 2015 couldn't be clearer.

Let me see if EYE have this right (pun intended), EYE am supposed to support a candidate whose fans calls #BlackLivesMatter Activist everything but a child of God because he marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., and because these same supporters say he is the best candidate to address our issues?  Nah.  That's not going to work for me.

When black women interrupt your candidate, don't call them "thugs." And when protesters hijack your hero's microphone to have their story heard, it doesn't mean they're paid provocateurs in some elaborate plot involving George Soros and Hillary Clinton. You know who else propagates wild conspiracy theories about George Soros funding left-wing protesters? Glenn Beck and Allen West. So congratulations, white progressives – your fanaticism for Bernie has turned you into the thing you hate. - 

EYE would like to thank the Black Lives Matter Activist for speaking truth to power, and in the process exposing the large white crowds attending Bernie Sanders events for who, and what, they really are. 

Bernie's supporters need to realize that Bernie Sanders is not the leader of this political revolution. We all are. Let the revolution unfold – Bernie is welcome to join if he's ready. -

What you accuse others of doing is what you are doing yourself. The accusation/allegations the Black Lives Matters Movement is a George Soros/Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Outside Agitator front group, could be a cover for republicans masquerading as progressive/liberals/Bernie Supporters. 

Eye Am Just Saying...

Black Lives Matter—which has challenged and called out respectability politics and the ties that Black politicians have to a structurally racist political system—has engaged in a backlash against Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and the civil rights establishment. This comes as young Black men were being dismissed by elders such as Bill Cosby and the old guard civil rights groups, often lectured to, and told to pull their pants up rather than provided with any guidance or assistance. As a result, Alicia Garza, a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, said, “Ferguson marked the first time in my lifetime‚ in which the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were begged to leave the scene of a civil rights crime.”

It's a new day and there is a new way. Bernie Sanders has ripped his drawers with me, thanks to his supporters. 

"there can be no unity when you demonstrate that you care more about order than justice."

Know Justice.  Know Peace. 

RedEYE made Mike's Blog Roundup!

Wow!  Just Wow!  What an honor.   Trickle Down Justice made Mikes Blog Round Up at Crooks and Liars.  Welcome Crooks and Liars Readers.  Don't be a stranger.

EYE want to make the following random observations about Bernie Sanders Supporters vs, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and  Julian Bond.

1. Has anyone but me noticed Sanders crowds don't look like the crowds that assembled to elect President Obama twice?

2. Has anyone but me noticed when African Americans unify and organize to fight injustice and oppression any protest are deemed rebellious, trouble making, by Slaves? 

Dear Bernie Sanders supporters,
Shut up and listen for once. When black women interrupt your candidate, don't call them "thugs." And when protesters hijack your hero's microphone to have their story heard, it doesn't mean they're paid provocateurs in some elaborate plot involving George Soros and Hillary Clinton. You know who else propagates wild conspiracy theories about George Soros funding left-wing protesters? Glenn Beck and Allen West. So congratulations, white progressives – your fanaticism for Bernie has turned you into the thing you hate.

3.  Has anyone but me noticed it's easier to attack the messenger because they can't attack the message?

4.  Has anyone but me noticed it's All Donald Trump All The Time, and All Hillary's   emails All The Time on TeeVee , but nary a word about the life, death, and legacy of Julian Bond?  EYE wonder why?

Julian Bond was a blunt, once in a generation civil rights icon who was not afraid to say what needed to be said even though he knew it would be controversial.

5.  Stupid is as Stupid does.  See graphic below.

Repost from AFROPUNK.

"Accountability means the ability to deliver a promise"

Schools Matter: Bernie Shows His Ignorance about "Accountability"

No more #TrickleDownJustice #BlackLivesMatter

"It won’t be Sanders’ fault if he loses the primary. It will be the fault of his supporters." http://t.co/DXxiLolcYC #FeelTheBern

— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) August 12, 2015

"Many observers are perplexed by the decision of some Black Lives Matter activists to twice disrupt attempted addresses by presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Well, I am not perplexed. The new generation of civil rights activists never accepted "trickle-down economics" from conservatives. Today they are rejecting "trickle-down justice" from the liberals" .~Van Jones on CNN

#ItsTheMedia #BlackLivesMatter

IMHO, #BlackLivesMatter activists doing better job holding politicians accountable than most of mainstream media @emergingUS

— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) August 11, 2015

Breaking News! "Activist Who Interrupted Bernie Were Shape-Shifting Reptilian Assassins from the 8th Dimension"

Fist Dap The Portland Intelligencer



Cue in music from the Twilight Zone

"We may never know the answer to this mystery. It may be that there is no right answer. Ultimately, it all comes down to what you truly believe in your heart. Would a couple of black women really show up and suggest that the progressive left has an unacknowledged streak of white supremacy? Would they really speak out-of-turn, as if to suggest that they have been on the receiving end of both brutal oppression and empty promises — two distinctly different, but equally pernicious, forms of racism — for five centuries, here, in the promised land of the free?

Or is it simpler to conclude that these were just a couple of Satan’s reptile-like shapeshifting alien assassins, fresh from the 8th dimension, sent here by Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton & George Soros to prevent the best friend that the black community ever had from getting elected?"

Time will tell the truth.

#BernieSanders Supporters can dish out the name calling, personal attacks, insults and lies, but they can't take them. #ThereIsMoreThanAWhiffOfHypocrisy

8 Reasons Why the Mainstream Media's Propagation of the Forgiveness Narrative is Problematic for Black People

#FeelTheBern?  Sanders supporters continue to attack the messenger because they can't attack the message.  Their personal attacks on the Black Lives Matter Movement's female activist are every bit as offensive and sexist as Donald Trumps attack on Megyn Kelly.  Their attempt to discredit the Black Lives Matter Movement,  define the real Black Lives Matter Movement. and discredit the character of the activist is pure paternalism, which is another form of racism.  

Notably, it wasn’t two Black women who kept Bernie from speaking in Seattle. It was a White man, a Bernie supporter, who organized the event who shut it down, said the event was over, and informed the crowd that Sanders would not be speaking because he couldn’t agree with the “methods of direct action” of the Black women in front of him.

Let me give it to you straight, Bernie Sanders supporters don't decide who/what is best for Black people.  We don't need you to "take care of us".  We will decide who are leaders are.   

Respectability politics definitely play a role here. The argument goes: If these loud, destructive, rude protesters would only mellow out, they'd realize that you catch more flies with honey. Don't upset or alienate your white allies. Don't piss on your best friend. Don't put your best friend in a compromising position. He can't help you until he gets on the inside. So be nice, play fair, and wait your turn. You're making black people look bad.

Bernie Sanders, or any other democratic candidate will not win the primary without the vote of black women.  Fact.  Calling young black women who are trying to make a difference idiots and childish, horrible, brats, is not the way to win the black female vote.  These young women are the Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hammers of our time.  They are our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins, friends, and nieces. We stand by them and with them.  Stop with the angry black woman narrative. Yes, we are angry because we are tired of crying over the graves of our loved ones.  You will never know our fear, or our pain. therefore you don't get to decide how we express it.  You got that?

Don't condemn our anger. Don't denounce our pain as savage. What's savage is the cruel inhumanity and brutality of the police. Condemn that.~Amandla Stenberg

Bernie Sanders supporters just don't get it.  Why should black women support him after this?  How are we to believe he is the person who will best address our concerns when his supporters call us ignorant and delusional because we won't go along to get along?  Your progressiveness is not enough, we need more. 

Two Black women called for a moment of silence for Mike Brown a year after he was gunned down, left bleeding in the street for 4.5 hours, and White “progressives” shouted, booed, and chanted the name of a White man throughout that moment.
How much more committed to a “negative peace” can we get than literally shouting down the memory of a Black youth whose murder helped to spark this movement?
And how much more “devoted to ‘order'” can we be than to lecture Black people about what direct actions are and are not “hurting your cause”? (Notably, this language I’ve seen from countless White folks shows that we do not see the cause of racial justice as OUR cause – it’s that cause over there that we will tolerate so long as it doesn’t disrupt our Bernie rally.)
And how much more of a “stumbling block” can our self-proclaimed “allyship” be to racial justice when it’s so feeble as to proclaim, “I am a strong ally of the Black Lives Matter movement, but I’m not sure how to be an ally when they are this disrespectful to the only candidate that has actually done anything for minorities” (actual quote from one of the 15 or so social media threads I’m following as I write this article)?

Black Lives Matter is not a moment, it's a movement. A movement created by three strong, black, bold, intelligent, brave, young women.  They are our hope for the future of our republic.  EYE stand by them and with them all the darn way, all the darn day.  As much as it pains me to quote Dubya, you're either with us, or you're against us.

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.~Frederick Douglas

Sanders needs to, as the young people say, get some of his supporters in check, before they drive more supporters like me away.

Say, Have You Seen My Democracy? #Ferguson #BlackLivesMatter

Racism Much America? Oath Keepers. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/FdPDONnCIN

— Benny (@BRios82) August 11, 2015

EYE was a #BernieSanders supporter before EYE met some of his supporters and #FeltTheBern

The Black Lives Matter movement is being persecuted by some (not to be confused with all) Bernie Sanders supporters and the media is happy to help them.  Yes, he is drawing huge crowds...of white people. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with huge crowds of white people per say, but doesn't it strike you as odd (for lack of a better word)  a campaign that says it's bringing people together is well.......not?

I see these protests as less about the individual candidates themselves and more about how their White base refuses to center Black lives and Black issues. It’s notable that White Bernie supporters, who consider themselves the most progressive of us all, shouted down and booed Black women who dared to force Blackness into the center of White space.
Because let’s be honest, every Bernie rally is White space.

And no, hiring a new black public face and reminding black people Sanders marched with Martin Luther King Jr. is not going to score any Brownie (pun intended) points.  As a matter of fact, it illustrates how clueless, at best, condescending at worst,  the Sanders campaign is.   Heck, lots of people  can say they "marched with King".

And that is commendable, but we are talking about people who are dying right now. And we want what is happening today to be addressed by those in power. Consistently bringing that up in defense for lack of action on fighting racial inequality and police brutality as a senator just makes you sound like you’re asking for a free pass to inaction today. If you want to be in power now, you need to be addressing what is happening now.

But I digress, let's get back to the subject at hand.  Prior to the Black Lives Matter Protest I was leaning toward Sanders because I honestly believed he was a populist, progressive, fair, honest, candidate with bonafide Civil Rights credentials, or as they call it in my neighborhood "Street Cred". But the reaction of some of his supporters to the Black Lives Matter Movement scare me.  I've heard some of the most hateful, sexist, racist language and unfounded accusations leveled at the Black Lives Matter Movement, and towards myself for defending them, that has me questioning the entire Bernie Sanders campaign.  And before you start screaming Bernie shouldn't be judged by his supporters let me say this,  you can tell a lot about a candidate by who their supporters are.

Bernie Sanders has a Black Lives Matter Problem and a White Privilege Problem.

I find it hard to give much credence to white folks like these who are telling black people fighting for racial justice, “You’re doing it wrong.”
After centuries of discrimination, terror, and suppression, to suggest that they be nicer about things and to stop making white people uncomfortable strikes me as the epitome of white privilege.

Sanders needs to, as the young people say, get some of his supporters in check, before they drive more supporters like me away.

Stop acting like black people are stupid. We are politically savvy. And black women especially have a higher voter turnout than anyone else. No candidate can win without black women, yet a bunch of black women stood up and expressed their feelings on an issue that is literally killing our people and white progressives are acting like they were a bunch of uppity Negroes who didn’t know their place… These are young people who are learning as they go. Every movement has growing pains. I’ve seen too many people who are writing off their efforts because they don’t think the effort is being organized in the right way. That is not helpful. White allies need to give these young people space to grow, space to fail, space to learn. And they need to amplify their voices.

– Imani Gandy, senior legal analyst for RH Reality Check and co-host of This Week in Blackness Prime

Marissa Janae Johnson Speaks: #BLM, Sanders & White Progressives™ | #TWIBnation

Listen and learn about what really happened at the Bernie Sanders rally in Seattle.  The Black Lives Matter Seattle Activist are under a vicious and sustained, media enabled attack.  EYE stand with them and for what they stand for.

And how much more “devoted to ‘order'” can we be than to lecture Black people about what direct actions are and are not “hurting your cause”? (Notably, this language I’ve seen from countless White folks shows that we do not see the cause of racial justice as OUR cause – it’s that cause over there that we will tolerate so long as it doesn’t disrupt our Bernie rally.)

"The reaction to these protesters shed light on the hidden Seattle that most black people know well — the Seattle that prefers politeness to true progress, the Seattle that is more offended by raised voices than by systemic oppression, the Seattle that prioritizes the comfort of middle-class white liberals over justice for people of color."

Was blind but now I see

On this, nearly the one year anniversary of the ruthless murder of Mike Brown, we honor Black lives lost by doing the unthinkable, the unapologetic, and the unrespectable. Out of radical love for our Black brothers and sisters, we put our lives and our bodies on the line to testify to their persecution and resilience. We join together in Black love to #SayHerName and declare that #BlackLivesMatter, understanding that our love will disrupt the complicity and corruption of our anti-Black society; GOP, Democrat, and otherwise.

There is no business as usual while Black lives are lost. We will ensure this by any means necessary.

With the strength of our ancestors and for the future of our children,

Black Lives Matter Seattle Co-Founders

Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford

#BowDownBernie
#SayHerName
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody
‪#‎NotOneMoreDeportation‬
‪#‎FreePalestine‬
‪#‎MikeBrown‬
#BlackLivesMatter

"Our tactics have ALWAYS been questioned. Our voices...our humanity is more important than rules, convenience, and political correctness".~Black Lives Matter Also-BIRMINGHAM

Let's talk about Social Security and Wealth Inequality so we won't have to talk about #BlackLivesMatter

Tell me again how the oppressed, the incarcerated, the community(ies) being murdered owe Bernie Sanders ANYTHING at all, the !entitlement!

— Pino Saracino (@DoRoachesChill) August 9, 2015

As you know by now, some Bernie Sanders supporters have their Knickers in a Knot because those uppity BlackLivesMatterSeattle women disrespected him by interrupting his speech on Social Security to a packed audience.  What happened next was an organized  ,and pathetic attempt to attack the messenger because that's just what they do when they want to marginalize and discredit legitimate concerns.  After all who wants to talk about Black Lives and how they don't matter?

Here is what some (not to be confused with all) Bernie Sanders don't understand, no one is attacking Sanders, or his long Civil Rights record, we are attacking what he chooses to talk about,  to be honest, I see a pattern here, when African Americans try and get the so called liberal/progressive candidate to address our issues we told to STFU, STFD, stop whining, and support Bush, I mean, Obama, I mean, Bernie, or else.

Because here’s the thing – what’s powerful about these interruptions from Black women is less how it has changed the tone of the Democratic campaigns and more about what they have exposed in the White left.
I see these protests as less about the individual candidates themselves and more about how their White base refuses to center Black lives and Black issues. It’s notable that White Bernie supporters, who consider themselves the most progressive of us all, shouted down and booed Black women who dared to force Blackness into the center of White space.
Because let’s be honest, every Bernie rally is White space.

Never mind the fact those uppity Black Lives Matter Seattle women succeeded in making Bernie Sanders previously unknown racial justice platform known.

The activists who interrupted Sanders’ speech in Seattle over the weekend said his “blatantly silencing response” at the Netroots Nations conference in July — when he reacted to an interruption from Black Lives Matter by threatening to leave instead of listening to their message — as their motivation. The Seattle leaders blasted both Sanders and his supporters for failing to show concern about the forces harming people of color in their own community, from the school-to-prison pipeline to police violence to gentrification.
Yet Sanders has not been the sole target of protesters. Activists also shouted down former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) at the Netroots Nation conference in July, demanding he and the audience acknowledge the recent death of Sandra Bland in police custody. Instead, he replied: “Black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter.” He also presented a history of his record as mayor of Baltimore that conveniently left out the zero tolerance policing that disproportionately targeted residents of color.

Eye am going to admit, I was leaning towards supporting Bernie Sanders until his supporters showed their true colors (pun intended), and I was reminded of this blog by Paul Street on Black Agenda.com

Bernie Sanders doesn’t understand the history and contemporary workings of race in the United States, and cannot, therefore, grasp the economics of race, either. His campaign lacks “a forthright acknowledgement of the special, vicious super-exploitation, torture and oppression experienced by Black America.” He virtually ignores housing apartheid and mass Black incarceration, and lets U.S. militarism off the hook for stealing resources.

And then there is this blog written by Bruce Dixon, accusing Bernie Sanders of Sheep Dogging for Hillary and the Democrats in 2016. 

Vermont senator and ostensible socialist Bernie Sanders is playing the sheepdog candidate for Hillary Clinton this year. Bernie's job is to warm up the crowd for Hillary, herding activist energies and the disaffected left back into the Democratic fold one more time. Bernie aims to tie up activist energies and resources till the summer of 2016 when the only remaining choice will be the usual lesser of two evils.

 Where to go and what to do?

The Democrats hope the Black Lives Matter movement, like the Occupy Wall Street movement, will disappear amid the hype of the coming election season. “The Democrats have mounted a systematic cooption-repression response that will intensify as the election season – and Black cities – heat up.” The Democrats understand that, for the movement to succeed, their party’s power over Black America must be broken.

"until this country values all lives equally, it is both reasonable and indeed necessary to specify the lives it seems to value less."~Charles Blow