Police Accidentally Tweet Screenshot Showing That They Monitor Anti-Racism and Anti-Police Brutality Groups

[Underseer]

https://www.theroot.com/police-accidentally-tweet-screenshot-showing-that-they-1829082201

In their efforts to inform the public that they were doing everything possible to manage the spontaneous combustion of several homes, the Massachusetts State Police inadvertently let a few organizations fighting to end police brutality, racism and the reign of Donald Trump, know that they are being watched.

Conservatives have been warning us about "jack-booted thugs" for decades, so of course the moment we find widespread abuse of power by law enforcement, suddenly conservolibertarians don't have a problem with abuse of power by the government, not even when it's blatantly obvious like this.

It's almost as if all those decades of talk about freedom was just talk, and that they knew they were the statists all along.

Huh.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Because such organizations aren't always as peaceful as they claim.

 

[Axulus]

What's wrong with monitoring them for elements of extremism, assuming they aren't violating the 4th amendment with their monitoring (in which case they should be sued to stop it)?

 

[laughing dog]

One would think the police have enough on their plate with actual crime.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Monitoring them means they are listening to them. Isn't that a good thing?

 

[untermensche]

Why expend resources on fishing trips when there is no evidence of criminal activity?

There is nothing extreme about being against police brutality.

 

[Politesse]

Monitoring them means they are listening to them. Isn't that a good thing?

Ask East Germany.

 

[laughing dog]

Monitoring them means they are listening to them. Isn't that a good thing?

So you would have no problem if the Canadian police were monitoring you?

 

[Mumbles]

Monitoring them means they are listening to them. Isn't that a good thing?

Quite a few of these folks have received FBI visits for false tips "eg., the idea that Deray McKesson would try to lead a riot at the GOP convention", had homes raided shortly before or during a police corruption case, been held up at airports, been followed physically by police, or in extreme cases been one of an odd number of people excecuted and torched in a car, with no witnesses or leads, or likely suspects.

Not to mention COINTELPRO, or the recent report on "Black Identity Extremists", a designation that nobody uses or could adequately define.

No, "listening to" them and taking complaints seriously would be welcome. "Monitoring" is the sort of thing usually done for drug gangs and the like.

 

[Jarhyn]

Because such organizations aren't always as peaceful as they claim.

It's a lot more about the list when taken in context that is troubling. There are many left-leaning local groups, but for some reason, there aren't actually any far-right groups being monitored. The reality of the list is that it shows clear bias against left leaning and progressive groups while ignoring all the real whackadoodle out there.

 

[Jarhyn]

Monitoring them means they are listening to them. Isn't that a good thing?

Quite a few of these folks have received FBI visits for false tips "eg., the idea that Deray McKesson would try to lead a riot at the GOP convention", had homes raided shortly before or during a police corruption case, been held up at airports, been followed physically by police, or in extreme cases been one of an odd number of people excecuted and torched in a car, with no witnesses or leads, or likely suspects.

Not to mention COINTELPRO, or the recent report on "Black Identity Extremists", a designation that nobody uses or could adequately define.

No, "listening to" them and taking complaints seriously would be welcome. "Monitoring" is the sort of thing usually done for drug gangs and the like.

Just so you know, "black identity extremists" are really a thing. On several occasions now, I have observed, directly, persons encouraging violence against people who are not black, and justified it with Abrahamic religion. The second most recent, it was a man in the back of the bus speaking for about 40 minutes (the duration of my time on that bus) about how black people are the only ones who love their families and worship god right, etc. the most recent time, it was at the bus stop at Chicago and east lake, and there were five individuals there wearing Jewish-esque trappings and stars of David, saying the exact same stuff along with demonizing white people for eating pork... just without any of the Revelations imagery. The worst part about this is that I have no way to shout that kind of racist garbage down without myself being labeled a racist.

I'm talking "Rise up and kill them all" imagery, too.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Just so you know, "black identity extremists" are really a thing.

Didn't they you yet? "Black people can't be racist".

 

[Jarhyn]

Just so you know, "black identity extremists" are really a thing.

Didn't they you yet? "Black people can't be racist".

Not only can they be racist, but they can be racist against black people. It's not as if they aren't watching the same media containing the same messages (fear black people), and it isn't like they aren't exposed to the same situation where all the poor people they see tend towards being black, and it's not as if they aren't just as human with the same human brains that all the other humans have that readily engage in implicit Post Hoc fallacies. Really, it has a lot in common with Problems of low self esteem. I don't see anyone denying that human beings can have low self-esteem; the insults that are received to racial esteem are delivered from slightly different directions is the only difference, and it isn't an important difference at all to the discussion.

And it's also not like someone can't both be racist against multiple races for different reasons, not giving you fellow the benefit of the doubt for reasons outlined above, but also vilifying white people because of well-justified resentment of systemic prejudice that leads to the same factors that continue and perpetuate it all.

 

[Mumbles]

Just so you know, "black identity extremists" are really a thing. On several occasions now, I have observed, directly, persons encouraging violence against people who are not black, and justified it with Abrahamic religion. The second most recent, it was a man in the back of the bus speaking for about 40 minutes (the duration of my time on that bus) about how black people are the only ones who love their families and worship god right, etc. the most recent time, it was at the bus stop at Chicago and east lake, and there were five individuals there wearing Jewish-esque trappings and stars of David, saying the exact same stuff along with demonizing white people for eating pork... just without any of the Revelations imagery. The worst part about this is that I have no way to shout that kind of racist garbage down without myself being labeled a racist.

I'm talking "Rise up and kill them all" imagery, too.

And which of these identify as "the Black Identity Extremists"?

As opposed to, say, the "Nation of Islam"? Or the Black Israelites, who self-identify as the "Church of God and Saints of Christ", among other subgroups?

Point is, since nobody has a clue who the FBI actually considers the "Black Identity Extremists", and almost nobody actually accepts that name for themselves, we have no way of saying that they're talking about the same people you are - as opposed to "Black Lives Matter" or "100 Black Men".

 

[Jarhyn]

Just so you know, "black identity extremists" are really a thing. On several occasions now, I have observed, directly, persons encouraging violence against people who are not black, and justified it with Abrahamic religion. The second most recent, it was a man in the back of the bus speaking for about 40 minutes (the duration of my time on that bus) about how black people are the only ones who love their families and worship god right, etc. the most recent time, it was at the bus stop at Chicago and east lake, and there were five individuals there wearing Jewish-esque trappings and stars of David, saying the exact same stuff along with demonizing white people for eating pork... just without any of the Revelations imagery. The worst part about this is that I have no way to shout that kind of racist garbage down without myself being labeled a racist.

I'm talking "Rise up and kill them all" imagery, too.

And which of these identify as "the Black Identity Extremists"?

As opposed to, say, the "Nation of Islam"? Or the Black Israelites, who self-identify as the "Church of God and Saints of Christ", among other subgroups?

Point is, since nobody has a clue who the FBI actually considers the "Black Identity Extremists", and almost nobody actually accepts that name for themselves, we have no way of saying that they're talking about the same people you are - as opposed to "Black Lives Matter" or "100 Black Men".

Well, "people who self-identify as 'black' and advocate violence against 'non-blacks' (those outside their identity) for ideological/religious purposes" seems a pretty good indicator, so, probably all of the people I described, at the least, qualify. As to the rest of it that you described, you seem to be straw-manning me. Of course nobody is generally going to accept a "terrorist" label either, but it definitely applies to groups like ISIS, sovereign citizens groups, etc.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I think we need to switch from the term "Extremist" to something like "Volatile". When people say "Muslim Extremist" it just makes it sound to me that the more Muslim you are, the more violent you are, and I don't think that's actually the message people saying this are looking to send.

 

[Politesse]

I think we need to switch from the term "Extremist" to something like "Volatile". When people say "Muslim Extremist" it just makes it sound to me that the more Muslim you are, the more violent you are, and I don't think that's actually the message people saying this are looking to send.

You don't? I always thought it was a rather transparent attempt to imply that the two nouns are equivalents.

 

[Mumbles]

Well, "people who self-identify as 'black' and advocate violence against 'non-blacks' (those outside their identity) for ideological/religious purposes" seems a pretty good indicator, so, probably all of the people I described, at the least, qualify. As to the rest of it that you described, you seem to be straw-manning me. Of course nobody is generally going to accept a "terrorist" label either, but it definitely applies to groups like ISIS, sovereign citizens groups, etc.

And according to many people, Black Lives Matter are a "terrorist group", Obama loved when police were killed, and again, Deray McKesson wanted to start riots.

Also, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Common, and Richard Sherman are all brutes - Oh, I mean, "thugs".

These are all laughably false, of course. Doesn't stop people, including people in law enforcement, from stating all of the above.

I have no idea whether the FBI means some actual militant supremacist group, some street corner lunatic, or avowedly nonviolent groups. And neither do you.

Similarly, you cannot assure anyone that the police in this case aren't simply looking to these groups as opponents to harm, despite their lack of actual shown violence.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I think we need to switch from the term "Extremist" to something like "Volatile". When people say "Muslim Extremist" it just makes it sound to me that the more Muslim you are, the more violent you are, and I don't think that's actually the message people saying this are looking to send.

You don't? I always thought it was a rather transparent attempt to imply that the two nouns are equivalents.

No, when people are pushing that Muslim equals violent, they just say Muslims did such and such. Saying Muslim extremists did it is a way to distinguish a subset from the majority.

 

[Jarhyn]

Well, "people who self-identify as 'black' and advocate violence against 'non-blacks' (those outside their identity) for ideological/religious purposes" seems a pretty good indicator, so, probably all of the people I described, at the least, qualify. As to the rest of it that you described, you seem to be straw-manning me. Of course nobody is generally going to accept a "terrorist" label either, but it definitely applies to groups like ISIS, sovereign citizens groups, etc.

And according to many people, Black Lives Matter are a "terrorist group", Obama loved when police were killed, and again, Deray McKesson wanted to start riots.

Also, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Common, and Richard Sherman are all brutes - Oh, I mean, "thugs".

These are all laughably false, of course. Doesn't stop people, including people in law enforcement, from stating all of the above.

I have no idea whether the FBI means some actual militant supremacist group, some street corner lunatic, or avowedly nonviolent groups. And neither do you.

Similarly, you cannot assure anyone that the police in this case aren't simply looking to these groups as opponents to harm, despite their lack of actual shown violence.

I didn't make any declarations about any of those things. You are straw-manning my statement and attempting to twist it away from the original intent. This is dishonest and makes me disappointed in you. I am not "many people". I don't give two shits what "many people say". I do not paint people gunned down by police as "thugs" and if you bothered to look at my post history, you would find that I frequently row with the racists on these boards over their inappropriate use of red herrings with regards to such incidents : "but he was using marijuana/robbed a store/had a criminal record" when the police who shot them dead didn't know any of those things, and when viewed in context are police (or not-police)murdering otherwise anonymous black people.

What I care about is exactly what I described as a real thing, extant in nature, which does accurately fit that term, and Does warrant government scrutiny/monitoring. Whether police are using it inappropriately to do racist shot is not germane to whether there is a real phenomena that they should be applying it to. If they are abusing it (and they probably are) that doesn't change the fact that there is still a problem with real "black identity extremists". It doesn't change the fact that multiple times now, "black identity extremists" have made me afraid to simply walk down the streets, and blockaded me from using public infrastructure as they say to everyone around, in a public place, that everyone listening to them should kill me and my family and anyone who have lighter skin whenever the opportunity presents itself.