BiggerBoat posted:

This is from a few pages back, but from the sound of this, you used to be in a militia or white supremacist group? Yes? Can you start an A/T thread or something because that sounds interesting.

Joementum posted:

Right. He's not going to stop being Barack Obama.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

I swear at some point I saw an infographic that was basically the same as the one about Ferguson's stop rates by race and contraband carried by race but nationwide instead. Anyone have that handy by any chance?

Prester John posted:

I was raised in what can only be described as a Conservative Evangelical cult. This cult also handled my education k-8th grade. Although not explicitly white supremacist, the curriculum was distinctly racist, and designed to appeal to racists in the wake of forced school integration. I was never part of any militia or white supremacist group, but I did know a number of militia types and have certainly sat around the campfire listening to them discuss which building they would take over first in the event of a collapse of society, how they would neutralize the police, whom they would be willing to protect and whom they would leave to fend for themselves. This was when I was a kid in the late 80's up all through the 90's. These people often told me (and my peers at that age) that we would face a civil war when we became adults that would be a prelude to the rapture. At the time they had plenty of guns and were actively thinking things through. As these people were Right Wingers terrified of the Government under Reagan, I can only assume they must be mere inches away from full RAHOWA by this point.

As far as my Conspiracy theorist days, yeah I was a hardcore CT for about six years before finally cracking and getting treatment/medication. (Diagnosed Schizophrenic) I was never part of any formal group, but did show up to a few local truther meetings/saw David Icke in Cleveland/participated in message boards, that sort of thing. I've heard how they talk to each other but I've never been in any insider circles of such groups. All I can really say is that they exist and they were pretty drat extreme even back in 2009 when they expected Obama to further his NWO agenda and take our guns.

I've been working on throwing up a thread about my school/cult experiences but frankly it usually triggers me after I dig too deep into it. I've got a 3/4's written OP that's been a side project for months now. Maybe today I'll finally manage to finish it.

Edit: Added a photo of my actual curriculum to demonstrate what I mean by Conservative Evangelical Cult. This was part of what would have been a history workbook in a regular school.

Cythereal posted:

It's funny to hear my Iranian-American girlfriend's parents talk about that, actually. They were hardcore Republicans up until 9/11, at which point the GOP promptly deemed them potential terrorists despite otherwise sharing Republican values. They jumped ship to the Democrats for the simple and sole reason that the Democrats don't think they're potential terrorists for emigrating from Iran to the US.

Prester John posted:

I was raised to be crazy

Raskolnikov38 posted:

I swear at some point I saw an infographic that was basically the same as the one about Ferguson's stop rates by race and contraband carried by race but nationwide instead. Anyone have that handy by any chance?

Raskolnikov38 posted:

They literally do that everytime Holder sneezes

Cythereal posted:

It's funny to hear my Iranian-American girlfriend's parents talk about that, actually. They were hardcore Republicans up until 9/11, at which point the GOP promptly deemed them potential terrorists despite otherwise sharing Republican values. They jumped ship to the Democrats for the simple and sole reason that the Democrats don't think they're potential terrorists for emigrating from Iran to the US.

gradenko_2000 posted:

Tom Clancy's Executive Orders had a subplot about a Iranian that immigrated with his parents to America when he was barely a teenager and managed to work his way up through the Secret Service, to being on the President's personal security detail.

Only he was actually an extremely deep cover sleeper that would assassinate the President upon received a coded message from his handler, a rug merchant.

And this was a book that was published in 1996. And to think I read all those books; being a dumb impressionable teenager was weird.

NYT posted:

Uber wants your vote of support. And it has hired a campaign manager to win you over.

Uber, the fast-growing private car start-up, announced on Tuesday it had hired the political strategist David Plouffe to be its senior vice president of policy and strategy. The move further signaled the grand aspirations of companies like Uber, which are challenging entrenched industries and running into resistance from some local governments.

computer parts posted:

The controversial part is why the officer did it.

computer parts posted:

Some do, some don't.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

Do you read the political cartoon thread. Holder will be out of the news for weeks and we still get at least one cartoon a week about him being a 'race hustler'.

Amergin posted:

The fact that he was shot six times in the front suggests the officer did it because the kid was rushing him.

computer parts posted:

If Obama really starts talking about race more people than the usual suspects will be uncomfortable.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

And I don't give a poo poo, let the racist fucks be 'uncomfortable,' them being comfortable isn't helping anything.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

And I don't give a poo poo, let the racist fucks be 'uncomfortable,' them being comfortable isn't helping anything.

Amergin posted:

The fact that he was shot six times in the front suggests the officer did it because the kid was rushing him.

computer parts posted:

You don't get that I'm not just talking about conservatives.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

No I do.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

No, I do.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

Because I don't accept the premise that talking about race honestly will doom the democrats to lose the senate to the point that the republicans can override a veto.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

Magres posted:

Wouldn't the Republicans have to win basically every single seat that's up for re-election to get a veto proof majority?

ufarn posted:

David Plouffe challenges Messina for the title of the biggest comms shill from the Obama campaign:


Ain't the post-administration hustle grand.

ufarn posted:

David Plouffe challenges Messina for the title of the biggest comms shill from the Obama campaign:


Ain't the post-administration hustle grand.

Party Plane Jones posted:

Were they not in the US for 1979 because good god the anti-Iranian student stuff that went on back then was pretty appalling.

computer parts posted:

So you want him to talk about race in this particular instance and never again, or do you want him to continue talking about it?

What do you think will happen if and when he does so going through the rest of his presidency?

The issue of race is not a Red/Blue distinction, and it's not even an old/young distinction. People aren't going to say "hey those guys are acting like Klansman, that's not cool". They're going to say "hey Obama is calling me a racist for being white, that's not fair!"

That's not going to end the way you think it will.

quote:

They wouldn't have a veto proof majority even if every 2014 seat went to them, but I'm assuming he wants this to be a long standing discussion.

Raskolnikov38 posted:

I'd settle for him talking about it when there are moments of great racial strife, ie right now. Could you go into why you think this would be a disaster? Because I'm honestly not seeing how the 2014 election would go completely tits up if he did, especially now that the primaries are over.

DoubleDonut posted:

computer parts, please explain how this ever stops being a problem if no one is ever willing to talk about it.

Joementum posted:

Countdown until the RNC's petition of support for Uber mysteriously vanishes

Fried Chicken posted:

Here have an oped that will piss you off

I'm a cop. If you don't want to get hurt don't challenge me

quote:

It is also a terrible calumny; cops are not murderers. No officer goes out in the field wishing to shoot anyone, armed or unarmed.

computer parts posted:

Of course it should be talked about. It's just ironic that a black man initiating the conversation is the worst possible person to do so.

computer parts posted:

Specifically the controversy is "The officer shot this kid because he's a virulent racist and racism is still a problem in America" instead of "He shot this kid because he was an urban thug/a shoplifter/militarization of the police/etc."

You even see it here - the Michael Brown thread was obsessed with militarization of the police instead of "guy shooting a black guy because he was black".

computer parts posted:

Because the attack ads write themselves. "[Candidate] supports Obama, who said all of your struggles and hard work was stolen from black people! Do you really want someone in office who supports pulling out the race card?" etc and so forth.

It actually would probably do less damage in a midterm election because it's already a pretty good chance that the Democrats lose anyway.

BiggerBoat posted:

He's the best person to do so. He's the loving President. And, yes, I get the irony.

StandardVC10 posted:

I feel like the Supreme Court has had just as much impact on racially related policy as the executive branch recently, if not more. Obama's got his bully pulpit going for him but frankly it's done a lot less than we've hoped with respect to other issues, so why should race be any different?

Periodiko posted:

This is such a bizarre thing to say, because it can't possibly be true. The history of police corruption is huge. Cops have been convicted of murder. Like, I realize this is a rhetorical device, but to rhetorically set aside the idea of corrupt and criminal cops, as a former member of the LAPD, in the midst of the controversies of the Ferguson police department, is so bizarre.

No one is saying the average American police officer is shooting unarmed men for no reason. It's clearly a problem, and happening way way too often, but the whole argument is about the heinous behavior of individuals acting outside of the norms of proper policing, and how the policies of specific police departments facilitates that. Why would you make an article entirely focused on generalized, proper policing as a reply?

Po-Po posted:

I know it is scary for people to be stopped by cops. I also understand the anger and frustration if people believe they have been stopped unjustly or without a reason. I am aware that corrupt and bully cops exist. When it comes to police misconduct, I side with the ACLU: Having worked as an internal affairs investigator, I know that some officers engage in unprofessional and arrogant behavior; sometimes they behave like criminals themselves. I also believe every cop should use a body camera to record interactions with the community at all times. Every police car should have a video recorder... And you don’t have to submit to an illegal stop or search. You can refuse consent to search your car or home if there’s no warrant... Always ask the officer whether you are under detention or are free to leave...
But if you believe (or know) that the cop stopping you is violating your rights or is acting like a bully, I guarantee that the situation will not become easier if you show your anger and resentment. Worse, initiating a physical confrontation is a sure recipe for getting hurt.

computer parts posted:

Because the attack ads write themselves. "[Candidate] supports Obama, who said all of your struggles and hard work was stolen from black people! Do you really want someone in office who supports pulling out the race card?" etc and so forth.