California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

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VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Fill Baptismal posted:

It would be hilarious is this was what got SB NIMBYs to be ok with normal apartment buildings. Just threaten them with The Cube whenever they complain about views or neighborhood character.

I had assumed they were going to build this in Isla Vista or on campus, where there are no NIMBYs. Were they planning to build it in Santa Barbara proper?

# ¿ Oct 30, 2021 02:24

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 18:12

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

It turns out my local cops are, in fact, bastards:
California attorney general to investigate Torrance Police after racist text scandal

# ¿ Dec 9, 2021 01:15

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

As someone who doesn't know much about proposals on the subject: what would be an actually good way to do reparations? It seems like the thread opinion is roughly "just give money to historically discriminated-against minorities", which sounds great, but I don't really understand how you determine who counts as a historically discriminated-against minority in a way that's not a huge mess. I'd imagine there are also equal protection issues -- i.e. I'm not sure the government even could give you money based on race.

I understand the issues with having to show that a direct ancestor was enslaved, but I don't really know what to advocate for instead.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2022 09:14

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

El Mero Mero posted:

I think there are three models, all three of which should be pursued and which are all feasible:

1. Direct reparations to survivors of those who were harmed. I think the best argument is looking at the failure of reconstruction to deliver what was promised to those who were released from slavery. At it's most basic level it would be "40 acres and a mule were promised. 4 million slaves were released following the civil war, so a fund that paid out to those descendants until the inflation adjusted-balance was paid off could be established. Germany is still paying off reparations from WWII and this would essentially be that model. This would be set-up and delivered by the state. People freak out about the cost, but the way it works is that the reparations are paid out over time and not all at once. The size of the payments and the interest of the fund are adjusted to keep the cost from being a burden to the country. The point, after all, is not punitive but healing and reintegrating. Those harmed wouldn't be benefited from a bankrupted country. It might take 150+ years, but so be it.

2. Denial of profits from genocide. In the 90's many Jews began legal action to reclaim stolen art and property that had been stolen from them. Negotiated settlements resulted in *some* of that going back to families, but a lot of it just became deeded over to the state or to museums for preservation rather than going to the profit of the family. In the case of african americans specific cases of documented land seizures by individuals and states could be pursued in courts to have that property either returned to descendants, or at the very least taken from those who profited off it to deny the continued accrual of harm. These are done one by one and usually pursued by descendants, but they need a legal framework to support the action.

3. Truth and reconciliation "reparations". This is funding to establish and tell the truth and ensure that everyone in the country knows what happened. Proper truth and reconciliation work also makes it crystal clear that the lies that allowed a country to get to the point of needing reparations will not be tolerated and actively combats that speech, not just by being louder but by dismantling the networks that promote lies. This needs a legal framework and funding for programs, but it's not a direct financial payment.

A lot of people throw up their hands and go "ah that's too much work", but we've already spent enormous work and money avoiding these costs for 150 years. Reparations are about taking that money that we are spending on harm and instead choosing to spend it on healing.

This was a really good post, thanks.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2022 07:50

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Does anyone have any opinions on Knock LA? It seems like they are a lefty organization, and are one of the only ones with endorsements for most of the LA area, but also I've never heard of them before so I'm a little hesitant to take them at face value.

https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-progressive-voter-guide-june-primary-election-2022

# ¿ May 13, 2022 07:56

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

America Inc. posted:

Yeah, Roe v Wade has been officially struck down. Still don't want to secede?

Does seceding mean we can ban guns?

# ¿ Jun 24, 2022 18:54

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

H.P. Hovercraft posted:

quote:
management rights

What a country! Seriously though, I hope you bargaining team had the good sense to laugh in management's faces and started prepping for a strike if management keeps offering paycuts only and no concessions.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2022 02:22

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Smythe posted:

how bout that la city council huh

This story is nuts, for anyone who hasn't read it. The racism here is astounding, and this is going to have huge repercussions for LA politics. A lot of the coverage is focusing on Nury calling Mike Bonin's child a monkey, but the wilder thing is that a prominent faction of Latino council members see the city in explicitly Latino vs. Black lines and were caught on a hot mic literally conspiring to keep down "the Blacks".

E: it looks like Nury has resigned as president, but remains on the city council:

https://twitter.com/boreskes/status/1579517201950052355

VikingofRock fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Oct 10, 2022

# ¿ Oct 10, 2022 18:28

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

San Jose is more populous than San Francisco, so actually SF is a suburb of SJ (as is Oakland).

# ¿ Nov 20, 2022 20:25

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

gently caress guns and gently caress people who defend their continued legality. I'm just sitting here listening to the sounds of helicopters non-stop today, a constant reminder of the daily slaughter that we are powerless to stop.

e: apparently the swat standoff with the shooter is less than 5 minutes from my house. Both my wife's parents are working today at the Del Amo mall.

VikingofRock fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Jan 22, 2023

# ¿ Jan 22, 2023 21:13

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Homophobic protesters outside a North Hollywood elementary school attacked counter protesters. The fight seems like it broke up pretty quickly, though. (LA Times link)

I guess it was only a matter of time before we reached the street fighting stage of Christian fascism, but I'm a little surprised to first hear about it happening so close to home.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2023 20:37

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Spazzle posted:

Grad students are poorly paid, but in principle they are also getting a degree, and being a grad student isn't something you do forever. The people really getting boned are the adjuncts.

I mean, most jobs last less than the 5-6 years that grad students work in theirs (at best). It's absolutely a "real job" and should be paid as such.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 09:06

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

In February, a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department officer followed and then brutally beat a trans male teacher after the teacher flipped off the sheriff while driving by.

As a reminder, the LA Sheriff's Department is distinct from, and even more deranged than, the LAPD. They have a huge problem with deputy gangs, which the previous Sheriff, Alex Villanueva, vehemently denied. Voters kicked out Villanueva last year, and put in Robert Luna in his place.

The LA Times posted:

Emmett Brock thought he was dying, and his mind raced. This isn’t supposed to happen to me. This doesn’t happen this way. I can’t die like this.

He tasted the blood inside his mouth. He felt the fists land on his head. And he heard the shouts of the sheriff’s deputy on top of him, pressing him into the pavement of the 7-Eleven parking lot.

Three minutes later, the 23-year-old teacher sat in the back of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department cruiser not even knowing, he said, why the deputy had stopped him.

Brock was sent to the Norwalk station lockup and booked for three felonies. When he told the staff he is a transgender man, he said, they asked to see his genitals before deciding which holding cell to send him to.

That was in February. Brock is now jobless and still facing criminal charges, all stemming from a traffic stop the deputy said was based on an air freshener he’d spotted hanging from Brock’s rearview mirror.

The Sheriff’s Department has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks for two other use-of-force incidents caught on camera, including one in which a deputy punched a woman in the face while trying to take her child. In that case, Sheriff Robert Luna condemned the incident as “completely unacceptable” and relieved the deputy of duty. The FBI is now investigating.

Luna ran on promises of reform and has implemented several changes in the department since taking office in December. He restored the ability of oversight officials to access sheriff’s databases, turned over controversial investigations to outside agencies, ordered his deputies to cooperate with investigations and created an office to “eradicate” deputy gangs.

...

Here's the description of the assault:

quote:

A few blocks from the school, Brock spotted a deputy who appeared to be having a heated conversation with a woman on the side of the road. As he drove by, Brock threw up his middle finger. He didn’t even think the deputy would see it, he said.

A few seconds later, he spotted a patrol cruiser following close behind him. It made Brock uneasy. He turned down one side street and then another, trying to figure out whether the cruiser was following him or just going in the same direction. The deputy didn’t turn on his lights or siren, but made every turn Brock did.

Growing unnerved, he called 911.

“Hi, um, I’m being followed by a police car,” he said in a recording shared with The Times. He told the dispatcher that the car was copying his turns, but not pulling him over. He said he wanted to make sure it was a “real police car” and that he wasn’t being stalked.

The two kept talking, and eventually the dispatcher asked: “What is it that you want us to do? If he hasn’t pulled you over, he hasn’t pulled you over.”

Two minutes into the call, Brock cursed and hung up. He kept driving, pulling up outside the 7-Eleven on Mills Avenue in Whittier, planning to buy a Coke before heading to a therapy appointment.

The cruiser pulled in behind him, and the store’s surveillance camera captured what followed. The deputy’s body-worn camera captured the sound.
Confused, Brock replied, “No, you didn’t.”

“Yeah, I did,” the deputy said. Then he grabbed Brock’s arm and forced him to the ground.

Still unsure what he’d done, Brock said, he began to scream. “What — what are you doing? Oh, my god. What the f— is happening?”

For the next three minutes, Brock struggled and screamed as the deputy held him down and punched him in the head.

...

Here is the blatant transphobia:

quote:

It wasn’t long before authorities asked Brock for a statement, during which he explained that he is transgender.

“So you’re a girl?” he said one jailer asked.

Brock said he wasn’t.

Then the man asked whether he had a penis — and Brock said he did. He explained what surgeries existed, and said that he’d been on hormones for years.

After one jailer asked for proof, Brock said, he spent a few awkward minutes in a bathroom showing her his genitalia and explaining the effects of testosterone.

He was placed in a women’s holding cell. It was a Friday afternoon and, with the courts closed, he worried he’d be stuck behind bars all weekend.

It was after dark when one of the jailers told him his family and his girlfriend had pulled together enough money for bail.

He was facing three felonies — mayhem, resisting arrest and obstruction — plus misdemeanor failure to obey a police officer.

Four days later, he lost his job after state authorities notified the school of his pending charges.

And here's the part where ACAB:

quote:

When the incident went through the department’s normal force review process, officials cleared Benza of wrongdoing. One sergeant wrote that Brock was assaultive “with threat of serious bodily injury.” Another sergeant, listed as the watch commander, concurred, saying the incident was within policy and the force used was “objectively reasonable.”

The sergeant also checked “no” on the paperwork next to the question: “Could officer safety, tactical communication, or de-escalation techniques have been improved?”

The station captain agreed with the two sergeants below him. Only once the matter went up to the division commander did the report note room for improvement.

...

# ¿ Jul 24, 2023 19:11

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Sounds about right to me. I called SCE to report a power line that was actively sparking right next to a tree in my neighborhood, and they didn't fix it for weeks.

Municipalize energy companies. Power to the people!

# ¿ Sep 2, 2023 18:19

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 18:12

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Recently, a bunch of gang members got drunk at a bowling alley in Montclair and beat up some teenagers. Why didn't anyone call the police? Because the gang members were the police, of course!

The LA Times posted:

On a cool February night two years ago, a group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies met up at a Montclair bowling alley, drinking to celebrate the promotion of a new sergeant in their ranks.

At the end of the evening, the party took a turn. The off-duty deputies picked a fight with a group of teenagers in the parking lot, according to two law enforcement sources and a police report reviewed by The Times. A sergeant started it when he pushed open a car door as he walked past, the report says.

Shouting erupted, and one of the deputies allegedly flashed a handgun, according to the report. Some of the others started mocking the teens and shouting obscenities. And before they dispersed, police records show, one deputy punched a 19-year-old in the face.

But once the Sheriff’s Department got wind of what happened and started investigating, other troubling details emerged. Two of the men in the group — one deputy and one sergeant — admitted to investigators that they had tattoos officials linked to a deputy gang: the Industry Indians, based out of the City of Industry sheriff’s station, according to a law enforcement source.

[...]

The existence of the Industry Indians has not previously been made public, and it’s not clear how long the group has existed. Luna said the Bowlium investigation was the first he’d heard of it. A law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said investigators believe there are dozens of members.

For decades, the Sheriff’s Department has been roiled by allegations that secretive groups of deputies with matching tattoos have been linked to violence and corruption. It’s rare for the Sheriff’s Department to punish deputies for alleged gang involvement. Department officials would not answer questions about whether similar firings had ever happened before the Bowlium case.

Last year, the Civilian Oversight Commission released a 70-page report condemning the “cancer” of deputy gangs, saying they “create rituals that valorize violence, such as recording all deputy-involved shootings in an official book, celebrating with ‘shooting parties,’ and authorizing deputies who have shot a community member to add embellishments to their common gang tattoos.”

A 2021 Loyola Law School report identified 18 such groups, known by names like the Grim Reapers, the Banditos and the Executioners. Now, revelations about the Industry Indians show there may be more.

“We have yet to understand how many deputy gangs there are in the department,” said Sean Kennedy, who chairs the Civilian Oversight Commission and is one of the authors behind the 2021 report. “But I feel confident saying there are many more that we have not yet discovered.”

[...]

There's a description of the fight later, too, and of course the cops were 100% at fault:

quote:

According to a law enforcement source and a partially redacted Montclair police report, when the remaining deputies walked past the trunk of a silver Nissan sitting in the parking lot, a sergeant at the back of the group pushed open the rear passenger door just as one of the teens inside was trying to close it.

The deputies kept walking. But, apparently angered, another teen jumped out of the car shouting. Surveillance video captured the sergeant at the back of the group as he turned his cap backward and skipped “quickly toward” the Nissan, according to the Montclair police report. He appeared “eager to confront” the teens, a Montclair investigator wrote.

The other deputies heard the commotion and turned around. Some began mocking the teens with crying sounds, witnesses told police. According to the police report, others shouted homophobic slurs or obscenities, and one allegedly hurled a challenge: “What are you going to do about it?”

At some point, several deputies later told police, the teens either mentioned a gun or made a threat to “blast” them — though the police report shows no indication that the teens had any weapons with them that night.

But a witness sitting in a car a few spots away told police that she saw another man in the group walk toward the teens’ car and pull up his green flannel shirt, flashing the handle of a black handgun, according to the police report.

As the dispute intensified, the other deputies gathered around the Nissan, and the deputy who had peeled off from the others minutes earlier drove up in his Mercedes. He hopped out of the car and punched the shouting teen in the face, according to the report. At one point, the sergeant allegedly grabbed the open back door on the passenger side and started swinging it “back and forth violently” about six times, “shaking the entire vehicle,” according to the police report. Once the tension dissipated, everyone went home.

I know it's hard to get people on board with abolishing the police. But maybe we could start by abolishing the LA Sheriff's Department?

# ¿ Jan 13, 2024 20:20

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > California Politics: Madame Senator, this is a morgue

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