My friend Donald Harrison, one of the founders of the iFFY film festival, took his video equipment to yesterday’s Black Lives Matter march in Ypsi as part of his Citizen Activist Media initiative. Check it out.
Ypsilanti Black Lives Matter Protest June 20, 2020 from 7 Cylinders Studio on Vimeo.
[As for iFFY, Donald tells me that it’ll run from October 1 to October 3 at the Riverside Arts Center, and also live-stream online. What’s more, all proceeds from ticket sales will be distributed to non-profits that are working on food security, health, racial justice, equality, art, education related issues here in Ypsi. For more on iFFY, check out my interview.]
59 Comments
Thank you for documenting this, Donald. It’s quite the public service you’re doing.
I was not able to attend, so thank you for posting the video. Assuming these video clips are representative, it would appear as though quite a bit of attention was given to our troubled mayor. Would I be right to assume that she was not in attendance?
Am I out of my mind or are they chanting:
No justice!
No peace!
We got to kill the police!
Poorly paraphrased version of Defund the Police or…???
Kill the police does not mean kill the police because hip hop song, Shakespeare, transformations of faux Latin phrases, Jean’s dad poster, and Harvard.
To be honest, I can’t make out if they are saying “kill the police”. I like to think they are not saying that but it does sound like it. Anybody know what they were saying there?
Yes, you have been out of your mind for a long time and your posts have never been good
I thought you loved video evidence FF, why don’t you do a deep analysis to get to the bottom of what the protestors could possibly be chanting
I can’t make out what they were sayin on the video Mr. Vague Guy. May I ask what it sounded like to you?
C’mon lets see some effort! You could probably find some audio analysis program to aide in deciphering the mystery. Or maybe you just need to view the video like 500 times before it will become clear. Gah, what could they possibly be saying
Got it.
No justice
No peace
Prosecute the police
Okay, I admit it. I am out of my mind. I am just going to pretend it is “We got to kill the police!” I’m getting a good laugh out of it. If the derpuses around here can play make-believe about alllll that real shit all the time then I can have a little fun at the protestor’s expense.
Mr Vague guy does not like it when people admit that they do not understand things. Things are so simple in Mr Vague guys universe. Why is it not problematic for Morgan to disseminate a “fuck the police” message during a council meeting? Mr Vague Guys answer is simple: Because 32 year old rap song, duh.
A few follow-ups, thanks for the comments and discussion:
• We have such a news void in Ypsi (and elsewhere) so I’m hoping this kind of citizen activist media can catch on more widely, ideally with some kind of network/platform
• I’m pretty sure it was “prosecute the police” in that chant
• I would not say “quite a bit of attention” was paid to the mayor situation and it was not my intention to skew things that way (Ch4 made that the sole focus of their brief coverage). It seemed like an important, timely part of the event to include those 2 council members comments. I did not see the mayor in attendance.
• This piece could’ve been 10-15minutes long, but in my experience far fewer people will watch it then. I gave some footage to What’s Left Ypsi and expect additional coverage to come out of the event from them soon.
Hey Donald– thank for documenting. A valued and necessary service to the community and the movement. I went to a lot of marches in college and wish they had been better documented, especially the Grace and Jimmie Boggs led ones. The regular media are better at covering these things now. They were rarely present back then unless they expected something dramatic, like looting or counter protest to occur.
I’m sorry it’s such a contrarian hot mess here in the MM comments section. Don’t linger. Its catching.
FF– You really need to get over the Harvard thing. You are the only person to mention it and you do so with disturbing regularity. Is anti-intellectualism your deal? Doesn’t seem like an easy fit for such an inveterate bloviater. I don’t remember what context the Harvard thing came up in here but I’m sure I was answering a question. I regret mentioning it.
As for the use of bastards: movement slogans are carefully wordsmithed. Bastards was intentionally chosen over any number of options meaning basically assholes.
It seems tribalism is new to you and constitutes an inexcusable offense. You should tell FF, a regular commenter with extreme double standards here, about that… oh wait.
Yes. We need more non-contrarian types here. You know, non-contrarian types who say things like “All Cops Are Bastards” are not a prejudicial statements. Non- contrarian types, like the ones who can’t imagine why anyone would have a problem with a council person disseminating a “Fuck the Police” message during a council meeting. We would have amazing harmony if there were more non-contrarian types like Jean, Lynne, and Mr Vague on this blog.
Just curious. Are you in Ward 3, FF?
My guess is that this is not going to affect his re-election chances because there just aren’t that many people in Ward 3 who wouldn’t understand the context of that sign he has.
Anti-intellectual? No. I would describe myself as more of an anti-fraud type.
It might help him get re-elected. If the message “Fuck the Police” at a council meeting is justifiable then justifying it explicitly would help him gain voters—I would think. Why wouldn’t he come on here to defend something that he presumably believes-in? Defend the defensible right?
Frauds! Another Holden Caufield moment from FF! Excellent.
Here’s a good Holden quote for you: “If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half the “Fuck you” signs in the world. It’s impossible.”
I think the Harvard thing gives legitimacy :)
Back to your notion of legitimacy: Can you explain why “all cops are illegitimate” in your view? What groups are legitimate? Antifa? BLM? Where is their legitimacy derived from? Please demonstrate how the slogans really are carefully worded by wordsmiths by explaining the legitimacy/ illegitimacy in those cases, please.
How do Black Lives Matter proponents feel about being communist dupes? Founder Patrisse Cullors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyhy4IvkENg
https://nypost.com/2020/06/22/man-refusing-to-wear-mask-fights-his-way-into-walmart-in-florida/
When FF misses the point.
What point specifically do you think I missed? Do you think I missed Jean’s point about illegitimacy? That is very possible.
HW– I don’t think most people associated with that movement are concerned with the economic beliefs of some of the founders or members. No one on the left is shocked by Marxists. Not even slightly. They are part of the movement. We know that. We understand it as legitimate critique of capitalism even if the vast majority (no matter how identified) of people on the left are more interested in fixing capitalism than burning it down entirely. No one really wants statism, especially not targeted groups.
Why are you talking about people being duped when you support Trump and believe that Q bullshit? Do you hear yourself?
FF– I didn’t say I personally believe ‘all cops are illegitimate.’ I was reflecting the perspective of others, as they have clarified it in so many ways, in so many forums, and which I believe to be a valid perspective and not even slightly unnerving.
We live in a Democracy. Absent Autocratic tendencies like Trump’s, I don’t fear other people’s political views and also believe they should be freely expressed. If a city councilman reflects political views that the majority of the citizenry they represent find objectionable, then there are many ways to remove them from office. If their positions reflect those of the majority father community they represent, well then, they sure as fuck don’t need to apologize.
I believe that if we seize this moment and deeply rework our justice system so that it’s actually just, however we do that within our representative democratic process, then probably people who participated in the current system of policing will realize they were participating in something deeply unethical but to which, at the time, no alternative was presented.
How do you know the majority of Ward 3 residents subscribe to the message “fuck the police”? Lynne and Mark just admitted that they were not paying close enough attention to the Mayor to realize they do not agree with her behavior. Maybe something similar applies to Morgan? Besides, I am not asking for anyone to resign. I am asking for a defense of a stated belief. Normally people like to defend their stated beliefs…. I saw zero “fuck the police” signs in the protest crowd. Anyone who believes in the message “ACAB” or “Fuck the Police” are welcome to defend it. You, Mr Vague, and Lynne sort of tried but you guys offered lame defenses, for sure.
Jean,
When I hear Cullors say she is a trained Marxist I did not take that as a statement against capitalism necessarily . Everybody with any sense knows that Marxist experiments were horrible murderous proven failures. Identity Politics and intersectionality are transformations of the simple Marxian dialectic and it is everywhere in the humanities departments of Universities. Marxist logic in disguise. It is being used as an organizing tool but it might be as murderous as other economic experiments in Marxism. At its core it is the negation of the identity of the individual in favor of social identities . In my opinion it will prove to be a disaster. It is a seductive philosophy because it is easy to teach and easy to use to organize people. It’s easy primarily because it is dumb. These are my opinions.
“I don’t think most people associated with that movement are concerned with the economic beliefs of some of the founders or members.”
Because they are dupes. By definition they don’t know what is going on.
But Q…
FF I suggest you direct your concerns to tCM Morgan directly. I don’t know why you are asking for an apology or explanation from someone not on this forum and then suggesting when we attempt to speak to the issue that we are out of place…
Again, his opponents are free to use that sign against him politically. If you are so outraged, you can do so. I’d suggest again that this isn’t the forum.
If your point was just rhetorical, it has failed. Let it go.
How do you know Morgan does not read the forum? I am not saying your explanations are out of place I am saying your defenses were lame. I remember him posting here before. I will not contact him directly. We live in a cancel culture, Jean. Will you contact him? He should want to explain his reasoning behind displaying the message “fuck the police” at a council meeting.
Is it not a good thing to examine potential instances of bigotry? Difficult conversations might even save lives. Two black cops have been killed amongst the rioting. Black Cop Lives Matter?
On the other hand, maybe Morgan has a good explanation. My initial reaction is that it was a horrible message for a public official to display during a council meeting. I am open to being convinced otherwise though.
“But Q…”
What about Q? It’s something you know very little of so what are you trying to say?
You have no answer for BLM being a communist front. As much as they can exploit the USA’s racial vulnerabilities is the extent to which they care about black lives.
Re:”How do you know the majority of Ward 3 residents subscribe to the message “fuck the police”?
I don’t know for sure in that I have not conducted any kind of scientific survey but as it happens, I know a lot of people in Ward 3. Based on what I know of those people and what I know about how people tend to move into neighborhoods where the neighbors have similar values, and based on the lawn signs I have seen over the years as well as election results, I feel that I can make an accurate guess.
NO CRIME’ IN BUBBA WALLACE CASE
https://www.tmz.com/2020/06/23/bubba-wallace-noose-investigation-no-crime-talladega-superspeedway-nascar/
I am just relieved that Jussie Smollett wasn’t involved.
His name is Bubba Smollett now.
I was going to be more insulting of him, but now it’s my understanding that it was someone else who told him about the rope in the garage, describing it as a noose. At least Bubba himself didn’t imagine that, and it was some other flake that did.
Oopsie. Didn’t mean to pour gas on the racial wildfire there..
24-year-old defeats Trump’s pick in NC GOP congressional primary
https://www.wral.com/24-year-old-defeats-trump-s-pick-in-nc-gop-congressional-primary/19156975/
(From WRAL)
The FBI established that the rope in Bubba Wallace’s garage was there long before he was expected to occupy the garage.
But, for some reason, Wallace still thinks it has something to do with him.
Do some people not know nooses are not only a symbol of lynching? Far more often nooses have been associated with court ordered executions in the old west. Even more often, nooses have been associated with suicide. Not everything is about racism.
There are many possible uses for a rope tied in a loop in the context of it being in a garage. The fact that it was there many months before Wallace’s team was even expected to move into the garage should all but completely dispel the possibility that it in any way had anything to do with symbolizing racial lynching.
There are certainly more than enough actual injustices occurring that nobody should need to conjure up imaginary ones.
Aloha iRobert, saw the video of the noose From back in Oct. It is a well made hangman’s noose on a garage door with an automatic opener. Don’t know if a garage door opener can lift a body. why did Bubba get assigned to that space ?
I hope at least people learned a little bit about context. I’ll bet someone with a macabre sense of humor put it there as a joke without any racist intentions. Yet the very same symbol in a different context is terrorizing! I am sure Wallace is relieved that it wasn’t intended for him!
Wobblie, I haven’t heard what process was used to assign Wallace’s team to that particular garage. I assume the FBI did make that determination.
I haven’t been able to examine closely the rope and what precisely it is connected to, but my automatic garage door opener has a handle to pull the door up manually in the event that the motor fails.
There is an abundance of actual injustice in the world which could never get the attention from us it all deserves. We don’t need to imagine injustices where they don’t exist. Every time some nonsense or insignificant detail draws the attention of everyone as if it were some terrible offense, it undermines the very legitimate concerns everyone should have regarding actual injustices.
Ok, I’ve seen now that many of the other garage doors also have rope pulls for manual operation.
I also can see that the other ropes show signs of having been wrapped around hands for leverage. That is also why a person would tie a loop in the end of a rope.
It’s not insensitive to tie a loop in the end of a rope. Wallace and the rest of the fools who have been making something out of this should admit this is nonsense, and that treating it as if it is something of any significance is undermining real concerns about real injustices.
Aloha, for those who wonder what it is like to survive the Trump virus
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/What-they-don-t-tell-you-about-surviving-15347792.php?fbclid=IwAR3COMhCMwtT0kNA7IIBXrsMD-if9j9NbhMT8wXbPk8YL3fIiNTvgfEA95U&utm_campaign=CMS+Sharing+Tools+%28Desktop%29&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral
Aloha are local death cult members might be interested in how thousand of folks can protest without causing spikes in the spread of the Trumpvirus.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/covid-spike-protest-testing-spread?fbclid=IwAR0_q_gU9Xrq7dlncahpgB4iNnSCKXd0LA-AhuXdn1rtRYkYEkasIBRzOsA
FF– you fear calling an Ypsilanti City Council Member about an issue that concerns you because of ‘cancel culture’?
Wow. I think you really overestimate local political power.
CM’s like to hear from constituents. If you are fearful of stating your beliefs publicly my guess is because you know you are being just a wee bit racist. Here’s the good news, as I’ve been saying here for years, we’re all racist. We live in a racist culture. Systemic racism is a structure and a culture, not a personality trait.
Is Racism still evil? Sure is! Is racism still our personal responsibility as White Americans? Yep? Is it shocking (shocking, I tell you!) to suggest someones beliefs and behaviors might be racist? Sure as fuck shouldn’t be.
We humans should know by now that most evil comes in disguise as something normal.
FF it’s hard I’m sure to see your long standing, firmly held beliefs invalidated by pretty much every young person ever.
Tear the statues down.
https://black-ink.info/2020/06/23/evictions-in-retaliation-for-standing-up-to-police-harassment/
When do we blow up Mount Rushmore? I can’t wait.
Let’s start with Stone Mountain and go from there.
Mount Rushmore should be returned to the tribes named in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 to do with as they please.
Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, land that is sacred to a number of tribes. It’s also land that, according to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, was to belong to American Indians forever. After an expedition led by General Custer discovered gold there in 1874, the Fort Laramie Treaty was soon scrapped and the Lakota relocated to reservations. The Lakota and others say that Mount Rushmore isn’t just a piece of art they dislike; it’s a piece of art they dislike that, to put it in European terms, has been forcibly installed in their own church.
6:39 for Mount Rushmore and if you don’t want to see Native people referred to with the N word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wd1uLgV7mc
Yay it’s the Cultural Revolution! Sounds like fun!!!
Sorry 2:55 timestamp.
HW–How is returning National Parkland to the Native people in any way like the Cultural Revolution?
It’s not commercial space and Native communities often run businesses on their lands. It’s also not our land by Treaty. We should give it back.
My post was not in reference to yours.
I think NWord reference was in another clip not that shared. Ugh. I should do one thing at a time.
You can’t even chew gum while making false accusations of racism.
Aloha , evidence that the tRumpvirus is spread by gatherings inside without masks just keeps growing. Graduation parties, bars, and church’s remain the main cause of super spreader events. I suspect CW indoor concerts will also start showing up.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/covid-outbreaks-being-traced-back-063004115.html
Wobblie, yeah it does seem that indoors is the big area where there is spread. So for now, I am going to continue my policy of allowing myself to socialize in small groups but only outdoors where I can either wear a mask or maintain a good amount of social distance.
Aloha, Nourie Roubini is a very perceptive economist. His analysis of the current state of the economy is worth the read.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/main-street-manifesto-for-covid19-crisis-by-nouriel-roubini-2020-06