Posted on 12/10/2014 3:10:35 AM PST by Altura Ct.
They were trying to get into Target.
The crowd pushed its way through Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn on December 8, banging on windows and ignoring the hapless security guards. Hundreds of people streamed up the escalators and stopped in front of the giant discount store, whose employees were trying to close its doors to avoid a confrontation.
But that didn't satisfy the protesters who were trying to get in. They'd been demonstrating in retail spaces all across the city over the past week, after all: Toys "R" Us, Macy's, Forever 21 -- they'd lie down for their "die-in," say their piece, make folks uncomfortable, then move on.
As some tried to push their way into the store, Michelina Ferrara and Cherrell Brown talked them down. "White people, check your privilege!" Brown shouted into a megaphone. "We don't need you to provoke stuff right now."
After a moment of tension, the group lay on the ground for a die-in before moving on. As they stood outside the mall, Ferrara thanked everyone for coming -- and for not giving the media and police "a reason to vilify us."
New York City's streets have teemed with protesters almost nightly since November 24, when it was announced that former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for fatally shooting Michael Brown. The nightly demonstrations would grow after a similar announcement came out of Staten Island that a grand jury had decided not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner. Both cops are white. Both victims were black.
But as the demonstrations continue, some activists are noting the ironic reality of a racist culture obtaining within the protests themselves. Ferrara, a first-generation immigrant who identifies as mixed-race but concedes that "I have a lot of light-skinned privilege," says she is seeing white protesters talking over people of color at meetings or dismissing their concerns. And on the evening of December 8, outside Atlantic Terminal -- where protesters were hoping to disrupt the Brooklyn Nets game across the street at Barclays Center -- she saw some white protesters confronting people of color who were trying to lead the demonstrations.
"There were a couple of white dudes trying to take the [megaphone] from one our leaders," says Ferrara, a member of the New York Justice League, which helped organize the protest. "Don't get me wrong. I don't think this isn't a place for white and light-skinned folks. I just think it's important to constantly be examining your privilege."
The previous night, during a protest at Union Square, a white man repeatedly antagonized police officers, calling them "scared" before another protester, Chris Makita, pulled him toward the group. "I'm a white guy -- they're not going to do anything to me!" the white protester said, laughing.
"I told him to come here [and join the group]," Makita, who is black, told the Voice. "We don't need to do that."
On December 6, a Voice reporter in Grand Central Terminal spotted a white man taunting a police officer, asking, "You going to shoot me?" The man also shouted, "Fuck you!" to a female officer on a scooter later that night.
"Antiracist movements become a hot-button event a lot of white people can latch onto," says Matthew Hughey, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut who studies white antiracist activism. "It's very easy to identify the police officer or police department to rally against. These movements allow good, well-meaning white people to say, 'I am a good person.' It's like a story they can tell their kids someday."
Paris Alexandra, 28, says white people who try to be the loudest voices at demonstrations focusing on racial issues run the risk of polluting the very message they're trying to spread.
"I think it's great people are showing solidarity," says Alexandra, who is black. "I think people are just passionate. But as a white person, you've got to recognize the space you're taking up. Just look and see who's the loudest one talking. White supremacy takes place even in our interactions. You know what I'm saying?"
The discussion about race at these antiracism protests isn't exclusive to New York. In Toronto, Canada, Ferguson solidarity protesters sent out a list of suggestions for white allies that read, in part, "Refrain from speaking to the media. Black voices are crucial to this" and "Remember that you are there in support of black folks, so [you] should never be at the center of anything."
Hughey, the University of Connecticut professor, says white people typically identify themselves as leaders and often feel compelled to take the reins of a movement when they become attached to it.
"It becomes very easy for white people to grab the bullhorns and step to the front," he says. "It can also do a lot of damage."
He adds that all activists should learn what kind of voices a movement needs before they get involved.
"Educate yourself about whatever movement you want to be part of, and ask how you can help," he advises. "Don't just join and start leading."
The left seemed fixated on the word “movement”. Must be a freudian thing.
It’s impossible to parody these idiots.
“I think it’s great people are showing solidarity,” says Alexandra, who is black. “I think people are just passionate. But as a white person, you’ve got to recognize the space you’re taking up. Just look and see who’s the loudest one talking. White supremacy takes place even in our interactions. You know what I’m saying?”
Go home, whitey. You’re not needed here.
White supremacy takes place even in our interactions.
"Refrain from speaking to the media.
So much for being down with the struggle.
“Some White Activists Are Being Called Out for Their Behavior”
Monkey see, monkey do. It’s to be expected.
I note they don’t protest “in the hood”, but in da stores.The American communists insurection in a land of plenty has a unique flavor of greed.
Go home, whitey; just keep sending the EBT funding transfers and rent subsidies...
This is hilarious. Marxists telling off other Marxists.
Even more hilarious is the black Marxists telling light skinned black folk that their skin tone means they’re too white to protest!
No Irish Need Apply !
“The left seemed fixated on the word “movement”. Must be a freudian thing.”
Words and phrases left over from the Bolshevik revolution. Don’t forget ‘struggle’, it’s a favorite.
White folks discovered cures for the diseases; white folks went to the moon; white folks make all the discoveries; white folks make the best movies; white folks designed the greatest cities in the world; shall I go on?
Sometimes it gives a movement strength to have those who are not directly affected supporting the movement. They can say things that those directly affected may find it harder to say.
But inevitably, people’s ingrained social position will start asserting itself. The two races need to be understanding and helpful to each other in this and explain gently rather than being confrontational.
That said, I think this whole protest has been cooked up for different reasons that the protesters think (most of them—a few know the score). Maybe brotherhood and sisterhood between the two racial groups will help them see how they are being used.
Undesirables taking up space...where have we heard that logic reasoning before?
How about useless eaters?
Genocidal racists are all the same.
But ya gotta clean up after the 'movement' is done.
Q: Are you black?
A: Yeah
Q: Do you care that Whitey killed 700,000 of each other to free you?
A: No
Statement: Then get on the F’ing boat to Africa and leave us alone.
I say the same about blacks like her-breating good air someone more useful could use.
True, but in all fairness, I had to say that blacks are probably better athletes - such as football, and basketball.
These “protests” remind me of the WALK made by Forrest Gump. Remember all the people following him? Same exact mindset.
And their response to that is: that’s only because white people have been keeping blacks down for centuries. If not blacks would have discovered/invented everything.
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