EM_POC WEEKLY THREAD!!! 2/22/24

Hey, y'all. Othello is currently taking a break so I thought I'd jumpstart the new thread since nobody else was getting to it.

How are we all doing this week? Sound down below! That means: vent, chat, gush, etc. Whatever you want to say or talk about.

As always: no crackers allowed!

Bonus discussion question:

Who are your favorite BIPOC or ethnic minority activists, organizers, labor union reps., leaders, etc. out there?

Emphasis on activists and organizers.

Can be such figures as Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, MLK, Jr., etc.

I want y'all to think about this one (but, like, it's not a prerequisite for joining this thread or making comments within it).

Take care and have fun!

29 comments

First of my favorites include:
MLK, Jr.
I feel that his movement was the more successful (but I do not mean to compare).
I used to love the Black Panthers more, but I feel that MLK, Jr. is misunderstood a lot more, and lately have been reading more about him.
I think that he can show how to broaden a working-class movement and he managed to get anti-communist labor on his side (even as he courted communist or former communist figures). He's a lot more leftist than a lot of people give him credit for, though was arguably a lot more low-key about it. Ultimately, he was killed for uniting various forces together and creating a brewing "unity of action" (an old Marxist-Leninist term that I wish more people would study). I don't believe what scandal journalists say about him and I'm reluctant to give them any credence, though I heard a lot about it growing up. Jack O'dell also deserves some praise; he was considered the fifth worst communist in the United States by JFK (or maybe that was Herbert Aptheker lol); a lot of things were said about him for being an advisor to the various campaigns by MLK, Jr.
Oh yeah, regarding the Black Panthers, my two favorites are:
Huey Newton
and
Freddie Gray
(that last one is just a basic opinion and kinda trite at this point, but I know that Huey Newton gets flack for his later years, which I don't agree with)
I think a movement combining the radicalism of the Black Panthers and the more broader and unified movement of MLK, Jr. and the various people that worked with him would be a good development and we need that more than ever, a movement that can win "concessions" while still sticking to its guns and creating dual power structures.
- What does Huey get flack for?
  
  Eh, his later years, some of his decisions, and the Kleaver split
- Some of these figures are "trite" and "basic opinions" but, eh, while I prefer a lot of obscure and underrated figures, I have to give these folks their due.

Those cumskinned devils really upset about vtubers making fun of white people.
- Half serious, but fuck they really do have thin skin.
- I used to make jokes about how someone would be mad at vtubing company because they made japanese propaganda, but having looked into the thing a bit, that's actually a thing they do and it's actually fucked up.
- Lmao, I was gonna come in here to mention this but you beat me to it. Obviously people have whipped themselves up into a frenzy and are lashing out at anyone and anything at this point, but it's still funny to imagine some nerds genuinely being upset by some milquetoast cracker jokes
  
  “stop being racist against white people”
  “no”
- Which v-tubers? I want to know who, lmao...
  
  Uki of Nijisanji has been on record being insurmountably based.
  About the only good news from that corp

sora, please generate a scene where blackrocks new york office is assaulted by ansarallah special forces in mirv paraglider payloads deployed from a df41 missile
- Kingdom Hearts... is light!

Remember: you don't have to answer the bonus discussion question!
Just to make that clear.

Not gonna mention names since this one is a bit more personal, but I met a former Black Panther at my old job and he was pretty cool. He had been part of a prisoner rehabilitation program that one of my coworkers had happened to be a part of. He also often asked me to help him out with a book he had been writing for a long time and it was critical of a politicians handling of a sexual harassment case. At the time was enjoying a high approval rating and was later embroiled in a sexual harassment case. Kind of makes me wonder if there were more people that knew about what that politician was doing or if was just coincidence. Kind of wish I had gotten more of a chance to ask him about his days with the Black Panthers though.
- What did he say about Huey Newton?
  A lot of Panthers attacked him later on, but to be honest, I always viewed them as "the ones that left" rather than "the ones that stayed."
  
  This is one of the things I wish I could have asked him. He never really talked much about his days in the Black Panther Party, partially because retail setting didn't really allow for much deep discussion.

Oh God, I didn't sleep at all last night and now, nearing bed-time, I'm so fucking tired and my mood has basically dropped.
I'm going to try and get sleep early tonight...

29 comments