Queer Insurrection

Current Project: Queer Zine in Orange County Radio is power. Listen to UC Rebel Radio! "the importance of imagining an alternative to the current order is not to lay down a precise programme for the future, but rather to provide a point of alterity or exteriority as a way of interrogating the limits of this order. Moreover, we should think of utopia in terms of action in the immediate sense, of creating alternatives within the present, at localised points…. Utopia is something that emerges in political struggles themselves." -Saul Newman views since 2-25-11

[queerinsurrection]

white people: racist jokes are funny stop being so politically correct. SJWs really need to lighten up and learn to take a joke

Evil SJW: lol you ever notice how white people -

white people: wait no stop this is super mega ultra deluxe racist and i don't like it

[hushhatake]

repeat after me:

there are white people suffering in the world

but the white people who are suffering are not suffering because they are white

[bananafofanaa]

And what are the facts and sources on this?

[queerlyblack]

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Grand Juror Sues McCulloch, Says He Mischaracterized The Wilson Case

By CHRIS MCDANIEL

A grand juror is suing St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch in an effort to speak out on what happened in the Darren Wilson case. Under typical circumstances, grand jurors are prohibited by law from discussing cases they were involved in.

The grand juror, referred to only as “Grand Juror Doe” in the lawsuit, takes issue with how McCulloch characterized the case. McCulloch released evidence presented to the grand jury and publicly discussed the case after the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson, then a Ferguson police officer, in the shooting death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American.

“In [the grand juror]’s view, the current information available about the grand jurors’ views is not entirely accurate — especially the implication that all grand jurors believed that there was no support for any charges,” the lawsuit says. “Moreover, the public characterization of the grand jurors’ view of witnesses and evidence does not accord with [Doe]’s own.”

“From [the grand juror]’s perspective, the investigation of Wilson had a stronger focus on the victim than in other cases presented to the grand jury,” the lawsuit states. Doe also believes the legal standards were conveyed in a “muddled” and “untimely” manner to the grand jury.

In the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri argues that this case is unique and that the usual reasons for requiring the jurors to maintain secrecy should not apply.

In this specific case, “any interests furthered by maintaining grand jury secrecy are outweighed by the interests secured by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit says, adding that allowing the juror to speak would contribute to a discussion on race in America.

As the grand juror points out in the lawsuit, the Wilson case was handled in a very different manner than other grand juries. Instead of recommending a charge, McCulloch’s office presented thousands of pages worth of evidence and testimony before the grand jury. At one point, McCulloch’s spokesman characterized the grand jury as co-investigators.

“From [Doe]’s perspective, although the release of a large number of records provides an appearance of transparency, with heavy redactions and the absence of context, those records do not fully portray the proceedings before the grand jury,” the lawsuit says.

McCulloch has done several interviews since the grand jury decision was announced on Nov. 24, but the grand jurors have been prohibited from speaking about the case. The county prosecutor admits that some of the witnesses were lying, but said the grand jurors were aware.

The 12 people who could say for sure are currently sworn to secrecy.

Although the county released redacted transcripts of witness and expert testimony, the grand jurors deliberated without a court reporter or member of the prosecutor’s office present.

READ MORE

[revolutionarykoolaid]

The level of incompetency and flat out misconduct by Bob McCulloch is both baffling and disturbing. Hopefully this renews the call for a special prosecutor in the case against Darren Wilson for the murder of Mike Brown. #staywoke #farfromover

[dpdyugi-blog]

Ferguson Donation Masterpost

i’ve seen a lot of donation links going around, but no compilation, so here’s all i could find:

Ferguson Public Library

St. Louis Foodbank

Bail and Legal Fund

Ferguson Defense Fund

Hands Up United

Organization for Black Struggle

Legal Support Fund

[microsoft-saint]

take a chunk outta that black friday budget and consider givin it to something good

[justkeep-rolling-blog]

via Mike Brown: Facts and dog whistles by Jonathan Korman (@miniver)

[onlyblackgirl]

This is a reminder that the Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 13 months and the Civil Rights Movement took over 10 years, so next time you want to tell us to “get over Ferguson”, “its been long enough” “You’re not making any difference” remember that.

[lora-mathis]

Which is worthy of anger: A scrape on smooth white skin or the black body staining the street with blood for four hours? Red white and blue shot with light as the flag burns bright on the asphalt or unanswered red blood running through the street? Which is a reason to riot: A sports team losing a game or a child being murdered? Which matters more: Burning stolen property or the burning over and disregard of stolen life? In America, the white suburban flips through their television, a bored Liberal who does not want to take a side, who does not want to “stir the pot,” who is sick of talking and hearing about race. The White Suburban argues that it would be the same if a white child was killed, while their child sits beside them, bored too of “the race issue.” Meanwhile, the mothers of Michael Browns take to the streets to prove that their childrens’ lives are worthy. In America, the mother works to prove the worth of her son’s death as a tragedy, while the white cheek, traced only with a scratch, works into a smile, lifts to say “I do,” and stretches into a “thank you” when receiving a check for paid leave. In America, the names of victims are replaced with “thug” and “deserving” because they are easier to mutter as you step over blood in the street. But what about Michael Brown? Eric Garner? Ezell Ford? Treyvon Martin? Yvette Smith? John Crawford? Eleanor Bumpurs? Aiyana Stanley-Jones? Tarika Wilson? The body. Brown in America. Black in America. Not safe in America. Not forgotten. The unanswered blood runs in Missouri while heavy feet sift through it asking, How many? How many more? How many before America’s free soils are fertilized with more than the blood of the black and brown body?

Don’t Stop Talking About Ferguson, Lora Mathis (via lora-mathis)

[bobbycaputo]

The rarity of a federal grand jury not indicting, visualized

A data point from FiveThirtyEight’s coverage of Monday night’s events in Ferguson is worth pulling out. “U.S. attorneys prosecuted 162,000 federal cases in 2010,” the site’s Ben Casselman writes, “the most recent year for which we have data. Grand juries declined to return an indictment in 11 of them.”

That data is from a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and covers October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2010. Over that time period, over 193,000 federal offenses were investigated, about 16 percent of which were declined for prosecution. That leaves just over 162,300 offenses that the government tried to prosecute. And the grand jury decided against doing so 11 times, finding no true bill or a lack of evidence to do so.

(Continue Reading)

[dpdyugi-blog]

Ferguson Donation Masterpost

i’ve seen a lot of donation links going around, but no compilation, so here’s all i could find:

Ferguson Public Library

St. Louis Foodbank

Bail and Legal Fund

Ferguson Defense Fund

Hands Up United

Organization for Black Struggle

Legal Support Fund

[fueqossgjsdgj]

if you, like me, get so angry when discussing or debating current issues with ignorant/bigoted people that you can’t articulate your thoughts, here is a list of arguments i’ve seen so far defending darren wilson or going against the ferguson protests, with suggestions as to how to counter and links to helpful posts to support your argument:

1. “It’s not a race issue!”

Actual KKK waving a Confederate flag as they walk the streets of Ferguson, celebrating.

Darren Wilson might even be affiliated with the KKK

White Man waves a gun at children in a park, is taken into custody alive

More examples of double standards in favor of white people: James Eagan Holmes, various other (unnamed but fairly well-known) cases

2. “The officer feared for his life. It was self defense.”

Pictures of Darren Wilson’s oh-so-life-threatening injuries + full-body shot

Darren Wilson says he would do it again

Darren Wilson is 6’4” and 215lbs (needs source), in a vehicle with a loaded weapon. Mike Brown was an unarmed teenager walking down the street.

(Speculative) He got married while on leave, possibly so his wife wouldn’t have to testify if she knew something.

Wilson did not complete an incident report, which is a violation of protocol

Article about why Darren Wilson shooting Mike Brown was illegal no matter how you look at it

3. “Michael Brown stole from a convenience store. He was a thug and a thief.”

Statement from the store owner saying that no one called the police and nothing was taken

This is disputable and the time stamps on the video don’t sync up with the story.

The cigarettes he allegedly stole were paid for and there’s proof

Remind them that even if Mike Brown had done some petty shoplifting, that’s no reason for him to be shot six times in the middle of a street.

4. “The jury saw all the evidence, they know better.”/Something about insufficient/unreliable evidence.

"It’s Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson’s Just Did" + only .0004% of grand juries fail to indict

All 4 eyewitness accounts of the murder in chronological order

Every piece of evidence in the case against officer wilson

Prosecutor supported Wilson, and other problems with the case

Remind them that even "people get charged with manslaughter when someone dies in a car accident" and Darren Wilson wasn’t even charged that

The National Bar Association and its president know the jury’s decision was bullshit

5. “The riots and protests are out of hand and unnecessary. It’s just an excuse to be violent and steal things.”

Video of protesters getting shot with (I think) flare bombs and tear gas by police. (warning: flashing lights and loud sounds)

Video of protesters quietly sitting down

Video of protesters peacefully but firmly chanting outside the supreme court

Video of the National Guard arriving with automatic weapons

Crips and Blood gang members preventing looters at the riots (from the first riots back in august)

Community working together to clean up the aftermath of the riots

6. “You can’t fight violence with violence, what would Martin Luther King say?”

"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots….." -MLK

Remind them that as pro-peaceful protests as MLK was, he still got shot in the head.

If after all this, they’re still arguing in defense of Darren Wilson or the jury, just give up because there’s no way you can change the mind of such a complete fucking bigot.

Some masterposts I used that also have more information: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

If there’s anything I should add or fix, please let me know

[morbidology]

A man has died during the Ferguson riots just yards from where Michael Brown was shot dead. 

Residents on Canfield Drive said that DeAndre Joshua, 20, was shot whilst in his car though police at the scene refused to confirm any details. DeAndre’s grandmother Renita Towns said that ‘somebody killed him’ during the carnage. 

DeAndre Joshua graduated from high school and worked at Walmart, he said. As police towed Joshua’s car, his grandmother Renita Towns said she had little hope that police would investigate and learn the cause of her grandson’s death. She said he wasn’t into drugs, she said. “Police don’t care — he’s black,” Towns said.

(x)

[otterologist-blog]

There’s speculation he might have been one of the people who testified to the grand jury!!!!!!!!!!! He’s close with Dorian Johnson who is currently under protection, and after DeAndre was killed Dorian tweeted “My Fcking brother gone DeAndre Joshua! Somebody come get me right now I gotta go!”

The Police may have killed a fucking eye witness you guys.

[therudecouture-deactivated20181]

….but remember they said it isn’t “race” related 😐😒

[gyost-deactivated20150531]

and here’s the real kicker, the prosecutor for both cases was bob mcculloch

he RECOMMENDED that charges be levied (felony assault) against this black officer, and did everything in his power to assure that wilson was let off for murder

mike brown was killed 15 days after gore was charged

[queerinsurrection]

White people: Darren Wilson was just protecting himself when he shot that unarmed black boy. What else are you supposed to do when someone attacks you?

White people: Don't fight violence with violence.

[poldberg]

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Police in Ferguson committed human rights abuses: Amnesty report

By Carey Gillam

(Reuters) - Police in Ferguson, Missouri, committed human rights abuses as they sought to quell mostly peaceful protests that erupted after an officer killed an unarmed black teenager, an international human rights organization said in a report released on Friday.

The Amnesty International report said law enforcement officers should be investigated by U.S. authorities for the abuses, which occurred during weeks of racially charged protests that erupted after white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9.

The use by law enforcement of rubber bullets, tear gas and heavy military equipment and restrictions placed on peaceful protesters all violated international standards, the group said.

Amnesty said it sent a delegation to Ferguson from Aug. 14-22 to monitor the situation.

When asked about the allegations, Brian Schellman, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department, which helped oversee law enforcement operations in Ferguson, said police “had one mission, and that was the preservation of life.”

The report also criticizes a Missouri law that the group said may be unconstitutional because it allows police to use deadly force against someone even if there is no imminent threat of harm.

The report calls on state lawmakers to make Missouri law comply with international standards making lethal force by police a last resort, said Rachel Ward, director of research at Amnesty International.

"Lethal force is only to be used to protect life when there is an immediate threat," Ward said. "The Missouri statute goes far beyond that. It is of grave concern."

Amnesty cited a Missouri statute that says a police officer may use deadly force “in effecting an arrest or in preventing an escape from custody” when that officer “reasonably believes that such use of deadly force is immediately necessary to effect the arrest and also reasonably believes that the person to be arrested … has committed or attempted to commit a felony.”

A grand jury in St. Louis County is weighing whether or not Wilson should be charged in Brown’s death. Wilson has not spoken publicly about the incident.

The Justice Department is investigating Brown’s killing and the Ferguson Police Department.

Witnesses and law enforcement officials have said Brown and Wilson got into an altercation after Wilson told Brown to stop walking down the middle of a street. Wilson shot Brown six times. Some witnesses have said Brown had his hands up in surrender when the last shots were fired.

"Michael Brown was unarmed and thus unlikely to have presented a serious threat to the life of the police officer," the report said.

(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Mo.; Editing by Eric Beech)

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Full Amnesty Report #staywoke #farfromover

[thisiseverydayracism]

#OfficerGoFuckYourself Threatens to Kill Ferguson Livestreamers

The scene was witnessed by Infowars reporter Joe Biggs who was also filming the incident. The clip shows a Ferguson officer with his gun raised pointing it directly at a citizen journalist who was live streaming at the time.

“Oh my God, gun raised, gun raised,” states the journalist, before Biggs remarks, “gun pointed.”

“My hands are up bro, my hands are up,” states the journalist before the cop responds, “I’m going to f***ing kill you, get back, get back!”

“You’re going to kill him?” asks another individual before the journalist asks, “did he just threaten to kill me?”

When the cop is asked for his name he responds, “go fuck yourself.”

[homodachizine-blog]

Homodachi and Friends Issue #1: Visibility / Invisibility!

Hello folks!

We are proud to present the first issue of Homodachi and Friends!  This issue looks at the intersections of queerness and concepts of visibility/invisibility.  How does our understanding of queerness change in Japan?  What is the role of visibility, and how does it compare and contrast to our home countries?  What are moments where we need to be hyper-aware of our queerness, in what moments does the invisibility of our queerness surprise us? Our contributors range widely in their writing styles and experiences, so there is sure to be something for everyone!  :)

Click on the image above or click this link to read the first issue for free online!  The file is large so please be patient while it loads!  Print versions will be available in mid-August.  If you would like a print copy, please contact us directly!

If you like the project, please consider sharing it with your friends, liking the facebook page, and following our twitter!  You can also contact us at: homodachizine (at) gmail.com

Without further adieu, please enjoy!

-H&F