Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

Thread: This clip re the #VAgov race has an interview w/ a white woman claims "there's not a lot of racism" in Loudon County & (unironically) that "if you talk about it less you're gonna notice [it] less."

I'm a white woman who disagrees with her take.

I know there's a damaging and unacceptable level of racist behavior in every county of the US (and FWIW in every part of my own country, NZ.) Logically, the level of it in the state of VA would be above average for the US.

Rs are being blatantly obvious in their racism now.

My understanding of the level of racism in the GOP has changed over the past 5 years. It was more well hidden.

Yes, racism from one group to another can be found among Rs and Ds. This thread is about racism toward African Americans, as the largest group affected.

A few years ago I thought my understanding of American history was pretty good. I had not explored the history of racism against African Americans in enough detail to understand the things I understand now. And I learn more each day.

I wrote a thread recently about the issue of officer involved shootings and the need to gather the facts of each case before rushing to judgment. Both sides have people who jump ahead, sometimes even before a clip of body worn camera footage is released. That said, ...

When footage such as the bystander video of Derek Chauvin ending the life of George Floyd came out, there's no excuse for anyone to defend Chauvin's actions, nor the failure of the other officers to intervene.

I do not care about Floyd's b/g, I care about his needless death.

The number and strength of the aggravating factors in that case forced the long simmering issue of police brutality (esp. that directed at black adults and children) into the spotlight.

We then saw TFG stoke the division and make clear threats against lawful protesters.

There would have been defectors from the maga cult at that point, but I wasn't paying close enough attention to join them back then. Nov-Dec 2020 was when I said enough is enough. I've spent a year reflecting on all aspects of the ideology & methods increasingly used in the cult.

I have always been anti-racism & anti all other forms of bigotry & discrimination. But I didn't know enough about the specific history of the American civil rights movement, including right up to this day.

Making #Juneteenth a federal holiday was a brilliant way to educate.

And each year on #Juneteenth, more individuals will quietly google what it means. They will learn about the deplorable way white Texans treated enslaved people, by delaying the freeing of those people, long after other states had done so.

In 2021, Texas still hasn't caught up.

We are learning that a significant part of the ongoing insurgency is nurtured and spread from Texas. And we have seen in neon lights how this summer's Delta wave of Covid affected the deep Southern states.

So many avoidable deaths. Hospitals overflowing.

If black Americans could enjoy the level of equality they deserve, then other groups would have better outcomes, too. Folk whose circumstances meant they'd die from Covid or from hospital collapse shutting out patients with other needs. eg kids, immunocompromised, etc.

I will close with some information about the flag ritual in VA that drew negative attention to the R candidate.

Coverage of the ritual:

As soon as I saw it, I thought of the reverence Nazis in Germany showed for a number of flags, but the most sacred flag of all was from an early coup attempt they carried out:

A subsequent video in that series, (and I highly recommend watching all the videos in the "History of Nazi symbols" playlist by historian Mark Felton) explores how the victorious Stalin made sure to take away Nazi treasures:

Flags are very important to combatants, terrorists, and enemy militia.

People who unironically record themselves revering a flag that was used in a terrorist attack are clearly among the brainwashed members of a cult.

It doesn't matter that the candidate denounced it.

These insurgents and their willfully ignorant pawns lack the capability to realize their actions damage their chance of success.

But their actions are helpful for pro-democracy Americans trying to keep and maintain hard-won freedoms like the right of every citizen to vote.

The racism of the far right fascists in the US is deep and wide. There's only one effective way to stop a gang of bullies.

You stand up to them.

Make sure the #VAgov and #NJgov races are won by Democrats.

Thank you.