Black House
Kat Bernhardt on Glitch Artists Collective
This is going to be a short US riots newsletter. Skip it if you need to tune out. (Apologies; I don’t have direct sources for some of these notes and images; I’ve been following Twitter and drowning in information.)
People in Denver, CO laid down on the ground under the scorching sun; folding their hands behind their back for 9 minutes, screaming like George Floyd: “I CAN’T BREATHE” GulbargaTemper1 on Twitter
There are a hundred things to say about the U.S. riots, much of which you’ve probably heard and much of which I don’t feel qualified to comment on. I’ll share my thoughts briefly.
Everything happens. By this, I mean that in the riots, you will find instances of violence, crime, looting, shootings, burnings, and stabbings in the mass of riots that grip dozens of cities and thousands of people. You’ll also find love, medical care, peaceful protest, community cleaning, funding, and support there.
Beware those who make bad-faith synecdoche, trying to invalidate or condemn everything one way or another by trying to point to singular incidents that somehow mean that every single person in a protest is glad it turned into a riot, or a police car was set on fire.
However, there are some clear trends. I’ve been unable to find an instance of violence in the riots that was not started by the police. I’m sure somewhere, a civilian threw the first stone, but the vast majority of riots have been flared up by cops who apparently just can’t wait to tear gas protestors. Be aware that alt-right/boogaloo bois/accelerationist/insurrectionory groups are piggybacking on the riots to vandalize, start fires, and incite violence. This is important to be aware of, because as these protests and riots spread throughout the US, dangerous situations can arise anywhere.
Some are calling this a revolution, and given the extremely powerful astrological significators in the sky, I don’t think that’s a long shot. Of course, whose revolution is still up for debate. It is going to be incredibly hard to tell what forces truly drive this nationriot in its many directions, probably for many years. Watch out for frightening action near the eclipses of this month, the 5th and the 21st.
The White House lies dark amidst protests as DC burns. [original image author unknown]
The White House lights are out. While there’s plenty of speculation as to why this is (including that it’s easier for snipers with thermal/IR scopes to shoot any potential stormers), one that I saw floating around is that the White House lights only go out when the president dies. It’s even quoted in a Guardian article. I first found this idea as a screencapped image of the wikipedia page on the White House, but could not find any evidence of the exact phrase in the history or on Google, which leads me to think this is misinformation (or wishful thinking). So don’t buy this one.
imagine if these were Trump’s last tweets tho?
Finally, not that I sympathize with Chauvin remotely, but can you imagine being the guy who set off a nationwide riot? But let’s not end on talking about him. If you’d like to learn more about black perspectives, here’s a great list of books to read.
Pablo González-Trejo