Yeah, I was thinking something like this too when I first read the article. Around here, the right-wing mayor (a short-timer now thankfully) was pushing for the cops to be able to do homeless "sweeps" of "encampments", something that I've little doubt has, and will, lead to serious roughing-up (maybe even murdering...?) of homeless who look at the cops the wrong way or give any backtalk or don't 110% "comply" immediately if not sooner... . Hell around here a cop just beat the shit out of a guy (busting ribs and much more) who was simply taking a quick nap in his car in a public park parking lot, because he thought himself too tired to drive safely at that time.
The authorities around here pay attention to the homeless when it's time for a little violent action (fun!) but that's about it. So I too am surprised these LV ones are jumping on this incident. It would be a great thing if they were vigorously pursuing solving crimes against the homeless, but I've gotta wonder ... seems awfully unlikely.
"Unhoused" kind of rubs me the wrong way too, mainly because, in my opinion, it's such a blatant (and not exactly genius) manipulation of language to, as you say, "destigmatize" the Other word. The Other word comes with mental images of dirty bums and mental illness and drug addiction and petty criminals and ... whereas "unhoused" people ... well, that sounds like just an ordinary person without a house! Someone w/o a house doesn't necessarily need expensive social supports like health care and food and training/education and [obviously] housing. A much more palatable and low-baggage term, no? Oy.
But I'm easily annoyed at all this kind of re-terming, and it's everywhere. Among the most irritating is "Anthropogenic global warming" becoming "climate change" ... notice how that eliminates all blame from the term, and furthermore no longer indicates which direction temps are moving in. Even worse is that my fellow lefties say "climate change" now w/o a second thought to the origin of the phrase (right-wing propagandists) or the motives behind its creation (corporate profits).
Actually...there is a group of nutters who have a fantasy of doing something like that but with ID+eastern OR (possibly eastern WA too). They get in the news now and then.
Well, yeah, but now the shooter [who I will assume is a right-wing MAGA-nutjob of some variety] owns those people he shot! They've been dominated, humiliated, taught who's the boss, and all for the cost of a couple of rounds of ammo.
Losers like this shooter (and that one in Burlington VT recently) don't have the skills/resources/intelligence to make any more impressive impact on the world. Cheap/easy violence is all they can muster. Pathetic.
Heh, understood, I moved away many decades ago myself. That reminds me, when I was a kid there, gun laws were extremely lax. I was allowed to buy rifles and shotguns from retail stores as a young teenager, didn't even need a parent present. Not sure what the deal would have been with handguns. I remember taking a gun safety class put on by the police but I don't think that was a legal requirement, probably just a Dad requirement. Wonder what's changed, wouldn't be surprised if the answer is "not much".
Ugh, that sound like potentially one of those "never walk again" sorts of injuries. Then again, it's not safe to walk, at least not outside, and while not looking like a member of the ethnic/cultural majority...
I think you should pitch your keffiyeh idea to Darn Tough Vermont, get hired ("VP of Keffiyeh" on your door) and get into production as soon as possible. Their socks really are incredible - had a pair for hiking for 15-20yrs now and only recently did they finally get some wear holes - will return them and should get a free replacement per the warranty. I wouldn't be surprised if whatever they're made out of would stop bullets in addition to keeping the wearer warm. With domestic terrorism/hate-crimes/gun-violence on the increase nation-wide, this (DT Keffiyeh) could be the 2024 product of the year! Brilliant. Enjoy Northfield. :-)
But idiots shooting citizens and residents (or anyone for that matter) due to ethnic or religious heritage is unacceptable, so if we normalize wearing them, maybe people they won’t get targeted at much.
Maybe I’ll have to get a kuffiyeh. I usually don’t like appropriating other cultures, but maybe raising awareness is fine.
What a great idea! Imagine if wearing them caught on & became fashionable both for their looks and as a political statement! The fascist crowd here (USA) would go ape-shit. They'd be talking about banning them in public in no time flat.
Another article. Yeah, I could see keffiyehs gaining a following (see linked pic) - winters in VT are fargin' cold.
Double-plus thanks for that. The photos add a lot. Wow, that's one packed meeting room!
I was in four different old-timey musicals (pit orchestra) in HS, including Ok!, and they were just the sweetest, most old-fashioned-values, romantic things you could imagine. When I read this article I couldn't believe that anyone would make a fuss over something as stupid as casting choices, and then seek to deprive the kids of the unforgettable experience of putting on one of these shows. Just criminal. "The set, a sturdy mock-up of a settler’s house that took students two months to build, was demolished." What bastards. I really feel for these poor kids and hope they can put all that Ugly behind them and give the town a beautiful show.
Elections offices in Spokane, Pierce and King counties were evacuated Wednesday after election workers found white powder in envelopes.
In a prepared statement, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs called the incident an act of terrorism.
“The safety of staff and observers is paramount as elections workers across the state open envelopes and count each voter’s ballot,” Hobbs said. “These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers.”
In Spokane County, an election worker discovered a suspicious substance and a note in an envelope Wednesday morning. The substance found in Spokane County tested positive for fentanyl, according to the Spokane Police Department.
Tacoma police confirmed a hazmat response at the Pierce County Elections Office at about 8:45 a.m., after an elections worker found an envelope “that dispersed a white powdery substance.”
Washington State Patrol and Tacoma fire crews responded and determined the substance was baking soda, according to William Muse, a police spokesperson.
A message inside the envelope said “something to the effect of stopping the election,” Muse said. “There was no candidate that was identified. There was no religious affiliated group identified. There was no political issue identified. It was just that vague statement.”
This bit, below, is sure to get the attention of Christofascist and Christofascist-adjacent politicians in the US. They don't care at all about the welfare of the citizenry, but they do care about money and power and keeping the funnels of both wide open.
Outside money poured into the race. In the last few months alone, the effort to champion Issue 1 and abortion rights raised nearly $30m, out-raising anti-abortion forces by roughly $20m.
He's got the biggest and most smooth brian you'll find anywear. Just ask the new Speaker of the House, Pat Robertson, and he'll tell you all about it, they share the same brian after all.
Whaddya mean ... we've got pilots in the jumpseat of one flight trying to shut down the engines mid-flight, we've got pilots in another carrying guns and threatening to shoot each other over ordinary operational issues ... now that's entertainment! 🧑✈️ Waiting for an episode where the FAs gang up on a rude passenger and try to open a door (depressurizing in the process) and toss them out, all while filming on their (FA's) phones for social media points.
The NH state motto is "Live Free or Die".
The motto is even on vehicle license plates. They're going to have to substantially reduce the font size to get "Live Christofascism or Die" or "Live Far-Right Totalitarianism or Die" to fit on there.
I grew up in a similar small, northern-NE "arts/tourist town" (not in NH), where, generally speaking, part of the learned ethos was that "minding your own business" was a virtue. If this kind of shit ever took hold there the town would be finished - no more tourists = no economy at all. That would of course be great for the down-country wealthy who could then swoop in and buy up land and historic old houses, close to skiing, for pennies on the dollar.
Well, that's a whisper of good news coming from ID, something that's rarely heard these days as it slides deeper and deeper into right-wing authoritarianism.
Since the guy is biting the hand that used to feed him, I figured he must have pissed-off some high-up Republicans and gotten himself shunned. Never heard of him before this. But yeah, at this point, depending on who he crossed, maybe Orange Boy himself, he might consider himself to have nothing to lose. It would be interesting to know if, in his book, he confesses his GOP-related-work sins, explains them, and begs forgiveness of us. No hints of that in the vid.
FirstCircle @ FirstCircle @lemmy.ml Posts 161Comments 388Joined 2 yr. ago
Yeah, I was thinking something like this too when I first read the article. Around here, the right-wing mayor (a short-timer now thankfully) was pushing for the cops to be able to do homeless "sweeps" of "encampments", something that I've little doubt has, and will, lead to serious roughing-up (maybe even murdering...?) of homeless who look at the cops the wrong way or give any backtalk or don't 110% "comply" immediately if not sooner... . Hell around here a cop just beat the shit out of a guy (busting ribs and much more) who was simply taking a quick nap in his car in a public park parking lot, because he thought himself too tired to drive safely at that time.
The authorities around here pay attention to the homeless when it's time for a little violent action (fun!) but that's about it. So I too am surprised these LV ones are jumping on this incident. It would be a great thing if they were vigorously pursuing solving crimes against the homeless, but I've gotta wonder ... seems awfully unlikely.