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Speaking of “thugs”.

December 1, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

Photo of Matthew Belardine from Scottsdale PD

Per KPHO comes this report of three arrests in downtown Scottsdale, including of two men who accosted Ferguson decision protesters, which led to a brawl.

Two people arrested for fighting in front of the Wasted Grain bar were not part of the protest group, said Scottsdale police Sgt. Ben Hoster. The pair had approached the protesters and started yelling obscenities at them, Hoster said. The two men then began fighting with the protesters and they were quickly arrested, he said.

They are identified as Samuel Lee Busic, 26, of Phoenix. He was charged with assault. Matthew Belardine, 27, of Ohio. He was charged with disorderly conduct.

A very alert Facebook friend with a long memory pointed out that Busic and Belardine were both volunteer football coaches at Steubenville High School and that Belardine was convicted and served jail time for his role in providing the conditions in which a 16 year old girl was raped and the attack was filmed and passed around social media.

Over 200 in downtown Tucson protest Ferguson shooting (photos)

November 26, 2014November 25, 2014 by Carolyn Classen

200 protesters of all ages, ethnicities were at Ronstadt Transit Center tonight to exercise their freedoms of speech and assembly, against the failure of the Ferguson Missouri grand jury to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the August 9, 2014 killing of 18 year old Michael Brown.

All photos taken by and courtesy of freelancer Henry Barajas, former reporter with Tucson Weekly.

Remember that time a bunch of mostly white people rioted near Penn State?

November 25, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Nick Baumann did and he tweeted this as the protest and unrest after the announcement that the grand jury would not indict Ferguson police officer for shooting and killing Michael Brown unfolded.

Here's an image from the Penn State protests after Paterno was fired: pic.twitter.com/HbLonGdrAE

— NickBaumann (@NickBaumann) November 25, 2014

Oh boy, Bob Robb is explaining race relations again

September 8, 2014 by AZ BlueMeanie

Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com

This is not an actual picture of AZ Republic columnist Bob Robb but I found it when I was searching his name and it’s hilarious.

I meant to weight in on AZ Republic’s Bob Robb’s vomit-inducing column from last Wednesday but I see that Cynthia Zwick has responded beautifully to Robb’s outrageously offensive claim that poor black people shouldn’t be politically active and should instead quietly get jobs and stop having so many welfare babies and abusing drugs and alcohol.

Robb’s conclusion is truly disturbing. “Obviously children living in poverty aren’t there because they failed to check the right boxes,” he wrote. “But what serves their interests best: Telling them that poverty is a political issue to be addressed through activism? Or that poverty is a condition that can be escaped or avoided through education, hard work and not engaging in destructive behavior?”

Those questions are subtle directives towards those who are poor and, by association, those who are of color. His message is: go to school, work hard, and keep your head down and don’t bother wasting your time protesting and engaging in politics, protests and activism.

In truth, the exact opposite is needed.

Poor communities and communities of color must engage in activism. They must vote, hold their leaders accountable and demand systemic change through peaceful protest.