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Doing anything to correct the disinformation about anything to do with racial history is met with howls of outrage by the fragile egos of White Nationalists. The idea that the whites did anything wrong and were anything other than the heroes of the world is not tolerated by them.

I particularly say this because "building bridges" specifically implies compromise. I. Will. Not. Compromise. With. Fascists. They can come to the table and talk with me, as soon as they stop being fucking nazis.

Are we putting the interests of the movement above our own personal feelings and interests?

If you've come this far, I also offer this thread for a bit of reflection as well. Not everyone in the comments has been up to the challenge of engaging thoughtfully, but I know people are hurting and I'm choosing to try anyway because I make a practice of hope.

That's the theory. And I'm all for it. But in practice you run into all kinds of dishonest people, or people who just prefer to stay in their bubble. It costs 1 unit of work to spread a convenient falshood, and 100 units to counter it...

Solidarity my friend ❤️✊

I have tried to share my knowledge with people. I have been vilified for it. I have no more patience for people who want to be ignorant. Those people deserve shame.

We can overcome them, but actual reform is next to impossible. The we have ever been able to achieve is to make some them stop their sociopathic behavior. They still want to.

The uneducated of the US far right ridicule everyone else & insist their screwball fantasies are real. The MAGAdiots are just sadomasochist sociopaths who want pain & suffering, there is no redemption possible. They will pretend reform just to get another chance to somehow torture others.

Yes we are doing that. Need to do better.

Just for your information, Clarence Thomas the Supreme Court stupid justice was a black panther, member specialized and burning down cities like Atlanta and LA Clarence Thomas machine guns all as many as you want. This man has no education and look what he’s doing.

4/ Bigotry and ignorance robbed us all of the immeasurable potential of African Americans and the disabled. Both of whom were effectively shut out of any opportunity for full freedom to participate in the USA with no barriers raised by discrimination & ignorance.

They started Head Start in San Francisco, first feeding the children.

And because of them, Claifornia got gun control.

Yes. They did. And they provided food to people in their areas who were in need.

They fed poor children breakfast.

I saw every single show. 1st gen screen (TV) baby. TV was live and brilliant because of that.The 1st writers of SNL were my age.TV sparked a creativity in any of us that had the gift. Being smart in no way inspires imagination.Einstein said intelligence without imagination is worthless.

I KNOW, right? AND provided daycare services and formed neighborhood watches........against whitey. The more things change the more they stay the same.

Yes. As in, a lot of Democrats.

K. But we're mocking the rich and anyone shitty enough to still part of the GOP forever on principle.

We will always stand for what is good and just for our communities. #POWERTOTHEPEOPLE All races, colors, creeds, religions, and orientations. Damn the man and greed. www.chieftain.com/story/specia...

Vas you dere, Charlie?

"OPE" 🫢

They also fed kids.

Yep

Most of them, especially minorities, were indoctrinated into capitalism and religion. There are ways to deconstruct.

I guess I’m so pissed off about the havoc the uneducated MAGAts are creating that I’m uninterested in teaching them. When they lose their Medicaid and SNAP benefits they may become teachable, but not now. They’re very busy hating brown and black people.

Thanks for posting. We need strong values again, and this is one of them.

They also fed them......

And they fed children.

💗💗💗

👍👍👍

And fed them.

One person's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. At the end of my eightieth decade, I'm coming to realise that the Black Panthers were more the latter. That was not what I thought at the time, but we're never too old to learn, and I have wonderful grandchildren to guide & inspire me.

Exactly!

We also need to hear this

I think it really depends. Some people who hold those beliefs are unreachable, yes, but not all of them. Be ruthless to the malicious, but kind to the ignorant.

The Black Panthers pioneered the Breakfast for Kids program back in 1969.

What a POS post. Only in the 1990s? Good God. Are you high.

Amen.

And fed children

Yep, that's what works. Providing what's missing. I've taught 60 year olds to read & kindergartners. We all respond to things that respect our capacity to learn, things that are interesting, things that encourage creativity and movement. We are wired to learn & grow - the right environment matters.

The Panthers had a food program as well. What got them in trouble was walking around with long arms in public, which was legal. Reagan almost burst a vessel in his brain seeing that and couldn't get to the legislature fast enough to have them change the law, which they did.

Truth.

And fed them. And provided free health clinics.

Ice and police have been doing it under the ruse of protecting others since before the black panthers your point is moot.

Thank you💚

Praxis.

This old white guy knows the Fred Hampton story. He was murdered by the FBI for doing just that.

My hat is off to #HueyPNewton right now.

Half-truths are as bad as lies. They MIGHT have done some of these things. However, you're making them out to look like they were saints. They were not They were the black equivalent of Hell's Angeles, and that's straight out of the mouth from a former member. There's a mini documentary on YouTube.

Because they figured the more educated people were, the better chances they’d make good choices. Seems the corollary to that is . . . the Trump machine, catapulted into power by states with the lowest per capita income and the fewest college graduates.

Yes and that is entirely commendable. But people still have to be willing to be taught. There are few solutions to willful ignorance. Not even education fixes that.

True! My dad was a Black Panther and he taught me to read at 3. The Panthers were big on education, both Huey and Bobby attended college. I can still hear my dad saying, “read a book, that’s where they keep the secrets at.” Thank you for triggering a core memory! 😊

They also murdered people.

People also need to hear that they met and prevented violence with violence. It's not the bigots that are willing to listen and learn that cause and perpetuate suffering, it's the ones that won't stop unless they fear real consequences.

They also displayed firearms lawfully which scared the crap out of Gov Reagan and led to gun control laws.

They did armed robbery of armoured cars and sold cocaine. They didn’t wear gay rainbow anything. They did hardcore crimes like extortion.

They are all abused children Trying to climb to the top Because someone was "above" them as children

I was very small and living in Oakland when my mom would take me to the breakfast program the Panthers ran. I dont really remember much except the people were very kind and the food was good.

The Black Panthers also worked within, and for, a united community that was held together by common suffering, injustice and tyranny. They (rightfully) knew whom were their oppressors were (read: white fascists). The ignorance of the MAGAts is hateful, self-inflicted, incurious and irredeemable.

Google translated:That's an interesting contradiction. Trump supporters are known for their ignorance, but it seems like in this case they showed at least a modicum of human compassion. Or is this just further proof of their ignorance? Where do you see compassion with trump Supporters?

Darned straight. AND they fed kids, too. Were great role models in being proud and doing things to help others.

I have an autobiographical cartoon about the era. A leaflet we made in our collective was reprinted in a book called “The Portland Black Panthers.” The authors thought the Panthers made it!

There's a lot of black history that sadly is missing, or I should say ignored, that needs to be told 👏🫡

We need them back

But what do you do when the illiterate don’t want to learn how to read? They double down on their ignorance and opt to live and fear all while mocking the people that can read.

exactly!

They also started the first program to feed schoolchildren (breakfast, not lunch). www.history.com/articles/fre...

Totally agree—and what’s even more alarming is that willful ignorance is often marketed as “peace of mind” or “choosing your own truth.” Meanwhile, those who hold power are more than happy to watch people self-censor their curiosity. Feudalism in the digital age just wears better clothes.

And they fed school children in during the summers.

Yes they did. I remember!

I have lots of respect for those leaders! Helped my people also. My mother took my son's to watch the Black Panther, she thought is was going to be about the Black Panthers. She became a fan of Chadwick that day.

Exactly

And that’s why they were considered dangerous…

You can’t teach a cult. They’re a lost cause.

They fed a lot of hungry school kids too.

The just let finally some of the originals taken, out of prison this last year, to scare us into not being similarly violent

That sounds very accessible I'll have to check it out If you are near a large city the universities or libraries in Black cities might be the place I'd start, to try to connect to your local BPP historians who may already be working on this to colab with

The free lunch program is schools is thanks to the Black Panthers as well. They made sure kids had breakfast before school. They started out to protect US from the kkk & I guess the government didn’t like that since the government Protected the kkk 🤷🏽‍♀️

Great point!!!

And fed people.

They also fed the kids who were home during summer time, they understood that many don't have food at home and when school is closed, many of our kids are hungry.

And they fed them when they were hungry.

And fed the children all children

and free breakfast

Say it loudly

The Black Panthers were subject to a massive govt based disinformation campaign.

Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were community leaders when they were shot dead in their beds by chicago police.

And they fed them breakfast and tutored them after school.

Aaaand then they were aggressively suppressed by the state, including with the use of violent force, cuz ya know, can’t have poor folks reading

I wish we celebrated Fred Hampton like we do MLK.

That is exactly what the MAGA movement wants to prevent.

South still does it since and now with the backing of a caked orange make up flab with bleached eyes and toupee to vilify freely 🙄🫩

Racism at it's finest. 'They' must remain worthless and frightening at all costs. It still brings vomit to my throat just writing this.

Incapable of operating in the grey and making a positive difference. There is room for the right and left coalescing around the center. Sidelining the far left and far right will enable the reasonable center to come back and get us moving forward again.

Nope, nope, nope…no equivocation. No “both sides.” What this MAGA administration is doing has no comparison in history. President Obama was one of the best presidents and human beings in American history, while Trump is hands down…the very worst. This is not “politics as usual!” This is evil!

Every group in history did both bad and good. The black panthers did bad stuff. And good stuff. So did Al Queda. So did the US government. So did israel. The world is full of grey. Always tell the truth, but the whole truth. Bad and good. Be intellectually honest. It takes more time but is real.

Thank goodness they only did this one supposedly good thing (more likely it was leftist racists propaganda).

💙💙💙

Been saying- we need teach-ins. I’m planning to do a Zoom class tomorrow where we will be taught to use race-class solidarity messaging to get past the things that keep all of us workers from getting together and dealing with this sh*t.