ACLU launches nationwide training on protest, resistance - Polidicks

[quote] CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union staged a nationwide training event Saturday to make sure people are aware of their rights as protesters and urge organized, public resistance by those opposed to policies of President Donald Trump. Organizers said the event at a sports arena on the University of Miami campus was livestreamed to locations in all 50 states. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said 200,000 people had signed up to attend one of an estimated 2,000 local events. The event, staged in town hall style, was aimed at capitalizing on numerous demonstrations since Trump's election in November and to make sure people know their rights to protest, Romero said. He said priority issues are immigration, the First Amendment free speech and religious freedom rights, civil and reproductive rights and rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people. "We will bring all the lawsuits necessary to defend these rights," Romero said. "We'll do the work in the courts. You do the work in the streets. People are motivated. They want to be engaged." The ACLU also launched a new grassroots online organizing platform called PeoplePower.org. It's billed as a way for people considering a local protest or rally to connect and coordinate with others around the country with similar intentions, and to provide details of ACLU initiatives. [/quote] [url="https://www.apnews.com/ddbab25d5f9b41cf9511cad4571477ba?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP_Politics"]AP[/url]

Sign me up!

People who've had Breitbart colonize their mind like bot fly larvae are going to interpret this as the ACLU paying people to protest.

[QUOTE=Hamaflavian;51946423]People who've had Breitbart colonize their mind like bot fly larvae are going to interpret this as the ACLU paying people to protest.[/QUOTE] That's okay, they already have actual examples of people being paid to protest so they'll still be right, just not about the ACLU.

[QUOTE=srobins;51946501]That's okay, they already have actual examples of people being paid to protest so they'll still be right, just not about the ACLU.[/QUOTE] Sources?

[QUOTE=AnnieOakley;51946574]Sources?[/QUOTE] Breitbart, Redstate, Infowars.

[QUOTE=AnnieOakley;51946574]Sources?[/QUOTE] [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oku708sGlKc&t=171s[/media] [url]http://www.fec.gov/fecviewer/CandidateCommitteeDetail.do?tabIndex=1&candidateCommitteeId=P00003392[/url] I can't remember the steps to find her record in the spreadsheet but we did it ages ago in a few threads when the DNC stuff was the hot topic of the day. Zulema Rodriguez (the woman being dragged out of her car in the video) got paid by the Clinton campaign and worked for MoveOn.org helping organize protests. Here's a video of her pretending to be an innocent bystander caught in the protest, despite helping organize it. She got paid something like $1,500 and a cell phone like a week before she ended up in Phoenix for this video. She's nice enough to park "her" car in the road and then waste EMS' time pretending to be sick/injured.. I'm by no means saying that a significant portion of protesters are paid by some liberal boogeyman, obviously that's goddamn retarded. 99% of people are just there protesting of their own volition. But there is a massive amount of money funneled into "protest organizations", whether its BLM, MoveOn, whatever (and I'm sure the same thing happens with right-wing groups too, they're just not really protesting right now because they're in power), and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that some of that money goes to them saying "hey, go stir some shit up". Remember all those O'Keefe videos that everyone pretended were like, magic fucking CGI or something? You can argue that he took them out of context to implicate Clinton and the DNC directly, but the dude on camera for like 20 fucking minutes talking about how he pays homeless people to go instigate shit isn't just edited out of thin air. Who he's working for is the point of contention, but the takeaway is that yes, there are people and organizations in this country who pay people to stir shit. I think it's ridiculous that people are so resistant to believing something that seems so obvious. [editline]12th March 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Waffle cones.;51946634]Are you thinking of the Tea Party, maybe?[/QUOTE] No, but it wouldn't surprise me, and this comment is a great example of what I said closing my post: So you're willing to accept that [I]somebody[/I] is getting paid to protest (i.e. conservatives), right? Just not [I]your[/I] people. The conservatives? Of course they're being paid to protest! That's common knowledge! Oh, but liberals? That's impossible, what are you crazy?

[QUOTE=Waffle cones.;51946747]Way to make an assumption about my intentions. I never said it was completely impossible, epic zinger tho. In fact, that point was the exact one I was trying to make. [editline]11th March 2017[/editline] You sure are awfully defensive immediately. Do you need to time to chill? We'll be here when your done, man.[/QUOTE] I have a really hard time believing you were trying to be anything but snide with your comment. If you were genuinely asking me whether I was mistakenly thinking of the Tea Party then I apologize, but the ~hyperbole~ preceding it in your post didn't really inspire confidence.

[QUOTE=Waffle cones.;51946793]My comment was indeed snide, as was your original comment, but you again seem to fundamentally misinterpret what I'm saying in favor of your armchair psychologist perspective of my intentions of m my post instead taking what I say at face value.[/QUOTE] Man sometimes you read a post and just think, "what the fuck are you talking about". You're being snide, I'm being snide, we're even. Get off my ass with all this gibberish lol, talking about defensiveness and then moaning about how [I]I'm[/I] an armchair psychologist. Why don't you just make a point and shut up, this is so dragged out whatever is going on here. [editline]12th March 2017[/editline] You can't admit to being snide and then say "just take what I'm saying at face value" for fuck sake lol

[QUOTE=Waffle cones.;51946814]I'll refer you to my previous post where I made my point.[/QUOTE] Cool! We agree, moving on.

[QUOTE=srobins;51946709] I'm by no means saying that a significant portion of protesters are paid by some liberal boogeyman, obviously that's goddamn retarded. 99% of people are just there protesting of their own volition. But there is a massive amount of money funneled into "protest organizations", whether its BLM, MoveOn, whatever (and I'm sure the same thing happens with right-wing groups too, they're just not really protesting right now because they're in power), and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that some of that money goes to them saying "hey, go stir some shit up". Remember all those O'Keefe videos that everyone pretended were like, magic fucking CGI or something? You can argue that he took them out of context to implicate Clinton and the DNC directly, but the dude on camera for like 20 fucking minutes talking about how he pays homeless people to go instigate shit isn't just edited out of thin air. Who he's working for is the point of contention, but the takeaway is that yes, there are people and organizations in this country who pay people to stir shit. I think it's ridiculous that people are so resistant to believing something that seems so obvious. [/QUOTE] Acting like paid protesters are really a problem is fucking ridiculous though. Things like paid organizers and organizations that focus on political causes have always been a thing, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's not like people are paying others to turn out in droves, they're just working to convince people to do so, or helping them do so. Does it paying people ever happen? Sure, maybe, no way to say it never does. Is it prevalent and common? Nah, especially since it's often unnecessary. As to the the O'Keefe video, I'd hardly trust that as a source. And not just because of O'Keefe being a piece of shit, but also just since the people he's talking to are just flexing really hard. "Chicago that was us, we did that" Yeah, okay, sure it was. Plus the whole out of context and highly edited part of the videos is also shit. Either way, not evidence of "PAID PROTESTERS."

[QUOTE=Octavius;51946887]Acting like paid protesters are really a problem is fucking ridiculous though. Things like paid organizers and organizations that focus on political causes have always been a thing, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's not like people are paying others to turn out in droves, they're just working to convince people to do so, or helping them do so. Does it paying people ever happen? Sure, maybe, no way to say it never does. Is it prevalent and common? Nah, especially since it's often unnecessary. As to the the O'Keefe video, I'd hardly trust that as a source. And not just because of O'Keefe being a piece of shit, but also just since the people he's talking to are just flexing really hard. "Chicago that was us, we did that" Yeah, okay, sure it was. Plus the whole out of context and highly edited part of the videos is also shit. Either way, not evidence of "PAID PROTESTERS."[/QUOTE] I don't really want to get into a massive O'Keefe thing here because it's been done to death months ago when the videos first came out, but I think its intentionally deceptive to pretend that because it's O'Keefe's camera doing the filming, that dude who said he pays homeless people to do crazy shit magically disappears. There's no clever editing there. It's him on camera, one take, talking about how he pays homeless people to stir shit. I mean come on. And like I said, paid protesters are a like, special ultra-minority of protesters on the street, of course. But they're paid to do naughty things that escalate the events and that is the issue. That Rodriguez woman got paid not just to organize the event, but actually [I]showed up, parked her car in the middle of the fucking road, and got taken away in a goddamned ambulance.[/I] Is that okay now? That's acceptable? That is way beyond just organizing a protest and printing some signs dude.

I attended a meetup to watch the stream -- it was nice! It left me feeling optimistic for the upcoming battles ahead.

[QUOTE=srobins;51946935]I don't really want to get into a massive O'Keefe thing here because it's been done to death months ago when the videos first came out, but I think its intentionally deceptive to pretend that because it's O'Keefe's camera doing the filming, that dude who said he pays homeless people to do crazy shit magically disappears. There's no clever editing there. It's him on camera, one take, talking about how he pays homeless people to stir shit. I mean come on. And like I said, paid protesters are a like, special ultra-minority of protesters on the street, of course. But they're paid to do naughty things that escalate the events and that is the issue. That Rodriguez woman got paid not just to organize the event, but actually [I]showed up, parked her car in the middle of the fucking road, and got taken away in a goddamned ambulance.[/I] Is that okay now? That's acceptable? That is way beyond just organizing a protest and printing some signs dude.[/QUOTE] I wasn't there and don't know about what she did or the situation on the ground, so I can't speak on that. All I can say is that nah, the idea that protesters getting paid to go fuck shit up is unsupported trash. People do that enough on their own, and especially at those Trump events. On the other hand, that the people in O'Keefe's videos are flexing super hard in some of those conversations is a fact, so I wouldn't trust them too much. As to the dude saying he'd pay homeless people to do crazy shit, nowhere does it even specify what that is. Nowhere does it say what that homeless guy is doing. That's a pretty important thing. Either way though, they're still flexing hard in those videos at points, so I'd have a hard time believing everything they say is sincere.

[QUOTE=Octavius;51946989][B]I wasn't there and don't know about what she did or the situation on the ground[/B], so I can't speak on that. All I can say is that nah, the idea that protesters getting paid to go fuck shit up is unsupported trash. People do that enough on their own, and especially at those Trump events. On the other hand, that the people in O'Keefe's videos are flexing super hard in some of those conversations is a fact, so I wouldn't trust them too much. As to the dude saying he'd pay homeless people to do crazy shit, nowhere does it even specify what that is. Nowhere does it say what that homeless guy is doing. That's a pretty important thing. Either way though, they're still flexing hard in those videos at points, so I'd have a hard time believing everything they say is sincere.[/QUOTE] Why do I even bother going to the effort of looking up the video if you're just going to sit on your ass and go "I wasn't there so I won't talk about that..", like the video is right in your face! I put it there, for you! I didn't do it so you could see the fucking thumbnail, I did it to help back up what I'm saying. And in response I get you rambling about how "nah, they're flexing man.. they're flexing". Are you trying to convince me of something here or are you just blogging? [editline]12th March 2017[/editline] Try and see from the other side here, am I actually supposed to read you repeating "they flexing hard man.." and suddenly change my mind? What reasonable person would read your post and change their mind about something?

[QUOTE=srobins;51947007]Why do I even bother going to the effort of looking up the video if you're just going to sit on your ass and go "I wasn't there so I won't talk about that..", like the video is right in your face! I put it there, for you! I didn't do it so you could see the fucking thumbnail, I did it to help back up what I'm saying. And in response I get you rambling about how "nah, they're flexing man.. they're flexing". Are you trying to convince me of something here or are you just blogging?[/QUOTE] I'm stating a fucking fact. They say "Ahh Chicago that was us!" Nah, that wasn't, they're flexing there. They didn't organize the Trump shutdown, a shitload of students did. So we've got them documented telling bullshit lies for sure at one instance in their conversations. As to the video, all we see is "Oh hey look it's her and shes in a car and then she's taken to an ambulance." That doesn't fucking give me anything else context wise. Did she have a real problem? Maybe, how the fuck does the video tell me if she did or didn't? Sure, we can put our own desires into it and want it to be real or acting, but the fact is there's nothing to tell us in that video.

[QUOTE=Octavius;51947029]I'm stating a fucking fact. They say "Ahh Chicago that was us!" Nah, that wasn't, they're flexing there. They didn't organize the Trump shutdown, a shitload of students did. So we've got them documented telling bullshit lies for sure at one instance in their conversations. [B]As to the video, all we see is "Oh hey look it's her and shes in a car and then she's taken to an ambulance." That doesn't fucking give me anything else context wise. Did she have a real problem? Maybe, how the fuck does the video tell me if she did or didn't?[/B] Sure, we can put our own desires into it and want it to be real or acting, but the fact is there's nothing to tell us in that video.[/QUOTE] Haha, okay guys you got me. Where's the hidden camera? This is all a joke right? Ashton, where are you? [editline]12th March 2017[/editline] She's on camera bragging about the Phoenix and Chicago operations via O'Keefe. Then she's on camera in Phoenix, getting dragged out of a car and pretending like she doesn't know what's going on. Probably just a big coincidence, some kind of misunderstanding! She flexing!

[QUOTE=srobins;51946935]I don't really want to get into a massive O'Keefe thing here because it's been done to death months ago when the videos first came out, but I think its intentionally deceptive to pretend that because it's O'Keefe's camera doing the filming, that dude who said he pays homeless people to do crazy shit magically disappears. There's no clever editing there. It's him on camera, one take, talking about how he pays homeless people to stir shit. I mean come on. And like I said, paid protesters are a like, special ultra-minority of protesters on the street, of course. But they're paid to do naughty things that escalate the events and that is the issue. That Rodriguez woman got paid not just to organize the event, but actually [I]showed up, parked her car in the middle of the fucking road, and got taken away in a goddamned ambulance.[/I] Is that okay now? That's acceptable? That is way beyond just organizing a protest and printing some signs dude.[/QUOTE] I don't know about his other videos but he was proven to have hired someone and he maliciously edited it for the Acorn video.

[QUOTE=srobins;51947042]Haha, okay guys you got me. Where's the hidden camera? This is all a joke right? Ashton, where are you? [editline]12th March 2017[/editline] She's on camera bragging about the Phoenix and Chicago operations via O'Keefe. Then she's on camera in Phoenix, getting dragged out of a car and pretending like she doesn't know what's going on. Probably just a big coincidence, some kind of misunderstanding! She flexing![/QUOTE] She's on the camera bragging about something she had nothing to do with in Chicago? Oh no, you got me! That surely proves this all! Then she's seen in Phoenix! EVIDENCE! Seriously, what are you seeing in that video that I'm not? She's saying "I don't want my car to get towed" not "OH no, not a protest! What's going oooonnnn???" I really don't know what I'm missing. And secondly, I'm just curious what her faking being sick or something was even accomplishing? How would going to the hospital, if she was faking it, help her achieve her goal in that situation? And damn, what a fitting time to talk about this. Just a year ago around this time I would've been out shouting "Fuck Trump".

[QUOTE=AnnieOakley;51946574]Sources?[/QUOTE] I spent a summer canvassing my state for the ACLU to fundraise for [I]Obergefell v. Hodges.[/I] On several occasions we were encouraged to do so directly outside the state capitol (Branstad often did not agree with our message). Some of these days we were given signs to wave and slogans to shout to get folks' attention. In retrospect, this felt and looked a lot like protesting. I know it's anecdotal, but I think it's at least somewhat relevant.