Michael Brown

White Supremacy Reigns

Screen Shot 2015-08-11 at 3.34.26 PM

"Open carry is open carry," said a member of Oath Keepers defending his right to be armed among Ferguson protesters.

Radical, self-titled, armed Oath Keepers have descended on Ferguson, Missouri, following unrest there upon the one-year anniversary of the killing Michael Brown. This fringe "patriot" group abides by its vow to disobey "unconstitutional" orders from what they view as an increasingly tyrannical government. What makes this so extraordinary and difficult to grasp is the reaction of the police to this invasion by 2nd Amendment fanatics: nada, nothing. St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar described their presence as ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Public Information / Uncategorized  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Love Pierces Hate

by Rafee Jewell Flickr/cretaive commons

  After a week of writing about the senseless murder of Michael Brown, a young, unarmed African-Americn in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white policeman, I've spent the last few days reading posts we have written over the past few years, and those from other authors, condemning racism. It's become a meditation on the racism upon which this country was founded. Fear of other did not begin with America. Fear of something different than yourself springs from caveman DNA, and it is only the gradual grasp of Love, in your intellect and in actuality of the Love you express, that raises anyone above ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Op-Ed / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Jamelle Bouie Gives the Larger Picture

Photo by Steve Rhodes Flickr/creative commons

Why the Fires in Ferguson Won't End Soon But while calm is hard to predict, one thing is clear: The events in Ferguson—from the shooting to the police response and everything since—are a product of familiar forces and stem from a familiar history. Put another way, the area’s long-bottled racial tension has burst, and it’s difficult to know if it can be resolved, much less contained. -- Slate's Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie)  In a mere 3000 words, Jamelle Bouie schools us in reality versus perception. The article is well worth a full read and understanding because it applies ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Op-Ed / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Old Ferguson Makes New Commitments

Flickr/creative commons

VenusPlusX's unique mix, what we mean by The New Age of Sexual Freedom, is aimed at solutions to change the state of our country, our world, through the removal of all obstacles such as racism, sexism, the worst of nationalism, and all the other "isms," that stand in the way of Peace, universal pluralism based on love. (Our Mission, our Manifesto.) In this context, we have written all week about the shooting of young Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, his legacy and his family's continuing legacy, a lightening strike heard around the world that has forever changed ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Op-Ed / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Solutions Are Available But Will We Pay Attention?

Photo by Chase Carter Flicker/creative commons

"Every once in a while, a dramatic news story can actually produce real reform. More often the momentum peters out once the story disappears from the news (remember how Sandy Hook meant we were going to get real gun control?), but it can happen. And now, after the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missiouri, turned to a chaotic nightmare of police oppression, we may have an opportunity to examine, and hopefully reverse, a troubling policy trend of recent years." -- Paul Waldman, The American Prospect We've written our initial response to the unfolding ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Op-Ed / Public Information / Uncategorized  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Follow The Money To Ferguson

Light Brigading August 14, 2014 Flickr/creative commons

No doubt I will have more to say about the events still unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri, because the underlying factors are key issues for VenusPlusX. For now, we're are pointing you to Mass Incarceration: Follow The Money (Part 1 and Part 2), a 2012 analysis and op-ed we produced following the publication of Michelle Alexander's scholarly and myth-shattering book, The New Jim Crow, well worth a full read and understanding for anyone committed to systemic change in this country. It answers the question, "Why?" Institutionalized racism, money, greed, and special interests are what makes brown and black ...

Read More›
in Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Op-Ed / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 0 comments