Marissa Johnson: a generation of activists who believe in disruption

[ismnotwasm]

She showed that new face last weekend, attracting national notice as she and another woman shouted presidential candidate Bernie Sanders off the stage to denounce police brutality before a crowd of thousands. In taking over the microphone and disappointing those who had waited hours to hear the progressive Vermont senator speak, Johnson set off a furious debate about protest tactics, racism and Seattle-style liberals.

It’s one we may be having for a while. The screaming disruption, shocking as it was, reflects the Black Lives Matter movement that Johnson jumped into after Ferguson — when Missouri prosecutors declined to indict a white officer who killed an unarmed black man.

The movement is comprised of a new generation of activists, with a decidedly different style and mindset than those of generations past. They are either wonderfully bold or appallingly disrespectful, depending on your point of view. Whichever, they embrace confrontation — be that with an aging white politician or veteran black leaders they see as not doing enough.

The cause, they believe, is urgent, explained K.L. Shannon, a Seattle labor organizer who at 45 serves as a mentor to some in the local Black Lives Matter movement. “Every day, some black man is getting killed.”

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/marissa-johnson-a-generation-of-activists-who-believe-in-disruption/

(Front Page of the Seattle Times)

[PatrickforO]

1. Disrupting what?

A town hall about Rep. Wyman's support of TPP?

A Bernie Sanders rally?

I guess my point is they don't seem to be using any kind of logic in what they're disrupting.

[Cha]

2. “Every day, some black man is getting killed.” Exactly. Mahalo ismnotwasm

Thom Hartmann on #BlackLivesMatter and those who don't get it.

[ismnotwasm]

3. Thank you

Since this is the Seattle times, I thought is was a good place to read about being the activists- a way to get away from strange, bizarre conspiracy theories.

[AtomicKitten]

16. More from Thom Hartmann.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=522616

Funny story about the video above. Thomm went from being awesome in that video to a boring partisan hack in the one posted at the link above when there were just a couple days between the two. Following this caused some whiplash.

[Live and Learn]

27. I don't see how you jump to that conclusion.

Thom is simply asking questions that anyone (including those of us that support Black Lives Matter) would ask. I loved his previous video. I support Black Lives Matter. I think Bernie handled everything well.

What exactly did happen with Hillary? If disruption is the key, why wasn't there one?

[Live and Learn]

28. I loved that answer from Thom. nt

[Cha]

30. Me, too, Live and Learn.. just how I feel. thank you Thom Hartmann~

[azurnoir]

52. with all due respect I have a serious question for you

Last edited Thu May 12, 2016, 03:12 PM - Edit history (2)

Have you ever been a victim of a crime but afraid to call the police, because you are as or more afraid of them than you were of the criminal, I ask because I have, and here I'll give you a couple of past posts to clarify exactly where I'm coming from for you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1170297#post2


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2776890#2777541

about the second post the shootings sadly were not police shootings, they were someone got sold a sliver of dial soap for $25 shootings, but there were families trapped up in the middle of that Black families-families who knew like mine the police considered them guilty too

and to be very clear I'm an OWL that's old white lady

all needed to be said before I go on the rant I am about to, yes Black Lives Matter however the way Marrisa Jenae Johnson and Mara Jacqeline Willaford handled the Seattle SS rally was terrible and I'll agree they may well have done BLM more harm than good in that arena, I've watched the tapes they were going okay until Marrisa Johnson called the entire crowd racists, moments after she got the silence she'd asked for, that was the breaking point I'll admit I wondered if she was trying to incite the crowd, and the guy running the rally decided to shut it down, not Bernie as we've been told . As to Bernie the look on his face at that moment said to me he was saying to himself "f*ck it" and IMO for most observers it had stopped being about #BLM and at that point and all about Marrisa.

now concerning Bravenak and the goings on in general, I like her I've been on I/P a compatriot of hers, and yes she tends ti be outspoken , all that said, what happened last week leading to her time was not IMO a targeted operation to silence a Black voice by Bernie supporters or anyone else for that matter-she was in full tilt melt down period I'll say that 4 hides was excessive if I had been on the juries, I wasn't on line at the time, 2 of them I would have voted to hide and 2 I would not have-she still would have been on time out just not for as long, I also think had this been DU2 she well have wound up ppred had she kept going in vein she was in, because back then the mods had that power.. And giftedgirl77 when someone denigrates the relationship of a Jew to the Holocaust by saying Bernie wouldn't have known his family members that died there anyway so it was n't all that much, you're speaking to large segment of Jewish DUers who also had family they may well never have known die in the Holocaust too, and not in a good way either, I do not think that was silencing a Black voice either I wasn't even aware she is Black , and I've read the alert I do not think it was a Bernie supporter, I've got a good idea of who it may well have been and this person hasn't that I am aware iof proclaimed support for any candidate

[Archae]

4. Back in the 60's, there was the "SDS."

Students for a Democratic Society.

Unfortunately, the SDS fragmented, part becoming like these bigmouthed "black activists," doing nothing but heckling people they targeted.

Others went full-on Maoist or Stalinist communist.

A few split off and became violent, calling themselves the "Weather Underground."

[TM99]

8. In other words, another generation

gets to learn the lessons of history.

Disrupters fueled by rage inevitably destroy their own integrity and are either marginalized by any activist movement that eventually wants and needs to accomplish real change within our political system. No matter how fucked up that system currently is, the only way to make changes is to play along with it in some capacity.

The others marginalize themselves with this type of 'activism' by heading down the road to extremism and yes, sadly, sometimes even violence. These young women were physical with Sanders and others in Seattle, so I won't be surprised if they slip across the line into 'rationalized' violence for the cause.

Which of course will hurt my community more than it will help it.

[F4lconF16]

32. I don't think they will.

They have people like Aaron Dixon (old head of the Seattle Black Panthers) behind them, specifically advocating for non-violence, and are well aware that violence will get their movement crushed, in a violent manner. Like Dixon has said, the power these days is in information and communication, not in violent resistance. That's not a viable option. Many of them are students of history--extremism is not where they are going. They've been speaking about non-violent resistance and community building at event after event. I would know, since I've actually talked with and heard from the people who disrupted Sander's event.

They are the ones catalyzing a new movement. Like I said below, BLM can't afford for people not to hear them. Making people hear them rather than ignore them is the first priority and the most challenging one. White America is incredibly good right now at being willfully ignorant of the incredible damage "colorblind" systems have been doing to Black communities. Only when their attention has been caught can BLM really begin to explain what needs to change.

I would sincerely ask you give them (us, as I'm one of these disruptive youths) a chance. We're not going to be perfect--I don't know whether the physical confrontation with Sanders was intended, or a heat of the moment thing. But we need to be listened to. We might lose a few to extremism along the way, but I can tell you this much: most of us deeply care about our communities. The leaders of the Seattle BLM movement that I have met are among the most intelligent, caring, and tough people I have met. They're going to fight this fight with or without the rest of us. I'm choosing to head along with them, and I personally think they're doing it the right way.

[TM99]

57. I have never had a problem with the BLM movement.

I applaud and support even the most disruptive of civil disobedience. My parents marched for civil rights in the 1960's and I was an activist in both the environmentalist movement and the anti-nuke movement in the 1980's.

My concern is that young woman alone, no one else. She raises red flags for me with her history, her ideology, and her behavior. I remember all too well when a good movement was side-tracked by bad people with extremist ideologies and actions. You are likely too young to remember the eco-terrorists but they were real and caused the movement great harm.

That is my beef. I do not want one young and extremist individual to derail what this movement stands for and needs to accomplish. I do not want to see BLM's leadership become individuals like this. That will harm our cause. The fire of youth is tempered eventually by age, experience, and maturity. I don't discount you or other young men and women involved. I think it is rather funny that y'all think it is that much worse than it was or always has been. The information age has just made it more available to be seen, but the institutional racism in this country is centuries old.

Thank you for sharing your passion about this.

[philly_bob]

5. It's a tactic: silencing/disrupting/shouting down speech

...for urgent political purposes.

The tactic can also be used by the right-wing against progressive/black/gay speakers.

[nsd]

6. Isn't her 15 minutes up yet? (nt)

[Cha]

18. #BlackLivesMatter and you're talking about "15 minutes"!

[romanic]

20. Newsflash

Marissa =/= BlackLivesMatter. She's not the sole representative of the movement.

[Cha]

22. I don't care about your ignorant "newsflash".

[romanic]

24. *sips Mai Tai*

[IMG][/IMG]

[Stellar]

60. rotflmao!

[NCTraveler]

54. Against the wishes of many, cops havent shot her yet.

I hope her fifteen minutes turns into fifty years. You will get your way if others get their way. No worries.

[F4lconF16]

62. Ouch. I'd laugh, but... nt

[sheshe2]

7. They

They are either wonderfully bold or appallingly disrespectful, depending on your point of view.

IMO, they are wonderfully bold, as they should be. Their brothers and sisters are being murdered with impunity.

I say teach!

[Cha]

23. Too bad there's "progressives" who don't get it.. think these Activists are so

"rude".

I give them Thom Hartmann.. he speaks for me on this clip from his show.. that Bravenak instigated.

[Waiting For Everyman]

26. He's a DUer, why didn't he come here and tell us

his views? Or did I miss that?

[JTFrog]

41. You missed it.

http://betterment.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7071184

[Waiting For Everyman]

42. Thanks

Although, I was expecting more a thread he posted himself, expressing his own views. Not much of a dialog as it was, but thanks for the link anyway.

[azurnoir]

47. all he did was link to the very same thing as the poster above did-HIS show

says reflexive white people reaction Sarah Palin button and then mumbles over the rest literally and IMO it was for very good reason too, because Marrisa Jenae Johnson and Mara Jacqeline Willaford have been photographed marching with another group that puts a 'different' and potentially damaging face on #bowdownBernie, if not all of BLM

Strangely within 36 hours of this photo coming to light BLM was ummm making arrangmnts with Hillary and confronting Jeb

[JTFrog]

56. I like this part of his post: "and let's all work to help wake up white folks..." n/t

[romanic]

9. If I rolled my eyes any harder...

they'd be rolling down the hill right about now.

[TM99]

13. That made me laugh.

[rhett o rick]

10. I have no problem with the tactic. What I question is, why direct it at Sen Sanders.

Pres Obama has done very little or nothing in the last 7 years as this problem has gotten worse and worse. Why aren't we all putting more pressure on him? He still has way more power than Sen Sanders.

[Senator Tankerbell]

14. They have actually answered that question.

Sanders is the most accessible. That is what they said. Which I actually think reflects positively on him. I am convinced that these particular activists would have done the same thing to other candidates or even Obama if they were to speak at a public event with little to no security in Seattle. I agree that more pressure should be put on Obama since he has the most power right now. Although a lot of the problems need to be addressed by state and local governments.

[jfern]

17. No, they targeted him

#BowDownBernie indicates that they just hate his guts.

[romanic]

21. There's an insidious reason why that hashtag was created.

And it has nothing to do with Bernie being white, but something else.

[Skidmore]

44. Since you make this claim,

perhaps you can just spill it. What nefarious reason is behind anything involving a demand for civil rights and equal justice?

[F4lconF16]

33. Here's what I said in another post:

I would love for sitting officials to be protested more often. My goddess, just imagine the change that could be effected if we all went and camped out on the front lawns of each of our state and local representatives--just imagine how much they would freak out, and how much they might listen. It would be a beautiful thing. I am all for protesting sitting candidates.

But for the moment, most people aren't willing to engage to that extent, and the protests of currently elected officials has only done so much. And this is why I am loving what BLM has done to Sanders so far.

They're forcing us to have the conversation yet again--and that will do far more to effect change than will simply continuing the current protests (of which there are many--remember the media ignores them). They are engaging white progressives, and that is a big, big deal. The current silence on the part of many white liberals is the most harmful thing to the BLM movement, in my opinion. Blacks can and will fight to gain their freedom and their rights like they have in the past, and they will win in the long run as they have in the past, but for a true change in our society--one that doesn't leave us in much the same position we started in--we need to engage everyone. At least in my experience in Seattle, white liberals are talking more about BLM than I've ever heard before.

The other thing that they've already managed to do, that will be one of the most important things they can do, is change Sander's perspective. He may not be that powerful as president--indeed, he's stated that he will need the support of the people to be effective. As a leftist, I'm convinced that he has no power other than that of his ability to communicate the issues we face to the masses using his bully pulpit. The establishment will run him into the ground pretty much no matter what he does, but he can at least talk to us. And that's why its so important for him to realize now that racial issues (and social justice issues as a whole) need to be not just a part of his movement, but the core part, and the foremost part. These protests have just begun to achieve that.

[Chathamization]

50. A few dozen BLM members were arrested for protesting the DOJ last Monday

Keep in mind that there have been numerous activities by BLM activists in the past week alone, that included many, many more individuals than the 2-3 who protested Sanders. Just two days again, to give another example, there was Black out DC.

If someone's made dozens of posts about the Black Lives Matter movement and the only actions they've discussed are the tiny minority directed against Sanders, then it's a pretty good indication that they don't have much of an interest in the movement beyond using as a tool against their internet enemies (and if they grossly misrepresent the movement while doing it, they don't seem to care). Take whatever people like that say with a very large grain of salt (I've seen many statements that were simply false, like the only demand of the movement is "Stop killing us", or that the movement wasn't interested in electoral politics at all).

The few threads on the DOJ protests (a much larger BLM protest that lead to the arrest of many, including prominent BLM leaders) fell off the page pretty quickly. Cornel West was arrested in those protests. Interesting that some of the people now saying that we need to listen to Marissa Johnson were the same people saying that we shouldn't listen to Cornel West (a quick DU search is pretty eye-opening).

[Starry Messenger]

11. k&r

[YOHABLO]

12. I am guessing their tactics, liked or unliked, are working: their message is getting attention

Hillary managed to intercept them from "disrupting her rally'', she's got secret service etc. She met with them later. But we still don't know what went down. Bush lied and said he'd met with the group. Bernie was the only one who's rally was over run physically,...he's actually going to put forth measures to address BLM issues. So good on him. Yeah, they are succeeding, but their leadership needs to get their act together

[killbotfactory]

15. I only have a problem with calling the crowd white supremacists

There are about two elected democratic socialists in the entire country. I guarantee they both believe in the cause of Black Lives Matter. Insulting the crowd waiting to listen to one of them seems misguided and weird.

[F4lconF16]

35. I posted this a little while back:

When someone says to you, 400 years of oppression, they do feel the weight of 400 years on their shoulders. How could they not? The people who called us white folk in Seattle "white supremacists" (and I am one of them) do not see us in "the most convenient terms, the simplest definitions". Believe me--I've actually met and discussed things with Janae.

When you look out on a Seattle crowd, at a sea of white faces, who don't understand the reality you face in the slightest, who are on a broad scale ignorant of your problems (and in being so helping to cause those problems); when you see the result of hundreds of years of oppression and racial discrimination, and you know those hundreds of years have created the reality you must navigate now; when you know that those very same people have voted for and supported the regimes of the racist Seattle Police Department, the racist city council policies, the racist housing development, the plethora of subtle and often overlooked structural racism inherent to your city and ignored by your neighbors; how can you not feel the weight of that oppression come crashing down on you?

In many ways, if not consciously, we are white supremacists. Not in our actions; we can be some fantastic human beings participating and fighting in the struggle against racism. But in our ignorance of the issues that are literally the very meaning of life or death to black America...we are creating a world for white people alone. The colorblind racism of mass incarceration and the new racial caste system that has evolved from it is a perfect example, and one of many to be found.

Respect must go both ways. And we need to understand that what is said and what we hear are often two very different things.

Edit: this was covered in the article, and is a critical thing we need to understand in order to be allies.

Throughout most of the April panel, Johnson spoke engagingly. Then, during the question-and-answer period, a white member of the audience said that he was put off by Johnson’s use of the term “white supremacy.” He preferred the phrase “white privilege.”

Johnson snapped. “Don’t ever, ever, ever, ever tell oppressed people how they should resist their oppression,” she said during a tongue-lashing that lasted several minutes and included her admonishing the man to stop smiling and refrain from speaking further.

[notadmblnd]

48. Sometimes, there are messages in what is not spoken too.

I can't recall any good that ever came from anger and hate. Have you? Has anyone? That's all I've seen so far from Ms. Johnson.

I'll be interested in seeing how Justice or Else, sponsored by Farrakhan on 10-10-15 goes down in DC. We'll see how long these gang bangers that call themselves the United Hood Movement work together. I've seen their facebook page, and no, no one there is calling for violence. However Farrakahn is- and there is plenty of his messages posted there.

For those that don't know- Amir Islam is the African American (and member of the UHM) who assisted Ms. Johnson by providing her chapter of BLM security at the event Senator Sanders was invited to speak.

I hope I'm wrong about these young people, I really do. But Ms. Johnson (in fact you told me) is leaving all options open. She has also made it known that she feels activists from the past haven't done enough- fast enough and feels changing things should be left up to them.

You say they are sharp- and they may be, but I also think they are naïve if they believe shouting down and shutting down events is going to sway hearts and minds to her cause. I don't think she should be so quick to dismiss the elders of the civil rights movement, they're trying to help her, not harm her.

It also surprises me that you say she is working with veterans of the Black Power Movement. However, the BPM was about getting AAs elected to office and effect change from within the system. And she's made no secret how she feels about those who have gone before.

[killbotfactory]

58. Well good luck to her and her efforts to troll white liberals, I guess

I'm sure it will accomplish something.

[SunSeeker]

19. K & R

[Waiting For Everyman]

25. They think they can bully or guilt

(aka manipulate) people into supporting them. I think they're wrong. Maybe a few, but certainly not enough.

With a just cause, why use those tactics anyway? Why not simply ask for time with a candidate, and make some plans to get something done? And why didn't the Seattle Two speak to the crowd (rather than shout insults at it) when GIVEN the mic and time? Truth is, they had very little to say.

The cause is just, but the activists are phoney as a $2 bill.

[F4lconF16]

29. Yes. And we'll shut the whole damn thing down if we have to.

I was part of the group that blocked the I-5 intersection during rush hour in downtown Seattle during the MLK day protests. This has to be a confrontation--we cannot allow the same subtle, invisible, and colorblind racism that survived past movements to continue.

This HAS to be stopped, it HAS to be stopped now, and--this is critical--it HAS to be stopped in WHATEVER non-violent manner we can. That means we'll shut down intersections, we'll walk out of schools, we'll chain ourselves together before they build yet another jail for children, we'll block store entrances, occupy sidewalks, whatever we possibly can do to bring attention to the fact that black people are DYING. Our society is killing them, and they do NOT have the time for us to be nice about this.

If we don't, we will never be able to win this fight. We can't let people keep thinking the same things we had before. I didn't get to the point I am now because I thought to myself, "Yeah, black people are fine. I'm not a racist." No, I had to CONFRONT myself, again, and again, and again, and again, and I still do. These confrontations are here to force that conversation, because most of us don't want to.

It's time to wake up. And if you don't do it yourself, we'll wake you up for you.

-------

Thank you to the Seattle Times for a good, fair article, by the way--I'll be writing them a letter of appreciation.

Didn't much care for this, though:

They may not be aware, Shannon acknowledged, that Gossett was once one of Seattle’ s most famous radicals — a Black Power devotee who led historic sit-ins.

I would be shocked if most of the leaders didn't. These "kids" are pretty damn sharp. Also, they've definitely worked with people like Aaron Dixon (who is awesome, by the way--totally supportive of the new movement. I really liked meeting him) and are very aware of most people's history. They study this because it's life and death for their communities; they know their shit.

[Live and Learn]

36. I am all for getting the message out.

But there does seem to be inconsistencies in who is getting shut down. Where are the shut downs on less progressive candidates? Let's get them going and I will be right beside you! You can't just go for the easy targets that are also the one's that want to support you.

[F4lconF16]

37. They are.

Remember the media doesn't like to cover them--how many thousands protested in Baltimore before the riots? There have been many, many actions against people who explicitly do not support them. Some visible people, like Bush, are very challenging to get to. But there's been success there too:

[Live and Learn]

38. Thanks for sharing that one. That was great. nt

[Skidmore]

45. This.

It is a matter of life and death.

[Old Union Guy]

31. Disruption is fine as long as you pick the right target to disrupt.

Just randomly disrupting the general public seems counterproductive to me.

[F4lconF16]

34. I don't think they're doing that.

See my response above: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027084264#post33

I'm up in Seattle, and I can tell you they've already sparked a huge conversation about BLM and race. It's a big deal.

Also, in some ways, randomly disrupting the public isn't so much random, but just disruption that's planned to make as big of an impact as possible. Like when we blocked a major I-5 intersection in Seattle on MLK day--that wasn't random, but it was targeting the general public. Anything to get people to at least be aware of the issue--white ignorance and apathy towards the plight and destruction of black America is, in my opinion, what is allowing that destruction to happen.

[Live and Learn]

40. Getting the conversation started is huge.

I remember thinking when the gay rights used the technique that it wasn't the right time and I was happily proven very wrong. Actually, it was too late since countless people have suffered for centuries for no reason other than whom they loved.

These protests should never be withheld and must continue.

I don't really like the term 'white ignorance' because many whites are not but I cannot ignore the fact that many still are and that their idiocy cannot be allowed to continue the suppression of blacks and the killing of young blacks at the hands of those that are supposed to be serving all of us.

Let us also remember our Latino population that is continuously being blamed for all of societies ills and the mentally ill that have so little resources available to them. The causes are many and all are important.

Kudos to you for being actively involved in Seattle.

[freshwest]

43. Random killing of the general public is counterproductive. I was in D.C. just before MayDay 1971.

The crowd in the march I took part in was reported by CBS and the Park Service was between 100,000 and 500,000. Yes, we interrupted the daily lives of all the people there because of the daily body count from the war.

Nixon absolutely freaked out, he could see that we were there to shut the government down. Inconvenience be damned, the war was killing Americans and the people of Indochina daily.

John Kerry told the Congress, in effect, that they would either end the war, or those opposing the war would shut it down or take it over by voting them all out of office. And while we didn't get the presidency back until Carter, we took majorities elsewhere and worked to stop the oppression of black people, gays, women, immigrants, workers and to save the environment.

The next few days in 1971 involved many determined to shut the federal government to stop 'business as usual.' They went tried to block the Pentagon and roved about to do more. It resulted in over 12,000 arrests.

And he things that people said to the powerful were not polite. There was a lot more going on in those days than what did in Seattle. People who act like that was outrageous aren't aware of how desperate things negate the rules of civility in protest.

JMHO. YMMV.

[sendero]

39. Disruption is fine..

... just disrupt THE RIGHT THING.

[Skidmore]

46. And what is the "right thing."

The more time that passes, the more I'm convinced that these young women did exactly the right thing. I remain gobsmacked that self-identified progressives continue to disregard the very important message they brought.

[hack89]

49. OWS is a prime example. nt

[gollygee]

51. They're angry because people are dying

and we're complaining about where and how they're angry because it makes us feel bad. Their anger is more justified than our hurt feelings.

[NCTraveler]

53. The more I learn about her the more I love her. nt.

[sufrommich]

55. Big K&R. Some of the replies to this OP are truly disgusting. nt

[Stellar]

59. I heard this morning on the news, Roslyn Brock chair, NAACP...

said that Julian Bond understood the mantle of this next generation of activist. He was quite young when he started, I think she said between 19 - 22 yrs old.



He was pleased with the advocacy that you see across the nation. This uprising of the youth across the nation and raising their voices in the public square. He wanted the young folks to have a purpose and a mission in mind and that there was an end game. That the success of the NAACP movement was their ability to agitate, motivate, demonstrate and legislate, but at the end of the movement they had to have a result.

[Throd]

61. What happens when everyone adopts this tactic?