Eric Garner & Michael Brown: Forefront of a Social Movement

By Sara Niles

We are witnessing the beginning of a social movement with two names at the forefront: Michal Brown and Eric Garner. When a large group of people act as one to effect change, it is often marked by upheaval and conflict, such as was the case during the 1960's.

I remember the 1960's as a time of upheaval and protests, the outward expression of cries for change from multiple perspectives, from demanding equal rights for the races and genders, to an end to the Vietnam War. The simple truth was things were not okay as they were. The cultural climate and the political climate were at odds during that time, one was set to overthrow a set of rules and attitudes that prevented change, and the other was comfortable where they were. It is almost always those in power who are most comfortable with things as they are, and they seldom call for sweeping change.This pattern has been in place as long as there have been people on earth, which of course is the reason why change is often a turbulent process, that comes from deep within a nation, from the 'bottom up', just as we are witnessing in 'Ferguson'.

In the case of Ferguson, the shooting of unarmed young Micheal Brown was the last straw in a long string of events that led to the beginning of the 'movement' and  Eric Garner's unnecessary death at the hands of those who were sworn to serve and protect, was the call to pick up the momentum. The Grand Jury verdicts in each case signaled  the fact that something in the system was broken and in need of change, sparking a wave of protests that will not end soon.

Change is in the making.

 

New York Times: Wave of Protests

NFL Executive Troy Vincent Breaks Down at Domestic Violence Congressional Hearing

"Domestic violence was a way of life in my home growing up,” said Troy Vincent, the executive vice president of football operations for the NFL. “My brother and I watched helplessly numerous times as my mother was beaten and knocked unconscious while we dialed 911. We saw how she struggled to seek help and find the courage to say no more.”  Troy Vincent

NFL Executive Breaks Down at Domestic Violence Congressional Hearing

Benjamin Watson's Ferguson Post

 "At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. Here are my thoughts:
I'M ANGRY because the stories of injustice that have been passed down for generations seem to be continuing before our very eyes.
Read more:

NFL's Benjamin Watson's Ferguson Post goes viral

ISIS, the New NAZI Threat?

ISIS vs. NAZI

ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

NAZI: the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (English translation)

ISIS –the term evokes horrifying images and brings to mind ideology that brandishes hate like a sword, much like the acrimonious acronym, ISIS. Could it be ISIS is the new 'NAZI' threat?

I remember when another four letter acronym that originally was veiled under the disguise of hope, became instead, a symbol of pure hate:  NAZI the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, formed originally to foster pride and hope for the German common people, yet became a hate mongering tool of power crazed Adolph Hitler during the 1930’s and 1940’s before the Allies toppled his regime. The Hitler led NAZI regime murdered millions of innocent men, women, and children in the most brutal and cruel fashion, much like the ISIS regime of today is doing in the ‘name of Islam’. ISIS has adopted the habit of brutally beheading innocent people and using the imagery on Youtube to both horrify most people, while mysteriously attracting others as their followers. The attraction of ISIS for the few who abandon home and family is much like the strange power of cultist religious group over its members, as they gradually become mindless and unquestioning, like brainwashed robots. Religions seldom hold violent belief systems that result in terror for the rest of the world, regardless of their tactics. ISIS followers are like religious converts willing to do anything in the name of its dark power, like beheading innocent people.

The beheading of American citizens that were simply trying to live life and do good for others, like the humanitarian, Peter Kassig, the third American to come to such a horrible fate, leaves the motives of ISIS crystal clear: they are hate mongers and terrorists. Why would anyone in their right mind want to join them after witnessing such atrocities? The only obvious answer is they are not in their right mind at all, but are lost. If being lost can cause one to be susceptible to the ISIS regime, then being lost is a dangerous place to be. Those so desperate to find a place in the world that any place at all will suffice, may find they have been seriously disillusioned. There can be no good outcome for ISIS just as there was not good ending for the NAZI party.

The NAZI party evolved into an evil killing machine that attracted power mongers, hate mongers and disenfranchised souls, seeking an identity at any cost, as members to the ‘new’ gang. The present day ISIS movement seems to have the same twisted power, the power to attract the confused, promising them a mission in life and an ‘identity’ as an ISIS member, as they hold destructive power over lives. 

There is only one valid outcome: ISIS must be stopped for the good of mankind.

 CNN ISIS Fast FACTS

ABC News ISIS leaves fate uncertain

Hoarding: One of the Strangest of Human Behaviors

When I was growing up on a farm, hearing the term ‘Your room looks like a pigsty’,  brought to mind the muddy slop that I knew our pigs loved to wallow in. I knew most animals liked to keep their living areas clean, so the pig was different in its propensity toward filth and slop. Humans are a step above animals so most take great care to keep their surrounding clean and organized, and it is good not only for practical reasons, but a clean environment is a reflection of a person’s love and respect for self, family and others. Hoarders are of an entirely different breed, some have a mysterious and compulsive need to surround themselves with stuff, sometimes filthy, rotten stuff.

One of the most extreme cases was that of the Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, from the 1940’s, who hoarded up a four story brownstone in Harlem, both sons of an opera singer and a doctor. The hoard was developed after the death of the brother’s parents, as both discontinued normal life as the hoarding took over. Both brothers were educated professionals when the hoarding began, and both died buried deep within the tightly hoarded building.

See Links New York Daily News: Collyer Brothers

WikipediaCollyer_brothers

Hoarding can be either ‘clean’ and organized or filthy and disorganized, presenting extreme biohazard risks to the hoarder and those who live with, or near them.  Many hoarders are intelligent people, and many have extensive resources, which further confounds the mystery of why a person would hoard.

According to Mayo Clinic, there is no clear understanding of why hoarders hoard, although there are signs and risk factors:

 Mayo Clinic Hoarding Disorder Risk Factors

Jesse Matthews: Serial Killer?

Is this man a serial killer? Jesse Matthews

Ferguson and Civil Disobedience: A Human Rights Issue

Sara Niles

Riots and acts of ‘Civil Disobedience’, even peaceful protests are signs that something is wrong on a large scale. The history of civil disobedience in the U.S. has, in each individual case resulted when a sense of injustice lay smoldering in the minds of many until it erupted as a visible sign of unrest; a few examples from the past include the 1965 Watts Riot, which occurred hot on the heels of the Harlem riots a year before. In both cases there was a prevailing mindset of racial discrimination and maltreatment of Blacks, a sense of wrongness about things that festered untended by political forces. There needed to be change but no change was coming, and there was no sign of change in the near The earlier riots were clumsy attempts at forcing change and were forerunners of  the national acts of civil disobedience  that were to come, as more and more people became acutely aware of injustice.

The building mindset of racial injustice ignited a human rights storm that set the stage for the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement, with Martin Luther King emerging as its leader (http://www.detroits-great-rebellion.com/Birmingham.html). Change was being forged as history was made. The major work of the civil right movement took place in the 1960’s, but there is still work to be done when it comes of justice and human rights.

The issue at stake in the 60’s was a matter of being treated fairly, justly, and with respect, just as it is now in Ferguson, Missouri as crowds continue to protest the slaying of Michal Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, who was shot ‘at least six times’ according to autopsy reports, by a White police officer lCNN:Missouri Teen

The Civil Disobedience in Fergusson Missouri is a sign of a much bigger issue in the United States: a double standard between the treatment of Whites and Blacks in the justice system. The fair exercise of human rights applies equally to all races, and all economic divisions; because justice should be a basic human right of all people.