Category Archives: BIPOC

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 28, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

WARNIING: This episode includes videos of violence, protest, and discusses domestic violence in detail – viewer discretion is advised.

Editor’s comment: At the start of the show we had a software issue that resulted in about 15 to 30 seconds of no audio. We thank you for your understanding.

The show from January 28, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Update on the Tacoma Police Department officer who drove through a group of people on Saturday with a new day-of video
  • Malcontented Minutes – our new speed round of news
    • The Echo Project is turning a former Klu Klux Klan museum into a place for BIPOC to meet and a history exhibit
    • Colleen Echohawk becomes the first prominent candidate to announce she is running for mayor of Seattle
    • Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a key figure in the identification of AIDS, passed away
    • 14 states are looking to pass anti-LGBTQIA bills targeting the transgender community
    • Phil Collins (yes that Phil Collins) has turned into “Florida man” with a bizarre story about his ongoing divorce woes
    • Pam Anderson announces she is quitting the Internet (if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it…)
    • Jason Collier, a former police chief is in hot water for falsifying multiple documents to keep multiple wives and girlfriends from knowing about his bizarre world
    • A man from Afghanistan is attacked by a racist at a Portland convenience store, forcing the terrified man to lock himself in the cooler as he waits for the police
    • The Chinook Nation is going to receive monetary compensation and could be taking the first steps to be recognized as sovereignty again by the federal government
    • In Portland, Oregon the lumber baron and the cattle baron make up after a spicy incident over the weekend
  • COVID-19 Five Fast Facts
  • Chad Wheeler a now-former player of the Seattle Seahawks was arrested after a violent domestic violence attack – the NFL and Seahawks reaction leaves a lot to be desired
  • David and Jennifer provide their insurrection update

BIPOC, Local

Nicki Blake Chafetz discusses her book ‘My Travels in Trump Land’

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From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Blake spent a year traveling in the southern United States, interviewing Trump supporters

[SEATTLE] – (Malcontent News) Nicki Blake Chafetz is a retired attorney, an activist, author, and the aunt of Jacob Blake, who was shot by the Kenosha police over the summer. During a rocky part of her life in 2017, she went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back home. Instead, she pointed her car southeast and crossed the Mason-Dixon line to start the work on her recently released book, My Travels In Trump Land.

“I had a dream the night before [I left],” Blake Chafetz started. “My father was a friend of [Martin Luther] King. I hate to say ‘I had a dream’ but I really did! My father came to me in a dream and he said, ‘would I be doing nothing about Trump if I were there? Would I be doing nothing? You’re doing nothing.’ I said, well daddy, I don’t have your charisma.”

She remembers, “He says what do you have?”

“I said I can write. So he said ‘then write something!’ So I hit the road and I drove south.”

It was then she started to interview people who self-identified as Trump supporters about racism in America. In talking about her experience, Blake Chafetz reflected, “Being totally marinated in Trump voters [was] at times terrifying. Yet, I bonded with many and I felt that many were extremely good people. Some misguided and some, calculating.”

During her travels, she asked the same set of ten questions to everyone she interviewed and then writes about it in her book. One of the biggest things she learned was that Trump supporters live in an information bubble. “What we didn’t know is that they exclusively watch [right wing] news. That means if Fox doesn’t cover it, they really don’t know it happened.”

Blake Chafetz believes that dialog between the left and right can bridge gaps, but that it is a difficult journey. Her book, My Travels In Trump Land is available at bookbaby.com

BIPOC, Editorial, Local

Sunday protest in Tacoma disappoints Black Community and area protest leaders

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 25, 2021

Protesters gathered in Tacoma marching through gentrifying Black neighborhoods

On Sunday, January 24, 2021, a diverse group of protesters from Seattle to Portland gathered in Frost Park in Tacoma after a police cruiser struck a group of people the previous evening, sending two to the hospital. Before the protest, Black Tacoma protest organizers pulled out of the event, and others who attended left in frustration as outside protesters would not listen to guidance from people from the city. We show previously unaired video and interview Azreal Graves of Black and Done (B.A.D.).

BIPOC, Editorial, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 25, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 25 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Update on the Tacoma Police Department officer who drove through a group of people on Saturday
  • Elise Barrett talks to us about COVID-19 myths and where is the seasonal flu
  • Nicki Blake Chafetz talks about her upcoming book My Travels In Trump Land, available at bookbaby.com
  • The Biden Administration reverses the Trump Administration ban on transgender troops in the military
  • Behind the Pole features previous unseen video from the Tacoma Police protest on Sunday, January 24, 2021, and an interview with Azreal Graves of Black and Done (B.A.D.) as the Black and Tacoma community reacts to the protest fallout
  • David and Jennifer provide their insurrection update
BIPOC, Health and Lifestyle, National

New science shines a light on ‘shaken baby syndrome’ and bias in the medical community

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From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 21, 2021

Abusive Head Trauma replaced the term ‘shaken baby syndrome’ a decade ago, yet the questionable medical diagnosis is still convicting people

Over 45 years ago, a group of doctors concluded that a triad of medical conditions, bleeding around the brain, retinal hemorrhages, and brain damage, could only be caused by an adult violently shaking a baby. By the 1990s the science was being called into question even as diagnosis and convictions exploded. Today, hundreds of convictions for ‘shaken baby syndrome’ are under review, with court decisions being reversed. What doctors through was a constellation of symptoms that could only happen by shaking an infant or toddler, is now understood to happen due to a variety of medical conditions.

Further research has indicated that not only have hundreds been falsely accused over the past four decades, but parents who are poor, single-parent, ESL, and BIPOC were far more likely to be accused of AHT than wealthy two-parent households. The data indicated that there was no possible explanation beyond bias to account for these differences. This bias prevented early detection of potential abuse, as victims of AHT tend to have had previous visits to an emergency room for less severe injuries, which should have raised red flags. Worse, if doctors, nurses, or social workers made a predetermination of AHT, they would cut off the parents in any medical decision-making, including blocking tests and procedures that would have proven innocence, and helped with better treatment.

If you are overwhelmed as a parent you can text MHA to 741741 to reach the Mental Health America Hotline or text CONNECT to 741741 to reach a specialized crisis counselor for confidential support. Most child abuse advocates recommend one simple step if you’re overwhelmed, step away and catch your breath.

Child abuse is a very real problem, and nonverbal children cannot advocate for themselves. This story discusses child abuse and shows some disturbing content, viewer discretion is advised.

BIPOC, National

Keystone XL Pipeline construction terminated in victory for indigenous rights

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From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 21, 2021

After a 10 year legal battle that went to the Supreme Court, Keystone XL Pipeline construction is blocked by Biden Administration

Keystone XL and the Dakota Access Pipeline have been a controversial topic since its inception. Protested by a coalition of indingenous peoples, government officials and residents in the Dakotas and Nebraska, the construction has been the subject of multiple legal challenges. In July 2020, the United States Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling blocking further construction on Keystone XL. On President Joe Biden’s first full day in office, he ended the project wth an executive order, reversing a Donald Trump executive order that restarted construction in 2017.

BIPOC, Five Facts, National

Lloyd Austin confirmed by Senate becomes first Black Secretary of Defense

Five Fast Facts

  • Lloyd Austin cruised through confirmation approved 93-2 in a floor vote of the Senate, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Mike Lee ( R-UT) were the only members to vote no
  • Austin’s approval has some controversy attached to it – a Secretary of Defense is supposed to be a civilian for at least 7 years before holding the position – Austin retired from the Army in 2016 – a waiver was given by both the House and Senate
  • Austin is not the first Secretary of Defense to receive a waiver and the tactic was used by the Trump Administration to approve James Mattis
  • Austin was a four star general in the Army, was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat, and the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq
  • Austin is another person in the BIPOC community breaking barriers within the Biden Administration

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Friday confirmed Lloyd Austin as the nation’s first Black defense secretary, the second nominee of President Joe Biden to be confirmed by the chamber.

Austin is a retired four-star Army general who will be the first Black secretary of defense. He was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and also the first to oversee an entire theater of operations as the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Read more at USA Today

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 21, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 21 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Seattle inauguration protests highlight questionable tactics by protesters and police
  • Keystone XL Pipeline is canceled by the Biden Administration on day one
  • COVID Five Fast Facts
  • Officer Eric Whitehead and his strange trip to the ER
  • Abusive Head Trauma – the legacy of Shaken Baby Syndrome, the questionable science behind it, and the targeting of the poor, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA community for abuse allegations
  • Insurrection update
BIPOC, Local

Seattle Police Department off to a bad 2021 start

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From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 18, 2021

Seattle Police Department hit by multiple OPA investigation findings, suspensions, and new investigations at the start of 2021

The Seattle Police Department has been rocked by multiple findings of misconduct, use of force violations, and ongoing investigations in the first two weeks of January:

  • Mike Solan, Seattle Police Officer Guild (SPOG) president is facing calls for his resignation due to tweets he shared
  • Two police officers suspended with pay and under investigation for any potential role they may have had in the Washington D.C. insurrection
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a blast ball on 6/7/20, permanently disabling a woman
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a CS gas canister (teargas), throwing it into a group of peaceful protesters inside Cal Anderson Park, the event was shown live on the news and caught on police body camera
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a police officer improperly used a blast ball, throwing it where he could not see where it would land, striking a resting man with it
  • The Seattle Office of Police Accountability (OPA) found that a controversial tweet by the Seattle Police Department calling two broken candles explosives was “inaccurate”
  • An unnamed officer hired in July 2017 was fired for referring to an African American suspect as Kunta Kinte to his coworkers who complained about their conduct
  • Officer Eric Whitehead is under OPA investigation for an incident in a Seattle area emergency room
  • Officer Mika Harmon is under OPA investigation for her conduct caught on body camera on 8/21/20, per Seattle Times
BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 18, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 18, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Day 2021 – his words continue to be taken out of context more than 50 years after his death
  • Seattle Police Department is off to a very bad start in January
  • Five Fast Facts about COVID -19 – our COVID update
  • Insurrection update
  • Will it snow next week?