opinion Archives

“Too Much and Never Enough” and Peaceful Protests in SLC

August 4, 2020August 4, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

DISCLAIMER: This is an Opinion piece.

Yesterday, I finally decided that I was going to read Mary L. Trump’s book Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man. For the last month, I had been reading numerous articles anticipating the release of Mary’s book. Curious about what she had to say, I finally bought the kindle version yesterday. Of course, I’m not surprised that Trump tried to stop her from publishing this book in the final countdown before the election.

What to expect?

Well, I am going to read and review Mary’s book. I plan to have my review done by the end of this month or sooner. I am going to pick the book apart like I would any other piece of written content. Concept/theme, structure, and clarity. I’m curious about Mary’s angle and how the book’s subject matter will be plotted out. I am also eager to go over her references and sources.

54114950. sy475 — photo credit: goodreads.com

What else have I been up to?

Trying to balance out life, staying-at-home, and how much time I spend on social media. Being home all the time has its side effects.
My beer gut is growing. I have unlimited access to the news and social media if left unchecked. And without a routine, I will surely spiral into chaos. But I’ve stuck to my routine and continue to read and write all the time.

I allow myself about one to two hours a day of ingesting news. I read The New York Times and The Salt Lake Tribune. Tapering down on social media has also helped bring my stress levels down.

How long is this going to last?

We’re heading into the FIFTH MONTH of COVID-19. In the U.S. there is still chaos, misinformation, and poor leadership. But I have hope, and with the Black Lives Matter movement still going strong, my fingers are crossed that this year’s election is not a repeat of 2016.

Peaceful Protests Escalated by Cottonwood Heights PD

In Salt Lake City, local news continues to smear peaceful protesters, casting them as rioters causing trouble. This weekend a peaceful protest in Cottonwood Heights was escalated when police showed up outnumbering protesters. They herded protesters, had their cars towed, and then assaulted and pepper-sprayed them. I watched so many live videos on Instagram from protesters that showed the police attacking and brutalizing them. Horrible.

It’s like the police just don’t get it. Their actions are why peaceful protesters are on the streets. The Salt Lake Tribune published an article that, in my opinion, aimed to cheer for the Cottonwood Heights Police Department while smearing the peaceful protesters. Yesterday there was another protest where Trump and Blue Lives Matter supporters showed up but more concerning is that Utah Citizens’ Alarm group was there and armed with guns, a “deterrent to violence,” said Casey Roberston, founder of the group in the Salt Lake Tribune’s article.

The Utah Citizens’ Alarm showing up with guns is not to deter violence. It’s to intimidate protesters, visually threatening them by carrying guns, implying that they will shoot them if protesters become “violent”. Of course, the police do nothing about this group, and I’ve read articles that many in this group know the police. They are working in tandem with them. The group says on their Facebook page that they support peaceful protests. There is something unsettling about the way they talk about themselves and their mission.

Want to see something interesting? Check out Black Lives Matter Utah Chapter on Facebook, the profile is PUBLIC and there are about 4.4k members.

Black Lives Matter Utah works in cooperation with CAG, The Coalition for Police Reform, The United Front Civil Rights Organization, Brown Berets, Cop Watch Salt Lake City, SURJ, United Front White Allies, Utah Against Police Brutality, and many other activist groups. We encourage you to join every group and support them all. We are in no competition with any other group. All active civil rights groups which fight against oppression should be supported.

This group is what you make of it. If you have an idea then suggest it and run with it. Lead. Do not be afraid to lead and to help the movement.

385-743-0298

They provide a phone number and a list of other organizations they work with.

Check out Utah Citizen’s Alarm Facebook Group page, there are 18.3k members and their profile is set to private? Why private?

This is their about page. To me it is concerning. Look at the parts I’ve bolded. It’s like they’re spinning that they support peaceful protests, solidarity, but the wording is vague and general. I don’t trust this group and it concerns me that this group has 18.3k members. If they have nothing to hide and they are working with law enforcement why is the group set to PRIVATE?

About This Group

MISSION STATEMENT

Utah Citizens’ Alarm works to maintain peace in the state of Utah by educating its communities in areas of preparedness and self-defense; fostering unity between citizens of all backgrounds and races as a show of solidarity in times of disaster and civil unrest; and building strong relationships with law enforcement through cooperative community efforts.

VISION STATEMENT

Utah Citizens’ Alarm creates an environment of safety, preparedness, and peace in communities and neighborhoods across our state through strong, organized citizen alliances.

OUR START

In June of 2020, concerned Utah citizen Casey Robertson made a life-changing decision to invite friends to take a stand against violence that had been accompanying protests over issues of racial inequality and police brutality. The result of his simple call to action on social media was a flood of local patriots ready and willing to join and support his cause of supporting peaceful protest while denouncing and deterring violence. The group grew quickly – by the thousands in a matter of days – and immediately became known as Utah Citizens’ Alarm.

It was Casey’s love for his country and his home town that prompted him to stand against violence after a Provo protest turned ugly, ending in the shooting of a driver trying to make his way through the crowd blocking an intersection. Now, along with inviting Utah residents to stand against violence at protests, Casey also aims to help people form alliances in their own small communities that will create neighborhoods that are safe, protected, and prepared for all situations.

So Casey is helping small communities set up alliances, groups, of armed citizens to defend themselves? To protect peaceful protesters? To protect their neighborhoods from “violence”?

There is a difference between peaceful protesters gathering and ARMED CIVILIANS showing up to protests to “deter violence”.

I will be looking for more information about this group to prove my point wrong that Utah Citizens’ Alarm is not just a gun-toting group that shows up to intimidate protesters.

Here’s a Instagram post from the Cottonwood Heights Police Department

How obvious does it have to be? Do people not see what is happening here?

For months now, this specific group of protesters gathered every Sunday and danced in the streets. Dancing in the street is punishable by being pepper-sprayed, beaten, and threatened with felony charges?

I’m deeply disappointed in Utah. The response here to the protests is unacceptable and continues to sour. Watching Live Videos from KSL news on Facebook covering the protests is difficult; people comment that unemployed kids have nothing better to do than protest for criminals.

I see more and more “Trump 2020!” and “BlueLivesMatter” on Facebook and other social media platforms. Disgusting. I have been coming across comments that say the Black Lives Matter movement has been hijacked, used as an excuse to protest just about anything. Amazing, the ignorance is incredible.

How can Trump supporters blindly follow him when he tweets, floating the idea, about delaying the election this year? A blatant authoritarian idea. Or how about when he deploys feds to intimidate protesters? What about not taking COVID seriously until it’s too late and over 150,000 people have died in the U.S.?

How do these people supporting cops, not see the injustice, the brutality? Even when it happens right in front of them when police assault peaceful protesters? Is it possible that many of the same people that cheer “Trump 2020!” are also the ones spouting “Blue Lives Matter”? Hmmm.

I could go on and on but I’m going to wrap up my little opinion-rant.

Resources and Donations

Support Protests Brutalized by Utah Cops

Know Your Rights – Protesters’ Rights

Liked this post? Check out these:

Life During COVID-19 (4/7/2020): Unemployment, Poetry for $ and Staying Positive

Life During COVID-19: Reflecting on the Murder of Robert Fuller, Trump and a Personal Update

Why I’m Not Celebrating Independence Day This Year

July 4, 2020July 23, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

I’m not in the mood.

This year has sucker-punched me so often on so many different levels; I’m not celebrating Independence Day.

A bad taste in the mouth.

Black Lives Matter protests and the fight against police brutality distorted into criminal acts by those that oppose it (I do not deny there are riots, I’m emphasizing how those against the protests are discussing the peaceful demonstrations). I live in a country where the government and its leaders have continually failed to fight the spread of COVID-19. Now other countries are banning travelers from the U.S. What does that say about how the rest of the world regards America? And The POTUS continues to try to cause even more division in this country with dismal speeches.

Yeah, I’m not feeling it.

Give me hope, give me peace of mind.

We need leaders that unite and fight to protect the health, safety, and well-being of the citizens.

Prove me wrong, please. Stand up and take action. Care for one another, wear a damn mask, and fight against injustice.

Is it so hard to care about people?

Since this post is just a bundle of joy, here are some positives that have made my week a bit better.

U.S. Must Release Children From Family Detention Centers, Judge Rules

Protesting U.S. Immigration Policies, Artists Aim for the Sky

To my followers, my subscribers, dear readers, friends, everyone,

Have a fantastic, safe weekend.

Cheers!

Alina

Support change! Check out these resources on where to donate for Black Lives Matter and more!

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Life During COVID-19 (5/30/2020): Reflection on George Floyd, Protests Turned Riots and Growing Tensions in the U.S.

May 30, 2020August 15, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet2 Comments

This is My Personal Reflection on Events in the U.S. This Week.

The Murder of George Floyd, Protests turned Riots combined with the spread of COVID-19 and Record-Breaking Unemployment all combine with the growing tensions in the U.S. with an increase in possible societal combustion across the country.

This week has been crazy. And I’ve been trying to moderate my intake of news. But this is too much.

The murder of George Floyd, the protests, now riots, and this morning The New York Times Breaking News that Military police units are preparing for possible deployment,

“The move does not mean that the units will be activated, but it is a first step toward doing so, officials said. Deploying military police units — likely from Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Drum in New York — would represent an escalation in the government response to the unfolding events, in an echo of past uprisings over racial tensions in America. Military police units were used in 1992 during the aftermath to the Rodney King verdict in California.”

Source: “George Floyd Protests Latest Updates” – The New York Times 5/30/2020

Justice for George Floyd is necessary. And I can’t help thinking about how this week has brought more attention to the issue of systemic racism in the U.S.

I wrote about racist rhetoric, white-supremacy, and systemic racism as an undergrad:

Racist and Anti-Diversity Posters on Utah College Campuses: White Supremacist Rhetoric Analyzed with Selected Writings of Nietzsche, Foucault, Butler, and Ranciere

There was an increase of racist posters, graffiti, and rhetoric at The University of Utah and other nearby college campuses. I gathered reports of these events, and argued in my essay, that this was growing evidence that there is an organized white-supremacists presence with an agenda.

OPINION: Since the election of Trump in 2016, I believe there is an increase in the activity of white-supremacist organizations and the distribution of their rhetoric across the nation. This is a serious concern of mine. And the events of Charlottesville are still fresh in mind.

Increase in unemployment, loss of jobs, the rise of poverty, and now the protests and riots resulting from the murder of George Floyd; these are all elements when combined, can combust in violence and death. I fear that people will die as a result.

I can’t help it, I’m trying to stay positive, I’m trying not to stress, but I can’t ignore these signs that I feel are so blatant right now. Something is happening, something is going to happen, I just hope that it’s not military intervention, violence, and death.

Please stay safe out there.

-Alina

What I have my eye on:

Voting this year, the 2020 Presidential Election

What I’m Reading:

“The devastating effects of COVID-19 on democracy – but what if there is a silver lining?”

If you liked this blog post, check out these:

Why I’m Not Celebrating Independence Day This Year

Podcast Sesh #2 June 18, 2020: Writing, Freelancing and Coping with the George Floyd Protests

Life During COVID-19: Reflecting on the Murder of Robert Fuller, Trump and a Personal Update

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