Trucks Circle, Squeal Tires, Burn Out and Get Close to No Kings Protestors in New Ulm

 

New Ulm, MN – Two people in a crosswalk were nearly hit by a truck during the No Kings Day protest attended by an estimated 400 people on Saturday afternoon.

The people, holding protest signs, were in the crosswalk when the white quad cab pickup truck revved its engine, squealed its tires and went toward the people in the crosswalk.

The burning tires sent black smoke into the crowd.

At least three additional trucks and one Jeep displayed speed or revved their engine at people peacefully protesting at the event.

The driver of a red quad cab pickup truck came up to the corner, revved its engines, spun his wheels, and took off quickly around a corner. The truck sent a plume of white smoke into the crowd.

Some of the vehicles made multiple passes in front of the crowd. 

When asked about the incidents in email, Indivisible New Ulm leadership team member Viktoria Davis wrote, "We were thrilled to see nearly 400 people come out in support of our democracy. The No Kings attendees were universally peaceful. We did see some individuals in vehicles who attempted to intimidate the protestors. We encourage all people to remember that the right to peacefully assemble is guaranteed by the Constitution. We strongly oppose all forms of violence."

Request for comment by New Ulm Mayor Kathleen Backer and Brown County Commissioners David Borchert, Anton Berg, Scott Windschitl, Brian H Braun and Jeffrey Veerkamp have not been answered as of publication.

Photograph Context

The first photograph is of the white truck incident described in the beginning of this article. Skid marks behind the truck’s tires were made when the truck spun his tires before moving forward. Black smoke from the tires burning can be seen in the right lower corner of the photograph.

The second photo of a truck with smoke is of a red truck turning a corner after revving the engine, pealing out and sending smoke into the air in front of the protestors.

These are not two photos of the same incident from different angles.

When the Screeching Wheels Go Unnoticed

 

Protestors against Trump’s policies came out for today’s No Kings event in New Ulm, MN in spite of the political assassinations of lawmakers in Minnesota Saturday morning and Governor Walz’s calls to stay home.

The crowd of 400 continued protesting while men in at least four quad cab pickup trucks and a Jeep attempted to intimidate them using their vehicles.

The quad cab drivers revved their engines, peeled out & tire smoke blew over the crowd. Some of the trucks circled around the block and made several passes.

In one incident two people were nearly hit while crossing the road in a cross walk using the cross walk light.

A white quad cab driver revved his engine, his tires spun and squealed. He moved forward nearly hitting the people in the cross walk.  

 

A man in a Jeep with Trump flags circled the crowd several times.

When he was stopped at a traffic light he would sometimes rev his engine while he waited.

While I was taking pictures, I noticed two men paying special interest to me. I walked back and forth in front of them to make sure that they were looking at me, they were. I approached them to try to help make them feel better but they refused to talk. 

Later, I was approached by a couple of women from the crowd. When we met, they
were standing near where the white truck nearly ran people over in the road.  They seemed afraid of me. I explained that I am visiting, covering it. I shared that I understand the fear b/c I don't feel safe.

One of the ladies said, "We are Minnesota nice here. Nothing bad will happen."

We said goodbye to each other and I went on my way. The protest wrapped up about 15 minutes later. 

I crossed the busy street using the crosswalk light and timer. Several other people, mostly women, crossed with me. Two were elder women. One used a cane and walked toward me. One had difficulty walking. She walked behind me in the same direction. 

A white quad cab made a left hand turn and flew up toward the cross walk. He screamed at us to, "Get out of the way, you pieces of shit."

He got close enough to me that I could have touched his truck. 

A woman hurried to get out of his way, yelling that she had the right of way.

I was concerned that he could not see the hunched over elder woman walking toward me and would not wait for the elder behind me. 

He continued to scream at me. 

I looked at him and pointed at the elders and the crosswalk timer. People on the sidewalk yelled at him that pedestrians had the right of way. 

He continued to scream and rev his engine. 

I helped the elders cross in front of his truck but I was so scared. I was scared this man who thinks we are pieces of shit would kill us for inconveniencing him. 

I got the elders across his truck. We all made it across the road before the timer expired. 

He drove away yelling and flipping us off.

Shithole Racism

Shithole. Trump's racist word of the day is shithole.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said of Haiti, and many African nations, according sources speaking to the Washington Post.

The racism is not simply about Trump calling places shitholes. Substituting the names of places in place of shithole actually makes the racism more visible.

We could spot the problem immediately if Trump instead said; Why are we letting people from Haiti, and Africa into the United States?

The offense is Trump saying regions where the the residents are primarily black or Hispanic are substandard to be American.

That is at best racist.

The fact that Trump said yet one more racist thing or appropriated a non-racist word to a racist meaning is no shocker. The fact that so many people still defend him as not racist is what shocks.

Trump has targeted people of color from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States. He defended the character of public, outspoken, white supremacists.

It is no longer acceptable to pretend to not notice his racism. We now are to the point that saying you don't see the racism is at best a choice to make yourself comfortable with the choice of voting for him and at worst a strategy to further the agenda of white supremacy. 

If you are choosing to comfort yourself - stop. The right to be comfortable with racism is one of the most corrupting forms of white privilege. America needs you to get uncomfortable and have to live with the emotional repercussion consequences of your choices.

Trump is Inspiring a Cult of Personality Election

Republicans are running for Senate to support Trump and his ideas.

They are not running to further their own goal, or to further their own ideology, or their party's platform, they are running to support a leader.

Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff pardoned of his conviction for criminal contempt of court after he refused to stop race-based policing by President Trump, is running for Senate in Arizona.

He stated a reason for his run as to, "support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump".

 Even when candidates are running with policy ideas, they are giving credit and those policy ideas to Trump.

Danny Tarkanian is running in the primary elections for Senate in Nevada. He said of his run, "I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration. I will continue to support President Trump's policies that have led to a 20 percent increase in the stock market in just six months."

Essentially, the veracity of ideas are validated because they come from the leader. This is voting to support a leader, not citizens, or ideas. It is nothing less than cult of personality elections.

Alabama: I Have Never Been So Glad to be Wrong

Alabama: I was certain you would let us down. I was sure we would have to deal with your human garbage contaminating our legislature.

I had no doubt that you would elect the man glamorizing slavery days as wholesome family time over the man who went after KKK members who murdered children sitting in a church.

I am so glad I was wrong.

Thank you for not letting us down. You did the right damned thing.

Welcome to dignity, morality, and basic human decency.

Hysterial Responses to #metoo

I keep hearing that #metoo has gone too far too fast. It is just hysteria, the things men have been fired for are too minor.

When I ask which claim is a hysterical minority - rape, groping, sexual harassment, asking women to have babies and then holding them back at work when they say no, locking women in rooms so a man could expose his dick, a man having his penis groped in public - the conversation changes.
It refocuses on the concern that in the future men might not get due process or will be innocently removed from their jobs. 

This argument is basically, "Stop while it is working and no wrongdoing has happened so that men are protected from losing their jobs innocently."

We don't have to stop doing the right thing because the wrong thing might happen in the future. We can talk about the overreach when someone overreaches.

I think the real fear here is that men feel accountable for the first time and they are afraid. They are afraid they might say the wrong thing and upset a woman's feelings and get fired.

Men are finally starting to feel what women have been feeling since the beginning of time. If we aren't nice enough - we are bitches. If we are nice, some men think we are signaling sexual attraction. If we don't signal attraction, we cannot get promoted. If we signal attraction, men hit on us.
We are not hitting some over reach, we are hitting a balance; a time when men feel as afraid of the sexual misunderstandings or interests of their workmates as women do.

I would like to remind people that women innocently lose their jobs because they cannot negotiate men's sexual feelings at work. To demand that women give up on a safe workspace in order to make sure men stay safe is to assert that men are more important than women, work is their space and women are the visitors at work. Men are entitled to work, women are not.

That is sexism and it's male privilege. A man demanding he not be held to the same work conditions as women because it is unfair is just fragility.

Everyone should be able to go to work without having to protect a man's fragile sexual ego or his privilege.

Net Neutrality and Civil Rights

Net neutrality is not just about Nextflix. It is about not letting Time Warner (and all other ISPs) decide which political opinions you should be allowed access to or to share.

Net neutrality a civil rights issue. Pay attention to it.