The New Lynching: We Want Bread, and their Blood, Too

Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez.

Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez was only 17 when she fainted into her fiancées arms, slipping from this world, and taking not only herself, but the life of the unborn child inside her. She collapsed, outside of Stockton, and then later died due to heat stroke, the result of working over 9 hours in the hot sun picking grapes. When she arrived at the hospital, she had a core body temperature of 108 degrees.  


Maria's death sparked controversy, however, sadly, she was only one of many who perished in the fields of California while working. According to Dan Bacher: 

Maria was one of six immigrant workers who died from heat exposure in the agricultural fields of California last [2009] summer. The deaths all have a tragic character, but what ties them together is that in every case the sub-contracting agencies, who are responsible for hiring most farmworkers, failed to implement basic health and safety standards.  

In 2005, 12 farmworkers died from heat-related illnesses. In 2006, the number of reported deaths was 8. The death toll has continued to rise during Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration. But this is just one aspect of the problem. The total number of farmworker deaths due to accidents on the job in California over the last five years exceeds 700. 

According to the Autonomie Project:

Perhaps one of the most surprising numbers is the staggering fact that out of roughly 35,000 farms in California, only 750 inspections were conducted by Cal/OSHA in a year, as of two summers ago.  There is no real way of telling how may abuses, both lethal and non, have occurred on farms statewide in the grueling summer months; only the stories of the workers themselves would do justice, if they had more means to be heard. 

The workers in question provide 90 percent of the labor in California’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural industry, and are routinely deprived of water, shade and rest, having to work outdoors in temperatures that commonly top 100 degrees F! This lawsuit is considered a landmark in that it is focused and comprehensive; California passed a law in 2005 to protect farm-workers from heat illness and death, and yet, according to the LA Times, at least ten individuals have lost their lives since, harvesting the produce that conveniently appears on our cool, climate-controlled grocery shelves. 

As the budget crisis wore on, oversite government agencies like OSHA had less and less funds to investigate the literally thousands of farms in California that were hiring cheap, and largely immigrant labor. There was simply too many employers, and too many employees for the government to watch and make sure that the bosses were playing by the rules. Even if bosses were brought up on charges or fines, a repeatedly biased appeals board also was in place to keep things on the side of those with the money. And, while high profile cases such as the death of Mrs. Jimenez brought some media attention to the struggle of farm workers, in the halls of government, the politicians were only happy to back the bosses attacks on workers. In July of 2010, right in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record, then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would give farm workers overtime after working 8 hours a day. Farm workers often perform their back-breaking work as "piece workers," (people who are paid by how much they put out, and not by the hour), thus often having to work 10-12 hour days in order to make enough money. The decision by the government to deny them over time pay only helped solidify their position as second-class citizens and ensured that the massive amounts of profits that are generated by paying them so little are kept rolling in.   

Factory in the fields.

In January of 2011, two company officials involved in the death of Mrs. Jimenez received a deal of only $1,000 in fines and several years probation, skipping out on catching an involuntary manslaughter charge. Imagine, if only for a second, that the roles would have been reversed. If Marisa Jimenez would have killed her boss and her unborn child and not the other way around. Do you think that she would have gotten away with only a $1,000 fine and probation? Of course not. Just as the police receive light sentences when they kill us, but we are sent to death when we kill them, there are laws for bosses and there are laws for the rest of us. 

Both the ruling regarding Maria's death and the vetoing of the overtime bill shows one thing to be clear: the government and the bosses do not care about the health and safety of farm-workers; the literally thousands of workers slaving in California's fields for next to nothing while the agricultural companies rake in the profits. Secondly, the government protection agencies in place to provide oversight are not capable nor willing to safeguard farmworkers and stop the wide scale murder of workers at the hands of those that own and operate farms. And, when we add up all those that are dying every year in California's fields with those that die on the US/Mexico border; some killed by border patrol guards, some killed by vigilantes, and many dying in the desert, we begin to realize that we are talking about the deaths of literally thousands of people. People who are literally living and dying - just to work. This work being in conditions that most Americans would refuse to ever, be employed in.

Many liberals and Leftists will tell us that these deaths are the cause of poor government policy. That with more oversight and better leaders, these abuses could be stopped. However, as we have seen, when bosses are "held accountable" within the system, the law always rushes to back them. While they may get slight fines and weak sentences, these are nothing even compared to what most working class people receive for having a small amount of marijuana. And, when legislation if pushed forward that would help farm workers and migrants begin to crawl out of their lower economic status, it is quickly defeated in an attempt to back the interests of rich business owners. 

The problem is a government that exists to protect an economy that destroys and kills us for the sake of profit. The problem is capitalism, not finding the best way to manage it. Thus, the attacks on farm workers in the form of ICE raids, attacks on workplace organizing, and preservation at any costs of poor working conditions, are not the result of poor or bad government, but instead political decisions made in order to preserve class divisions in society that impoverish some and make others rich. It is this constant fear of deportation or violence from the state, as it is completely designed to do, which keeps a large population of farm workers in fear of fighting back and from organizing to better their conditions. 

To some, this may seem like slavery. But, in many ways, wage slavery is in fact much more desirable for the capitalists than chattel slavery itself. Instead of having to house and feed workers, or provide them with healthcare, bosses simply have to pay workers minimal wages. In many cases, farm workers have to pay bosses just to sleep in poor housing units the bosses own. And, if they complain or attempt to organize they can simply be fired or deported. Government officials are few and far between, and even if a boss is reported, they can simply appeal a decision and get off quickly. Constant fear of the threat of deportation is enough to scare many workers into keeping quiet and from striking. Furthermore, the racial divisions in place between immigrant workers and non-immigrant workers is also so strong that any real solidarity that might exist between them is often broken apart due to racism or a false sense of nationalism promoted by the rich and powerful. All of this combines to create a perfect business environment for capitalists in the fields. They have a government that looks the other way and refuses to back worker interests. They have in their pocket a police force and ICE (la migra) who they can call in anytime they need to scare the workers with deportation. And, if they do face legal trouble, they can count on the courts to exonerate them. They have in essence, a sure fire way to make billions of dollars off the backs of working class people living in dire poverty and disgusting conditions. 

During and after slavery, the state and often sadly, the white population used violence, murder, and terrorism in order to force blacks into excepting their second class status. Within capitalism, they benefited from having blacks work for free as slaves, and after the abolition of slavery, as lower class workers within capitalism. Often, white workers were given special privileges from the state to ensure that blacks stayed in this position. Thus, throughout history we see a disgusting recurrence of white working class people acting not in their class interests with other workers, but instead along racial lines, against other workers they have been led to see as 'below them.' And, white working people often justify this violence against other workers of different races as an attempt to defend their higher social standing within capitalism. In his book, The Long Road to Delano, Sam Kushner discusses this in regards to the Central Valley: 

Even as the nation in the post-Civil War era was beginning to evaluate the high cost of racism as reflected in the system of slavery of persons of black skin, the growers were embarking on their own “Southern strategy.” This included full use of persons of color as workers in the fields but it did not require that the employers of such labor feed and house these workers while they were not employed in the fields. In this respect the California growers went their southern slaveholder cousins one better. The racism in the fields was in numerous instances reflected in the actions of white workers, also oppressed by the capitalist system, who were temporarily turned against workers of different skin color. This prejudice was intensified by the desperate competition for jobs, especially during periods of economic stress, and was supported by reactionary union officials, many of whom had been mere echoes for the employers... 

These latest deaths in the fields caused by the brutality of the bosses, at the hands of border guards, and in the actions of ICE police are the new lynchings. This is mass racialized violence sanctioned and organized by the state for the sake of ensuring that the migrant population will stay subordinate, and above all, keep working. Keep picking fruits, vegetables, and all sorts of produce for cheap. All of this, in order to keep generating mass profits for those that own and control these industries. 

Non-migrant workers. White workers. Are you going to back the bosses? When you hear of another death in the fields or on the border or at the hands of guards or ICE - will you turn the other way? Will you say nothing when people blame the problems of this country on immigrants? When they say they are "stealing" "our" jobs, will you agree or will you know bullshit when you smell it? Will you start to see other poor and working people in struggle as part of the human community which can destroy capitalism? Not that long ago in the Central Valley, workers in the fields: brown, white, black, and yellow - organized together to fight the bosses. Sometimes they did it in organizations like the anti-capitalist Industrial Workers of the World, only to be the targets of the police and the government: 

In the 1910's, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organized and led strikes in California among workers of all nationalities. The IWW believed in letting growers' crops rot until they paid a living wage. They pioneered direct action tactics, like chasing scabs out of the fields.

By 1917 the IWW had over 10,000 migrant field worker members, but the growers and government teamed up in the following years to jail their leaders and shut down their union halls in Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego and elsewhere.

Proles up, bosses down.

It is exactly this multi-racial organizing in the Central Valley that not only brought on massive government harassment of revolutionary organizations like the IWW, but also pushed the government to promote the Bracero Program, which brought in migrant labor from Mexico, although making sure to keep the workers in a second class position. In the current age, we can still build a united, militant and fighting working class movement, for all workers...or, we can fight each other over the scraps that the capitalists throw at us.

But the crumbs are coming less and less. 

So just who is your enemy? The boss, or another worker? It's not a hard decision and it's time we let the upper class everywhere understand the meaning of that answer. In the fields. In the factories. In the schools. Everywhere.

Half a world away, in Egypt they chant: "Tell the police, tell the army, we cannot find a loaf of bread," and "Revolution, revolution, like a volcano!" How much longer will we stay hungry? How much longer until we blow?

REMINDER: Tonight, Seattle Solidarity Network Tour in Modesto!

Seattle Solidarity Network Tour, Thursday, January 27th, 7pm 

Imagine forcing abusive bosses and slumlords to give you back stolen money and rent - all with the help of your best friends! That's exactly what Seattle Solidarity Network is doing in their area, and they're going on tour to promote it! The Seattle Solidarity Network (SeaSol) uses direct action in order to get workers unjustly fired rehired and wages unpaid forked over. It also fights against slumlords who 'lose' deposits and refuse to make basic repairs. Using group action such as pickets and demonstrations, SeaSol is building a working class movement that succeeds because of the solidarity between all of those involved and their willingness to fight. 

Don't miss this opportunity to discuss with SeaSol members - and more importantly, how we can create like organizations in the Modesto area. The presentation will be followed by a Q+A, and refreshments will be on hand. For more info refer to flyer bellow. The event is free! It all goes down on Thursday, Jan, 27th, 2011, Firehouse 51, 410 James Street.

Location: Firehouse 51


To get on the facebook event, go to: Modesto Anarcho Facebook. 
To print out a poster to distribute to co-workers, neighbors, and friends, go here. 

Meet the New Boss, Just Like the Old Boss

Won't get fooled again?...

Career politician Jerry Brown was ushered into the seat of California's Governor not from a huge turnout of voters at the polls, or even from the same young people who helped Obama's landslide victory, but instead mainly from people who just didn't want to see Whitman get the job.

However, just like Whitman, Brown shares her tough on immigrants, education, and workers approach - even though some of the country's biggest unions helped him get into office.

Brown means more cuts.

According to the Daily Californian, Brown's proposed cuts mean simply more sweeping austerity measures:

With the state facing a $25.4 billion budget gap for the 2011-12 fiscal year, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed $500 million in cuts to the University of California as part of his 2011-12 budget on Monday. Brown unveiled his first recommendation for the state's 2011-12 budget, proposing a total of $12.5 billion in reductions in state spending levels. His plan includes deep cuts to state welfare programs and a total of $1 billion in funding reductions to the state's higher education system.The California State University system - which has also experienced severe cuts in recent years - also will sustain a $500 million cut through Brown's plan. The plan also includes $432.5 million in cuts to the state's community college system while increasing the price per unit from $26 to $36. 

 According to Joseph Kishore, these cuts go even deeper than those under Arnold:

The cuts include: $1.5 billion from the state’s welfare program; $1.7 billion from Medi-Cal (the state Medicaid health care program for the poor); $1 billion from the state university systems; and $750 million from the Department of Developmental Services, which provides aid to the disabled. Pay for state workers not covered by collective bargaining agreements will be cut by 10 percent, and Brown has made clear that he is targeting the pensions and pay of all state workers. In addition, the governor will seek a referendum vote to keep in place a series of regressive taxes, including sales taxes and a vehicle license fee.

Brown’s reference to sacrifices from “every sector of the state” is a fraud, as it is only the poor and working class that will be forced to pay. California, the largest state by population, is also home to six of the country’s wealthiest 10 zip codes and 19 of the wealthiest 400 individuals. A wealth tax of 10 percent on these 19 people, who have a combined net worth of $136.2 billion, would raise more money than the value of all the cuts in Brown’s budget for the next 18 months.

Andy Stern, head of SEIU.

According to Dan Conway, the large trade unions were only happy to pat Brown on the back for attacking the people they claim to represent: 

The Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracy quickly lent their support to Brown's plan. In both cases, phony expressions of concern are mixed with praise for the governor's “realistic” approach to the budget. While Brown may be proposing the same budgetary solutions and austerity as former Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is argued, his approach is far more progressive and effective by virtue of his “superior leadership skills.”

Of the state trade union leaderships who have thus far commented on the governor's budget, support has been unwavering. Barbara Blake, state secretary of the United Nurses Association of California, declared, “We're feeling a little better about this budget,” than previous ones.

The SEIU, which has the largest membership of any public employee union, was particularly instrumental in fostering illusions in Brown as a working class candidate. According to an SEIU's statement, “Electing Jerry Brown was the 700,000 member organization's number one priority in this election.” The statement also quoted Bill Lloyd, president of SEIU California: “California voters had a clear choice in this election, and we chose Jerry Brown to lead California's recovery by investing in jobs and the working families who make California strong.” 

After only one week in office, the state's working class now has a sense of how the new governor intends to “invest in jobs and the working families who make California strong.”

As the economic crisis becomes deeper, we see the state (whether masquerading as 'left' or 'right') for what it is. A bureaucratic entity who's sole function is to protect the divisions that exist between those that work, and those that own. Those that take orders, and those that give them. The haves, from the have nots. Austerity measures cut eduction and health care, welfare programs and free day care; the things that working people depend on just to survive within capitalism. 

Let's get it started in here!

At a time when Wall-Street is recording record profits and when slight tax increases to the richest Californians would end the budget crisis, the government shows itself to be a weapon of class rule against the working class on behalf of the rich and powerful. No matter if Democrats or Republicans are in charge of the state, the government knows who it serves. We're living in some of the worst times and the elites are busy having a cocktail party. It's time to stop voting, stop believing the politicians and union leaders will bring us change, and start to build power in our work places and neighborhoods. It's time we meet our needs - not create our own misery.  

Kids Paint Over Neo-Nazis Slogans on Scenic Drive

Be young, have fun, smash racism.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, two young Modesto boys, aged 9 and 15, with the help of their mom, took it upon themselves to clean up yet the latest strech of Nazi graffiti on Scenic Drive. In past months, the north side of Scenic Drive has been awash in Neo-Nazi swastikas and slogans. Recently, in blue paint the Nazis wrote, "Fuckwhatyousay," "White Power," and a swastika symbol.

Now that's can control!

After learning that the city would take a while in cleaning up the mess, the trio got to work on covering up the fascist slogans themselves. Many swastika images and racist graffiti remain on Scenic, as well we assume, those that are putting them there in the first place. So if you see something there - cross that crap out!

Fresno: Lawyer Known for Representing "Dirty Cops" Has Windows Busted Out

According to Indybay.org: 

Marshall Hodgkins, a lawyer with a history of getting dirty cops off the hook, had a brick thrown through his office window with a note attached which read "DIRTY COPS DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY"

Recently Hodgkins has been representing Sgt. Manfredi and also officer Plymale regarding an excessive force case from 2006. The case is currently being looked at by State lawyers who are attempting to force Plymale to testify against Manfredi. Hodgkins is fighting this very hard and has boasted that he is an "obstacle" in this case. The Resistance sees him as an obstacle to justice, and as they say in the streets, NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE! 

The whole damn system is broken and lawyers like Hodgkins make it so that cops know that they can harass, brutalize, and murder at will because they will get away with it with the help of savvy lawyers. It is time for the people to rise up and say ENOUGH! Let's clean out the pig sty and all the vermin which aid these dirty cops. 2011 must be a year of action as we take our communities back from these occupying forces.

Two Little Pigs: How Some Cops Get Jail While Others Go Free

"Sorry, thought you were black!"

This holiday season, many of us had to worry about drunk drivers and also having to go through check points. Check points are a continuous fixture in many cities, especially in the Central Valley where traveling by car to work or the store is almost a daily necessity. These road blocks are set in place by police officers to catch drunk drivers. They are also designed to net other offenders and more often, check on people’s immigration status. With such an importance that the police put into check points, (and thus the millions of dollars it helps flood into the state) it is always interesting to see how the police react when one of their own is caught drunk driving. Recently, officer Todd Parsons, who’s blood alcohol content was 0.22 percent, 2½ times the level at which a driver is considered under the influence, received a DUI after he drove his car off an embankment on Scenic Drive (too bad he didn’t hit a Nazi!) In the last several days, a Stockton police sergeant has also been charged with drunk driving. Officer Parsons, who plead guilty and received a ‘work release’ citation from the DA, is now working in the detective division of the Modesto Police in order to 'save is sick leave,' according to an anonymous source from within the department. 

Officer Todd gets so drunk that he drives off a cliff at Scenic, but his only ‘punishment’ is to spend a few hours…right back at work? We all know that there are two laws, one for those that own and run this system and one for the rest of us. This latest ruling brings to mind the case of Stanislaus Sheriff “Chip” Huskey, who served only one year in jail and did not have to register as a sex offender after a judge found him guilty of molesting and raping his step daughter.

That’s why the recent case of Mike McCann, a guard at the San Joaquin Correctional Facility, is so interesting. According to the Stockton Record:

A San Joaquin County correctional officer suspected of smuggling cell phones to jail inmates was arrested…[after] detectives obtained evidence that McCann had been smuggling cell phones to inmates. Deputy Les Garcia, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said McCann is also suspected of having shared information with inmates he obtained through the jail's computer system.

McCann was arrested late Thursday night at the County Jail, where he had reported for work as usual. He was booked into that same jail around 12:09 a.m. Friday on suspicion of conspiracy, unauthorized communication with prisoners, unauthorized use of a computer system, and provision of records or information to an unauthorized person. He is being held in lieu of $216,000 bail.

So, let’s review here. McCann is the target of an investigation. He’s sought by police for arrest. He’s arrested at his work (a jail) and then thrown into that same jail for selling prisoners cell phones.

McCann. 

This is the same town that several months before witnessed James Rivera, a young African-American boy, being shot down brutally by Stockton Police after a high speed chase. For more information on James case, go here. A day earlier, police came to James’ home and told his family that they were looking for them and that they would be “going to a funeral” after they found him. A wrongful death suit has been filed on behalf of James family, however the police have stated that the murder of James (according to them) was completely justified. Clearly, the Stockton police and Sheriffs are not concerned with stopping corruption, brutality and criminal activity in the Stockton area from within their ranks. So why are they so concerned about guards selling cell phones in the local jail?

Revolt on the inside, revolt on the outside.

They are scared of prisoners organizing with them, that's why. During the week of December 12th, inmates in at least 7 Georgia prisons engaged in the longest prison strike in U.S. history. Organized mostly by contraband cell phones, prisoners refused to leave their cells in protest of forced labor without pay (Georgia prisons refuse to pay even meager wages for work including maintaining other government buildings) and other dismal conditions, including a 10% charge for money transfers and being charged $55 a month for just 4, 15-minute phone calls. Inmates came together across boundaries of religion, skin color, and gang affiliation to fight for their shared interests. In the words of Elaine Brown who helped legally represent the prisoners: “If you’re at Macon or Smith or Hayes, you’re participating in the strike. It’s not five people. This isn’t rabble-rousing. It’s a universal, unified effort on the part of men who have been treated like slaves, whether they are black, white or Latino.”

           For six days, prisoners endured near-lethal beatings from not only prison guards but SWAT teams, destruction of their property, starvation and other conditions of lock down. Demands included: a living wage for work, educational opportunities beyond the GED, decent health care, an end to cruel and unusual punishments, decent living conditions, nutritious meals, job opportunities, access to their families, and fair parole decisions.

          In January, prisoners in Ohio on death row launched a hunger strike against harsh treatment. The men are on death row for their part in a multi-racial prison uprising in 1993 that also sought better conditions.

Beaten for resisting.

          We can start to see why the prison system is keeping such a close eye on the guards who help supply inmates with cell phones; they are tools that might help them link up and organize with each other. We can also see how the state treats it’s enforcers when they behave recklessly (molesting, raping, and drunk driving) and when they commit ‘crimes’ that might help poor and working people organize against their conditions. Keep in mind, we aren’t holding McCann up as some sort of hero; he’s clearly just another guard who thought he could make a couple bucks off some prisoners stuck in a bad situation. But in light of Georgia, the whole prison system is running scared of a full blown revolt. It’s willing to even lock up some of its own jailers to send a message to the rest of the ‘screws’ that such activity will not be tolerated. At the same time, the State gives out light sentences to drunk cops and rapist Sheriffs. Thus, it lets all those boys in blue who go with the program know, that if they mess up, they’ll have nothing to fear from the people who cut their checks. But to those that mess with the program of repression, watch out. 

Brian Reed Told to "Drop the F-ing Knife" and Then Shot

Oink, oink, bang, bang!

In the Modesto Bee today, more details emerged around the police shooting of Brian Reed. Reed, a truck driver, was distraught over finances and threatened to kill himself with a small knife. His girlfriend fearing for his saftey, called the police. Police then entered the home and told Reed to "Drop the F-ing knife!" several times, while Reed kept the knife aimed at his chest. Police then shot Reed several times, he is now in critical condition.

According to the Modesto Bee:

The officer who shot him, Ronny Ziya, has returned to work after four days of administrative leave, which is standard. Ziya, 30, has been with the department 3½ years, according to officer Scott Nelson, a police spokesman. The other officer at the scene was Caeli Koehler, who has worked two years for the department.When she [Brian's girlfriend] went inside, Reed had a 7-inch Dale Earnhardt Jr. memorabilia pocket knife pointed at his chest, she said. The blade appears to be 3 to 4 inches in length, according to photos on Web sites selling the knife.

She said she begged him to put the knife down and not hurt himself and tried to pull the weapon out of his hand. When the officers arrived at the home about 5:25 p.m., Koehler and Ziya heard the struggle inside and demanded they open the door, the woman said.

She said Reed opened the door and that she positioned herself between Reed and the officers and said, "Don't hurt him, don't hurt him, he's trying to hurt himself." The woman said the officers did not once try to negotiate with Reed, but instead told him repeatedly to, "Drop the f------ knife."

She said Reed responded by saying, "I don't care if I live, just shoot me." Nelson said he could not discuss the conversation between Reed and the officers, only that they asked multiple times that he drop the knife.

The woman said the officers were standing in her home's entryway while Reed eventually was about 15 feet away in the living room. She said he never threatened the officers and kept the knife pointed at himself.

Ziya shot Reed three or four times, the woman said. She said she was never in danger of being hit.

One of the bullet holes is visible in the blinds in the home's living room. The woman said she expected Ziya might use non-deadly force to get the knife out of Reed's hand and said at one point Koehler pulled out her Taser.

Nelson could not confirm that Koehler handled or intended to use a Taser.

On the day of the shooting, the woman said Reed was exhausted, depressed and stressed about finances. He had been working 14-hour graveyard shifts as a trucker, hauling cargo to Reno and back. She said he hadn't slept the night before because he was sick. The woman said she plans to hire an attorney, but for now is focused on Reed, who hasn't regained consciousness since Thursday. She described Reed as a good, hardworking man. She said he liked to be outdoors with his kids riding dirt bikes, going fishing and driving Go-Karts.

Oscar Grant.

This shooting mirrors a wave or other recent shootings in which police come into contact with distraught individuals who are suicidal or are having mental episodes. In these situations, rather than using 'non-lethal force' that taxpayers have shelled out millions for such as tasers (which surprise surprise, have also resulted in thousands of deaths), police instead reach straight for their guns. Remember the shooting death of Oscar Grant on New Years Day near Oakland? Grant's killer, a BART Police, grabbed his taser, only to put it back and shoot Grant right in the back. Police interact with us in this way because they know that they can get away with it and furthermore, they know that they will face no reprimand from their higher ups. Calls for better training and 'more sensitive cops' miss the point that the police are carrying out their jobs to a 't.' The police are not designed to be compassionate or defuse arguments, the police are there to get people to follow orders and if they refuse or are unable, they can argue with a barrel of a gun.

In the coming months and years, how many more people are going to be distraught just like Reed was over finances? How many of us are on the edge, just hanging on as we deal with bills, being laid off, tickets, court, jail time, fee increases, budget cuts, finding a new job, police shootings, and foreclosure? All this stress and pain is brought on by our position within this system of capitalism. The police aren't there to see us out of it, they're there to make sure we stay in it.

This is why we need to create ways of coming together to attack the crisis brought on by capitalism, of which police violence is only a symptom of. We need to start forming groups to organize from at school and at the workplace, and especially in our neighborhoods. Here we can talk, act, and support each other, and hopefully rely on one another more so than we could ever a cop.

Nazis On Scenic Drive?

Neo-Nazi graffiti on
Scenic Drive.

For years, we've heard reports of a racist, Nazi menace on Scenic Drive, right between Coffee and Rose Ave, close to downtown Modesto. We talked to shop keepers who had their businesses vandalized with swastikas, saw abandoned homes that had racist and Neo-Nazi slogans written in them, and talked to friends who were chased for the crime of being brown, and even had guns pulled on them. Recently, after hearing that Scenic Drive was again awash in Nazi related graffiti, we took a camera and documented some of it.

The good news: some of it has already been written over, altered, or covered up. The bad news: there's a lot of it, and it stretches all the way from Coffee and Scenic down to Oakdale/El Vista and Scenic.

Neo-Nazi stencil. 

Much of the graffiti is very generic, it is mostly swastikas; it does not appear to be directly related to any set group. It appears on the North side of Scenic only, leading one to suspect that it is being carried out by someone living on that side of the street. Also, many of the large black swastikas that are painted with what appears to be be brush also include boot footprints (we assume to be male) leading east. There are also numerous stencils like the one pictured left, both in white and black spray paint. The stencils include a skull and a swastika. Besides the black brush swastikas and stencils, there are also numerous white swastikas up and down the street and some Neo-Nazi graffiti on the power box next to the apartments on Scenic (first picture on right). The graffiti includes an attempted 3-D swastika, and the letters 'SWP,' or 'Supreme White Power.' Apparently the 'master race' has problems drawing simple 3-D images!  Lastly, there is one driveway to an apartment complex that we came across that has a swastika painted in the drive way, right next to the corner of Scenic and Rose ave. Further down the street, right next to Oakdale/El Vista, another black swastika appears on the street, right outside of an old folks home.

Cross that filth out!

We find this all worth mentioning because first there is a history in Modesto of various outbreaks of Neo-Nazi and racist vandalism. Furthermore, as we have stated, this vandalism only helps to sow the seeds for the people that create this sort of filth to terrorize and attack members of our community. Will our neighborhoods be breeding grounds for racist scum to break apart poor and working communities and attack those based on their sexual orientation, race, or gender? Or, will we come together, especially in this time of crisis and not allow racists, fascists, and Nazis to not only put up their disgusting slogans on our streets, but also openly organize. We salute the people who have already altered the racist slogans that you see on this blog post, especially the local graffiti artists who spelled out their hate for the Nazis that you see below. We are also including a new poster, one that you can printed out and distributed in the Scenic Drive area.

Graf writters don't take no Nazi crap!

This isn't the work of young kids acting stupid, but a group of people who have a political agenda of authoritarianism, racism, and hate. Are you going to let them organize on Scenic or anywhere else?

To download the 'Defend Scenic' Poster, go here!

Police State 2011: Brian Reed Shot by MPD as Jesse Watson's Family Launches Wrongful Death Suit

As the clock ticked away at the seconds left to 2010 and a crew of us walked the streets of Downtown Modesto, many of us tonight involved with this project found it hard to enjoy ourselves. Because, as we walked, hoping to enjoy our buzz and being around so many Modestans, we knew that one person lay in the ground cold and another lay in the hospital. Because of the police.

How many more will die?

The family of Jesse Eugene Watson announced in the December 29th edition of the Modesto Bee that the would be filling a wrongful death suit against the Modesto Police Department. Watson was chased by police because Watson's car "fit the description of a vehicle involved in a suspected break-in at Burnside Body Shop on North Franklin Street." Burnside Body Shop is owned by a member of the City Council. Police then chased Watson for seven miles, after which Watson crashed after being hit by a police car from behind, and then according to police, he then backed up toward them. 'Fearing for their lives,' the police open fired. In doing so, the police not only killed Watson, but also pumped his girlfriend with lead four times, injuring her critically. According to a police insider, "Blue Baton," police also managed to hit a parked police car, as well as a vehicle containing a woman and her young daughter, although they were luckily unharmed. According to the Modesto Bee, Watson's mother "has hired an attorney and plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit."


The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department is 'investigating' the latest killing.

Another person shot dead for what? For matching a description? For daring to run from a police department that so many on these streets knows kills and murders at will? For fearing to be arrested by a corrupt police department and locked inside a jail where 6 people have brutally died in the last year for what would amount to a misdemeanor? Those that cheer on the cops in their latest act of brazen brutality support a department that stands on the bodies of scores of victims and behind a blue code of silence, murder, and deceit.

Which side are you on?

But as Modesto residents were just coming to grips with this latest murder, and as the Bee does backflips to avoid calling Watson a 'victim' and pat the police on the back, on the last day of 2010, the police shot their 8th victim in a year's time in Northeast Modesto (and the 14th in 3 years). The victim was Brian Reed, 41,  who police shot after responding to a call of a man threating to commit suicide. This latest shooting mirrors the recent police murder of Francisco Moran in September of 2010, when police officer shot him in his East Modesto home armed only with a spatchula. 


According to witnesses, two Modesto police officers entered Reed's home and found him with a knife. Police are not releasing information on the size or nature of Reed's knife, or if he even made threatening moves towards them with the knife (remember they were there on a call to HELP Reed because he was suicidal). Police then were reported to have asked the distraught Reed to "drop the knife" several times, after which he was shot at 6-8 times, according to neighbors who witnessed the attack. Soon after, Reed's wife and two children ran out of the home crying, "They just shot my dad." When police were asked by residents why they didn't use a taser to subdue Reed, they replied that, "Sometimes, tasers don't work." 

There's no justice, just-us.

In 2010, police shot dead Elizabeth Catherine Kropp, 43, in Modesto, after the mentally disturbed woman appeared on a school grounds cutting herself with a knife. After officers orders to stop fell on deaf ears, as the police responded in their most compassionate way possible - shooting Kropp to death. In January of 2009, Richie Robles, a 45 year old man with a samurai sword was also shot dead in Downtown Modesto in a similar circumstance. 


It is clear that the police are not capable, willing, or even able to solve problems and help us - only in dishing out repression, control, and murder. We cannot count on them to tell the truth, only to lie and cover their own tracks. Nor can we count on the local government to absolve them, or the media to hold the accountable. 


This is the second police involved shooting in Modesto since an attorney from Palo Alto began an 'investigation' into the police for brutality and corruption and we can be sure that their recent actions show that they indeed fear no reprimand from higher ups or from the government. 


Only the people can bring justice. Only we can begin to come together and resist police murder and terror and begin to rely on each other to resolve conflicts and help one another. An investigation by outsiders of our community will only show what so many already no to be painfully true - the police are a murderous gang of thugs.

The following report on the Reed shooting comes from a community member of Hagstrom Court in Northeast Modesto, the area in which Reed was shot. It is painful and hard to read at times, as we come to realize that the police responding to the scene endangered the lives of many more than just Reed when they arrived that night, but also his family and community members. Rest in Peace to Jesse Watson. Rest in Peace to Brian Reed. Let 2011 be the year when we start to push back against our enemies in blue. Happy new year. 

Eyewitness Account of Officer-Involved Shooting on Hagstrom Ct. Last Night: Neighborhood Considers Response Questionable

Neighbors of the man shot last night on Hagstrom Ct. last night are questioning the manner in which responding officers handled the difficult situation. The wife or domestic partner of the man shot reportedly called the police because her husband was disturbed and behaving erratically. As people were outside in the street, police vehicles entered the court at a high rate of speed, with one neighbor upset that his child was uncomfortably close to being hit by one of the cars. One police vehicle was travelling at such a high rate of speed that it overshot the house by eight houses after turning the corner before coming to a stop.

One eyewitness to the events said that after the police arrived, they heard them shouting for the individual to come out of the house. After the door opened, the officers observed that the individual was holding a knife, and ordered him to "Drop the knife" five times. At this time, the individual, who was said to be despondent and under the influence of inhalants, began moving toward the officers, at which time six shots were fired, with three hitting the individual.

At that point, the wife who had called ran out of the house screaming "Why did I call the police", and the couple's young daughter (around 10 years of age), ran to a neighbor's house shouting "They shot him, they shot him". When asked if it was her teen-aged brother, who has had contact with the law and has been on probation in the past (it was not stated if he is currently on probation), she cried out that "No, they shot my Dad". One of the neighbors heard a member of law enforcement later say that "He committed suicide by cop".

Neighbors who witnessed the shooting and its aftermath are understandably upset and emotional about the shooting. While the house had been known by neighbors for police and probation officers stopping by to make contact and to do thorough probation-related searches of the house because of the man's teenaged step-son's contact with the law (the details of which are not known to the neighbors), the man who was shot maintained fairly civil relations with his neighbors, and though the regular police presence was not appreciated by those in the neighborhood, neighbors were not aware of the step-father of the teenager (and father of the little girl), having been involved with the law.

The general consensus among the neighbors who witnessed the shooting and its aftermath seems to be that between the initial contact with the man who was shot and the moment of the shooting, there was sufficient time to set up around the house and try tasing or other means of incapacitating the individual before outright shooting him.

When one of the officers was asked by one of the neighbors why they didn't try tasing him or using mace or capsicum spray before shooting the man, the officer responded " because tasing doesn't always work".

Another issue raised by the neighbors was that the ambulance had to park a distance from the scene, leading to the the paramedics having to to roll the stretcher from the ambulance to the scene, load the resident who was shot onto the stretcher, and then roll him back to the ambulance, rather than pulling right up to the scene, loading the individual onto the stretcher, and driving directly from the scene. The concern is that the time it took to roll the stretcher to and from the scene could be crucial in whether or not the individual survives the shooting or not.

The neighbors are now expressing not just shock at the shooting itself, but anger and fear at the immediacy of the shooting rather than attempting to subdue their neighbor with less-than-lethal means before shooting to kill. Could officers have positioned themselves so as to permit the use of the taser or other means and then shoot him if those methods didn't incapacitate him so that the officers could safely secure him?

Another issue raised by the neighbors was the youth of the officers present. Is this a factor to be considered when dealing with lethal situations? The impression in the neighborhood is that most of these officers were very young, and that possibly this was a factor in what is being viewed by many in the neighborhood as having jumped the gun in shooting him rather than opting for a non-lethal or less-lethal approach.

The question is, when faced with someone who is obviously disturbed and/or under the influence, what can be done to reduce the number of fatalities do to officer-involved shootings? This was a man of the home, a family man, and although the family had issues (how many of our families don't?), people in that small slice of Modesto are seeing themselves in him, and asking themselves at what point are they now able to call the police in the belief that the police will not only protect and serve those who have not committed crimes, but also, when necessary, protect and serve those in the community who need to be protected from themselves without paying the ultimate price?