Breaking Down How Battles of Berkeley Where Organized
Originally Published in print and digital on DopeEraMagazine.com on 3/19/2017
Why does it seem like there’s a “rally” that breaks out into mass violence every month now in Berkeley, CA? Sure, it starts with Trump, but the answer is way more complicated.
Richard Black, the person who has been creating the most recent “Pro-Trump” events starting with the March 4, 2017 event claims it is all for “Freedom of Speech”. Yet they had no speakers, no megaphones, no chants beyond “USA!”. In other words, they did not come to support Trump at all. They came to “smash” their most hated enemy Antifa. (Antifa or Anti-fascist is a grassroots movement that first came about in the 1920s to fight against the Nazi’s rise before WWII. They are currently most famous for punching Alt-Right personality leader Richard Spencer in the face. The video has gone viral. The group’s purpose is against fascist groups and ideologies, to shut down platforms that breed violence thrown rallies in speech. So if they are after you, that’s because you have been behaving like a fascist.)
It is true that people like Richard Black have the right to free speech. Yet much of what happened and isn’t told about Milo Yiannopoulos is that he had a following that singled out people on campus to attack in groups when no one is around to help them. POC & LGBTQ have often found themselves defenseless and freedom of speech on these campuses applies to everyone including protesters so no, the speakers can not simply be ignored.
There was no organization at the March 4, 2017 “Freedom of Speech” rally. In front of the Pro-Trump group stood a group of men looking like they went to Home Depot to prepare for war. The date of the event just happened to coincide with a national Pro-Trump rally so lots of Pro-Trump and Anti-Trump protesters came to argue and fight after tensions online were at peak heights. Many agitated much of the initial fighting while Antifa kept behind the Anti-Trump supporters holding a more defensive line. Eventually Antifa took out several of the Home Depot warriors as they had been smacking people with their helmets as they walked by while insulting people who were minding their business in an attempt to instigate more fights between Antifa and anti-Trump protesters. Kyle Chapman aka “Basedstickman”, their current felony riddled hero who escaped Texas with prior felony records and 3 and ½ years time in jail currently lives in Daly City, CA. Kyle sprayed bear mace in the eye of Dope Era’s Owner, a Black Panther leader, as he was talking to someone unaware of Kyle behind him. Many saw “Dope Era” as he calls himself publicly, on the news having milk poured over his eyes as bear mace is far more harsh than regular mace.
As anyone who saw any full length footage of the event can tell the violence and agitation was from both sides. We don’t deny that. I myself had to save an old man from being jumped for taking pictures of anti-Trump protesters with his phone. But leave it to Richard Black and Kyle Chapman, the narrative is of one sided heroism and defense on their part. “The left is violent and must be stopped!” is often said by many who wish for more violence in Berkeley, Ca against us “The violent fascist commie left”, that in a twist is like saying “I’m rubber you’re glue, we are not fascists you are”.
Understanding Intent — What do They Really Want?
After watching Buzzfeeds (wrongfully called Alt-Right March) 3 hour stream of the event, one man on the “Pro-Trump” side of the groups said he was not Pro-Trump, “I don’t care about Trump, I didn’t vote for him”. One of the anti-Trump protester looked confused as he was there to debate Trump supporters. He asks “What are your politics?” the man responds, “My politics is anarchy I’m here for freedom!” This is an important key to understanding we are not just against regular Trump supporters. This same man was in Berkeley, CA to support Milo Yiannopoulos back in February 1, 2017. He spent as much time as possible putting himself in front of every news camera he could find to talk about how he was a victim of the left’s hate and how they shut down free speech.
He spoke to news outlets as blood was running down half of his face, making his case visible and hard to question. This is the narrative they wanted to push. For every person soaked in blood talking about “Liberals” and the “left-wing propaganda” being violent against their free speech they win their case. They want us to hit them, beat them, show the world we are the violent ones against freedom. They become their own Social Justice Warriors in the name of freedom and gain a new locked and loaded audience ready to crowdfund their events. They want to show the world that we are the real fascists not them. It’s an old childish bully technique of trying to cleverly manipulate an attack towards oneself so that the agitator can then tell an authority like a parent or teacher, playing victim just to get the person being harassed in trouble. This diverts the attention away from the bully being the big bad fascist. Instead, now the person they harass becomes the fascist bully. All they need to do is trigger you into a violent emotional display of what would seem like self defense, but it really creates the illusion that you are the true bully.
Controlling emotions and not taking things personal is essential when dealing with people like this. Who knows if they even believe half the insults they spout. Does it matter? Their true objective is to show the world how ridiculously censored our society has become while taking control of the social narrative. In their world it is us vs. them and we are simply an enemy that needs to be conquered. They know they can not be openly violent, so instead they play these games to turn the narrative against us while getting their chances to be violent in acts of “self-defense”.
What’s the worse that can happen?
Remember, Milo Yiannopoulos worked for Stephen Bannon. He worked at Breitbart News up until February 21, 2017 when Milo resigned due to the pedophile comments being exposed, not by Liberals, but by Republicans under Trumps political party. In other words, Milo was sacrificed for politics as usual thanks to the GOP, not the resistance. Yet, it doesn’t mean Trump has not backed up Milo before.
Milo had to of known on February 1, 2017 Antifa would come, along with other highly emotional anti-Trump protesters. He and his supporters knew it would be easy to manipulate the situation into a frenzy. The results worked as far as getting support from Trump, and the Twitter response from Trump says it all.
Berkeley, Ca is well known as one of the most Liberal cities in America. It’s also known for The Free Speech Movement from 1964–1965 (We highly recommend watching The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 on Netflix, it is relevant to what is going on today). Apparently, this history is important to Milo and his supporters considering they want to be champions of free speech. On the other hand, Berkeley is also a sanctuary city. Milo’s speech on February 1, 2017 was supposed to highlight opposition to sanctuary cities. Many Trump supporters believed Trump should just send in troops and defund the city. We are not sure that there is a connection with Milo and Trump in an attempt to make an excuse to attack this city, but it is not being ruled out considering their true main objective is to take back the West. Western Culture that is. The protection of Western Culture is about shutting down borders, preventing “Radical Islam” from invading and taking over the culture and land of Western nations like the US, Canada, and Europe. That is why many of these groups have such massive white supremacist support.
Understanding White Nationalism Logic
Western Culture is defined as Canada, US, and Europe. In other words, countries that have long had European Centric values, image and control. The fear of Western Culture changing so quickly comes as many white men in particular see an attempt to blame them for all of Western Cultures past misdoings. They see this as dismantling their power in society. In other words, they see a threat of oppression every time a different identity group claims oppression from white society. They see oppression in modern day feminism against men. They do not want to take the blame for what their ancestors may or may not of done. It’s not their responsibility as they see it. They don’t want to have to apologize, give any reparations or pay taxes for social programs of other groups. They believe anyone can succeed and not be poor if they just work hard enough for what they want. They believe all it takes is social self reliance and community responsibility to fix broken communities. They ignore the fact that our society has long been built on discrimination and that system still remains. They ignore the fact that society has psychological issues just as much as economic issues. It’s true younger white people today did not create systemic racism. It’s true our societies are not nearly as bad as they used to be. As a white woman I can see that point. BUT, if we do not try to dismantle the systematically racist caste system still in place now we might as well take responsibility for its existence in the future.
Much of their tone deaf philosophy is equivalent to a business man walking by a homeless man begging for change and responding “Get a job you lazy bum”. You can’t call out their “White Privilege” as they don’t believe that exists and that is seen as racist against whites to even claim. After all, not all white people are well off. There are white people who get brutalized by police. There is no room for anyone not white to express their social grief as long as anything “white” is mentioned because their is no room for whites to express their own grievances. They are told they have no voice allowed in when it comes to social justice change quite often as they hear it. They call this identity politics, saying that identity is fine to have but our politics should be all inclusive. Ironic considering many of them want a white vision of the Western World. As I’ve said to many of these people on Twitter while doing my research, you can’t have it all, pick something and stick with it. The other wish will have to be sacrificed. Either you are equally important in society with everyone, or you are trying to be a supremacist getting rid of everyone else. Many of them are starting to realize white nationalism can not-not be white supremacy and are focusing more on being Libertarians instead of Alt-Right which is philosophically heavy in identity politics.
To that extent, the radio hosts, video blog personalities and article writers in this fan base who speak of no social programs needed and tax cuts (a common Libertarian believe for small or no government and self reliance) may actually lose much of their following later on down the road when Trump is not saving many poor whites from poverty. This tone deaf philosophy is sure to bite them back later. It’s already begun with the attempts to dismantle ACA and Medicaid. We’ve heard from veterans who voted for Trump and now oppose him. One recent grievance we hear is how much they actually depend on Meals on Wheels which may be cut if Trumps budget plans get approved.
Who’s the Major Players in this Game?
Western Culture has already changed dramatically over the last few years and it’s not likely to go back. Who defines it for the future is what this battle is really all about. The people who define our changing culture now will be the power source of how our countries are run for many generations. It’s not just a fight for culture, it is a fight for who will hold the power and wealth.
It’s important to understand how these groups move and who is now leading them as their political beliefs and motives start to shift. Political satirical right wing commentator Gavin McInnes is the founder of Proud Boys who had been mentioned as being responsible for the most recent rally in Berkeley, Ca on March 4, 2017. Despite Gavin openly opposing support for the event, the ProudBoysUSA Twitter page had large vocal support, as well as Alt-Right leader and outspoken White Nationalist Richard Spencer.
After more details about how disorganized the event was given to Gavin McInnes by yours truly, Gavin openly showed support for the next event. Damage control is probably needed as Gavin is known for being associated with members of the alt-right during the election and he is now trying to stray from an image of being a “nazi”. My thought was, if I could get Gavin to notice he might take control from Richard Black and Kyle Chapman who were not even officially Proud Boys to begin with. Gavin could stop their violence and should want to as Proud Boys could easily be categorized as a gang if they continue organized violence. Which would tie Gavin McInnes as an organized gang leader.
Who are the Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys is a Western Chauvinist Fraternal Brotherhood created and led by Gavin McInnes. Gavin created Proud Boys first chapter in NYC, inspired by his days with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization. The Proud Boys are relatively new, chapters are just now being built around the country so the structure is still being created. It is important to watch their growth. Alt-Right is no longer the main threat. Depending on how Gavin McInnes manages the Proud Boys, it can either become a real problem over run by white supremacy, or it can become a fraternal organization and mentorship that many white men who feel misplaced in our changing society really seem to need.
Gavin is probably the least problematic far right personality. He is anti-authoritarianism. He is a Libertarian which means forcing people out of their civil rights and censoring them is a big no-no. As a matter of fact, the satirical personality he portrays makes fun of feminists and Liberals for having authoritarian attitudes toward free speech. I’ve seen him attack his extreme right following for doing this as well. He does not discriminate when it comes to people trying to shut down any kind of freedom of speech or creative expression. He wants to say his opinions knowing they may be wrong and/or are controversial without being attacked with no formal debate. Gavin seems to want to challenge our social status quo of never giving anyone a chance to voice their opinion simply because it’s a social taboo to do so.
Despite Gavin’s anti-chauvinist feminist position, he has stated he is against rape. Despite his wish to maintain Western Culture he allows people of color and LGBTQ to join Proud Boys as long as they are also for maintaining Western Culture and closed borders. Recently he even praised the movie “Get Out” stating he enjoyed the movie. He stated that the movie was not a target against white people, as many on the far right were trying to state. He saw this as a reverse attempt of censorship and defended the movie.
Gavin has had loyalty and ties with the Alt-Right in the past don’t get it twisted. Many of these groups came together simply to prevent Hillary Clinton from winning the election. He may of thought it was fine to align forces with Alt-Right personalities as he would not stop their own freedom of speech and beliefs. The problem with the Alt-Right that no one wants to talk about, not even the die hard supporters is that the Alt-right wants ethnic cleansing. Not death chambers kind of cleansing as many explained to me on Twitter, but more of a, could you just get out of America it’s a white nation kind of belief. This is why Trump’s plans for immigration got him elected. The Alt-Right is about identity politics, which is something many Libertarians believe we need to steer away from. As much as Gavin McInnes is for closed borders, maybe he just woke up and realized he was in bed with his philosophical enemy. Still, I hope it is not far lost on him how close he came to losing all credibility playing with white nationalists while claiming not to be one.
If you do check Gavin McInnes out, many of his videos make little sense. He has a few points that do make you want to check liberals on their bullshit, but often he just seems to not be sure about his creative direction or how to communicate his points in a way that transcends across a larger audience. That’s probably due to a large part of his fan base turned into an Alt-Right shitposting storm of crappy memes and hypocrisy against the “left” dragging his character into something he does not want to be associated with. He is now having to defend himself to prove he is not a “Nazi” while pissing off this following. A lot of his views stem from taking a ridiculous story that does not represent an entire group well and then applying it to prove his points. In this attempt he dances a fine line of becoming his own worst enemy. It would do him some good to include more people on the left of politics or actual people from the groups he talks about to give a proper debate.Apparently Gavin’s wife who he has never shown any disrespect for and is indigenous American, is not having it with him right now.)
What Gavin McInnes does have is a voice that can guide white men off the cliff of white supremacy and help them find a place in this ever changing diverse new world. It is important we do not demonize individuals like Gavin McInnes and Milo Yiannopoulos just because they have extreme views. They have large followings for a reason and hiding these people in a proverbial closet does not make them go away.
Despite Milo being an obnoxious real life troll, I thought it was a real shame that no one questioned why there was no debate or discussion over the pedophilia remarks he made. He admits he was molested as a 14 year old boy by a Catholic priest and talks about what is a common form of older male mentoring young boys into sexuality through sexual abuse. In our society, talking about pedophilia is taboo thus censored. Censorship never solves our problems, which makes Milo and Gavin’s points only that much more valid in that aspect. And considering what Milo talks about, I see him as a symbol of society’s biggest loudest problem child, acting out for attention because he and many like him actually need help.
So when’s the next rally going to be?
Richard Black is back at it, putting together another attempt for a “Freedom of Speech” rally in Berkeley, CA at the same park (Martin Luther King Jr Civic Center Park) on April 15, 2017. The previous event on March 4, 2017. Kyle Chapman aka Basedstickman is the main character for this rally. Kyle was arrested on 5 felony charges. The DA is still looking for evidence to gather before formally charging Kyle. In the meantime they are crowdsourcing funds to get speakers and proper security, so it’s not likely they will be Home Depot war ready styled like last time.
We don’t believe we need people to come to the next event but have heard many want to come. If you do plan to attend these sort of rally’s, please keep in mind a few things:
You can not bring the following things to Berkeley in open display: Gas masks, bats, guns, knives, bear mace, grenades (why do I need to tell you this) or wooden planks (even if you attach cute little flags at the end to pretend you are being patriotic).
The police stand to the side and watch while video recording. They wait until the fighting and crowd dies down, stand on certain pathways and detain people to gather their personal information so they can identify people later from those videos. Investigators later review uploaded videos on youtube and social media for further evidence. Special face recognition technology is used, so if you don’t want to be recognized cover your face.
It has been said if you have an issue with police being able to access information from your phones, do not bring them.
This next time around they plan to have speakers. The speakers may sound like the usual talking heads of right wing media trying to sell fear against immigration etc, etc but they may also bring out Milo himself or someone else who has a habit of saying things that are highly offensive. So if you do come, remember, they are just trolls and bullies, do not take it personal. We can not afford to be “triggered” into becoming the violent animals they want to display us as. If we become violent out of anything other than self defense, we lose.
Stay organized and stay aware of your surroundings. Do not stray off too far from your own frontline and/or group. The moment they see you by yourself is the moment they start to harass you/slap you with a helmet while walking by or spray you in the eye with mace (actual examples of what has happened). They don’t straight up attack people, they try to get people to attack them so they can keep their victimized narrative.
They take no responsibility for anything. Remember, their entire motto is to not apologize for being men. Trying to find sympathy with people who view alpha males supreme is pointless.
Debate: If at any point you find yourself talking to a Proud Boy, debate them. Do your research, figure out good counter points for their views. Never name call as that is not an argument and gets easily dismissed. Do not underestimate them, some of them are highly educated, smart and ready to debate.
Proud Boys do accept members of other ethnicities and LGBTQ members as long as they stick to assimilate with Western Culture. They are anti-authoritarian. So calling them racists, fascists and Nazi’s is pointless.
Get together new protest chants, the “No Racists, No KKK, no Fascist USA” and “Fuck You Nazi Scum” chants are getting old considering the fascist threat is dying out with Trumps popularity.
Freedom of speech is not equivalent to having freedom to harass people. That goes for both sides. Unfortunately, (and I know this is a lot to ask especially for those being discriminated against) I don’t have any solutions on how we can prevent verbal discrimination as part of free speech. When does freedom of speech ride into verbal harassment and abuse? This is something we need to figure out how to deal with. We have to remember the world is watching us, and we have to make a good example of how it’s done in the Bay Area, Ca. We are above this, we are smarter than this and we will prove them wrong.
(4/23/2017 — I went to the bloody “battle” on 4/15/2017. After I posted this article an alliance was built with white supremacists as if Gavin McInnes said “hold my beer, I can make things worse)
