Covid Journal, April 28, 2020

OK … so this video is just a tad creepy, but at the same time, someone hit the mark and has given us a good dose of real to digest:

Long story short: we treated the planet like a plaything. Now it’s pissed.

Time to smarten up.

More Facebook Follies …

In other news, Facebook really sucks.

They’re enabling US militia-types to organize groups on their site/platform. These protesters are well beyond the sign-carrying ‘I want my haircut’ stupidity. They’re frequently using a term – The Boogaloo – to refer to their intent to stimulate a second civil war in the US and this time, it won’t be about freeing slaves.

It’ll be about enabling radical right-wing controls the likes of which The Handmaiden’s Tale or 1984 could not have ever predicted. These are people that are discussing ways to cut off US military supply chains by implementing strategic assassinations.

Thousands of armed right-wing militants are plotting a violent uprising against the U.S. government during the coronavirus crisis, a new report finds, and Facebook is providing them a platform to prepare and organize.

A report published Thursday by the watchdog group the Tech Transparency Project found 125 Facebook groups devoted to the idea of the “boogaloo,” a far-right term used to describe what they believe is an inevitable civil war in the U.S. Members discuss weapons, combat medicine, and how to develop explosives, the report says. One group even shared a document detailing how to disrupt U.S. government supply lines and discussing the possible need to assassinate government officials.

Over 60% of the groups were created in just the last three months, according to the report. The 125 groups have nearly 73,000 members, though it’s unclear how many individuals may belong to multiple groups.

About 50% of the groups’ members have joined within the last 30 days.

The groups have flourished despite Facebook community guidelines that prohibit facilitating, organizing or promoting “harmful activities targeted at people.” The guidelines also ban “statements of intent to commit high-severity violence.”

…

The boogaloo groups are part of a larger anti-government extremist movement in the U.S., which includes militia and “patriot” organizations such as the Oathkeepers and the Three Percenters, whose adherents have been implicated in bombings, murders and armed standoffs with federal law enforcement.

The largest group, the Thicc Boog Line, has gained about 30,000 followers since its creation in October 2019. Its main page is public and is often used to hawk boogaloo-branded clothing and accessories. The Thicc Boog Line also operates 11 private boogaloo groups that more explicitly discuss preparing for the coming civil war.

Meanwhile, the social media giant Facebook does little to nothing to prevent it from happening. They claim they know about the groups, but few have been removed.

Until then, friends in Canada, be concerned about the company that folks like Derek Sloan, Andrew Scheer and Jason Kenney keep. They all have the same level of disconcerting desire to pick a fight when it’s the last thing on everyone’s mind.