The “gang activity” wasn’t my main point, my main point is just that I think fred hampton arose as a result of the circumstances around him, more than anything else. He was unique, yes, but I don’t think he was a messiah, or a “great man” of history, or what have you, I think he was just the right person in the right place at the right time. Or maybe in the wrong place, since he got killed, I suppose.
In any case, my point was just not to discredit the surrounding material circumstances which led to the group, the context, and that, context providing, modern gangs could move in a similar direction. They have that same latent potential, it’s just being co-opted by a bunch of different interests, currently. Maybe less so right now, actually, than in the kind of post-black panther period.
I’m also not sure that a black separatist state or movement would really threaten the feds all that much, or that black self-sufficiency would, but I’m more willing to be contested on that point. I would think, more, that the precursors to black separatist states and movements, would be the thing that threatens the government, and maybe the actions leading up to a black separatist state, rather than the existence of the state itself. The conditions that lead to such a movement would be the main threat to the feds, I would think, because the same precursors are what could easily lead to a direct moral conflict with the feds and an attempt at abolishing their power more broadly. “State” here being kind of a dumb word for it, but you get what I mean anyways, probably. But then, everyone just kind of decided to tear apart tulsa oklahoma, so maybe my cynicism level just isn’t high enough.
I dunno, we’re mostly saying the same thing here, I guess.
It’s all good, lol. I was a kid at the time and all I heard was Walter Cronkite-style tut-tutting about the threatening Black Panthers; it wasn’t until decades later that I started understanding nothing was as it had been told at the time. And the Panthers did not remain the same organization after Fred Hampton’s death, at all, which is why I tend to not equate the group with the man. He had that ability to unite and create a powerful force out of disparate people and interests that aimed toward a common good, which is one of the things that died with him.
But agree or disagree, we should all be thinking about the power structures that dictate the circumstances of our lives, and you’ve certainly given me some things to think about. I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to write them.
The “gang activity” wasn’t my main point, my main point is just that I think fred hampton arose as a result of the circumstances around him, more than anything else. He was unique, yes, but I don’t think he was a messiah, or a “great man” of history, or what have you, I think he was just the right person in the right place at the right time. Or maybe in the wrong place, since he got killed, I suppose.
In any case, my point was just not to discredit the surrounding material circumstances which led to the group, the context, and that, context providing, modern gangs could move in a similar direction. They have that same latent potential, it’s just being co-opted by a bunch of different interests, currently. Maybe less so right now, actually, than in the kind of post-black panther period.
I’m also not sure that a black separatist state or movement would really threaten the feds all that much, or that black self-sufficiency would, but I’m more willing to be contested on that point. I would think, more, that the precursors to black separatist states and movements, would be the thing that threatens the government, and maybe the actions leading up to a black separatist state, rather than the existence of the state itself. The conditions that lead to such a movement would be the main threat to the feds, I would think, because the same precursors are what could easily lead to a direct moral conflict with the feds and an attempt at abolishing their power more broadly. “State” here being kind of a dumb word for it, but you get what I mean anyways, probably. But then, everyone just kind of decided to tear apart tulsa oklahoma, so maybe my cynicism level just isn’t high enough.
I dunno, we’re mostly saying the same thing here, I guess.
It’s all good, lol. I was a kid at the time and all I heard was Walter Cronkite-style tut-tutting about the threatening Black Panthers; it wasn’t until decades later that I started understanding nothing was as it had been told at the time. And the Panthers did not remain the same organization after Fred Hampton’s death, at all, which is why I tend to not equate the group with the man. He had that ability to unite and create a powerful force out of disparate people and interests that aimed toward a common good, which is one of the things that died with him.
But agree or disagree, we should all be thinking about the power structures that dictate the circumstances of our lives, and you’ve certainly given me some things to think about. I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to write them.