This quick post was inspired by a comment I found on Facebook today completely randomly, and I thought it was really interesting and sheds some light on the Oscar Grant shooting that happened in Oakland a few years back. It also gives you a slight idea as to what other officers thought about the incident. Overall, I consider it a good find. Just in case you haven't heard about this incident, it occurred in Oakland at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year's 2009. The shooting was captured on video by a number of people at the scene and led to riots in downtown Oakland. I was living there at the time, so I remember it clearly. A little background:
Oscar Grant: Another Victim of the American Police State
(3 min)
Collection of Different Angles of Shooting Released by Judge
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland-bart-shooting (lots of info here) And now for the quote.... I'm directly related to an Oakland police officer (where the Oscar Grant event went down). Some facts idk if most of the public knows: You're trained to use a taser with just one hand, the non-dominant one usually, in order to avoid pulling your gun. He pulled his gun and held it with both hands like a pistol, indicating he knew he had a gun in his hands. Commonly known is that the BART cop said he thought Grant had a gun. Why would you pull a taser vs a gun if you also have a gun? You wouldn't...
A taser weighs half of what a gun weighs nowadays. They feel and look very different.
Involuntary manslaughter was pretty much appropriate. Most non-cementhead cops say the BART officer is either a complete moron or completely full of shit. In a position of power you also have a responsibility of ensuring safety of the people rather than compromising that safety. There was no gun enhancement on the charge, it is simply a visible slap on the wrist for not being what he should have been as a fully trained sworn officer of the peace. He served 8 months in prison.
He was denied an appeal to overturn the charges so he could 'return to police work' unanimously by the supreme court, further indicating it's just a punishment for betraying expectations of the 'law-keepers' and 'stability of the commons yada yada' authority he had. Basically, you fucked up, you will remand, and you can't come back in.
Even in terms of who is responsible for causing what percentage of the incident, the cops story made no sense. If you thought he had a gun, why would you pull your taser? How could you even confuse the two? It's like confusing a Macintosh with your Windows machine. They serve similar purposes but are not at all easy to confuse.
He was trained to use his non-dominant hand (his left hand) but claimed he set up for cross-body draw on his taser so he could pull with his right hand. This is negligent and stupid. There's a reason you use your non-dominant hand that doesn't pull your gun...
tl;dr: he got off easy, court clearly agrees grant was to blame for a lot of it hence the 'involuntary' part of the charge. It's very trumped up though. 1 Oscar Grant isn't a threat to 4 police officers (i believe that's how many were there), armed or unarmed. I hate to reference this show but even the bumfucks in Dillweed, Arkansas on "COPS" can figure out that 4 cops > 1 assailant or fleeing suspect. Given the buildup of a crowd and reactions by the people in the BART station there was clearly time to simply handcuff Grant and restrain him and put a knee on his back and yell 10 feet for backup with the cuffs. My point is that most people who actually know what the fuck they're doing wouldn't have even considered pulling a taser. MAYBE pepper spray if he was truly as belligerent and threatening as claimed. But come on. 4 cops were within 50 feet of you. Just fucking floor him and cuff him and charge him with whatever.
Most wrongful shooting deaths by officers happen when then intentionally pull a gun and shoot but for an unclear or wrong reason. (Kid had a Toy gun and it was dark, i.e.). Grant was shot in the BACK with the would-be taser turned pistol. If you can shoot him in the back you can just as easily pull his arm up and back and buckle his knees with your feet and apply the cuffs.
im sure nobody will actually read this or care but facts are nice to have in an argument of 'justice' like above.
most cops/closely involved/people who get the exact same training would venture to say he has an easy-to-use, hard-to-disprove excuse of "thought it was my taser" and is probably fuill of shit. and that Grant deserved a citation and restraints but the use-of-force was too much, and the officer is either untrained or just full of a convenient lie.
of course there are also facts on the other side too. He only fired a single shot (consistent with taser) rather than the traditional 'doubletap' for lethal force purposes from a firearm. Granted this is merely circumstantial and proves nothing either way. On the other hand, he never even mentions the fact that he drew his gun by mistake to dispatch or his fellow officers on scene. That only came up when he was being charged. Then again he knows his Miranda rights, but he also knows the strength of immediate reactions and precedent. If you say you accidentally pulled your gun and report it to dispatch immediately it's far more believable than pulling out that sentence when you're on trial. Finally, here is a cool Documentary that I found on YouTube, it is well worth the watch if you have time.
Part one ended with the witnesses that the national media are asking us to believe regarding Sandy Hook. As you saw yesterday, the parents are all dry-eyed and seem to have come to acceptance regarding their children's deaths in record-breaking time.
In contrast, here is a 1999 news story highlighting several victims of the Columbine massacre. The people interviewed in this story have already had a close to a month to come to terms with their losses, yet they seem more upset than the Sandy Hook parents do mere days after the shooting. Unlike the Sandy Hook videos we have seen so far, which feature parents who are well rested and jovial, the Columbine video shows a different reality. The family members of the victims all have a faraway look in their eyes, and seem very sad. The memorial with the basketball girls shows no less than three girls with wet faces, tears streaming from their eyes. The Coach's daughters are also having a very hard time keeping themselves under control. In contrast to the Sandy Hook parents who made a lot of noise, they are quietly crying, but are unable to hold back the tears.
Three Victims of Columbine Shooting (2 min)
Here's another one. The people interviewed in this piece appear to all be showing genuine emotion. First of all, the video establishes that something really happened. We see dead bodies outside the school and doors with glass that has been shot out. It shows lines of crying people expressing disbelief at what has just taken place. There are freaked out, sobbing students who have tears streaming down their faces. The sheriff doing the press conference has huge bags under his eyes and looks stressed. A teacher saying, "Not here, yes at other schools, but not here." Watching this video, I was nearly brought to tears myself several times. This puts a knot at my gut, it feels real. I cannot say that I had that reaction watching any of the Sandy Hook coverage.
ABC News Nightline Footage of Columbine (6min)
OK, last one. I just want to show what a school shooting that actually happened looks like. In the Columbine coverage, they show EMS workers setting up a triage are where they stage victims before transporting them to the hospital. In this footage, you can see worried families quickly walking through the area towards the school. Also the EMS workers are running around, there is a sense of urgency. Once again, every victim is much more believable than any of the parents we saw in part one.
Columbine Massacre One.Man.Band (2 min)
Crisis Actors?
Getting back to Sandy Hook: there are many basic inconsistencies with the official story. On top of that, all of the of the witnesses we have seen are less than credible. Could this be because they are not really the parents of the victims? Who could they possibly be? While I'd say it is safe to say they are not the people who are actually involved in the shooting, there has been much speculation that they are hired actors. Indeed, this is possible. Many have pointed to a group called crisis actors. They are actors who are hired to participate in drills that simulate mass public shootings for training purposes. Their website, here: http://crisisactors.org/, opens with a large still picture of Anderson Cooper's so called "Rebuttal" of the conspiracy theorists, and this statement.
Cooper: Keeping the "Truthers" Honest.
Statement from Crisis Actors
January 14, 2013
We are outraged by Florida Atlantic University Professor James Tracy's
deliberate promotion of rumor and innuendo to link Crisis Actors to the
Sandy Hook shootings of December 14, 2012. We do not engage our actors
in any real-world crisis events, and none of our performances may be
presented at any time as a real-world event.
James Tracy copied his material from blogs and YouTube channels that manufacture malicious rumors and false accusations.
It is obvious to James Tracy and FAU that these sites pander to
followers who need only rumor and innuendo to carry out a relentless
hate attack against the Sandy Hook community as well as Crisis Actors.
These followers' online campaign of threats and defamation continues to
this day, and interferes with official investigations into the Newtown
tragedy. How can James Tracy and the university shrug off any
responsibility for the pain they are causing?
It is extremely telling that the MSM is even bothering to respond to us "truthers," but how could they not when Sandy Hook Hoax videos are getting eleven million views? The picture above is from the first of two segments that Cooper has done since Sandy Hook Questioners reached a critical mass. I will explore this in detail in part three. For now, here are a few of the more obvious Sandy Hook witnesses that may be actors.
The Coroner
Below is the press conference held by Sandy Hook's Coroner shortly after the shootings. There are many problems with his story, I will highlight the most outrageous:
He appears nervous throughout the recording, he attempts to make jokes several times and even laughs at them.
He confirms that all of the victims were killed with the "long weapon." How in the world did Adam Lanza manage that one? Remember, he was found with two guns on him and the rifle was found later, in the trunk of the car he reportedly drove to the massacre.
When asked if Lanza killed himself with the rifle, the coroner automatically says "no." He has already previously stated that he has yet to see the bodies of Lanza or his mother. He quickly covers his statement by saying, that he hasn't made there yet.
When asked how many boys versus girls were killed. He says in an exasperated manner, "I have no idea." Really?! Isn't that your job?!
Bizarre Sandy Hook Coroner behavior (11 min)
Gene Rosen
The video below is a full-length documentary exploring the ever-changing story of Gene Rosen. If you can make the time, I think it is well worth the watch. This guy completely eviscerates Rosen within the first ten minutes. It's actually kind of painful to watch. It is clear that this man is most definitely not telling the truth.
In
the first video we see, Rosen claims to have a grandson who is eight
years old. Next we are shown a link to his personal website (updated in
Sept of last year) that says he has a two year old grandson. Shortly
after, we are shown a video where he claims to have two grandchildren, a
grandson and a granddaughter.
Rosen claims to have seen the casualty list, two days before it was even released!
Out
of the six children, Rosen is not sure how many are boys and how many
are girls. In one segment he says there were three boys and three
girls, in another he claims it was two boys and four girls.
Much
like other coverage, Rosen's story seems to evolve by the day. In
initial reports he is said to have been returning home from a walk.
Next he tells us that he was on his way to "a small, country diner,
which is a vestige of our culture." Another time he tells us he was
"feeding his cats." Finally, the MSM seems to be trying to keep his changing story from being an issue by opening for Rosen,
saying he was "finishing up his morning activities."
Rosen
claims to have no idea what was going on that morning. In interview
after interview, he says that he could not fathom what was going on. He
states he came upon the children who were sitting in a semi-circle and
"seemed fine." He even thought that it may have been a play or some Boy
Scouts. I would like to know how in the world he never noticed police
cars, ambulances and six hundred children streaming down the street?
How did he miss all of the commotion that was going on at the fire
house, which happens to be right across the street?!
Google map of Gene Rosen's House in Relation to Fire Station
Gene Rosen's house looks right out at the Fire House. There are some trees there, but on some of the news coverage you can see the firehouse right through the trees in the background! This google map shows you that the spot where the kids were found and the door of the firehouse are 84 feet apart.
Gene claims that the six children are from Vicky Soto's class. He claims that they saw the execution of their teacher and had to step over her in order to escape the school. How were they not bloody? This part of the story has so many problems, I could write an entire post on that alone. I'll cover that more in part three.
Children Hearing Bangs, NOT Shots.
This
piece shows several different child witnesses. The first is a third
grader, who is shown with her mother. She is the only one that says she
heard, "shots and stuff" and then the teacher closed the door and they
got in a corner. The next two witnesses have a different story,
however. One says he smelled smoke and it sounded like someone was
kicking the door in. The second one says that he heard banging and then
his teacher locked the door.
Sandy Hook School Shooting Interviews--Kids (1 min)
In
this following interview, we meet Ella Seaver, a young girl who was inside the
school during the shooting. This is an odd interview to say the least.
The girl tells us that they got to school and did what they had to do
(?) then they she heard "all this racket" and she heard them say
"go to your cubbies!" She says they spent the rest of the shooting
inside their cubbies while their teacher read two books to them. When
he asks her if her teacher seemed nervous, she says, no. Then he asks
her if she has a good teacher and if she loves her teacher. If that is
not weird enough he tells her that "what happened today is over" and
that she needs to forget about it. WTF?! Am I the only one that smells
a rat here? He finishes up by asking about her Christmas list.
I
will come back to this in part three and delve a little further into
the ways I believe this shows that the little girl is possibly a
monarch, and suffering from mind control/programming. Keeping this in mind, look at the way the mother keeps looking at the interviewer, who never once asks her a question.
Bizarre Interview with Sandy Hook Student (3 min)
Ok, here is the last of the Crisis actors evidence for this piece. Here are some pictures of Nick and Laura Phelps, two parents who were interviewed in Newtown after the tragedy.
Nick and Laura Phelps
Here is a picture of Jennifer and Richard Sexton, two people who have been long suspected by internet researcher Dallas Goldbug of being actors in these public massacres. Link to Dallas Goldbug's website: http://www.wellaware1.com/.
Richard and Jennifer Sexton
They really resemble Nick and Laura Phleps, don't they? Creeped out yet? Just in case you are still thinking this could be coincidental, check out this picture of Jennifer Sexton on Stars Colors, a website that features people in the movie industry.
Here is a Sandy Hook witness that the mainstream media never presented. This woman comes
across as much more believable than the other witnesses we have seen thus
far. Her version of events is also very telling. She says that she saw
two boys running from the school looking scared to death. She says
then she saw a black car pull up and a man came looking for his two
little boys. Next she says she sees 7 or 8 police cars speeding towards
the school and then forty five seconds later she heard gunshots
going off! I am not surprised we have never heard from her again as she
is recounting a scene that sounds an awful lot like a drill or satanic
ritual complete with cops who show up before the event takes
place. As we will see, law enforcement showing up prior to a
large massacre like this is a hallmark of a false flag terror attack.
Marilyn Gudsnuk: Real Sandy Hook Witness? (1 min)
In part three, we will uncover even more of the inconsistencies in the Sandy Hook tale and we will begin to get into motive. If the government pulled this off, what reason would they have? Is it all about gun control? We will explore that next time. Before I end this however, I would like to touch on one last thing.
Scary Symbolism
Below is a video from Anderson Cooper 360. It features the parents of Grace McDonnell,who are shown laughing as the segment begins, and remain happy throughout. When describing seeing Grace's casket, Mrs. McDonnell says, "you felt like the floor was falling away beneath you and your breath was taken away." During the interview, Grace's mom tells Cooper about her meeting with the President following the shooting. She tells us that she had to take a step back and remind herself that he (Obama) had to talk to many more parents that day and that she should be praying for him. Oh, really?
What struck me, however, was the picture that she claims was painted by Grace, which Mrs. McDonnell gifted to the President. Before showing this picture she tells us that Grace and Obama had two things in common: 1.) Their love for Martha's Vineyard, and 2.) Hawaii. As she is saying this, a picture of a fish that Grace supposedly painted is shown. The next painting shown, and the one that the McDonnell parents chose to give to Obama, is of an Owl.
I find this problematic for several reasons. First, it stretches the imagination to believe that a seven year old who can barely write her name would be able to draw and paint a symmetrical owl, with wings that are exactly the same size and shape. Second, the owl itself is painted blue and gold which are colors strongly associated with freemasonry. (Source.)Third, and this is a smoking gun in my opinion: in occult religions, the owl represents Moloch (Molech).
Grace McDonald's Parents 2 Days
After Sandy Hook Shooting
(11 min)
Get a closer look at Grace's Owl painting, or Moloch:
Anderson Cooper Holding a Copy of Grace's Owl
Take a good look at the Owl's left eye and you will be left with no doubt as to who planned and pulled off this attack on the children of Sandy Hook and the people of America.
(Just in case you didn't see it on your own)
Moloch
If that didn't convince you, think about this: Moloch isn't just any God, he is the ancient Ammonite God associated with child sacrifice! Phoenecians and Canaanites burned their children alive in deference to him. (Source.) Moloch is also associated with Bohemian Grove, an uber-private retreat in Northern California where many of our leaders gather each year and burn an effigy of a child in front of a giant owl. (Source.)
Fact certainly is stranger than fiction especially when it comes to many of the events that have taken place in our country in the recent past. As we have seen in this piece, it is very likely that the Sandy Hook parents, Coroner and Gene Rosen are actors or lying and covering something up. None of the child witnesses seem traumatized, they are certainly not as upset as one would expect in a situation like this. In addition to this we have Moloch symbolism plastered all over primetime TV which suggests that the President, Anderson Cooper and the McDonnell parents are all part of some sort of understanding as to what has occured.
As I will explore in part three, there are many reasons why our government would want to do something like this. My hope is that you are starting to see that this goes beyond mere political conspiracy, that there is something very sinister at work here. If you would like to continue your life unaware, with your head buried in the sand, I suggest you do not bother to read part three, because then you will know, and if you do nothing, are making a conscious decision not to act. Once you know, it is up to you to distribute this information far and wide and expose these child murderers for who they are.Time is short, if we do not act, the game remains in their hands.
I will end with a few words from the King James Bible, and our ONE True Creator, YHWH:
Leviticus 20 Verses 1-8:
Then the LORD spake unto to Moses, saying, "Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed to Molech, he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people: because he hasth given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
And if the people of the land do anyways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed to Molech, and kill him not:
Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
Obama Wiping his Fake Tears Away Using Middle Finger
(I'm sure it was just a coincidence!)
Along with millions of other Americans, I recently watched President Obama feign tears as he spoke of the senseless act of violence that had taken the lives of twenty schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut. He then took his message to the NRA, where he proclaimed that we can no longer sit idly by while our country suffers from this kind of violence. At the time, I was so disgusted with his performance that I sat down and wrote this:
Sometimes my life feels like one of those movies where the story takes place in post-apocalyptic America and the Police State runs the show. The Hero/Heroine is always on the run from the Nazi-type ruling party which controls the thoughts and actions of the entire slave population. For their part, the people are content to work their pointless jobs, completely unaware of the hideous activities of their rulers.
Every once in a while the hero (and whoever he or she is with) ends up hiding out in some run-down motel for a night in the middle of nowhere. While they are there taking their hot showers and such, they inevitably turn on the television and you see the ruling member of "the party" looking a lot like Mao or Lenin, saying that certain freedoms must be taken away in order to assure the safety of the general population.
It's always interesting to watch the utter polarity between the world the hero or heroine lives in and the world that the rest of their countrymen live in. This is the situation I find myself in. After copious amounts of research and learning, my reality has changed so much, I feel as if I live in a completely different space than I did even three years ago. For me, the blinders are off, and I can see through the Matrix, so to speak. Every once in a while, Something big happens, such as a school shooting (obviously staged), where the Matrix invades my reality; and I am once again reminded that what is happening to our country is still hidden from many.
I have been predicting this ramp up of violence and clamp down on our freedoms for a while. The gun control debate that has sprung up in the face of the Sandy Hook Massacre is exactly what is to be expected from our shadow government, who is tirelessly working towards their goal of a New World Order.
Obviously, the world did not end on 12/21/12. The date did, however, mark the start of something new. A shift in consciousness has been building for some time now and the Elite have known about it all along. This is one of the main reasons for the bombardment from gmo's, chemtrails and fake food. It is why they have been trying to overtly poison our minds with satanic themed music and videos. It is also why they have recently seriously ramped up the public massacres.
They want us to be scared. They want us to be confused and in fear because then we are easier to control. Remember, they are occultists and bask in the darkness of evil. They harvest our negative energies to curry favor with their demons, much the same way a Minister gathers the good and points them towards God. It is the antithesis of saving souls.
Staged Attack?
As a person who regularly studies these types of things, I was immediately struck by the fact that the media claimed to have the identity and location of the shooters home within minutes. This quick information dissemination is typical of the mainstream press whenever something like this occurs. This was the case with the assassination of JFK when media outlets all over the world simultaneously fingered Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone nut shooter of our beloved President.
Another example of the mainstream media's complicity in cover up is the curious case of the "collapse" of building number seven on 9-11. There are multiple videos on YouTube showing a BBC reporter in front of live video feed of the New York skyline where WTC building is clearly still standing, announcing that the building has fallen due to severe fire.
Reporting Collapse of WTC Tower Seven on 9-11, over TWENTY minutes before it actually happened! (3 min)
Problem-Reaction-Solution
In the Truther community, we have a term, False Flag Terror Attack. This is when government, or one of the alphabet agencies, (ie: CIA, FBI, ATF) stages an attack on its own people and blames it on someone else. Most of the time, these attacks are attributed to a "lone nut gunman." This person is usually not the only shooter and many times, has never even shot a gun. Mostly, public shootings like the Batman Shootings, are staged psychological operations in which the intended victim is really you.
False Flag Terror attacks fall under the problem-reaction-solution model, coined by famous conspiracy theorist, David Icke. Whereas, your government creates the problem, then awaits the anticipated reaction: in this case, the American people's uproar demanding gun control. Next comes the solution, in which the government pretends to solve the problem it created in the first place. (Source.)
Some Basic Inconsistencies Regarding the Sandy Hook Massacre:
According
to Newtown's Local newspaper, The Newtown Bee, Sandy Hook's Principal, Dawn Hochsprung called them at some point. In a lengthy conversation, she informed them that the shooting went on forever. Later, it was announced that the
principal was in fact one of the first to be killed. It was impossible for her to have given this testimony. Who was this woman that called the paper? Of course, the
story has been removed from The Bee's website. The original link now takes you to a retraction and apology. Here.
Screen Shot of Original Newtown Bee Article
(This has since been "scrubbed" from the net.)
In direct contradiction the story told by "Hochsprung," police radio traffic indicated the shooting lasted only a few
minutes. State police Lt. Paul Vance said officers arrived
instantaneously, immediately entered the school, searched it completely
and found Lanza dead.(Source.)
Initially, it was reported that there were three gunmen. Police radio recordings back this up. You can hear Policemen saying that they have a suspect proned out. Who is this suspect? There is also video of police chasing and a taking into custody a man in camouflaged clothing. (See Video Below)
Cathy Gaubert claimed that her daughter's picture was lifted off of Flicker and used on numerous Facebook pages as a Sandy Hook shooting victim. She posted a message begging people to contact her if they saw the image being used, as her daughter is alive and well. (Source.)
The video belows covers some of the issues associated with the Newtown killings including the reports of multiple shooters, the many inconsistencies in the early reporting, the strange interview with the Newtown Coroner, and much more.
Sandy Hook Conspiracy Documentary (30 min)
Happy Victims?
I find it extremely telling that the families of the victims are so composed, well rested and generally in good spirits. After watching close to two hours of footage from various newscasts, I cannot say that I saw one single tear during that entire time. Despite the fact that there was a lot of sniffling; there were no red eyes, no puffy faces, no tear stained cheeks, and certainly no running noses or kleenex. Being a mother myself, I get watery-eyed just thinking about something happening to one of my children. I don't think that if one of my kids had died a violent death a week before Christmas, I'd be able to do an interview period. Yet, somehow, these dry-eyed parents are able to laugh and reminisce and feel no anger. I call B.S. Just watch this crap. Is that how you would act if your kid supposedly got shot between three and eleven times with a high-powered rifle by a crazed gunman?! You would think at least once you would hear a parent say, "I just can't believe it," but no, every single one of them seems to have raced through all the stages of grief and reached acceptance within a few days. Unbelievable!
The Sandy Hook Actors (11 mins)
Sandy Hook Actors Part 2 (15 min)
That's it for part one. Look for part two within the next few days which will be delving further into this PsyOps.
This video is a good introduction to the problems we in Hawaii face when it comes to eating healthy. Most people think that since we are so far away from the Mainland geographically, we must be removed from their problems as well. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. As this video will reveal, Hawaii is actually the global center for GMO and related chemical testing. So please, set aside a half an hour or so, and prepare to have your mind blown!
Been on the David Icke Stepford's thread a lot lately. It explores the ways in which celebrities are mind controlled in order to influence and brainwash the masses. There is a lot of great information there which I will share with you soon. In the meantime, here is a little preview: a video by a six year old rapper named Albert. The song is called, "Booty Pop." I found this beyond disturbing to say the least. The child in this video is shown with grown women dancing around him, and shaking their booties, in his face! This is another example of the way children are becoming increasingly sexualized in our country. This boy is only six, yet he is placed in extremely suggestive situations, with grown women. I find this to be on par with, if not worse than the sexualization of little girls on pageants or TV shows. I believe there would be an uproar if something like this surfaced showing a six year old girl dancing/swimming in a sexual manner with a grown man.
Found this on A David Icke Thread. Found it to be very interesting. If true, it would go quite a way in explaining the dominance of Gangsta Rap.
The Rap Music Conspiracy
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Anonymous | Hip Hop Is Read via O'Finioan's Blog 1,303 views
May 15, 2012
After more than 20 years, I’ve finally decided to tell the world what I
witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point
in popular music, and ultimately American society.
I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making
this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who
were present that day. So I’ve simply decided to leave out names and all
the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who
were, like me, dragged into something they weren’t ready for.
Between the late 80′s and early 90’s, I was what you may call a
“decision maker” with one of the more established company in the music
industry. I came from Europe in the early 80’s and quickly established
myself in the business.
The industry was different back then. Since technology and media weren’t
accessible to people like they are today, the industry had more control
over the public and had the means to influence them anyway it wanted.
This may explain why, in early 1991, I was invited to attend a closed
door meeting with a small group of music business insiders to discuss
rap music’s new direction. Little did I know that we would be asked to
participate in one of the most unethical and destructive business
practice I’ve ever seen.
The meeting was held at a private residence on the outskirts of Los
Angeles. I remember about 25 to 30 people being there, most of them
familiar faces. Speaking to those I knew, we joked about the theme of
the meeting as many of us did not care for rap music and failed to see
the purpose of being invited to a private gathering to discuss its
future.
Among the attendees was a small group of unfamiliar faces who stayed to
themselves and made no attempt to socialize beyond their circle. Based
on their behavior and formal appearances, they didn’t seem to be in our
industry.
Our casual chatter was interrupted when we were asked to sign a
confidentiality agreement preventing us from publicly discussing the
information presented during the meeting. Needless to say, this
intrigued and in some cases disturbed many of us.
The agreement was only a page long but very clear on the matter and
consequences which stated that violating the terms would result in job
termination. We asked several people what this meeting was about and the
reason for such secrecy but couldn’t find anyone who had answers for
us. A few people refused to sign and walked out. No one stopped them. I
was tempted to follow but curiosity got the best of me. A man who was
part of the “unfamiliar” group collected the agreements from us.
Quickly after the meeting began, one of my industry colleagues (who
shall remain nameless like everyone else) thanked us for attending. He
then gave the floor to a man who only introduced himself by first name
and gave no further details about his personal background. I think he
was the owner of the residence but it was never confirmed.
He briefly praised all of us for the success we had achieved in our
industry and congratulated us for being selected as part of this small
group of “decision makers”. At this point I begin to feel slightly
uncomfortable at the strangeness of this gathering.
The subject quickly changed as the speaker went on to tell us that the
respective companies we represented had invested in a very profitable
industry which could become even more rewarding with our active
involvement. He explained that the companies we work for had invested
millions into the building of privately owned prisons and that our
positions of influence in the music industry would actually impact the
profitability of these investments.
I remember many of us in the group immediately looking at each other in
confusion. At the time, I didn’t know what a private prison was but I
wasn’t the only one. Sure enough, someone asked what these prisons were
and what any of this had to do with us. We were told that these prisons
were built by privately owned companies who received funding from the
government based on the number of inmates. The more inmates, the more
money the government would pay these prisons.
It was also made clear to us that since these prisons are privately
owned, as they become publicly traded, we’d be able to buy shares. Most
of us were taken back by this. Again, a couple of people asked what this
had to do with us. At this point, my industry colleague who had first
opened the meeting took the floor again and answered our questions.
He told us that since our employers had become silent investors in this
prison business, it was now in their interest to make sure that these
prisons remained filled. Our job would be to help make this happen by
marketing music which promotes criminal behavior, rap being the music of
choice.
He assured us that this would be a great situation for us because rap
music was becoming an increasingly profitable market for our companies,
and as employee, we’d also be able to buy personal stocks in these
prisons.
Immediately, silence came over the room. You could have heard a pin
drop. I remember looking around to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and saw
half of the people with dropped jaws. My daze was interrupted when
someone shouted, “Is this a f****** joke?” At this point things became
chaotic.
Two of the men who were part of the “unfamiliar” group grabbed the man
who shouted out and attempted to remove him from the house. A few of us,
myself included, tried to intervene. One of them pulled out a gun and
we all backed off. They separated us from the crowd and all four of us
were escorted outside.
My industry colleague who had opened the meeting earlier hurried out to
meet us and reminded us that we had signed agreement and would suffer
the consequences of speaking about this publicly or even with those who
attended the meeting. I asked him why he was involved with something
this corrupt and he replied that it was bigger than the music business
and nothing we’d want to challenge without risking consequences.
We all protested and as he walked back into the house I remember word
for word the last thing he said, “It’s out of my hands now. Remember you
signed an agreement.” He then closed the door behind him. The men
rushed us to our cars and actually watched until we drove off.
A million things were going through my mind as I drove away and I
eventually decided to pull over and park on a side street in order to
collect my thoughts. I replayed everything in my mind repeatedly and it
all seemed very surreal to me.
I was angry with myself for not having taken a more active role in
questioning what had been presented to us. I’d like to believe the shock
of it all is what suspended my better nature. After what seemed like an
eternity, I was able to calm myself enough to make it home. I didn’t
talk or call anyone that night.
The next day back at the office, I was visibly out of it but blamed it
on being under the weather. No one else in my department had been
invited to the meeting and I felt a sense of guilt for not being able to
share what I had witnessed. I thought about contacting the three others
who wear kicked out of the house but I didn’t remember their names and
thought that tracking them down would probably bring unwanted attention.
I considered speaking out publicly at the risk of losing my job but I
realized I’d probably be jeopardizing more than my job and I wasn’t
willing to risk anything happening to my family. I thought about those
men with guns and wondered who they were.
I had been told that this was bigger than the music business and all I
could do was let my imagination run free. There were no answers and no
one to talk to. I tried to do a little bit of research on private
prisons but didn’t uncover anything about the music business’
involvement. However, the information I did find confirmed how dangerous
this prison business really was.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Eventually, it was as if
the meeting had never taken place. It all seemed surreal. I became more
reclusive and stopped going to any industry events unless professionally
obligated to do so. On two occasions, I found myself attending the same
function as my former colleague. Both times, our eyes met but nothing
more was exchanged.
As the months passed, rap music had definitely changed direction. I was
never a fan of it but even I could tell the difference. Rap acts that
talked about politics or harmless fun were quickly fading away as
gangster rap started dominating the airwaves.
Only a few months had passed since the meeting but I suspect that the
ideas presented that day had been successfully implemented. It was as if
the order has been given to all major label executives. The music was
climbing the charts and most companies were more than happy to
capitalize on it. Each one was churning out their very own gangster rap
acts on an assembly line.
Everyone bought into it, consumers included. Violence and drug use
became a central theme in most rap music. I spoke to a few of my peers
in the industry to get their opinions on the new trend but was told
repeatedly that it was all about supply and demand. Sadly many of them
even expressed that the music reinforced their prejudice of minorities.
I officially quit the music business in 1993, but my heart had already
left months before. I broke ties with the majority of my peers and
removed myself from this thing I had once loved. I took some time off,
returned to Europe for a few years, settled out of state, and lived a
“quiet” life away from the world of entertainment.
As the years passed, I managed to keep my secret, fearful of sharing it
with the wrong person but also a little ashamed of not having had the
balls to blow the whistle. But as rap got worse, my guilt grew.
Fortunately, in the late 90’s, having the internet as a resource which
wasn’t at my disposal in the early days made it easier for me to
investigate what is now labeled the prison industrial complex.
Now that I have a greater understanding of how private prisons operate,
things make much more sense than they ever have. I see how the
criminalization of rap music played a big part in promoting racial
stereotypes and misguided so many impressionable young minds into
adopting these glorified criminal behaviors which often lead to
incarceration.
Twenty years of guilt is a heavy load to carry but the least I can do
now is to share my story, hoping that fans of rap music realize how
they’ve been used for the past two decades. Although I plan on remaining
anonymous for obvious reasons, my goal now is to get this information
out to as many people as possible.
Please help me spread the word. Hopefully, others who attended the
meeting back in 1991 will be inspired by this and tell their own
stories. Most importantly, if only one life has been touched by my
story, I pray it makes the weight of my guilt a little more tolerable.
