Internal Strife at SOS – Part II

by Next Move Friday, Aug. 04, 2006 at 1:38 PM

While Save Our State and the Minutemen have seemingly been enjoying an upswing in momentum lately certain factors have become apparent that may point to a change. Following the July 8th police beatings of anti-Minutemen protestors and the subsequent giddy elation displayed by the Minutemen and SOS in the face of such violence, certain factors have come into play which highlight the authoritarian nature of Save Our State and the fact that some of the rank-and-file may get burned by the leadership very soon.

Internal Strife at S...
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THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

About a month ago Rocco (a recently purged member of SOS), also known as “SS187” on the message board, and a man with an unhealthy obsession with patriotism, sacrifice in relation to wars (particularly “resource” wars) and deep love for service of and to the ruling class, started an over-the-top jingoistic thread exploring the theory that “all gave some, some gave all [in wars]” and “shar[ing] real life experiences of our brave men & women” in the military.

http://www.saveourstate.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=13872&st=0

Apparently this thread was too “patriotic” for even the super citizens at SOS. It quickly degenerated into a name-calling session after an SOS member who posts under the moniker “Cat Patrol” questioned the reasons for the latest war in Iraq. Megalomaniac Joe Turner was called in to put out the fire.

Singling out Rocco, he suspended him from posting for 10 days stating, “I believe you are behaving in a manner that is different than the manner you would act if you were standing face to face with these people.”

He went on to declare, ”As of right now, you are suspended from posting for 10 days. I would hope that you woul (sic) reassess the manner in which you engage other SOS members and that you would come back a better poster for it.”

Tim55, a middle-aged man from the “white-flight” suburb of Moorpark and SOS member, chimed in: “We got big egos, and thin skin and everything in between in our organization, but if we don't learn to disagree without fracturing the organization, we will be undeniably screwed.”

After Rocco’s suspension was lifted he replied to Joe Turner revealing from his perspective a truth about SOS that the opposition has known all along. “You have "way too many cry babies" running to you with [private messages] & phone calls pleading to quench their selfish desires.”

The anti-SOS opposition has long characterized them as “cry babies”. From our perspective it’s a fact that is beyond debate. It’s such an accepted truth that we don’t even talk about it anymore.

They are seen as engaging in a collective “tantrum” over the fact that working people this country (and the world) are under attack by the corporations and the ruling class.

But since they are short-sighted “right-wingers”, with a nationalist perspective and the inherent lack of a worldview or a big picture analysis they don’t vent their anger and energy toward those responsible for the current problems, they instead choose to direct outward hostility toward the very people (migrants) that were forced to relocate as a way of dealing with the current neo-liberal economic policies that have damaged the standard of living for people all over the world.

The Minutemen at the border are a tantrum and so is SOS.


SPELLMAN IN SCANDINAVIA

SOS Top Lieutenant Chris Spellman is on a hiatus from the group, and apparently from reports has become an illegal immigrant in a Scandinavian country. Now he can trek around northern Europe and pretend to be white all the while posing for pictures with seemingly every blonde woman available.

Can’t wait to see you back in Alhambra, Chris! There is no doubt your memories of Scandinavian women will carry you through your days as you return to your home in central Alhambra and a town full of people that look just like you.

From the tone of the photographs of his vacation he offered for public consumption on the SOS message board it seems that he is sharing and taking pictures that highlight how great Scandinavia is because there are so many white-skinned, blonde-haired people around. Interesting that “white” people are native to that part of the world and not to southern California.

The funny thing is, he’s a brown-skinned man who must stick out like a purple Iraqi thumb around the blonde people featured in his photos. It would be interesting if the no doubt “liberal” folks of Sweden and Finland featured in the photos found out that the innocent American tourist snapping the shots was actually a member of a xenophobic, migrant-scapegoating American hate-group.

More interesting still if they found out he was using them to further his hate-agenda by posting them on the SOS message board as justification for why brown people are bad and must be deported from the land in which they are native.

One can also only wonder what a situation like that does for someone inflicted by the virus of self-hate such as the strain currently inflicting Spellman.

http://www.saveourstate.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14718

Spellman, who posts under the moniker of “Last Great Hope” on the SOS message board became well known for his vitriolic, rage-filled rants against poor people and people of color (including Hawaiians), often starting threads, including the infamous Gallery of Goons with no other objective but to achieve his divisive and hateful ends.

Spellman is probably best know for leading the SOS “street activists” into what amounted to a tactical ambush back in June 2005 when he called a anti-worker protest right in his own neighborhood, at Home Depot in Alhambra. Out-numbered and badly shaken SOS didn’t call another rally in Los Angeles for six months.

He was often seen venting his rage on Google Discussion groups using the name “informer” and attaching himself to the e-mail address fortress_usa@yahoo.com. He frequently focused his attention on subject matter dealing directly with northern European or Scandinavian culture.

In one thread entitled “Negroes in Finland” Spellman vented his racism thus: “African culture is completely at odds with Nordic culture and if you don't stop the Negro invasion you will live to regret the day you allowed them into your countries. Listen to those who already know! Save your countries!”

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.nordic/browse_thread/thread/fd1da3f9bcc7f9d2/2ef35792678c1977?lnk=st&q=&rnum=5&hl=en#2ef35792678c1977