Before I get started, this topic is separated from the pinned Black History Month 2020 thread specifically because the underlying goal of that thread is the lifting up of significant people within and accomplishments of the black community throughout history. It's a topic that is more about hope rather than tragedy and I feel I'd only taint that topic by including what is an infuriating history of the Black Panther Party.
Behind the Bastards is semi-comedic history and biography podcast about the outlining of significant figures (people and entities) in the history of not just the US but the world who did/have committed an array of acts of abuse, pain and strife through action, policy, and rhetoric; often so vast and insidiously influential as to affect the state of modern societies. A good comparison would be the similar historical comedy podcast The Dollop, except specifically about the worst of the worst humanity has produced. From Ragnar Redbeard, a man whose bigoted writings could be seen as the foundation for contemporary ideals of toxic masculinity such as Mens' Rights Activism and Incel Culture, the development of 8chan from its beginnings to its current status as a hub for violent bigots, the pedophile hub disguised as the progressive Odenwaldeschule, to the rise of the YouTube alt-right pipeline.
This specific set of two episodes covers the rise of the Black Panther movement and the gross retaliation against the movement by the very foundational entities of the US that many naively believe to work for the betterment of citizens and perpetuation of equality. Together both come to about 2hrs+ of listening but I highly encourage listening even if you personally believe you know all there is to know about the general history of civil rights and/or the BPP in specific.:
Episode One (~76 minutes)
Episode Two (~76 minutes)
I feel that this episode in particular is paramount for our current climate and for those ill informed about the realities of fighting for and preserving their humanity and equality as a concept. Something that is made absolutely clear in these episodes is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding about why those in the BPP carried guns and why general militant attitudes directed at the system were a necessity then and now.
Whitewashing history has, in my opinion, given the general public only a vague grasp of the stakes of the civil rights era. The battle then and now isn't simply about just ideals or laws but lives. Then and now, the battle is about the institutions of law and government using their powers to not just repress but kill. You don't have to use a gun to destroy a people since you can also use power and that has been the MO of white supremacy since Antebellum.
Often I see the sentiment that only the MLK "style" of civil rights activism was in the right because it didn't involve guns or righteous anger. Beyond just being naive, it's a sentiment born from the luxury of being unable to imagine what one has to do to actually preserve their right to freedom and life against an all encompassing and powerful entity focused on destroying you. Death and subjugation is what birth a necessity of a group like the BPP. It wasn't created by uppity people looking for a fight. It was formed by people actively loosing friends, family and humanity at the hands of their own country. It also wasn't just a group of black men arming themselves up but a community-focused organization that did work to help the marginalized who were ignored by that same government by providing services the institutions didn't care to. And in the face of this reality, institutions from government to media reacted by doing their best to spread disinformation and erase the ideals of BPP through propaganda in favor of creating a narrative of a vague dangerous organization that was the "less good" faction of civil rights. It's goals were to demonize the very idea of militancy and prevent it from being seen as a legitimate response to systematic and generational oppression. I want to assuage that notion in the minds of modern day people marginalized or otherwise because it only serves to limit the options people believe they have for pushing back against being destroyed and actively disenfranchised.
The BPP should be seen as an inspiration for the marginalized just as much as any other civil rights group because their ideals were valid in the context of the US, a country considered "civilized" and "progressive". The BPP shouldn't be taken as a lesson that should be avoided in the modern day in terms of activism because the things they fought against still plague the country. Oppression and marginalization has not ended and it would be folly for any activist to not take as many lessons as they can from those who came before who were battered continually by the cruel hands of the status quo. The government fought against civil rights leaders including the Black Panthers through propaganda, threats, violence and manipulation of the law, not because they were too militant or ornery or because it was interested in preserving law and order and decorum. The government fought against these activists because it knew that those activists had the power to change things for the better and that goal needed to be nipped in the bud to never be fulfilled by anyone.
Behind the Bastards is semi-comedic history and biography podcast about the outlining of significant figures (people and entities) in the history of not just the US but the world who did/have committed an array of acts of abuse, pain and strife through action, policy, and rhetoric; often so vast and insidiously influential as to affect the state of modern societies. A good comparison would be the similar historical comedy podcast The Dollop, except specifically about the worst of the worst humanity has produced. From Ragnar Redbeard, a man whose bigoted writings could be seen as the foundation for contemporary ideals of toxic masculinity such as Mens' Rights Activism and Incel Culture, the development of 8chan from its beginnings to its current status as a hub for violent bigots, the pedophile hub disguised as the progressive Odenwaldeschule, to the rise of the YouTube alt-right pipeline.
This specific set of two episodes covers the rise of the Black Panther movement and the gross retaliation against the movement by the very foundational entities of the US that many naively believe to work for the betterment of citizens and perpetuation of equality. Together both come to about 2hrs+ of listening but I highly encourage listening even if you personally believe you know all there is to know about the general history of civil rights and/or the BPP in specific.:
Episode One (~76 minutes)
Episode Two (~76 minutes)
I feel that this episode in particular is paramount for our current climate and for those ill informed about the realities of fighting for and preserving their humanity and equality as a concept. Something that is made absolutely clear in these episodes is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding about why those in the BPP carried guns and why general militant attitudes directed at the system were a necessity then and now.
Whitewashing history has, in my opinion, given the general public only a vague grasp of the stakes of the civil rights era. The battle then and now isn't simply about just ideals or laws but lives. Then and now, the battle is about the institutions of law and government using their powers to not just repress but kill. You don't have to use a gun to destroy a people since you can also use power and that has been the MO of white supremacy since Antebellum.
Often I see the sentiment that only the MLK "style" of civil rights activism was in the right because it didn't involve guns or righteous anger. Beyond just being naive, it's a sentiment born from the luxury of being unable to imagine what one has to do to actually preserve their right to freedom and life against an all encompassing and powerful entity focused on destroying you. Death and subjugation is what birth a necessity of a group like the BPP. It wasn't created by uppity people looking for a fight. It was formed by people actively loosing friends, family and humanity at the hands of their own country. It also wasn't just a group of black men arming themselves up but a community-focused organization that did work to help the marginalized who were ignored by that same government by providing services the institutions didn't care to. And in the face of this reality, institutions from government to media reacted by doing their best to spread disinformation and erase the ideals of BPP through propaganda in favor of creating a narrative of a vague dangerous organization that was the "less good" faction of civil rights. It's goals were to demonize the very idea of militancy and prevent it from being seen as a legitimate response to systematic and generational oppression. I want to assuage that notion in the minds of modern day people marginalized or otherwise because it only serves to limit the options people believe they have for pushing back against being destroyed and actively disenfranchised.
The BPP should be seen as an inspiration for the marginalized just as much as any other civil rights group because their ideals were valid in the context of the US, a country considered "civilized" and "progressive". The BPP shouldn't be taken as a lesson that should be avoided in the modern day in terms of activism because the things they fought against still plague the country. Oppression and marginalization has not ended and it would be folly for any activist to not take as many lessons as they can from those who came before who were battered continually by the cruel hands of the status quo. The government fought against civil rights leaders including the Black Panthers through propaganda, threats, violence and manipulation of the law, not because they were too militant or ornery or because it was interested in preserving law and order and decorum. The government fought against these activists because it knew that those activists had the power to change things for the better and that goal needed to be nipped in the bud to never be fulfilled by anyone.
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