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Huntington Beach solidifies its status as the haven for far-right wing white supremacy, with its suppliant far right-wing majority council — out of step with its moderate citizenry — kept in place by massive onslaughts of campaign contributions from the Lincoln Club and developer interests come each election time. What the far right wants from the HB City Council, in exchange for its votes for economic subsidy conservatives, is a purge of anyone who even smacks of liberalism. This pasts week, they came for former City Council candidate Shayna Lathus, who was among our featured candidates in last year’s election. Here’s her story as told on Facebook.
Shayna Lathus for Huntington Beach City Council
As many of you know, I have been removed from the Citizen Participation Advisory Board for the City of Huntington Beach. I had been appointed by Councilwoman Kim Carr and served in this position for 118 days. It was a privilege to have done so.
After a partisan smear campaign was mounted against me, Councilwoman Kim Carr was asked to remove me from my seat. Without any investigation or due process, she did.
I learned of her decision the same way many of you did. I was sent a screenshot of a post made by the founder of the HBCF. This was highly inappropriate in my opinion.
I want to be very clear that I have never known, associated, or been acquainted, with Antifa or any other extremist group. I support our local law enforcement and denounce attacks on our police and other law enforcement.
I will continue to serve our community with the same dedication you have come to trust and I will not let you down. Thank you for all of your support. I am humbled and grateful.
Andy Lewndowski, writing on Facebook, provides some critical background:
The allegations that Shayna Lathus is associated in any way with any extremist groups are unfounded. I was the lead organizer for one of several local groups who attended Saturday’s rally to counter the anti-immigrant rhetoric of the “March to End Sanctuary State” being held by the far right Republican group “What You Can Do Now”, and I acted as police liaison on behalf of all peaceful counter-protesters in attendance. I first contacted HBPD eight days prior to the event to notify them of our intentions to peacefully assemble, as per our constitutionally protected First Amendment rights, and remained in communication with Sargent Toby Archer during the week leading up to the event. We spoke several times on Saturday before, during, and after the rally, and legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild were present at our request to document all interaction with PD or with the group we were counter-protesting.
An extremist group would not take those precautions to ensure the community’s safety. No one in attendance, including Shayna, had reason to expect anything other than a peaceful First Amendment assembly and passive resistance. We can not control who attends a public event, and anyone choosing to exercise active resistance is responsible for their own actions. As Shayna has stated, she and her friends left the area at the first sign of any altercations, however minor.
The lack of transparency surrounding Shayna’s removal is alarming. The CPAB strives to represent the diverse views of the community, yet the community’s views were not sought. It’s shameful that a small, but vocal, group of residents were able to pressure the HB City Council into unceremoniously removing her by mounting an unwarranted and partisan smear campaign.
Tarring Lathus with support for violent extremists, because she supports nonviolent protest of violent anti-immigrant extremism (which is far cry from “black flag” anarchism), is perverse and obscene. I feel bad for Kim Carr having to stand up for what’s right at the possible eventual cost of her Council seat — but that’s what politicians have to be prepared to do. She’s going to find out that the non-violent left can make a hell of a lot more trouble for her politically than the violent anti-immigrant right — which isn’t going to be voting for her anyway. We’ll seek out public comment from her on Facebook and publish it if and when it appears. More on this as it develops.
This is your Weekend Open Thread. Talk about that or whatever else you’d like, within reasonable bounds of discretion and decorum.
*Thinking back to those days in Aerospace at the Mississippi Test Facility in Picayune and living at the Ramada Inn in Gulfport circa 1965 and part of 1966……we had the rare opportunity to see the Deep South the way it was. The Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan lived in a mansion on the beach near Pass Christian….The records on the juke boxes in the Road House Diners included: “Move them N—–ers North” and “Flight NAACP 509” by the Sons of South! If anyone was seen riding in a vehicle with a black person….they were considered to be Agitators or Liberal Organizers from the North and could be targets for the Family Pickup shotgun! The Boyz got dressed up on Friday Nights and met with White Robes and burned Crosses either at the meetings or on someone front lawn. Many of the black folks were never found…..they were picked up on whatever the excuse, desecrated and then had 50 lbs of chains wrapped around their ankles and thrown into the Indian River. Racism was very much alive and well in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Even states like Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia had large elements of local law enforcement, politicians and of course the local gentry with their plantation homes and legacy business interests. From what we see…..things haven’t changed much since 1965 in a lot of places around our country. You can still find those Confederate Battle Flags and Confederate Uniforms that are used for Civil War Battle Reenactments! Hey, everything is part of our history, even the Prison at Andersonville – during the Civil War. How about Reconstruction and the Johnson Administration moving all those Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma? Recognizing Racism, Bigotry, Evil and about 100 other things….takes knowledge and an interest in History. The Untold History of the United States on Netflix by Oliver Stone, generally has a pretty good way of putting all these things into perspective. Stone is not without his prejudices – but all in all it is about as honest as we have seen. Every White Supremo and KKK Member should be forced to watch this 8 Part Program and then decide for themselves. But that is just our take. Maybe it is time to go back to Separate Rest Rooms, Drinking Fountains, Areas to sit on Buses and Trains, Separate Schools and Separate areas to live in. But then, does anyone really think those with such ideas would be content with results? Probably not! Folks here in the OC, don’t probably have to worry much until all your teenage boys shave their heads and put nasty racists tattoos on their arms and bodies. But then again….maybe that is just so they can get laid? We have no idea!
Kim Carr did issue a statement on social media. Not impressed.
A Jewish woman was targeted for removal by an illiterate 7 time felon with racist views. Result? Removal from her appointment.
Outspoken racist alt-right anti-Semite Gracey Van der Mark has widely documented ties to hate groups. She keeps her position. And is hosted in the home of the city attorney during her school board election run!
Shayna was photographed briefly standing in a group as part of a public gathering. Gracey got into a car and drove miles with violent criminals to harass “elderly Jews” and the “colored” people she classified later on social media as their shot callers.
Dana R. and Huntington Beach city council members and other local officials attended the beach MAGA event where violence broke out. They marched along side neo Nazis holding anti-Semitic signs. White power groups and flags surrounded them. Not one attendee has ever publicly denounced their presence. None were recalled. In all three cases there is “Photographic evidence” and “eye witness accounts”. In only one case was there an immediate consequence.
There seems to be an urgent need for an outside inquiry into Huntington Beach politics, freedom of speech, prejudice, fair practice and equal treatment.
Frampton was behind this? That’s grotesque.
Craig Frampton allegedly started the petition. Zero chance he wrote it. Not, enough, commas, and moosetly speled korrectly an punkuation wuz yoused.
Also zero chance in that time frame that the signatures were properly vetted and verified.
https://splinternews.com/meet-the-man-keeping-8chan-the-worlds-most-vile-websit-1793856249
Interesting.
I could give a sh!t about the protesters on either side. They were both acting like apples.
What I care about is it threatened to ruin a great community event near the peir: Kowabunga VW show. Where we raise money for a good cause.
If this is how HB Treats its community and its visitor good bye
Anyone know whether OC’s College (or Young) Democrats have this sort of guts? It would be nice if they did.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/college-democrats-protest-new-dccc-vendor-policy/588715/
We’ll keep using this WOT for another week, by the way.
I too was angry at first glance over Kim Carr’s dismal of Shayna Lathus. But after looking onto the matter more thoroughly, it became clear that Lathus’s claim of lack of “due process” was false. That fact alone is enough to dismiss her, in my view.