January's City Council 🔥

Tensions were fuckin high y’all. 

Everyone was bundled in layers due to the below freezing temps outside. That made going through security even more taut. 

It was a good number of folks for this city council meeting this month. Definitely more than normal from what I know of normal. There were two reasons as to why the public turn out was lit this particular meeting. The first reason being the killing of Daevon Montez Saint-Germain in his grandmother’s home by the Knoxville Police Department the morning of January third. The second, also having to do with the KPD, was a request for 27 million for KPD to update software and instate a new real time surveillance monitoring system within KPD. 

That night the main assembly room which can easily hold hundreds was under construction. That pushed the meeting to a small assembly room off the back of the main. This being no one’s fault - just a coincidence. But nonetheless, I think this simply added to the white knuckle tension in the air. I could literally smell the humans which sat next to me. A blend of body odor and whatever spices they use to cook their last meal with. I had my scarf around my face as a makeshift mask. I had neglected to secure one before leaving the car. I could have asked someone for one, as they mentioned they had extra while we were gathered outside before we went in, but my social anxiety got the best of me there. 

This is my second or third city/county council meeting to which I’ve been to. I went alone as my partner had other errands she had to take care of that evening. Being alone and it only being my third time attending - I just mostly blended in with the public and kept to myself. I did see one other Knoxville DSA member there. We spoke briefly, and then we both blended back in with the crowd. 

I was there with the crowd standing against police surveillance. I believe we need to defund the police, and put it into our Knoxville alternative response task force. I was there to stand with Amelia Parker in calling our KPD what they are, racist. And if they’re racist, that means their technology is racist. That means our already oppressed black and brown citizens will be even more oppressed. They already are mentioning more monitoring in black and brown neighborhoods. This new software which can tap into private cameras is just a deeper step into the surveillance of 1984. Big Brother is Watching. Even more now, because with a vote of 7-2 (opposed were Amelia Parker and Seema Singh) last night the council approved for the 27 million to be granted to KPD. 

A handful of members of the public were kicked out of the meeting. I think it was unfair. The vice mayor said that there should be an even number of folks speaking for or against. Since there was an uneven number (more against than for), they only allowed the first few to speak for or against the resolution. That silenced a good chunk of the public that signed up to speak. Amelia tried to suspend the rules of allowing more folks to speak, but the vice mayor shot it down with a vote. Everyone that signed up should have gotten to speak. If there were more against it then maybe the council should listen to that? Maybe that’s a representation of the temperature of the public? Read the room vice mayor. 

I need to also point out the fact that the killing of Daveon will mostly get glazed over and all parties forgiven, because the bodycam footage is not available. We have a murder on our hands with Daveon, and the footage isn’t even possible to get, AND NOW they want 27 million more dollars for shit like this they can’t get to work now? Really? 

I’m learning that as corrupt as our federal government is, it seems that our local government too is infected. Or is it just that I’ve been under a fucking rock for some time now? That the local government is just as corrupt as the federal is a known fact I’ve just not been involved enough to notice. Last night seven of those council members, including the one for MY district, voted to lick some polished leather boot. The mayor even defended the police department after Amelia had some choice words to say about them. Like really mayor? That’s who we’re going to defend? The boots that oppress us? Make it make sense. Make it. You can’t. Because it doesn’t. The fact that these city officials, which have no stake in being a part of the oligarchy, which is what these police protect, want to fund these institutions blows my mind. The lack of class consciousness in Tommy Smith, Andrew Robert, Lauren Rider, Charles, Thoms, Gwen McKenzie, Lynn Fugate, Debbie Helsley, and Indya Kincannon, is a bit shocking to me. I know it shouldn’t be. I should be aware that the local council is just a fucked as the US branches of government. I should know. I just haven’t been involved enough. I just haven’t made the time to see it. Living under my rock of privilege. 

No more living under rocks. It’s time to get involved and get active. It’s time to put forth force in this movement of revolution. We start small. We start local. We show up. We show out if we have to. But we don’t live under the rocks of privilege anymore. We stand next to our oppressed neighbors and fight for them. Fight for each other.  We fight for our community around us. Our black neighbors. Our unhoused neighbors. Our brown neighbors. Our LGBTQ neighbors. Our Satanist neighbors. Our Christian neighbors. Our Palestinian neighbors. ALL of our working class neighbors. We are the working class. Solidarity. When we come together we will be unstoppable. Eat the rich. When one is oppressed we all are oppressed. Free, free Palestine. 

comrade h