# walkaway
It going viral !!!!
LOL
CNN Reports that Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms
It going viral !!!!
LOL
CNN Reports that Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms
#walk away Movement is huge! It is real ! It going viral !
- Thread starter PornAddict
- Start date
https://www.theepochtimes.com/walk-...e-at-manhattan-electronics-store_2585685.html
‘Walk Away’ Founder Refused Service at Manhattan Electronics Store
By Celia Farber
July 6, 2018 2:50 pm Last Updated: July 6, 2018 11:23 pm
Brandon Straka, the founder of the "Walk Away" movement. (Brandon Straka)
ShareTweetShareEmail
NEW YORK—Adorama, an electronics store on West 18th St. in Manhattan, bills itself as, “more than just a camera store.” On July 5, the store found itself uncomfortably involved in more than cameras, as it became embroiled in the heated feelings surrounding the Walk Away Movement.
Brandon Straka, the founder of the movement that encourages Democrats to walk away from their party, had gone there to purchase media equipment for his burgeoning role as a mediator between the left and the left’s apostates: Democrats who find themselves on a spectrum from loving President Donald Trump to hating the hatred of Trump and his fans.
Straka, who’d just had a very busy week on national and international television interviews, had spent over an hour carefully selecting equipment he needed in various departments of the multi-tiered mega-store.
The final piece of equipment he needed was a microphone, so he was sent upstairs where he was recognized at the counter by a customer in front of him. “I saw you on Tucker! [the conservative “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show on Fox],” said the excited customer.
“You’re that Walk Away guy!” He wanted to have his picture taken with Straka, and Straka happily obliged. Then the customer left, and Straka told the store clerk what kind of microphone he wanted.
“He stared at me with this kind of dead-pan expression,” Straka told The Epoch Times. “And he said: Are you planning to use this equipment for alt-right purposes?’”
As Straka struggled to comprehend what was happening, the clerk, whom Straka asked not be named, said: “I’m sorry I just don’t feel comfortable selling to you. I can’t sell to you.”
Straka felt shocked. This was his first experience of a public shunning, with a stranger, though he had experienced it with friends, and worries it could happen with clients, in his work as a freelance hair dresser.
“It kind of took my breath away,” he said. “I said to him, ‘Listen, if you can’t sell to me, that’s fine, but, you know, person to person, I’d like to talk to you, because I don’t think you know what Walk Away is about. And he said, ‘Well, you know, I’m done. I’m not comfortable selling to you. You’re welcome to talk to someone else in the store but I’m not going to sell to you.’”
Stunned, Straka went downstairs. He composed himself, and made a decision not to say anything. Instead he told another clerk what he needed and to his dread, the clerk said they needed to go get it from the clerk who had just refused him. He didn’t want to have to start over at another store, was pressed for time, and had spent considerable time selecting his items.
“So I decided to just stand far away on the other side of the room.” This wasn’t good enough. The angry clerk told his colleague, “No, I’m not selling to that dude.”
Straka saw how baffled the go-between salesman looked. “He was like, ‘You’re not?’ And he repeated: ‘I’m not selling to him.'”
The other salesman came over to Straka and said, “Let’s go back upstairs.” Straka waited for about 20 minutes, and this time the salesman returned with the microphone and Straka was able to pay and leave.
Walking out of the store, he said: “I was shaking. I was hurt. I had this huge adrenaline rush. I felt embarrassed and I also felt nervous.
“At every station of the store, I’d given them my personal information. What if this kid decides to go into the computer and dox [to publish private information, as in a phone number or address] me?
“I am not a guy who has a lot of money. I can’t have people going to my apartment and harassing me.”
He didn’t feel the store’s management should be informed.
“My instinct is telling me to practice compassion and forgiveness here. I don’t want to see this guy getting fired. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I don’t want people harassing him.”
When the store was contacted for comment, a manager referenced a statement they published on their Twitter page:
“The Adorama Management Team deeply regrets the incident involving an employee in our store. Please know this is not who we are, and does not reflect the position of our owners or other staff members. This is being taken seriously and is being addressed with the highest priority.”
‘Walk Away’ Founder Refused Service at Manhattan Electronics Store
By Celia Farber
July 6, 2018 2:50 pm Last Updated: July 6, 2018 11:23 pm
Brandon Straka, the founder of the "Walk Away" movement. (Brandon Straka)
ShareTweetShareEmail
NEW YORK—Adorama, an electronics store on West 18th St. in Manhattan, bills itself as, “more than just a camera store.” On July 5, the store found itself uncomfortably involved in more than cameras, as it became embroiled in the heated feelings surrounding the Walk Away Movement.
Brandon Straka, the founder of the movement that encourages Democrats to walk away from their party, had gone there to purchase media equipment for his burgeoning role as a mediator between the left and the left’s apostates: Democrats who find themselves on a spectrum from loving President Donald Trump to hating the hatred of Trump and his fans.
Straka, who’d just had a very busy week on national and international television interviews, had spent over an hour carefully selecting equipment he needed in various departments of the multi-tiered mega-store.
The final piece of equipment he needed was a microphone, so he was sent upstairs where he was recognized at the counter by a customer in front of him. “I saw you on Tucker! [the conservative “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show on Fox],” said the excited customer.
“You’re that Walk Away guy!” He wanted to have his picture taken with Straka, and Straka happily obliged. Then the customer left, and Straka told the store clerk what kind of microphone he wanted.
“He stared at me with this kind of dead-pan expression,” Straka told The Epoch Times. “And he said: Are you planning to use this equipment for alt-right purposes?’”
As Straka struggled to comprehend what was happening, the clerk, whom Straka asked not be named, said: “I’m sorry I just don’t feel comfortable selling to you. I can’t sell to you.”
Straka felt shocked. This was his first experience of a public shunning, with a stranger, though he had experienced it with friends, and worries it could happen with clients, in his work as a freelance hair dresser.
“It kind of took my breath away,” he said. “I said to him, ‘Listen, if you can’t sell to me, that’s fine, but, you know, person to person, I’d like to talk to you, because I don’t think you know what Walk Away is about. And he said, ‘Well, you know, I’m done. I’m not comfortable selling to you. You’re welcome to talk to someone else in the store but I’m not going to sell to you.’”
Stunned, Straka went downstairs. He composed himself, and made a decision not to say anything. Instead he told another clerk what he needed and to his dread, the clerk said they needed to go get it from the clerk who had just refused him. He didn’t want to have to start over at another store, was pressed for time, and had spent considerable time selecting his items.
“So I decided to just stand far away on the other side of the room.” This wasn’t good enough. The angry clerk told his colleague, “No, I’m not selling to that dude.”
Straka saw how baffled the go-between salesman looked. “He was like, ‘You’re not?’ And he repeated: ‘I’m not selling to him.'”
The other salesman came over to Straka and said, “Let’s go back upstairs.” Straka waited for about 20 minutes, and this time the salesman returned with the microphone and Straka was able to pay and leave.
Walking out of the store, he said: “I was shaking. I was hurt. I had this huge adrenaline rush. I felt embarrassed and I also felt nervous.
“At every station of the store, I’d given them my personal information. What if this kid decides to go into the computer and dox [to publish private information, as in a phone number or address] me?
“I am not a guy who has a lot of money. I can’t have people going to my apartment and harassing me.”
He didn’t feel the store’s management should be informed.
“My instinct is telling me to practice compassion and forgiveness here. I don’t want to see this guy getting fired. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I don’t want people harassing him.”
When the store was contacted for comment, a manager referenced a statement they published on their Twitter page:
“The Adorama Management Team deeply regrets the incident involving an employee in our store. Please know this is not who we are, and does not reflect the position of our owners or other staff members. This is being taken seriously and is being addressed with the highest priority.”
Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms
By David A. Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms
Rosenstein: 12 Russians charged with hacking 05:41
David A. Love is a writer and commentator based in Philadelphia. He contributes to a number of publications, including Atlanta Black Star, theGrio.com, WHYY and Al Jazeera. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidALove. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.
(CNN)The recent announcement that 12 Russian nationals have been indicted by Robert Mueller for hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election is another reminder of how vulnerable our democracy is to such breaches.
David A. Love
The indictments charge that via hacking, phishing attacks, money laundering and interference on multiple other fronts, Russian officials worked to sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign. This arguably helped conservative efforts to usher Donald Trump into the presidency.
During the US-Russia summit Monday in Helsinki, Trump sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and accepted his denial that Russia interfered with the election.
Now, in this 2018-midterm election season, as some predict a blue wave of resistance to Trump, his policies and alarming authoritarianism, Republicans want to split up the Democratic political opposition and divide black and Latino voters. And Russia looks like it wants to help here, too. But this time it won't work.
The most recent example of this strategy is the #WalkAway hashtag, which is presented as a grassroots effort by former Democrats who are critical of the party's alleged intimidation, confrontation and lack of civility and want people to walk away from the party.
White House is doing Putin's meddling job for him
White House is doing Putin's meddling job for him
However, #WalkAway has also now been connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots, and it is now the seventh most popular Russia-influenced hashtag as of this writing, according to the website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russian influence on Twitter as part of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of the nonpartisan German Marshall Fund. The purpose of this now-astroturf campaign is to manipulate public opinion by creating the illusion that this is a popular movement. In reality, #WalkAway has become pure propaganda, a psychological operation.
Some of the tweets using the hashtag condemn illegal immigration, claim "Blacks were sold a false bill of goods," and proclaim "the African-American community is leaving the Democrat plantation in droves." Candace Owens, an African-American conservative and communications director of Turning Point USA -- a pro-Trump student political group with a "Professor Watchlist" database that tracks professors who "discriminate against conservative students" — has promoted the #WalkAway hashtag. Owens, who has called police brutality a myth and said "unlimited illegal immigration has harmed the black community for decades," claims black voters are walking away from the Democratic Party.
Warner: Trump-Putin summit should be canceled
By David A. Russian bots are using #WalkAway to try to wound Dems in midterms
Rosenstein: 12 Russians charged with hacking 05:41
David A. Love is a writer and commentator based in Philadelphia. He contributes to a number of publications, including Atlanta Black Star, theGrio.com, WHYY and Al Jazeera. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidALove. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.
(CNN)The recent announcement that 12 Russian nationals have been indicted by Robert Mueller for hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election is another reminder of how vulnerable our democracy is to such breaches.
David A. Love
The indictments charge that via hacking, phishing attacks, money laundering and interference on multiple other fronts, Russian officials worked to sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign. This arguably helped conservative efforts to usher Donald Trump into the presidency.
During the US-Russia summit Monday in Helsinki, Trump sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and accepted his denial that Russia interfered with the election.
Now, in this 2018-midterm election season, as some predict a blue wave of resistance to Trump, his policies and alarming authoritarianism, Republicans want to split up the Democratic political opposition and divide black and Latino voters. And Russia looks like it wants to help here, too. But this time it won't work.
The most recent example of this strategy is the #WalkAway hashtag, which is presented as a grassroots effort by former Democrats who are critical of the party's alleged intimidation, confrontation and lack of civility and want people to walk away from the party.
White House is doing Putin's meddling job for him
White House is doing Putin's meddling job for him
However, #WalkAway has also now been connected to Kremlin-linked Russian bots, and it is now the seventh most popular Russia-influenced hashtag as of this writing, according to the website Hamilton 68, which tracks Russian influence on Twitter as part of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, an initiative of the nonpartisan German Marshall Fund. The purpose of this now-astroturf campaign is to manipulate public opinion by creating the illusion that this is a popular movement. In reality, #WalkAway has become pure propaganda, a psychological operation.
Some of the tweets using the hashtag condemn illegal immigration, claim "Blacks were sold a false bill of goods," and proclaim "the African-American community is leaving the Democrat plantation in droves." Candace Owens, an African-American conservative and communications director of Turning Point USA -- a pro-Trump student political group with a "Professor Watchlist" database that tracks professors who "discriminate against conservative students" — has promoted the #WalkAway hashtag. Owens, who has called police brutality a myth and said "unlimited illegal immigration has harmed the black community for decades," claims black voters are walking away from the Democratic Party.
Warner: Trump-Putin summit should be canceled
Warner: Trump-Putin summit should be canceled 01:56
In a video called "Illegal Is The New Black," Owens suggested that Democrats oppose secure borders because they want to bring in new Latino voters. Turning Point USA will conduct black outreach in battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan for the upcoming elections, with a plan to engage less politically active African-Americans, all for a Republican victory.
Attempting to peel off votes by dividing black and Latino voters over the issue of immigration, and suggesting the Democrats favor "illegal" immigrants over African-Americans misses the forest for the trees, and that is the whole point.
When Therese Patricia Okoumou, a naturalized US citizen of Congolese origin, climbed the Statue of Liberty earlier this month to protest the separation of migrant children from their families, she reminded us that black people are immigrants, are fighting for immigrant rights, and are among those undocumented immigrants and noncitizens who face detention and deportation.
Bash on DNC hacking: This is a major crime
Bash on DNC hacking: This is a major crime 01:36
Black immigrants, a population that has increased fivefold since 1980, numbering 4.2 million in 2016, come from the Caribbean, Africa and South America, and include thousands of DACA recipients and Dreamers. In 2015, according to the Pew Research Center, unauthorized black immigrants living in America account for 15% of foreign-born black people. Black non-US citizens disproportionately face deportation on criminal grounds (due to racial profiling, interaction with law enforcement and criminal grounds), according to a 2016 report from New York University Law's Immigrant Rights Clinic and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
Meanwhile, with Trump ending temporary protected status for Haitians, Salvadorans and Hondurans, an estimated 273,000 American-born children, if they choose to stay in the United States, may be separated from their parents.
READ: Mueller indicts 12 Russians in 2016 DNC hacking
READ: Mueller indicts 12 Russians in 2016 DNC hacking
While conservatives may predict a massive black defection from the Democratic Party over immigration and other issues, there is — to put it mildly -- no evidence of such an exodus, much less a switch to the Republican Party, whose policies are often hostile to people of color and include support of an administration bent on eliminating civil rights and comfortable with separating migrant children from their families.
Like all other voters, African-Americans vote their interests. Black women's civic participation groups are bringing their A game and are energizing black voters in the South, leveraging the power of one of the Democrats' most important constituencies.
And there are other demographics that will put a damper on the strategy of conservatives and Russia Twitter bots.
Latino voters are crucial as the second largest ethnic group behind whites. Puerto Rican voters, including tens of thousands displaced due to Hurricane Maria, will play a key role in states such as Florida. Millennials, poised to become the largest living adult generation, are energized by issues such as gun control and can change the midterm landscape. And white suburban women have organized on the local level since the 2016 election. Democrats are getting engaged and joining forces with independents and Republicans who are frustrated.
As Republicans manage a shrinking base of angry white voters, Democrats, with lessons learned from 2016, can overcome conservatives and Twitter bots and claim victory with hard work and organization, a strong message and authentic, dynamic candidates.
Follow CNN Opinion
Join us on Twitter and Facebook
But clearly the Democrats must do more, particularly if they want to take advantage of the current political environment and leverage the widespread resistance to GOP policies. The party has faced criticism for failing to support black women candidates, and nearly 200 black female leaders sent a letter to Democratic leadership, putting them on notice for failing to protect Rep. Maxine Waters from attacks from the White House and criticism from some members of the Democratic Party.
Republican operatives who want to stop the blue wave have various options, including efforts aimed at voter suppression, voter purges, racial gerrymandering, and, with the help of their Russian handlers, Twitter bots of the variety that helped bring victory to Trump. About 50,000 Russian bots tried to impact the 2016 presidential election, and Twitter suspended some 70 million questionable accounts in May and June. Interfering in the election may have worked in 2016, but in the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election, voters of color and Democratic voters in general won't be fooled. Not this time. Too much is at stake: no less than the very future of American democracy.
In a video called "Illegal Is The New Black," Owens suggested that Democrats oppose secure borders because they want to bring in new Latino voters. Turning Point USA will conduct black outreach in battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan for the upcoming elections, with a plan to engage less politically active African-Americans, all for a Republican victory.
Attempting to peel off votes by dividing black and Latino voters over the issue of immigration, and suggesting the Democrats favor "illegal" immigrants over African-Americans misses the forest for the trees, and that is the whole point.
When Therese Patricia Okoumou, a naturalized US citizen of Congolese origin, climbed the Statue of Liberty earlier this month to protest the separation of migrant children from their families, she reminded us that black people are immigrants, are fighting for immigrant rights, and are among those undocumented immigrants and noncitizens who face detention and deportation.
Bash on DNC hacking: This is a major crime
Bash on DNC hacking: This is a major crime 01:36
Black immigrants, a population that has increased fivefold since 1980, numbering 4.2 million in 2016, come from the Caribbean, Africa and South America, and include thousands of DACA recipients and Dreamers. In 2015, according to the Pew Research Center, unauthorized black immigrants living in America account for 15% of foreign-born black people. Black non-US citizens disproportionately face deportation on criminal grounds (due to racial profiling, interaction with law enforcement and criminal grounds), according to a 2016 report from New York University Law's Immigrant Rights Clinic and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
Meanwhile, with Trump ending temporary protected status for Haitians, Salvadorans and Hondurans, an estimated 273,000 American-born children, if they choose to stay in the United States, may be separated from their parents.
READ: Mueller indicts 12 Russians in 2016 DNC hacking
READ: Mueller indicts 12 Russians in 2016 DNC hacking
While conservatives may predict a massive black defection from the Democratic Party over immigration and other issues, there is — to put it mildly -- no evidence of such an exodus, much less a switch to the Republican Party, whose policies are often hostile to people of color and include support of an administration bent on eliminating civil rights and comfortable with separating migrant children from their families.
Like all other voters, African-Americans vote their interests. Black women's civic participation groups are bringing their A game and are energizing black voters in the South, leveraging the power of one of the Democrats' most important constituencies.
And there are other demographics that will put a damper on the strategy of conservatives and Russia Twitter bots.
Latino voters are crucial as the second largest ethnic group behind whites. Puerto Rican voters, including tens of thousands displaced due to Hurricane Maria, will play a key role in states such as Florida. Millennials, poised to become the largest living adult generation, are energized by issues such as gun control and can change the midterm landscape. And white suburban women have organized on the local level since the 2016 election. Democrats are getting engaged and joining forces with independents and Republicans who are frustrated.
As Republicans manage a shrinking base of angry white voters, Democrats, with lessons learned from 2016, can overcome conservatives and Twitter bots and claim victory with hard work and organization, a strong message and authentic, dynamic candidates.
Follow CNN Opinion
Join us on Twitter and Facebook
But clearly the Democrats must do more, particularly if they want to take advantage of the current political environment and leverage the widespread resistance to GOP policies. The party has faced criticism for failing to support black women candidates, and nearly 200 black female leaders sent a letter to Democratic leadership, putting them on notice for failing to protect Rep. Maxine Waters from attacks from the White House and criticism from some members of the Democratic Party.
Republican operatives who want to stop the blue wave have various options, including efforts aimed at voter suppression, voter purges, racial gerrymandering, and, with the help of their Russian handlers, Twitter bots of the variety that helped bring victory to Trump. About 50,000 Russian bots tried to impact the 2016 presidential election, and Twitter suspended some 70 million questionable accounts in May and June. Interfering in the election may have worked in 2016, but in the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election, voters of color and Democratic voters in general won't be fooled. Not this time. Too much is at stake: no less than the very future of American democracy.
Wow, we have our own cadre of Breitbart operatives on this forum.... Well, better here than in places they can do real damage.
Yes, there are tons of reasons to leave the Democrats more so for the Republicans. If all America has is a choice between a Putin controlled Trump backed by corporate financed Republicans or corporate finance Democrats controlled by the Clintons then it is truly fucked.... And... I don't believe denials that Russia has a hand in this. They will be in there likely dirty shirts.
Yes, there are tons of reasons to leave the Democrats more so for the Republicans. If all America has is a choice between a Putin controlled Trump backed by corporate financed Republicans or corporate finance Democrats controlled by the Clintons then it is truly fucked.... And... I don't believe denials that Russia has a hand in this. They will be in there likely dirty shirts.
I sure as hell have walked away from the left, but if your reasoning for doing so is a "love of Trump" or "hating the hatred of Trump and his fans", then you are seriously misguided. The Trump presidency is one of the worst things to happen to the world this century.
I walked away from the left because they walked away from common sense and logic. Their pie-in-the-sky goals, far from making the country a better place, have left us worse off and divided.
I walked away from the left because they walked away from common sense and logic. Their pie-in-the-sky goals, far from making the country a better place, have left us worse off and divided.
That's the strange thing. Some (mainly younger) in the left are distancing themselves from the standard Democrat politics by engaging in more extreme views. The part I find strange is that while the Democrats are squaring off with the new left, the Republican party embraced the radicalization that the far right has presented.
Of course the idiocy of the walkaway people who are actually left leaning (and not the brietbart/Russian employees/trolls that I'm sure make up a big part of the movement) is the US is a two party system. Walking away from the Democrats because it moves to far left for your comfort means you are supporting the alt-right agenda that has moved the GOP further right (or at least back half a century). Sort of makes for a tough dilemma and one that isn't solved by avoiding the elections that essentially come down to the lesser of two issues.
Absolutely. Which is why people who said they voted for Trump because they were uncomfortable with Clinton have me shaking my head in disgust. Here in Canada, I have the luxury of being centrist (or did, before the Liberals leaned hard left). American's don't have that luxury.
Indeed we do not. The last presidential election was the only one in my entire life that I agonized over. No good choices.
KK
