Most people had nothing but positive interactions with how I handled Jennifer Shulte when she attempted to spend more than two hours harassing two Black men at Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA, for BBQing in a location where many locals are known to BBQ. I have been invited to all the BBQs.
A few people have claimed I am just as annoying as Schulte, dubbed BBQ Becky. There as a reason for my madness. Let me explain.
Throughout 2017, I attended rallies in Berkeley and San Francisco, some of which became violent. I aimed to document this historical moment and learn from different viewpoints to understand the extreme bipolar division between our political beliefs. Once I started to understand Trump supporters and Alt-Right followers, I saw that they had media personality types that created a false or exaggerated counter-narrative.
Once I learned their propaganda and populist talking points, I would debate the media personalities on their live streams to help their audiences understand they were being deceived.
Many rallies later, it just so happened the woman dubbed “BBQ Becky” harassed my then-husband and his friend for barbecuing with charcoal at Lake Merritt Park in Oakland, CA, attempting to agitate them and sticking around pretending to be on hold with the police intent to get them arrested.
Little did she know when my husband would call me; I had plenty of practice documenting and flipping narratives. I’m explaining this long story to everyone because some noticed the video I shot was too good. As you will see in this video, I describe my story and play the videos I’ve recorded at many pro-Trump rallies. The video documentation and strategy get better over a year.
So now you know why I already knew how to handle BBQ Becky.
*Update* Since this story was published, Kenzie and I got divorced. A lot had changed, but the way the story was told in mainstream media had not, and it became frustrating. Unfortunately, Kenzie Smith passed away on June 20, 2024. You can read more about him here. You can also read more about the full BBQ Beck story and how it has been reframed incorrectly over the years. I can't believe people still talk about it to this day!!!
Here are some of the posts I wrote last year:
- Populism, Nationalism and Capitalism, it’s not just for White People
- Breaking Down How Battles of Berkeley Where Organized
- Battle of Berkeley Aftermath — When the rules start to break you, you start to break the rules
