Malcolm Gladwell, a gifted writer, popularized the idea of "tipping points". This concept is not limited to any one aspect of civil or even military life. It applies to animate and inanimate subjects. The tipping point concept is that nascent ideas, events, physical processes slowly build from a tiny point (or adoption) of inception to a certain degree, where such an idea or process no longer is a minority view/process but becomes more broadly prevalent in society or even in natural phenomena.

A common social tipping point is how many people percentage-wise does it take to change the ethnic character of a neighborhood. A recent scientific/environmental tipping point directly pertains to global warming, whereupon a likely tipping point has been reached or surpassed by the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at 400 parts per million. Of course there are other green house gases contributing to global warming such as methane but CO2 is more well-known.

Now the origins of the Standing Rock protests are not simple as might be first imagined. Most likely there were two issues present initially: integrity of the Sioux Nation's land according to the treaties of 1851 and amended in 1868; preservation of the Tribe's access not only to their treaty-defined land but also access to clean drinking water. Other issues have arisen as this protest has continued, of which the following examples are only partial:

1. Corruption of government (where have we heard that before), especially in ND. See righteous rant by TYT's Jordan Chariton

2. Domination of the government by corporations. This brings up the curious issue of why capitalists so feared Communism, when the corporations that feed them have essentially taken over the very governments that Communists were supposed to have controlled. "I'm for me first"!

3. Environmental protection of the world's longest river. It isn't just the Sioux's water that is threatened but the significant danger posed to down stream water and farmland by the inevitable oil spills that will occur. The DAPL sham This video explains that the DAPL is not really needed because adequate transportation of the same daily volume of oil already exists, but this is to enable Energy Transport Partners to make lots of money--alas as oil prices tumbled the profit envisioned will be drastically diminished.

So why does this standoff between unarmed water protectors and militarized public and private goons represent the starting of a tipping point? What is to be tipped over?
1. Abuse of eminent domain not for public benefit but for selfish corporate good.
2. Illusory job creation. Once the pipeline construction is finished, the work disappears and will only reappear if another pipeline is constructed elsewhere.
3. Enrichment of the few--the "Elite", the plunderers of society and the earth.
4. Return of government FOR the people. Perhaps an end or at least containment of the fascistic government which ours has become.
5. Repression of free speech by the goons alluded to above. Do these police really have no souls? Does that part of their humanity disappear when they don riot gear and intentionally harm peaceful protestors? Were they always arrogant bullies even before this?
6. More remotely, but a key element for the reversal of this misfortune: campaign financing reform. This is not even on the current horizon but this is the ultimate tipping point which must be realized--otherwise, any short-term victories at Standing Rock will not bear lasting fruit.

What evidence do we have for such an escalating movement? It is all around us but one would never know this by listening to the Lame Stream Fraudcasters.

From a few initial water protectors there are now thousands of people on site, representing 100 tribes and non-natives from all over the US and abroad.

U.S. military veterans are going with the thousands already at Oceti Sakowan. Let's seen if the goons attack them, let alone deride them as jobless hippies as has often been done.

Three months ago small demonstrations began in distant cities such as Boston

Indigenous people on the Navajo Reservation. This particularly resonates with me because my daughter was born in Window Rock, AZ where this demonstration occurred and I served at the USPHS clinic in Pinon, AZ.

Protesters have rallied in Victoria, British Columbia.

Even more important is to hit the ETP funders where it hurts them most: on the bottom line. Susan Sarandon pulled her money from one of the participating banks and I hope many more will do so also. The most dramatic show down so far occurred with the lockdown in Wells Fargo Minneapolis corporate headquarters.

Progressive hero Tulsi Gabbard called on cowardly Barack Obama to shut down DAPL. If he had one-tenth the spunk of Tulsi he would do this. Hopefully more Congresspeople will stand up for this construction cessation permanently.

Standing Rock represents the slowly growing of a national and perhaps world-wide revolt against corporatist tyranny. The whole world is waiting to see what happens.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk3JxCdf-WU]