observations
Some of these observations I'd put in the category of uncomfortable. Brace yourself and read no further if you can't handle it.
The first is, it wasn't all that long ago (50 years, in my case) that we were out there, yelling and screaming and threatening to vandalize the fancy government property. I was at Nixon's inauguration, and of course, we being antifa-types, they didn't let us anywhere near anything valuable. And I'm not violent by nature, so in fact I didn't upturn any police cars or anything. But I understand the sentiment: people get mad, they feel alienated, they feel like no one's listening, etc. All else just follows naturally.
That's my second point - that it's remarkable how much of what we saw in the 60's and 70's, is coming right back at us. This time we are defending the government and democracy as we know it, and the halls of justice, and the system. But they have many traits in common with the way we saw things all those years ago. First, they believe a bunch of lies and falsehoods - believe it or not, we did too. Second, they have a deep sense of injustice and betrayal, which is pretty much unfounded (you're white? you're young? you're healthy? just get a job)....But finally, only a small percentage of them are truly violent, or evil, or willing to cynically manipulate the situation. You see that "lunatic fringe" bending the metal furniture? Walking off with the lectern? Beating the policeman with a flagpole? Most people are angry and charged up, but they know that's wrong, and they don't do it. In the big picture, it's just the mess and the litter of an over-enthusiastic demonstration.
Nevertheless people who provoked it and encouraged it, planned it and publicized it, need to pay the price. I just read Trump's "Save America" speech, on the morning of Jan. 9, and he basically laid out all the ways he felt the election had been stolen. All of these, by the way, have been thrown out of court, all of them. But he basically tells them to fight, and to walk right down Pennsylvania Avenue and do it. He was glad they were there; he told them he loved them. He made sure there wasn't any police defense, or that what police were there, were badly outnumbered. It was possibly his finest hour, since he's been totally discredited since.
And for good reason. That's basically sedition, and a felony. to encourage violent revolution against the government. And Trump just executed a guy for being in the getaway car....in other words, if you approved of the action, even if you didn't ruin anything, you're still responsible. Five dead people, a couple pipe bombs, stolen laptops, you name it, there was some damage there, and it'll add up (you can't just get another window at Home Depot, some guy said). A violent seditious uprising (and more are coming) is what this confederacy is all about.
posted by tom @ 3:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home