Minneapolis descends into chaos
And its government is nowhere to be found. The furious mob (oops, I mean “protestors”) is allowed to destroy at will.
You can read about it and see photos from James Lileks here. Please read the whole thing, but the following is of particular interest to me and an angle not too many people are covering (the first line is some graffiti Lileks spotted and photographed):
“When our turn comes we will make no excuses for the terror.”
Karl Marx. There’s more than a few of his fans about, I think. It would not be ridiculous to assume that people previously given to direct action for ther sake of destroying the existing order wouldn’t show up at these events and lend a helping hand, would it? People on reddit and twitter think there are neo-Nazis in the riots, trying to start something, but you know, I’m looking at the guys who have a lot of practice with the whole “break things because you’re all fascists” pasttimes.
A housing development under construction was burned. It was supposed to supply below-market-rate housing: ah well. No matter. It is better that people suffer today if it brings about the necessary future. Every one and every physical thing is expendable.
And of course, there are also leftists in charge of the city’s government. The mayor of Minneapolis – to whom I’d previously paid not a particle of attention – is very young (often referred to in the descriptions I’ve read as the “Boy Mayor”) and seems right now (and perhaps always?) to be good only for ineffectual platitudes:
We have witnessed a massive failure of leadership in the City of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota. Boy Mayor Jacob Frey has been exposed as a childish nonentity. Meanwhile, what about the Minneapolis City Council, which is responsible for the city’s Police Department? It is one of the most far-left political bodies in the U.S., and so far it has not been heard from, as far as I have seen. Governor Tim Walz, too, has been AWOL, although I do have to give him a little credit for his State Police cracking down on CNN. Amid the general incompetence, President Trump is threatening to step into the breach…
This is followed on the post by a graphic (which can’t be copied) that features a photo of Trump and two tweets:
I can’t stand back & watch this happening to a great American city, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.
These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
Twitter has blocked that last part of Trump’s second message for “glorifying violence.” Yes, that’s right – it’s Trump who glorifies violence. If you want to see the thread as it stands now – complete with the lovely reactions of the left on Twitter – go here. And you can read Twitter’s reaction here.
The left, the Twitter censors, and the MSM could not care less about stopping violence, as long as it’s the approved sort of violence. Au contraire.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis burns.
The protesters in Lansing carried guns but did not use them. Did not burn buildings.
Tea Party protests left venues cleaner than when they arrived.
Which protests does the media attack?
Which does it make excuses for?
Other areas too.
I was wondering when Antifa would reappear.
And now everyone must wear masks, so they can swim in an ocean as Mao said.
They believe the protesters are not dangerous to THEM, or only accidentally. This is not necessarily a calculated decision with most people. Most of us think we are mostly in danger from “the other side.” If our boyos get out of hand from time to time we might cluck our tongues, but we don’t feel we are going to be next in the tumbrels. It is hard for people to absorb that there are people they thought were basically in their tribe, but actually see themselves as being in a far different one, that is willing to take you out as well.
Communism and fascism were both movements of the intelligentsia – artists, philosophers, college students and professors – who used the violent and criminal elements for their own purposes. Only later did the workers come into either group.
I am stunned by the extensive slander of all cops in America as racists in my FB feed. One incident and 3/4 million cops get slimed as racists.
Btw — a riot is not a protest. Difference.
2009-2011: Tea Party protests across the country. Little to no violence or destruction
2011-2012: Occupy movement. Violence, mayhem, destruction galore.
2020: Conservative anti-lockdown protests at various state capitols; some protestors legally carrying firearms. No destruction or violence.
Also 2020: Antifa, BLM and God knows what other leftist groups riot in Minneapolis and elsewhere. Tons of violence and destruction; echoes of Ferguson in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015.
Oh those angry, white conservatives! Their penchant for violence knows no bounds!!
My thoughts also, Edward, regarding Antifa.
This interminable lockdown is partially to blame. Governors asked you to flatten the curve. You complied and now the government demands more blood from a stone. The criminal actions of this officer lit the powder keg but it ain’t over yet.
Looks like the 1960s early70s are doing a rerun. The Communist influence in the earlier years is now much stronger. The Antifa (Commie Brown-shirts) types are there and doing their thing. Our institutions, unfortunately, are much weaker.
With a Mayor that mouths SJW clichés and a city council of the same ilk, the police can’t protect life and property or even successfully arrest a man who reportedly passed a counterfeit $20 bill. Ineptitude at every level. Three days of violence and property destruction before the National Guard can be pressed into service. What’s up with that? Ineptitude in the governor’s mansion? And now, there are protests in seven other cities – all Democrat ruled.
https://www.newsweek.com/george-floyd-protest-riots-trump-tweet-1507294
Yep, it’s deja vu all over again.
You get what you incentivize. (By “you” I don’t mean readers here.)
Rioters get excitement, the feelings of power, self-righteousness and revenge, national attention and the opportunity to loot — all without consequences.
Leaving aside morality and long-term consequences, what’s not to like?
When I saw the mayor of Minneapolis being interviewed, I said “My god, they elected a fetus as mayor of a major city!” He looks possessed by that panic we feel when we have the dreams about walking into a classroom and realizing that there is a final exam and we haven’t so much as opened the textbook.
“Experts”, have they done anything to instill confidence? I used to think that our elected officials were smart enough to weigh the opinions of many experts from various fields but now I realize that I’ve been “had”. Blue state governors now seem to be incapable of making balanced decisions. It is all political, all the time. My greatest hope is that people will wise up and vote for higher caliber candidates. Honestly at this point I don’t care if they are Democrat or Republican. Just vote for the one who will maximize your liberty.
State Woebegone where everyone is below average in common sense? Or is it just the twin cities? 10,000 lakes and far more loons.
The guys and gals from Powerlineblog.com seem to be exceptions. I hope I’m wrong.
You realize that among the candidates for mayor in 2017, Frey may have been the least bad. He replaced Betsy Hodges, a woman who had no business in a managerial position of any kind.
Joe Bageant offered some years ago that in 1960, common sense was about equally distributed across the political spectrum. NB, someone at the midpoint of their working lives in 1960 would have been born in 1920 or thereabouts. Those liberals largely retired a generation ago, and died 15 or 20 years ago. Frey’s contemporaries and confederates have potted conceptions of social life and American history, and that template is what they bring to bear in this situation. They will accomplish nothing.
Communism and fascism were both movements of the intelligentsia – artists, philosophers, college students and professors – who used the violent and criminal elements for their own purposes. Only later did the workers come into either group.
The French Revolution began the same way. The Girondists were all lawyers. So was Robespierre. Even Danton, “King of the Markets” was a lawyer. The peasants got involved later, many in opposition as in the Vendee.
Kindly use the term “undocumented shoppers” in preference to thugs, looters, maniacs, and de-facto Trump re-election campaign workers.
May I suggest that the governor of Minnesota institute a lockdown on the ‘protesters’. Maybe they could come up with a pithy slogan like ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’.
You wouldn’t know it if you followed only the legacy media that police shoot more unarmed white men every year than unarmed black men, or that interracial crimes of violence are overwhelmingly black on white. The last time black on white violence got a lot of press coverage was the OJ Simpson case, and that was 26 years ago. The sad truth is that violence, looting, and arson by blacks is expected, excused, and cheered on by white liberals. If you don’t believe me, just turn on CNN and MSNBC right now.
This “The furious” remind us with one that “US BOY” said:
“Freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things,” Rumsfeld said. “They’re also free to live their lives and do wonderful things. And that’s what’s going to happen here.”
Looting, he added, was not uncommon for countries that experience significant social upheaval. “Stuff happens,” Rumsfeld said.
https://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/04/11/sprj.irq.pentagon/
I should think that citizens across the country would be asking themselves, “why are we paying taxes to support government that does not govern?”; and the corollary, “of what use are police departments that do not protect property and lives?”.
There will be all sorts of fallout. Two aspects are fairly predictable. Sometime in the future, people will complain of the paucity of stores and other commercial entities in parts of Minneapolis. That particular virus may approach a national epidemic, since many major metropolitan areas now share certain characteristics. Insurance companies, among others, are risk sensitive; as the folks in the California fire zones can attest. Secondly, the personal firearm business will experience another upsurge as citizens are yet again reminded that they are on their own when chaos erupts.
Sundance has a very weird angle on the relation between between the victim and the cop. They both worked security at the same club for years and probably knew each other He also brings in counterfeiting and links to a bust in January of $900K. The vic supposedly was trying to cash a phony $20 bill. Strange! And will the national press investigate this?
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/05/29/president-trump-looting-leads-to-shooting-msm-go-bananas/
I have tried to find any reference to racial animus by the cops. Is there evidence of any? I assume the cop is an asshole. Do we automatically assume he was motivated by racism?
Call me naive but I remember a time when the cops’ job was to secure the perimeter around a perp while the detectives were called to the scene. Supposedly the detectives had cooler heads (except if it was Dirty Harry.)
I’ve mentioned this before and the response was always: “budget cuts”. It seems to me like this is something worthy of investment. Right?
Stop asking cops to do the jobs of detectives!
stan:
I certainly don’t assume it. To me, his actions are either bad or not bad. They look like they were bad, and that would be true no matter what the race of the guy who died.
However, that’s not the way the world looks at it. White cop, black victim, inflames the entire situation and makes a lot of people assume racism, and I doubt they will ever change their minds.
However, that said, Chauvin’s actions certainly might be caused at least in part by racism. It remains to be seen.
Paul in Boston:
I already read that about them having worked security at the same club, but the article I read said they worked different shifts and probably didn’t know each other.
Minneapolis/St/Paul used to be really good places to live despite the winters.
But DOS moved 50,000 Somalis in, giving us home-grown Jihadis and Ilhan Omars.
American blacks moved north for better jobs starting in the 1920s. They married, had nuclear families.
Then along came the Brown v. Board decision, which was not supported in fact. The black schools in Topeka were physically just as fine as the schools for whites, yet separation was deemed “inherently” unequal. See this: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/the-brown-v-board-of-education-case-didnt-start-how-you-think-it-did
And the majority of black Topekans liked the then-status quo. Diversity was and is a sham.
After that, we got the Pill, the sexual revolution, the War on Poverty, Medicaid, Civil Rights, the various social programs that encouraged single motherhood, and here is where we end up, with the Alinsky-inspired 1960s all over again, trillions of dollars and millions of school buses later.
Sure looks like a repeat of history to me.
The MSM has jumped on Trump for loot=shoot, which Twitter censored, but the state troopers and National Guard are prepared to shoot….rubber bullets!
The gall of a private company censoring a president makes me puke.
Well. I think I said, on the other thread, that at the very least we should wait for an autopsy. The autopsy now shows that Floyd did not die of asphyxiation or strangulation. He had preexisting coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, which were exacerbated by his being held down as he was. Police should not apply this kind of pressure on a detainee in a prone position because it’s inherently dangerous. I wonder if this will contribute to some kind of manslaughter conviction rather than murder. It’s still unacceptable behavior.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/may/29/george-floyd-died-police-restraint-combined-health/
Standard EMT position is on the side. That way you can clear the airway if the guy vomits, and you don’t have his weight on his breathing apparatus as when he’s face down.
Once the guy is cuffed behind his back, and you have enough people around to keep him from struggling to his feet and running away, face down and knee-to-neck is unnecessary.
This is different from Eric Garner’s case in that the comorbidities are less obvious but the results of peak-strength effort are the same.
When the guy’s having a hard time breathing just standing there, either he’s got a serious problem or he’s lying and trying to fake you into something.
These two are reported to have worked security at some kind of club. Wonder if there’s something personal between them.
Griffin: ” Maybe they could come up with a pithy slogan like ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’.”
Thread winner! 🙂
After college, I worked for the welfare dept in Phillly. A black coworker told me one day about the 68 Martin Luther King riots. He was a student at Howard and got caught up in the riots and looting. His ex-miltary father and uncle drove down from Philly to bring him home. He had a few things in his suitcase that he had looted, and he was scared that they would find them. Ultimately, his family’s ideas of right and wrong prevailed, but today there are just too many race hustlers who would rather incite the crowds than instill decent behavior among the young, and the press does everything it can to reinforce this attitude. Why are the shootings in Baltimore and Chicago given so little attention? Why aren’t the black anchors and “experts” doing more to point out how the communities should be working to control the gangs? I guess it doesn’t pay as much. Keith was a great guy. I bet his kids have turned out well.
Atlanta mayor gave an emotional statement that pretty much called out the rioters.
” when the looting starts, the shooting starts” Pres. Trump
As Stan stated, “a riot is not a protest.” Riots are characterized by looting, destruction of innocent’s property and even wanton violence.
I am entirely in favor of shooting looters. Their actions are a direct attack upon society and in doing so, they demonstrate themselves to be uncivilized. Their actions are a violent rejection of civility. Having demonstrated that rejection, they have also forfeited any claim to citizenship.
Do these riots happen on this scale without the months of lockdown?
I was living in So. Cal, South Gate (LA suburb), when the 1965 Watts riots occurred in the city just to our West (freeways meet in Downey to our East).
There was real racism and discrimination then, and it was really wrong, and most of it really stopped, sort of starting with the Civil Rights Act of ’64. This especially stopped the legally enforced Jim Crow laws that Southern Democrats had enacted.
Unfortunately, the sexual liberation and anti-Vietnam war protests got mixed in so that blacks failed to advance as quickly as was expected. In relative terms, the number and percentage of black kids not living with married parents is over 70%.
There will continue to be riots and unequal outcomes as long as the black rate is so much higher than white and other race rates. For many decades it now more a problem of bad black behavior rather than racism — and racism, which does exist, is used as an excuse to avoid responsibility for black adults choosing to be lawless, violent, looting thieves. Certainly not all, but too many.
I wish that Congress would pass an anti-discrimination law that prohibits using race as a criteria for any gov’t decision or law or policy. But that would end Affirmative Action, which is anti-white discrimination yet fails to help the black community much. AA should be ended; AA is racist.
In this time of untruth, those against racist AA laws are denounced as … racists.