by Scott Steward Ragsdale
Scott Atlas, a radiologist, a frequent contributor to Fox, with rudimentary training in infectious disease, qualifies for National Administrative Medical oversight because of his loyalty to Trump. Atlas has overruled the experts at the Center of Disease Control. No need for testing of non-symptomatic COVID positive persons, and children under 10 need not be concerned from infection. Dr. Atlas cannot be trusted.
The intended effect: to obliterate confidence in the institution of democratic government.
Anne Applebaum, observer of eastern European politics and author of The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism: “One hopeful fact is clear, the countries that have done best during the pandemic are 
those with trusted and non-partisan bureaucracies.”
She adds, “Trumpism is the authoritarian belief that changing the rules to win power undemocratically is ok.
“Everybody who founded and created democratic systems had always been aware of how fragile they can be. They require something almost, you know, that goes against human nature. Namely, they require all of us to allow our political enemies to rule, you know? … that’s a tough ask. That doesn’t mean it has to fail, but it means that it can. (Applebaum, NPR interview July 22, 2020)
Black and brown people are putting their bodies on the line for democracy. Two people protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake were themselves shot and killed in Kenosha Wisconsin by an out-of-state white teen with an assault rifle—with police present.
Wisconsin State representative, David Bowen, said, “You must be louder, you must be more involved…” Defend the vote and stand with people of color.
Snap out of your shock, stay engaged. Shock is also an intended effect of authoritarianism.
We are indivisibleyolo.org—a local voter advocacy that resists the Trump agenda and promotes democracy. We are an all-volunteer organization that will help you defeat Trump and Trumpism. A calendar of ways to be active awaits on our website.
Scott Steward Ragsdale is a Davis resident and activist.
The whole story, two people protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake were themselves shot and killed in Kenosha Wisconsin when they attacked an out-of-state white teen with an assault rifle.
Actually if you read the declaration of probable cause by the prosecution, you see that the guy who shot them largely instigated the incident, which is why he is facing murder charges.
That’s all in question, but I believe the videos of the incidents will favor Rittenhouse.
Keith
The whole story, as told by one side. Now let’s take a look at the other side.
At least one of the two men shot and killed ( the skateboarder) was reportedly not attacking, but attempting to defend against the shooter. You know, kind of like a stand your ground, protect yourself and other innocents, kind of thing.
Again, I would suggest against taking sides prematurely. Wouldn’t it be best to follow the evidence before coming to conclusions?
Yes!
So un-Vanguard-comments-section like, though . . .
First question: why was Rittenhouse there with a gun in the first place? He had NO right to come in as a vigilante. That the Kenosha police condoned this type of behavior is another characteristic of creeping authoritarianism. Let’s look at the REAL cause of this incident, not a second or even third order cause. Remember that this all started with the assertion of undue violent force yet again against a member of a community that sees a highly disproportionate share of these incidents from a police force staffed with the dominant ethnic group that is increasingly showing that it is willing to assert coercive violence to maintain that dominance. The next order effect was the riots that were a reaction to this yet-again event–a not-surprising angry response (and unfortunate, but if we eliminate the first effect, then these will happen less often, maybe even stop). Trying to suppress these violent responses just goes back to violent assertion of dominance by the dominant ethnic group. So then we get to the third order effect of the vigilantes showing up to poorly and incompetently counter the riots that were a response to the violent assertion of dominance. And finally, then we have the shooting incident, whoever is at fault. The train of causation is clear and indisputable. Trying to isolate the last event is either a demonstration of ignorance or an unwillingness to face the REAL cause of these events. Anyone who is latter category is a supporter of authoritarianism. (And we can back up even further to the need to acknowledge that the legacy of slavery and subsequent serfdom for the next century has created the environment in which Blacks are so disadvantaged as the primary cause of all of this.)
Thank you.
@ 17 he had no right to even possess an “open-carry” firearm, of ANY kind, in WI. If he is not at least charged and convicted of that, there will indeed be no justice… and, add his mom as an accessory to that.
Like this riot last night in Rochester where BLM stormed peaceful diners and trashed restaurants. How many more GOP voters did they create last night?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFsY4Igzb4M
Keth, just curious, what do you think of the police behavior that arguably caused the death of Daniel Prude?
Robert, the police behavior I’m sure will all be played out in the courts. But does that entitle the BLM protesters to treat restaurant patrons in such a manner, does that entitle BLM rioters to trash businesses?
Keith, you have opinions about the protesters (violent and non-violent), don’t you have an opinion about the police behavior in this case?
Keith
I have brought this issue up before. Without knowing the names and affiliations of those storming peaceful diners, we have no way at all of knowing whether they are truly with the BLM movement or whether they are agitators there to present an appearance of violence on the part of the BLM protesters.
That also has been seen as in the early clip of white skateboarders breaking windows while a small black woman with a megaphone pleads with the to stop.
We just don’t know. But clearly some are willing to take sides without knowing.
The protesters were mostly black carrying BLM flags and placards in the video. Pretty sure they were part of the BLM group and not outside agitators. But that’s the left’s talking point these days, they try and blame all the rioting and destruction on outsiders. Nice try but people see through that false narrative.
Those flags and placards are only issued to card-carrying members of BLM, so that settles that . . .
I get your point Alan, but watching the video do you really feel it was outside agitators or actual BLM supporters who rousted those people in the restaurants?
Since there are no card-carrying members, who knows where to draw the line? Those pictured are probably, in spirit, a mix of both. Regardless, the tactic of destruction is stupid and counterproductive, they just don’t know it. All of the similar incidents on video should be labeled “How to Help Donald Trump Get Re-elected”.
My real problem with the progressive protestors who are protesting peacefully, and that is by far the majority, is their hesitance to outright condemn those who are not protesting peacefully, or in some cases, outright making excuses for it.
Keith
So let me make sure I understand your position. You are basing it on skin color and choice of signs to carry. Right?
Because if so, you are proving a point about systemic racism. Your decision about their motives is literally, in your own words, based on the color of their skin. Correct?
Tia, watch the video and tell me if you really think it was outside agitators or BLM supporters?
Keith, when you start complaining about the agent provocateurs who infiltrate these demonstrations and a purposefully cause violence, then you’ll have standing to talk about single isolated events.
My son compiled this list of evidence in early June of these agent provocateurs. I’m sure there are now many more. Work your way through this list and complain about each of these and point out that it is members of the right wing and even police that are instigating these:
Since you asked about it, here’s some primary source information indicating that there are undercover cops provoking and instigating escalations during protests, along with cops just destroying property unprovoked as well.
https://twitter.com/umnnmmm/status/1266166048958541824
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/george-floyd-death-protests-white-arm-bands-new-york-police-a9540036.html
https://twitter.com/loneangeI/status/1267680805054230528
Tangentially related. Examples of police escalating against protesters unprovoked:
https://twitter.com/calvinwatkins/status/1266860555597500416
https://twitter.com/IDoTheThinking/status/1267654581107871744
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBC0A5fP-tA&feature=youtu.be
https://twitter.com/karaokecomputer/status/1267393445603115008
https://twitter.com/karaokecomputer/status/1267548564969807872
https://twitter.com/karaokecomputer/status/1267548591184216064
https://twitter.com/whitney_hu/status/1266540710188195843
https://twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1266885769282584576
https://twitter.com/banditelli/status/1266955874725056512
https://twitter.com/AJRupchandani/status/1266889115288711168
https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1266987316905562113
https://twitter.com/rob_bennett/status/1266895719455248385
https://youtu.be/9uRwt2-DDYc?t=97
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_provocateur#United_States (sources linked in section)
Somewhat long video discussing the history of agent provocateurs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMjgMxerFLg
My opinion (in this case, having watched the video that Keith posted) is that they were part of the “protest”.
There are varying degrees of “protesters”, in terms of what they’re willing to do. Some are apparently causing the Portland mayor to move out of his home, in consideration of other occupants of that building. Despite the fact that most would not associate him with “authoritarianism”.
Just as there are varying behaviors among “counter-protesters”.
I’m pretty sure that someone like MLK would not be proud of what’s occurring, these days. At least, not from what I understand of him.
Ron, I can’t imagine the uproar if a group of white protesters had rousted blacks out of a restaurant and then damaged the businesses.
Keith
Now we have moved from not only the lacking in fact knowledge of the incident as filmed ( which by the way I have now watched 3 times without any ability to ascertain the true motivation of the perpetrators) to the realm of your “imagination” about what might happen in a hypothetical.
Are you beginning to see why I believe this is a partisan conversation with no relationship to fact on your part?
I guess all the BLM protests/riots are nothing more than right wing conspiracies.
It’s all an illusion.
Tia, I can see it’s a waste of time trying to reason with you on this. Have a nice day…..
Curious as to how many of MLK’s books you have read and which ones?
You got me. Not-a-one. Didn’t even know he was an author.
But if he (theoretically) would have supported the type of thing that Keith posted above, I’d have to re-think my opinion of him.
Maybe somewhat similar to the changing opinions regarding Gandhi.
Ultimately, I think that how leaders are interpreted may ultimately be more important than some of the realities of imperfect human beings, themselves. A symbol, if you will.
I can think of other examples, as well.
For me, MLK was about peaceful protests, even willing to be arrested (peacefully) for something he believed in.
He used non-violent resistance as his mechanism, but you really ought to read him – you turn out to argue against most of his views.
Though not asked, I’ll provide another example. Again, based upon incomplete knowledge (and memory):
The young lady who sat (for weeks on end) in an old-growth redwood tree that was scheduled to be logged: Respected. (If I’m not mistaken, that effort was successful, as well.)
The people who spike redwood trees (creating a dangerous situation for human beings): Not respected.
Thought I’d look. More than 2 years, actually.
That, my friends, is commitment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Butterfly_Hill
Not only was MLK willing to be arrested (peacefully), he didn’t whine about it afterward.
But when you guys boil MLK down to his tactics (which he adapted from Tolstoy and Gandhi) rather than his advocacy, you do him a disservice.
Moreover, one of the problems that they learned during the Civil Rights movements is that they needed a Bull Connor or a Jim Clark to make their tactics effective. They had to incite the authorities to violence in order to succeed. However, as was the case the case in Albany, Georgia, when the authorities simply peacefully arrested them, they were not able to gain the attention needed to make the change. No one wants to acknowledge this problem – as soon as authorities figured out just let protesters sit there all day, the protesters eventually got bored and went home (like when the students occupied the chancellor’s office).
Great points and well stated, RO. That would be Julia Butterfly Hill. I booked her about a decade or so ago to speak at the Whole Earth Festival. In doing so, I got to talk with her a bit and hear her speak a few times. She is a powerful soul and a someone who can get stuff done through the sheer power of her deep roots in nonviolence. I had mostly heard mocking news reports of her as a hippie-in-a-tree and did not realize that she possessed that ‘nonviolence “it” factor’ with the same strength as a man like MLK.
Now, name me a tree spiking advocate. I guess there’s Dave Foreman, but I’ll bet a lot less people have heard of him. Interestingly, I went on a hike in The Headwaters led by Earth First!, years after the incidents that put them in the news. They had completely revamped their message and changed their leadership and were working with the lumber companies and government agencies on preservation of the land. I found it interesting they didn’t change their name with such a radical change in tactic.
Alan… Howie Wolke… a self-avowed ‘luddite’…
I met Julia Butterfly in the summer of 97 while on a lunch break from volunteering at the Environmental Protection Information Center in Garberville. I showed her around the office and told her she should get involved.
Earth First, after Judi Bari got involved, and prior to Redwood Summer in 1990, figured out that violence begets violence and that it doesn’t help advance your cause. Its a lesson that would be good for those involved in the current protests to learn.
Looking up the date for Redwood Summer I found this video with the late great journalist Alexander Cockburn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xOUn64o6iE
I spoke to Cockburn that day and told him about a grave in the Trinidad Cemetery with the epitaph “Murdered by Capitalism.” He went to see it and wrote a story about it that appeared in “The Nation”
The protesters aren’t just sitting there all day anymore. They are looting, burning, destroying businesses, rousting diners out of restaurants, etc. No longer peaceful.
I’m pleasantly-surprised to hear that.
At first, I recall being not particularly inspired with what she did (as it was occurring). It wasn’t until later that I came to a different conclusion. Partly as a result of her sheer commitment and personal sacrifice.
I do recall some controversy regarding the company that had vastly increased logging (I think). Again, this was some time ago.
I’ll check out that video that you posted a link to.
Wish I had seen that.
is getting Trump re-elected ‘success’ ? How do you see this path of ‘inciting the authorities to violence’ in 2020 leading to ‘success’ ?
MLK’s response to the possibility of a white backlash was if people turn against a cause due to protests or tactics, they weren’t with them in the first place. I’m not recommending violence and I think most people engaging in violent acts are not protesters and not committed to a cause, they are troublemakers and opportunists, probably on both sides.
So you feel that if the students occupying the chancellor’s office had ‘incited the authorities to violence’, they would have had a chance in succeeding in their cause?
No. But if they had been cleared out of there and pepper-sprayed they would have had a better chance. My point was really that the tactics in the 60s only succeeded because of the over-the-top response.
On that we agree . . . (sans the word probably)
Interesting premise. In thinking of the pepper-spraying, it gave the protestors international ‘fame’, which they weren’t looking for, but not for their cause, only for the issue of over-the-top police responses in and of itself as an issue. The protestor main issue itself, rising college fees, was lost in the kerfuffle and was not won.
That’s a tougher issue to assess. I think if you have looked back over the last ten years, the regents have seemed to be more reluctant to raise tuition, in part because they know it will bring about protests and problems.
I’ll grant you that. It is hard to say if the protests (not just the pepper spray) had an effect – possibly some. There is no denying tuition has gone up way more than inflation and way more than most other government fees, thus subsidizing other state programs overall. i.e., on the backs of students and their parents (and foreign national students and their parents).
Ron
I would postulate that being “part of the protest” says zero about their motivation for being there. They might be there to peacefully protest. They also might be there awaiting an opportunity to be maximally disruptive and cast doubt on the legitimate protesters. I also have watched many of these clips. Some in which the vast majority of the protesters have been peaceful, some in which the police have been the clear aggressors as in the two cases of senior men being pushed to the ground, and some in which there is unclear how the violence started.
My point is that none of us sitting here in Davis have enough information to be making judgments, but that certainly is not stopping some from doing so.
Having watched that clip once, I’d say that a lot of their “purpose” was to intimidate others in the restaurant, as well as those working there, the restaurant owners, etc.
And sorry to say, but I’d conclude that this was part of the protest. As it is quite often, these days. (Not just with BLM.)
This is part of what I’d conclude is fundamentally different regarding many of the protests, these days.
MLK spoke out strongly against violent protest but he understood it: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” https://youtu.be/_K0BWXjJv5s
I watched that as well. Thanks for sharing it.
Plus, it was followed by a “Little Richard” interview, that I started watching (R.I.P.) He, along with Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry are the true “kings” of rock-and-roll, in my opinion.
With Chuck Berry dying recently, as well
(At least, that’s what “followed” for me, on Youtube.) 😉
Not sure if that’s “good”, or “bad” – regarding online privacy and tracking.
But it begs the question, why did that follow the MLK interview, for me?
I saw Chuck Berry perform at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos about 35-40 years ago.
Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker, great show.
Here’s what MLK said about protesting:
https://www.history.com/news/for-martin-luther-king-jr-nonviolent-protest-never-meant-wait-and-see
Typical attempt to demonize ALL of your opponents by focusing on the exceptions. 93% of demonstrations this summer have been peaceful.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-united-states-is-in-crisis-report-tracks-thousands-of-summer-protests-most-nonviolent/2020/09/03/b43c359a-edec-11ea-99a1-71343d03bc29_story.html
I think folks should read the Op-Ed by one of the restaurant patrons in DC who was hectored at her table:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lauren-victor-diner-dc-black-lives-matter-protesters/2020/09/03/fa0368de-ee21-11ea-ab4e-581edb849379_story.html
That’s a great read, very reasoned thinking on her part – thanks for posting, RC
I read this three times. I can’t put paragraph Humpty Dumpty together again. And I’ve had two cups of coffee.
Changing the rules to win power has also been the playbook of far-left progressives and anarchists. It wouldn’t be called “Trumpism” in that case, but other end of the same same stick.
True story…
As is the ‘authoritarian’ tone of the headline/byline… key word is “don’t”… an imperative…
Yes, there is extremism on both sides. The difference is, the far right has brought rule-breaking and lawlessness to the highest levels of the federal government, thereby posing a real threat to our democracy. Trumpism—changing the rules to win power—exists not only in the White House but also in the Republican-controlled Senate (e.g., refusing to consider a presidential nomination for a seat on the Supreme Court).
EG, thanks for the “yes, but ours aren’t quite as vile, because . . . ” comment.
AM – You’re welcome. And thanks for not addressing or refuting the point I was making in my comment.
EG is right, the Democrats always play by the book. LMAO
Not always. But Trump never read the book and the Republicans burned the book.
You’re welcome
That’s always my go to expert when I need an opinion.
I don’t like burning. I don’t like looting. I don’t like 17 year old vigilantes carrying AR-15 rifles. I don’t like moms who drive their armed kids across state lines to protests. Whatever happens I hope the mom faces charges for any crimes she committed.
As well as all the protesters and rioters who committed crimes.
Yes all crimes. Even those committed by the cops.
If you didn’t watch KO’s video, it’s worth a watch. I was amazed people sat at their tables as long as they did, allowing the protestors to come and harass them.
Here’s another “BLM”(who knows?)-group-assaults-a-restaurant video. This Dallas video is amusing because a black man is filming/narrating and notes that most of the protestors are young white people, and the restaurant clientele and workers are clearly a mix. Why are white protestors disrupting black people working and enjoying dinner? Through the looking glass . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv4bBO8YOtk
How would you feel if you were in dining on G Street or 2nd Street at Davis Outdoors and a mob such as the one depicted in the video KO presented came marching onto the block, throwing chairs, challenging patrons, rattling tables? Or the famous DC video where white people in a restaurant were forced to raise their fists in the air, or the many videos of white people being yelled at to “say his name”.
It all seems too stupid to be real. Are they agents provocateurs or people too dumb to see how counterproductive they are being?
My cousin’s property in LA got looted and vandalized after George Floyd’s murder. I called to check on her. She told me “They have set their cause back 10 years.”
I remember in 1996 at a Yes on Prop 19 rally in Central Park in Davis there were these kids partying and smoking bong hits. There was a Fox 40 News cameraman filming them. I walked up to them and explained how what they were doing would be used against getting Medical Marijuana passed. Then I turned to the cameraman and said something to him about how I trust that he would act responsibly and walked away. He didn’t put the kids smoking bong hits on the news.
People often get carried away and do things that are counterproductive to the cause that they support. These actions should be condemned. To riff on Trump there are some very bad people on both sides.
I don’t think they “allowed” it.
They believed that they had no choice, and were likely (legitimately) afraid and shocked. Had they “stood up” to those “protesters”, they might have been beaten. I looked at the video once, and found at least one of those guys to be rather intimidating. Not to mention what would have occurred (with other “protesters”), had someone “stood up” to them.
It’s easier (and usually safer) to let it pass, and hope for the best.
In some ways, it’s not unlike the passengers on those planes (on 9/11).
You forget the United flight, 93. Shanksville…
They already knew about the other planes, via cell phones. They knew they had to act. One of the best films I’ve ever seen “Flight 93”.
And the part that I (particularly) don’t like is when other people make excuses for this, downplay it, or whatever – out of political considerations.
That’s nothing new.
AM, did you hear the BLM protesters telling the white patrons “the party is over” while forcing them to leave. I can’t believe they just sat there and took it either, but they were totally outnumbered. This isn’t going to end well, BLM is one day going to try this stunt on the wrong group.
That’s OK. I’m sure the “BLM protestors” also offered to pay their bill!
The overwhelming majority of protests are peaceful. The overwhelming majority of protesters are peaceful. Some protests are having violent incidents. Some people are coming to the protests for the purpose of inciting violence. Those few individuals are probably from both ends of the spectrum, or may be simply anarchic or opportunists. It would be very hard to quantify how many are ‘left’ or ‘right’ wing agitators. But focusing solely on those who are coming to do violence and property damage is a disservice to the overwhelming number of those who are taking to the streets to peacefully protest. It intentionally discredits their goals. It is a selective and distorted view of what is happening across the country and fails to recognize the valid motivations of the peaceful protesters.
Hardly. A bigger problem than those that are doing the violence, are those who protesting peacefully and not condemning the violence, or making excuses for it.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the book “In Defense of Looting” by Vicky Osterweil.
The author claims that looting is justified because it “strikes at the heart of property, of whiteness and of the police,” and also “provides people with an imaginative sense of freedom and pleasure.” She adds that riots reveal how “without police and without state oppression, we can have things for free.”
No, it’s not satire.
President Trump, anyone?
Apparently not Anita Hill. She just endorsed Biden.
Anita Hill? Where did that come from?
Round about ’91
The same can be said about the cops. They have millions of interactions with the public every day but we only focus on the few bad incidents.
Whose Ox is being gored . . . but when it’s your Ox . . .
Alan… you tempt me… with the election coming up, and you speak of being “Gored”? Too easy, and off topic… staying on topic trumps going for the easy ‘bon mot’… gotta’ go hang some chads for the spouse… too much beating about the bush…
I’m not following you . . . may be distracted watching my favorite left-leaning math rock band, the Al Gore Rhythms
The problem is that “few” bad incidents are highly disproportionately with a segment of the non-White population, and that population now fears ANY contact with police. It’s akin to being worried about COVID-19–the probability of contracting it is low with any one contact, but the cumulative probability increases with the number of contacts. For many Black men, any one contact with police is unlikely to result in an incident, but over time the likelihood of a significant incident is very high–25% to 50% based on the incarceration rate for that populace. Why wouldn’t they fear the police?
It’s about time.
Washington State patrol wasn’t having it and arrested every single BLM driver illegally blocking the Highway 5.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/09/going-viral-washington-state-patrol-rips-black-lives-matter-militant-vehicle-illegally-blocking-traffic-highway-video/
Including the guy with the trombone? (That required some effort/creativity/skill, to come up with that background support.) 😉
They’ve got themselves a jingle.
That’s a non violent but disruptive protest. That is the type that MLK would endorse. It gets the attention of the dominant ethnic group. More of that until things change. If you remain comfortable during the protests, you won’t acknowledge the problems and assent to change.
Richard: I’d agree that it wasn’t “violent”, but I’m not sure that MLK would resist arrest in that manner. Just skimmed through the video.
A couple months ago, two protesters (who happened to be “white”) were mowed down (apparently accidentally) at high speed (by someone who happened to be “black”), on a Seattle freeway that was closed due to the protests. One of them was killed, the other seriously injured. There’s a video of that (probably still on the Internet, somewhere).
From what I recall, the driver had reportedly come up the wrong way on a freeway ramp.
I hate to think of what might have happened to him, had he stopped anywhere near that scene. And with probably much worse consequences if he stopped nearby, had he been “white”.
There’s an implication in this statement that bullying others is “o.k.”, and will get you what you want.
Personally, I don’t think it works that way, and that this type of belief and statement can have an exact opposite effect.
I believe that this goes to the heart of the “disagreements” on here.
It also results in people “retreating” to places that they feel safe (e.g., “white flight”). Though not limited to “white” people.
I wonder if Richard would feel this way if it was a group protesting and advocating for change he didn’t like? I think I already know the answer to that.
There comes a point (if laws aren’t enforced, and there are no consequences) when anarchy is the only law of the land.
And there will always be some issue to “justify” it.
Some people view parts of the Bay Area that way, already. Predating BLM.
At a certain point, society just stops functioning (except for perhaps the truly wealthy, who always seem to be above the fray).
The middle class are the ones who experience the ongoing brunt of this (again, regardless of the issue).
Ron, I can’t imagine waking up and getting ready for work, having breakfast and then checking the news to see if Highway 5 is being blocked by BLM to make sure you can make it to work because someone has decided they have the right to block a freeway.
Keith – according to some:
As a result of “evil Trump” (Covid), no one is going to work anyway. 😉
But the (good?) news is that the protesters usually aren’t up that early, anyway.
It’s on the way home that you get delayed (and exposed to a dangerous situation). Especially on a Friday night (under “pre-Covid” circumstances, at least).
Above the fray, and behind the gates. Think our very own “El Macero”.
Blocking a highway isn’t non-violent – it’s stupid and could get people killed. I disagree with you that MLK would approve.
The diners in the videos KO and I shared in this thread sure didn’t look “comfortable”; I also doubt that being harassed at dinner will cause them to acknowledge the problems and assent to change.
Or, one watching these “protestors” might change their mind and vote for Trump again.
I call all these vids, as a box set, “How to Get Trump Re-elected”
“The same can be said about the cops. They have millions of interactions with the public every day but we only focus on the few bad incidents.”
Just when I thought we were in agreement that all lawbreakers should be held accountable.
I think we are, despite the various points made on here.
At this point, I’ve pretty much forgotten what the topic of this article is. Again, assuming that I’ve actually read it. 😉
It is an unusually short article, though. Something about a Trump appointment, Covid, police shootings, protests, etc.
Regardless it’s been an interesting discussion.
That comes after the third cup of coffee
I think this comment by Richard McCann bears repeating:
If police would stop killing unarmed black men, it’s likely that the protests would stop.
Personally, I would agree with the first part of that citation, but not the second.
And if you really want to explore this, we’d need to discuss all of the violent crime in this country (which is on the rise, by the way).
Doing so would really provide some perspective on the entirety of the problems. But, that’s been the case for decades, without improvement.
Police arrests are the tail-end of the problem.
If the police would stop killing unarmed black men, the problem would get better, not worse.
I agree.
But not the underlying problem(s).
It is not a subject which would lend itself to honest and complete discussion on here (or maybe, anywhere). It is too “loaded” to do so.
I think that “Frankly” previously summarized it pretty well. I don’t recall all of the details of what he said, nor do I know if I’d agree with all that he said.
(Correction: Violent crime had been going down, but it has recently risen.)
Then again, I’m not sure what/where to compare it to in the first place, to label it relatively “low”, “medium”, or “high”, for example.
In other words, a “societally-acceptable level / amount”. (What a weird concept.)
Not true… just gets ‘reported’ more… unless you have credible cites to the contrary… the ‘panic effect’… just in time to go for a “law and order” ‘hero (not)’…
US population is over 360 MILLION… % per person of violent crime? Compared to Covid infections, Covid deaths?
Bill:
I’m not sure if Don is now allowing you (or me) to initiate responses with each other.
Regardless, this took me less time to find, then it did to type this response.
It’s something that was reported on national TV news, as well.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gun-violence-surging-cities-hitting-communities-color-hardest-n1233269
None of KO’s, or RO’s or my comments bear “repeating” ? Repeating a comment is an odd stance for someone who doesn’t like repetitive comments. I’m calling out structural bias!
Yep… je d’accord…
Is this some kind of metaphor (link below)?
Also, I saw a photo which showed this to be a more-interesting place (surrounded by hills – apparently near Austin, TX) than I would have imagined.
I do know that I appreciate “Austin City Limits” (on PBS).
Are you trying to tell me that the central valley area (including Davis) isn’t “heaven on earth”, after all? By the way, when did this portion become the “Sacramento Valley” area? Is there (for example, a Redding Valley)?
And, is Davis part of the “lesser-Sacramento” area?
In any case, back to Trump:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-boats-idUSKBN25X00S?ocid=uxbndlbing
Well, as long as they don’t have a university, I guess. 😉
For me, I still prefer Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Even with the protests.
O.K. – I’ll shut up now. Unless I get egged-on.
Plus, that’s an even “100 comments”.
• Seattle Times covered Jacob Blake police shooting in Minnesota, and there were protests, with some ‘rioting’, based on the incident.
• Seattle Times didn’t cover David James Pruitt police shooting in a suburb of Seattle, in which Pruitt was killed, and was unarmed. There are no protests regarding the Pruitt shooting.
Q: Care to guess the difference between these two men?
Roughly twice as many white people were shot by police than black people the last few years. And there are roughly six times as many white people in the US, depending on how you slice the pie. So yes, there is a major disparity and obviously a major racial issue, and that is a major focus of these times, as it should be. There is also a major issue with unarmed people getting shot by police. Can’t we all address the issue of race as one issue, and all address the issue of inappropriate police shootings as another issue?
As it turns out, one of the officers involved in the David James Pruitt shooting was involved in two previous questionable shootings. Like other incidents around the country. But why should Seattle care? The victim was the wrong race for the times (pun intended). You had better you better you bet that had the victim been the proper race, there would be major protests and some rioting in Seattle, and nationwide. So why focus on the officer or address the incident? I’m sure he kills by race, so what, we worry?
It shouldn’t be that way. This is about humanity, and we all need to be looking out for each other’s humanity, regardless of race.
Davis James Pruitt, say his name? Nah!
Well, at least spell his name right, Alan: Pruitte, David James