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Who's Violent?
Author: BobR    Date: 07/29/2020 12:46:00

It always seems to follow the same script. First, there's a tragic event. Then there are mass protests around the country trying to affect some sort of change to prevent it from happening again. After a day or two of peaceful protests, violence, "rioting", and looting begin. Suddenly, the popular opinion begins to change, and the focus on the original event is lost. Over and over, people are saying "I support 'XYZ', but not the rioting and looting", which ends up becoming "why do they have to riot and/or loot?" Over time, they come to be seen as unworthy of sympathy.

It would be tragic if it wasn't so obvious.

Remember when pResident tRump - when discussing the violence in Charlottesville, VA that sprang up when protesters wanted a statue taken down - stated that there were "good people - on both sides"? On one side, were people who wanted a statue glorifying the Confederate war against the United States. On the other side were white men who marched with torches shouting "Jews will not replace us". Remember that?

Fast-forward to the last few weeks. There have been ongoing protests in numerous cities in response to the slow tortuous murder of George Floyd, including in Richmond. As if following the script, there was also violence that could be seen as being designed to ebb sympathies. Turns out, it was:
Police announced on Monday that they believe undercover white supremacists led a group of rioters that cut down police tape over the weekend and rushed a police station, eventually setting a dump truck on fire outside the station. Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said he thinks the instigators were linked to the Boogaloo boys, a right-wing anarchist group that has ties to white supremacy. He also said that left-wing antifa protesters were involved in the violence.

[...]

Stoney thanked the Black Lives Matter protesters who remained peaceful and did not follow the lead of the instigators.

"As I began with, I want to send a thanks to the BLM protesters on the ground who decried the white supremacists once they were identified. I'm thankful to you for drawing the line and sticking up not just for the sanctity of your movement, but also the safety of your fellow Richmonders that you marched alongside as well," he said.

This was also the case in Minneapolis:
Police say the masked, umbrella-wielding man who smashed windows at a Minneapolis auto parts store two days after George Floyd's death has ties to a white supremacist group and specifically sought to inflame racial tensions.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis police arson investigator Erika Christensen wrote in a search warrant affidavit filed this week that the man's actions created a hostile atmosphere and sparked a series of events that turned previously peaceful protests chaotic. She said she believed his "sole aim was to incite violence."

[...]

"This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city," Christensen wrote in the affidavit, according to reports. "Until the actions of the person your affiant has been calling 'Umbrella Man,' the protests had been relatively peaceful."

[...]

The tipster identified the man as a Hell's Angels member, and said he "wanted to sow discord and racial unrest by breaking out the windows and writing what he did on the double red doors," reported the Star Tribune.

How insidious are they? Despite belonging to white supremacist organizations, they are posing as ANTIFA to confuse protesters, cause violence, and create a negative impression on those groups for whom most Americans would be sympathetic. Yes, it's the Boogaloo Bois:
Some far-right groups have purposefully sown confusion by impersonating left-wing activists, adding chaos to already turbulent days of protests in which local officials have blamed unnamed outsiders and left-wing groups for the mayhem.

Late Monday, Twitter announced that it had suspended an account for a purported radical left-wing group, @ANTIFA_US. Those behind the recently created account, which had been suspended after tweeting calls for violence during the protests, had ties to a white nationalist group, Twitter said. The company also suspended another fake Antifa account, after a far-right group claimed it had created it to infiltrate the movement.

[...]

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors in Nevada charged three men with terrorism offenses, saying they plotted to use Molotov cocktails and explosives to spark violence at protests over Floyd’s death. Prosecutors said the three — Stephen T. Parshall, 35, Andrew Lynam, 23, and William L. Loomis, 40 — were members of the “Boogaloo” movement.

Their ruses seem to have worked to some extent. Popular opinion on BLM, ANTIFA, and other groups seeking social justice has waned tremendously because of the violence sowed by white supremacist agents provocateur. They have been, are, and will continue to be a dangerous fringe element in our society. They need to be recognized for what they are, and treated like terrorist organizations.

More than ever, Americans need to use a discerning eye and recognize where the violence is coming from, and - just as importantly - where it is NOT coming from. Otherwise, hate and and divisiveness will win.


 
 
 

14 comments (Latest Comment: 07/29/2020 20:16:08 by Scoopster)
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