To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.
— Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Joseph Milligan (1816)
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‘Tis true that #BlackLivesMatter has, and has always had, messaging issue. The riots currently happening across the US are just the most recent iteration of their communication chaos. They’ve never been able to agree on whether it was better to “protest” or to riot, loot, burn, and murder police officers.
And it makes perfect sense that they can’t agree on either their message or who their target audience is. Some of them actually do want to protest in a somewhat peaceful manner and proclaim to Whites that Black Lives Matter. Others, however, are drawn in by the chance at an orgy of violence and looting. And, it’s that second group that is the one getting both the media’s attention and that of politicians.
Of course, I’m White, so I could be completely wrong about this. The ones that seem more civilized and to be focusing upon the supposed message of #BlackLivesMatter could just be “Code-Switching.”
This entry was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2020 at 7:09 am and is filed under Politics, Society.
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When news of George Floyd dying while in Powderhorn “neighborhood” – quoted because Powderhorn is an “area” with several neighborhoods in it – of Minneapolis, MN, I stayed quiet and awaited more details to surface. Why? Because I’m rational.
What I Finally Didn’t See And What I Did
Firstly, what I didn’t see was any signs that Mr. Floyd resisted arrest. Or, rather, if he did resist, it was by merely falling to ground and refusing to rise and enter the police vehicle – the way protestors are counseled to resist arrest without incurring a violent reaction from the police.
Secondly, I also saw no signs of anger, racism, or anything similar in the manner of the three police officers involved. Nor did I see anything that would be overtly constituting brutality by rational people. In neither video does it appear as if the police officers were doing anything that wasn’t something close to routine. Sort of.
Yeah, sort of, and there’s the rub. Because what I did finally see was officer Derek Chauvin calmly and “professionally” use his knee to occlude at least one of Mr. Floyd’s carotid arteries, which can easily kill someone in a very short amount of time without ever impeding their airways. I also saw the other two officers either not notice this or not care.
So fuck! I didn’t see George Floyd “die while in police custody;” I saw George Floyd murdered – at a minimum, Negligent Homicide – by officer Derek Chauvin in the presence of three other Minneapolis police officers.
~*~
So, my initial informed opinion was on George Floyd’s side – it still is – and against the Minneapolis PD. I was and am happy Chauvin was arrested on third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. I’m also pleased that the other three officers present were fired from positions in law enforces. Indeed, I’m even slightly bothered by none of them being charged as accessories in this case.
But, As Always, The Blacks Will Be Blacks
My sympathies quickly started to fade, however, when the Blacks once again lived down to expectations. Honestly, it was a vain hope that they wouldn’t almost immediately turn to violence, looting, and arson.
Still though, this time I could almost understand their irrational violence when it was in Minneapolis.
But then, again as always, the Afrosphere “blew up” with calls for widespread violence directed at the White Race and the riots spread across America, firing up wherever there were enough Blacks to pose a threat to Americans’ lives and property. At that point, my sympathies for them died.
Dealing with Black Riots Correctly
I truly believe that, at this point, Black Riots need to be dealt with as national security threats and insurrection instead of a criminal problem. Direct military force, preferably based upon assault helicopters, e.g., AH-64 Apaches and UH-60 Black Hawks, and drones, e.g., MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers.
This way infantry units supported by armored units can maintain a cordon while air assets safely quell the enemy. It puts the least number of Americans in harm’s way while maximizing the neutralization of hostile assets.
Inherently Unpeaceful
While the 1st Amendment enumerates the right of the People peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, Black Protests are, based upon longitudinal results, inherent unpeaceful. One can rarely witness such a assembly of aggrieved Blacks that doesn’t include either violence, the immediate threat of violence, or the violation of multiple laws.
So, since it must be assumed for the sake of public safety that Black Protests are just part of Black Rioting and Insurrection, it is not proper for them to be prima facie considered to be protected by the Constitution. Restrictions upon such assemblies must be enacted and response forces activated and placed on alert whenever they occur.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020 at 10:58 am and is filed under Politics, Society.
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Somethings in law and politics are odd, but relatively meaningless or even absurd – vainglorious but useless gestures at best. Other things – small things harboring dark import – are very, very disturbing. The current bit of news that has raised my hackles is word from Mississippi’s Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant that the Mississippi state senate quietly passed Senate Bill 2036 (SB2036) that restricts the power of a peace officer to confiscate firearms and ammunitions in an emergency or during a time of martial law.
There’s nothing within the text of SB2036 that bothers me at all. It’s a fine piece of legislation that is designed to place limits on the discretionary powers of law enforcement that might conflict with Mississippians’ rights under the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. What sets off visceral warnings in the back of my mind is the fact that the State government of Mississippi felt the need to draft legislation to explicitly grant these protections during a time of martial law.
Coming, as this did, so soon after seven (7) States – Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Washington) have introduce Sovereignty Bills into their respective state legislatures, SB2036 takes on a more dire tone.
Add to it that Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania are working on similar sovereignty bills, and Mississippi’s perceiving the need to protect the right of the people to keep and bear arms under martial law starts to paint a disturbing picture of what the various state governments might be expecting over the next few years.
When state governments start enacting legislation to protect themselves and their citizenry from the actions of the federal government, it’s a sure sign that hard and bitter times are nearing. I’m not talking about civil war – though that’s not a completely fantastical possibility – but I am talking about possibly viscious conflicts over just how far the US federal governent is allowed to go against the will of the states and the people.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Politics.
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