The riots have, in this blogger’s opinion, crossed a Rubicon into what might escalate into something resembling a Civil War. Yes, people say “the war is coming” with relative frequency in Right-wing circles, and up until now, said war has not come.
But look at this video and tell me that things have not changed:
https://twitter.com/_S70DD/status/1298602154438074370
For reference – because the video is muddled a bit – I will narrate what happened as best I can tell from the various videos and pictures I’ve seen. The guy on the ground with the rifle was assaulted by a guy with a skateboard, and another man with a handgun (see picture of his mangled arm and handgun here). Rifle-guy shot both. Skateboard-guy died of a chest wound, and handgun-guy had a fair chunk of his arm blown off, and ran to the police for protection. The irony of that last point should be lost on exactly no one.
A gun battle in the streets followed. Watch the whole video.
Elsewhere, another gun battle occurred at a used car dealership, in which one person was shot in the head and killed: see video here. One gun battle in the streets we might write off. Two? It’s getting a lot more difficult.
Roving gun battles in the streets between political factions is an escalation we have not seen since at least the 60s, and even then, there is, IMHO, a palpable difference. The rioters, while having some centralized targets like police stations and courthouses (which have been the targets of a ‘siege’ of sorts in Portland), are also engaging completely random targets like used car dealerships, which have nothing to do with any political motivation, save that they are there. Back in the 60s – at least from what I know of it – you had more of a counter-culture vs Establishment mindset. And while there is some of that here, there’s also a lot of essentially random looting, violence, arson, and otherwise that has no real justification – and it’s everywhere. We had it in my hometown. Any sizable city in America has probably experienced at least some of it.
We have random diners accosted in various locales, told to join the rioters in a fist salute to Black Lives Matter, or be surrounded by an angry, threatening, screaming mob. Black Lives Matter protesters roam through suburban neighborhoods demanding that homeowners give up their homes and property to the mob. Remind me just who are the fascists here?
It seems to me that we might have crossed the Rubicon, and Civil War, or something akin to it may be inevitable at this point. If true, I don’t imagine the conflict would be anything like the first war between the states – the geographic and demographic issues are more urban vs. rural than they are North vs. South. Let’s posit for a moment that Trump wins reelection. Does anybody think the violence will lessen if that eventuality happens?
What is Biden wins? I wonder if we might see an escalation there, too – some kind of emboldened strategy for revenge on the Trumpites. But of the two options, Biden probably represents less violence in the very near term – with potential for things to get more ugly should the Democrats attempt some kind of political crackdown on the Right (a possibility I think is very likely).
In any event, one blog I follow has a running “minutes to midnight” style summary of where we are on the Civil War clock. And we’re in stage 9… out of 10. With 10 being open warfare. At least according to his barometer, anyway. I don’t think he’s wrong, and if anything things have gotten worse since he wrote the last post.
Did we cross the Rubicon over the last few days? Only history will tell us for certain. But me? I think it’s very likely that we just did.
Keep your ammo dry.
FFFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!
Agreed. The Rubicon is receding in the rear view mirror.
Some things to note:
The antifa/blm scum (henceforth referred to as ‘rioters’ for simplicity) have a ‘tried and true’ tactic – a group of passive aggressives will quickly close with a target with their hands up, chanting ‘hands up don’t shoot’ or some other equally banal nonsense. At the same time, cowardly sadistic thugs will close in on the target from the flanks and from behind, and they’ll be armed – either with hand to hand weapons like knives, clubs and skateboards or with firearms. The goal, of course, is to harm or even kill the target.
If the target resists, the rioters demonstrate how infantile, stupid, confused, brainwashed, and disoriented by the ‘madness crowds’ mentality typical of mobs – they feel aggrieved because they consider themselves ‘peaceful protesters exercising our rights’, they believe they are at the same time JUSTIFIED in committing violent acts against civilians, police, vehicles and buildings because ‘our cause is just’ and, upon the target resisting, they immediately call for help FROM THE POLICE.
What should be obvious from the above two points is that the rioters are not rational, thinking, responsible adults. Thus, if you encounter a group like this, you must be prepared for the fact that they likely will try to harm or kill you for whatever reason they want to invent on the spot. Also, if you brandish a firearm and warn them off, even with a warning shot, they are more than likely to try to reach for your gun if they can get in range or will try to assault you from behind. In other words, they are unlikely to back off. Any civilized behavior on your part will be taken as a sign of fear, weakness and vulnerability. ACCEPT THIS AS A FACT, no matter how repulsive and illogical such thought patterns are.
In Kenosha and in Pennsylvania (I think it was a suburb of Pittsburgh on Monday nite), the rioters are beginning to encounter armed civilians in groups defending their neighborhoods and businesses. This is going to get worse and there will be running gunfights. I’d say it’s 99% certain that the rioters will begin outright assaults en masse of businesses or neighborhoods where they encounter resistance – they’ll respond to these first signs of civilians fighting back with an attempt at overwhelming force. I think it also likely that in any civilian area where people have relatively high firearm ownership, they will gather together to respond en masse.
The only way to stop this is to begin confronting the rioters with overwhelming force. In portland, chicago, seattle, wherever they are gathering in numbers, protests – even peaceful ones – need to be shut down within minutes by an ovewhelming police response. If the rioters beging throwing rocks or ice water bottles or molotovs or high yield fireworks, the police response must NOT be defensive, but profoundly OFFENSIVE.
Yes, people are going to get shot. Dozens of them.
Yes,the donkey party and the MSM will do everything it can to disparage and weaken the forces of law and order and discourage civilians from resisting. The propaganda effort will be outrageous in breadth and intensity. Just be ready.
Where I am, things are very peaceful (I’m deep in what many refer to as ‘flyoverville’, and it’s damn nice, folks.) I dread the day that I need to exercise my right to carry a firearm (I have a CCW permit.) But I do have the permit and will carry if things start going to hell here.
I hate all of this. Deeply. I don’t want any of this idiocy in my life. But I don’t think I have any choice but do deal with the reality of things as effectively and rationally as I can.
Trump is going to win on 11/3. On 11/4, he’ll begin shutting this idiocy down very, very resolutely. Until then, I’ll just have to go on and live my life as fruitfully and happily as I can in these ridiculous times.
The Left is losing.
Thales, TSW, Michel, and Linda,
The Left thought Obama was the Caesar to lead them across the “Rubicon”, he didn’t and the disappointment is palpable. Now they are fighting in places that they never dreamed they would have. If Trump gets reelected (which I think he will) and he continues policies (which I think he will), their fight becomes one of political survival. They have (as many before have) the American people. All things change and pass, but not yet here.
MIsunderstood the American people.
Mighty Crusher of Chaldean Skulls,
The Progressives have made the same errors of Robespierre and the Girondists – they let their self-righteousness blind them to the actual popularity of their cause.
Their fate will be much the same as that of Robespierre and his followers.
I still believe the dhimmicrat party will split asunder after 11/3. The neo-maoists will survive for about a decade in their coastal urban areas, while the rest retreat into a regional midwestern and highly centrist New Democrats party. But the democrats as a national party are FINISHED.
I pity the idiots who will continue voting in the likes of AOC and Ilhan Omar. Their cities are going to turn into Mogadishu or worse.
By the way:
I can clearly post comments, but cannot reply to other’s comments. The reply button is missing.
Also – the Contact link on the top right leads me to a form email, but I am unable to submit the email, even after answering the arithmetic question.
TSW,
Yes they are finished, also the Republican Party that existed from about 1880 to the present is finished. The Left I think made the classic mistake of being captured by their own propaganda arm (The MSM). This kind of explains some of the outlandish things they’ve done. They don’t know any better. They do it and the MSM, Hollywood, etc tells them right on and gives them an award. Also the old Lefties thought they could coopt AOC etc and ride their energy to victory. Well the new guys took over and took them off the cliff. Yes, you are also right about the Robespierre and Girondists analogy. When the Lefties in the 90’s (under Clinton) decided to go for the money, foundations, corporations, etc they were very successful but they lost their soul in the process. The election I think will be won by Trump, but I really do think it’s starting to dawn on the Left that they are not fighting for power so much as existence. Therefore expect a lot of excitement.
The Left also made the classical mistake of the thinking Trump himself was their real problem instead of what he represents.
There are big changes coming what they are is really anybodies guess, I can say with fair certainty what WON’T happen, but when it come to what will happen it’s as much a mystery to me as anyone. The future lies in the hands of people like Thales, What they do with it I don’t really know. People like me (I’m quite old you know) our time has passed, we’re not completely out of it but close. In the end I’m optimistic (why I don’t know for sure) but I am.
In the end I still think that the American people by and large have that certain something that makes us quite different.
Oh Terrible Splinterer of Chaldean Bones,
Yes, we are special and unique as a country and as a people. That’s a full essay in itself. It’s a pity and a shame that self-absorbed, smug narcissists like Obama and his ilk in the current ruling class don’t have the class, depth, education or intelligence to see it.
But what follows in the wake of the death of the Donkey Party?
The death of the democratic party is but a symptom. The main event is the death of Progressivism. It’s kaput. Progressivism, in all its neo-maoist, social/cultural marxist infamy, is about to have its rotting corpse cast onto the trash heap of history, along with its 1st cousins Fascism, Naziism and both Lenin’s/Stalin’s Soviet Communism and Mao’s Chinese collectivism.
In the medium term – say, the next half century – we are going to see the political, social, economic, religious, legal and cultural pendulum (or the Civilizational pendulum for short) swing away from the left and back to the right. It won’t go back to the way it was before, but will be reborn in a somewhat changed but ultimately more vigorous form.
In the longer term – say, over the next 300-500 years – we are going to see major changes in Western Civilization. American Civilization will stray further away from its Western European roots, while Western Europe itself – the cradle of the Renaissance – will for the first time be heavily swayed by the Orthodox Christian civilization of eastern europe. This Orthodox Christian society will be the vigorous one on the continent, with Western europe tagging along as its weakened and lamed cousin, attempting to recover and reconstitute itself into a vigorous society.
For America, the age of Big Projects is actually going to be over for a good while. We’re not going to have a national interstate highway system to build, or a network of railroads, or tremendous infrastructure like hundreds of dams and canals and such. Our future lies in stabilizing and refreshing what we have so that it serves us in helping us leap to our new frontier – Space. No, I’m not crazy.
It’s going to be AMERICA which plants the next 3 flags on the moon – one of them for a permanent base that has a rotating staff (nobody will be able to safely stay there for more than 6 months – gravity is too light.) And as American industry starts carving into the colossal resources available on and within Luna, and American corporations send specialized drones to the Asteroid belt to find more resources and gradually & carefully nudge them into near earth orbits for exploitation, it will again be AMERICA which plants the FIRST FUCKIN’ FLAG ON MARS.
We’re also going to see a working Fusion drive and Fusion power plants in our lifetimes. And, the icing on the cake – somebody in an AMERICAN research lab is going to build the first prototype of an Alcubierre drive.
TSW,
Again I agree with most of what you say. I disagree that Progressivism will die. It’s part of the eternal conflict between the “security of the group” vs the “rights of the individual”, rural vs urban, etc etc. It’s definitely on the down turn, but it won’t go away, it’s too potent of a philosophy, too attractive, even though it’s a dead end. Your space analogy is very good. I’m a big fan of “Canticle for Lieborwitz”. I think we are at a time similar to around 1450, when the printing press and the age of sail dawned and feudalism disappeared almost in the blink of the eye.
What I worry about on the current political scene is the physical safety of Trump, his opponents have pretty much run out of ammo. If they did make an attempt on his person it would be a colossal mistake on their part. They are not 12′ tall. Well I’ve blabbed enough.
TSW,
Agree with much of your post. However mining asteroids will be cheaper and safer in ships with a rotating module to simulate gravity. Are you sure the first flag on Mars will be American? I’ve heard Elon has a sense of humor. Maybe he’ll use the flag of Free Mars or the United Federation of Planets. As far as interstellar drives, I don’t care if it’s a rift to Terra Nova, Wormhole, some form of Warp Drive or my favorite, John Campbell’s 8 light year a second drive. I’ve wanted space travel since Sputnik.
Politically I’m going to have to go with Tom Kratman. Though Progressivism may fail the elitists will continue to scheme to get their very own Caste system in place. We are fairly far down that road now.
I agree with MM and our Chaldean friend. Progressivism will not die. Aristophanes articulated a similar ideology 2,500 years ago.
This is a perennial weeding the garden kind of thing. If left unattended, these ideological weeds will always resurface.
That being said, I think the gist of what you’re saying isn’t so much that it will die, as it is it will see a huge reduction versus what we see now. I am… pessimistic. But the odds of that are non-zero. It could happen. A man can hope.
But the Tom Kratman solution is looking like the most likely path to something like that happening…
Re: Thales @ 3:17, Chaldean friend,……………….Really!
I was thinking of the way the caste system played out in the Carerra series. However Kratman’s solution as laid out in his old Lines of Departure blog and discussions seems more and more likely. I just hope it doesn’t have my nightmare as a twist.
I’ve been called a Chaldean! This is just not done!
Brain fart. I deserved that :p.
I accept. It is known throughout the world that Chaldeans tremble at the very name of Sennacherib. (That’s why we put the As in front of syrian and named our guys with very difficult names Tiglath-Pilaser for example) it’s this kind of stuff that scares people. Now I shall go and flay alive a Chaldean it’ll make me feel much better.
Oh Terrifying Renderer of Chaldean Flesh,
Just for sport, the next Chaldean you decide to flay you should cut off little bits of his skin and make him eat them.
😉
This stupid riot and thievery will go on as long as the Dem state and cities permit it. There are a few national Demonrats who are whispering ” stop the riots – it LOOKS bad for us”.
Note: not saying that riots, violence, and theft ARE bad, just that it looks that way, and the independents are turning to Trump because of it.
The Demonrats are in a bind. If they call off the riots, the MSM watchers we ill realize that they have been in contrll of the riots frlm the beginning. If they don’t control the riots, the violence will spread to the neighborhoods, and the sh*t will well and truly hit the fan.
Where I think that the patriots will call “game on” is some stuff I read on legal blogs, suggesting that a potential Demonrat strategy is to challenge enough state and local election results to either void the election, to split the votes and throw the election to the House of Representatives, or to delay the results until after January 21, 2021, and declare Pelosi President pro tem, as the offices of Pres and VP are vacant.
I think that any of these outcomes could have people racing to find the head of the snake to crush it.
I THINK that Trump will beat the margin of fraud and be reelected, but I see the storms coming.
John in Indy
The Mongols were rather into that sort of thing. And Nero made some Christians into human torches for one of his nighttime soirees, it is said he enjoyed commenting on the Christians musical abilities. I’m not really cruel by nature, I just like getting a good night’s sleep, which is very important when you’re dead.
So Trump gets another 4 years.
Good.
The leftoxenomorphs will continue their thing.
They own the Deep State Swamp, all the alphabet agencies, academia, most of the educational establishment, the MSM, hollyweird, the social media juggernauts, all the NGO, you name it.
They are not giving any of it back.
Sooner or later the next hussein obozo crypto-pisslim America hater traitor will get into the WH.
An Alexandria googly-eyes commie or an ilhan omar type pisslim puke
We either fight or America dies.
Nice won’t do it.
And neither will voting.
“One (whatever), one vote” and “winner can do with loser whatever he wants” won’t do it any longer.
We obey the rules.
They piss on us.
Portland, OR mayor Ted Wheeler sent a letter to Trump regarding federal assistance against the rioters.
https://www.portland.gov/wheeler/news/2020/8/28/mayor-wheelers-open-letter-president-trump
Hard to know where to start with that letter. It’s rather obvious that Wheeler is a very silly person – delusional, ridiculous, infantile, brainwashed and foolish beyond description.
Portland’s RE is about to become real cheap, folks – it’s going to all get burned to a cinder. Wheeler is going to have more visits by Antifa to his home – and on one of these visits, they’ll conduct a Red Guard show trial and either beat him to a pulp or, more likely, kill him. What a fool the man must be. If he’s married and with kids, I hope the wife has the sense to get herself and the little ones out of town right away.
Wheeler is already hanging, now he is twisting in the wind.
Oh Indomitable Exterminator of Chaldeans,
Agreed. But I don’t think Wheeler realizes that not only do the rioters hate him as a figure of authority, but they will view his very evident suppliant status as a sign of prostrating weakness. And, since the rioters are deeply, psychotically sadistic types, they’ll be drawn to him like sharks to a bleeding fish and will gleefully and orgiastically abuse him and, as I said, most likely execute him as a kind of sacrifice to propitiate their bloodthirsty god of ‘social/economic justice and redistributive change.’
I’m tellin’ ya – unless he flees RIGHT AWAY, he’s a dead man walking.
I’m not wishing this on him, though he does deserve real punishment for his gross dereliction of duty. But his fate is sealed unless he runs, and runs far.
TSW,
Wheeler like a bunch of these guys are relearning an old lesson, you can start a riot, but you can never ever control it. That’s why these guys won’t stop, that’s why tearing down statues didn’t stop with Confederates, but went on to Founders, Abolutionists, etc. Once started these people cannot stop.
As an observation, Lefties seem to crave legitimacy. But they are losing. I haven’t talked this much in a long long time.
I’ve now seen video from two angles plus slo-mo of the whole Rittenhouse incident. Including some stills of him helping to clean graffiti and the bald pedo trying to start trouble prior to the shootings.
For those who haven’t seen the full sequence. While being chased across the car lot, after police wouldn’t let him rejoin his group, someone behind the bald guy fires a shot. The bald guy throws something at the kid and continues to chase him around some cars when the kid shoot him. Kid apparently dials 911. A mob of about 20 start chasing the kid down the street where he trips and falls. Some guy tries a flying head stomp then immediately another guy hits the kid in the back of the head with a skateboard were upon the kid shoots skateboarder. Then a guy walks up with a pistol and get shot in the bicep. Someone then lets of a string of about eight more rounds. Everyone backs off and kid gets to his feet and walks towards police with hands raised. Cops tell kid get off the street and drive on. The kid then goes home.
From seeing the video it’s clearly not murder one but self defense.
Michel,
It won’t stop the Left from trying to use it for their own purposes, but this time to no avail and mostly for the reasons you stated. This and what happened in Portland maybe the Rubicon Thales’ has spoken about. The Portland incident will reflect on the Kenosha Kid incident. The stage is set for Trump.
Ps. Private cameras are killing the Left’s ability to turn events to their favor.
O’ Great One, The problem is the narrative is still the cops killed George Floyd even though the autopsy says he had a more than lethal dose of Fentanyl. The leftist media still put out article after article and leftist Mayors and Governors keep supporting the rioters. Portland has been under control of the mob for a year or more. My opinion is the Mayors and Governors who have supposedly had a come to Jesus moment are just mouthing words until after the election when the real fun begins.
Another problem is the extreme ammo shortage. I’ve found the most popular cartriges are unavailable on line and sporadic at best at local gun stores no matter if you want a box or bulk.