Pirate's Cove

They can’t quite get around to noting which party these white instigators vote for

White instigators are to blame for much of the mayhem, officials say

“What did I tell you?” a voice cried out as the camera recording mayhem in downtown Pittsburgh settled on a white man, clad in all black, smashing the windows of a police vehicle.

“It is not black people,” the onlooker called to the crowd before addressing the vandal directly: “What are you doing?”

What he was doing, authorities later alleged, was inciting riots on Saturday as the city — like dozens of others across America — was swept up in sustained unrest over the death of a black man in police custody. Demonstrations have spread from Minneapolis, where a white police officer pinned his knee on the neck of George Floyd, to scores of cities, some of which have been looted and set ablaze.

Police identified Brian Jordan Bartels, 20, of Allison Park, Pa., as having “kicked off” the escalation in Pittsburgh, one of several examples of peaceful assemblies against police violence creating opportunities for pandemonium. While at heart the gatherings have been an appeal for racial justice, they also have attracted a diverse array of people with other grievances and agendas who have co-opted the moment, accelerating what has been a national unraveling as the country reels from a pandemic that has put more than 40 million people out of work.

In most American cities, people of all races appear to be participating in the violence, vandalism and looting, particularly in Minneapolis, where a crowd burned the police department’s 3rd Precinct building last week and vandals were seen smashing windows and stealing items from stores. Multiracial coalitions also have marched peacefully. But in some cities, local officials have noted that black protesters have struggled to maintain peaceful protests in the face of young white men joining the fray, seemingly determined to commit mayhem.

Yes, these young white liberals, who don their black garb and talk about anarchy (and wanting more government, not understand what anarchy means) and cause problems before heading back to university on their parents dime. These aren’t Trump voters

Some local officials were even more blunt. After reviewing footage of the weekend’s events, Jenny Durkan, the mayor of Seattle, said she feared the black community would shoulder the blame for havoc others caused.

“It is striking how many of the people who were doing the looting and stealing and the fires over the weekend were young white males,” Durkan (D) said in an interview.

Well, let’s be honest: there were quite a lot of black faces involved, as well. We saw the videos. Some are definitely mostly black for the looting. That’s a different story from who started the violence and engaged in violence. I saw plenty of young black males throwing bottles at the Raleigh police both Saturday and Sunday nights.

But from Baltimore to Sacramento, black protesters also were filmed protecting storefronts and placing their bodies before police barricades to preserve principles of nonviolence, and to prevent backlash disproportionately aimed at them. Videos emerged, too, of them confronting white demonstrators who had usurped the mantra of “black lives matter,” which gave birth to a movement for racial justice and police accountability, in seemingly random acts of defacement.

“Don’t spray stuff on here when they’re going to blame black people for this,” a black woman said in challenge to two vandals outside of a Starbucks in Los Angeles.

Sadly, this was less the norm. It seemed that in most case people just walked away, not wanting to be involved. And we saw plenty of video of blacks getting violent.

Similar questions have become acute from Austin, where a racial justice group on Sunday canceled a planned assembly for fear of violent escalation by unaffiliated activists, to Fargo, N.D., where police questioned four men carrying assault rifles to a protest site in a bid to protect businesses. In Denver, police officers commandeered firearms from anti-government gun enthusiasts who self-identify as “Boogaloo boys,” part of a far-right militia movement.

“These are people who are agent provocateurs,” Chas Moore, the executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, said of the extremists joining the protests. He canceled his group’s demonstration, originally planned for Sunday, after the chaos of Saturday night. “These are extremists and anarchists, not right or left. They want complete annihilation of the system, and they’re at the forefront of the fires and the breaking of vehicles.”

Au contraire. If the news and Democrats could specifically blame white supremacists and/or Trump voters they would. But, they can’t. Members of the Proud Boys were pictured in Raleigh downtown on Saturday before the protests (unlike Antifa, they had no problem with their photos being taken, and they weren’t wearing masks). You know that if they were seen during the Saturday protests that they would have been followed to see if they caused problems. Same in other cities. These were left wing agitators. People who call themselves Antifa or anarchists or part of the Black Bloc. Perhaps Democrats should be controlling their own, but, these are the folks the Democratic regime empowered to be their muscle, to cause problems.

Here in Raleigh it was peaceful Monday. There was a protest march during the day, and then almost everyone went home for the 8pm curfew. A few stuck around for a few minutes to make a point, then left. There are no reports of looting and stuff from overnight. Not seeing any reports of problems in Fayetteville or Charlotte, either. In other big liberal cities, though, they blew off curfew, and, heck, many were violent during the day Monday.

Most of the people doing this are not Trump/GOP voters. The Washington Post forgot to mention that.

Can we open the economy now?

Read: Washington Post Notes White Instigators Responsible For Much Of The Mayhem »