USE OF FORCE ON PEACEFUL PROTESTERS IN D.C.

The comment by Donald Trump conflating peaceful demonstration with unruly mobs has me wanting to throw up in my mouth.  After 9 days of peaceful protests will they continue?   Yes why not, the youthful protesters cannot go to school, have no jobs, the future looks bleak for the 40 million unemployed.  They must have hope, as Obama had said.  Will Trump respond with force?   Is he inclined to use force on peaceful protesters, when he thinks they are violent?  Is this what an autocrat in training would do?

 The drumbeat of Trump and his allies of DOMINATION is in reference to the peaceful crowds echoes of fascism.  It’s no wonder Trump wants to label the amorphous Anti-Fascist group ANTIFA a terrorist organization.  Do they threaten his future planning?  Note: This is not written to support the group’s actions.

The Lafayette Park incident had the Administration go into revisionist history mode. Initially, they said that the protesters became violent and had thrown bottles. Then they said that no pepper spray or chemicals were used.  Of course, flash bang grenades, rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas were all used, as well as horses and the use of force to move the protesters.  Then they said the police and military did not use force to clear Lafayette Park.  Don’t believe the file footage of the incident. At least 99% of the demonstrations, as well as 100% of the protesters in the park that night and the past 9 days, were peaceful. 

This senseless act of murder on George Floyd has energized the young and old, black and white wanting changes to policing and justice for George’s killers. They are all protesting for positive changes in the future.  This is a uniting protest not a dividing one.  The unruly mobs of looters are the ones getting the coverage. 

The Donald, on the use of the Bible as a prop in front of the church said, “Most religious leaders loved it”.  “Why wouldn’t they love it?” “Church leaders loved that I went there with the bible”.  The act was condemned by the bishop of the church he used as a prop.

 So today with Melania in toe he visited a catholic shrine dedicated to pope John Paul II and stages another photo-op. This time no awkward bible pose. He looked so out of place staring at the shrine not knowing what to do? The catholic Archbishop of Washington condemned the move as a political stunt.  The move was ridiculed on social media (so says MSNBC) and likened to a film scene in “the Omen”.

Are police more likely to use excessive force? Yes, 57% of Americans feel so, in a new Monmouth poll.

The President in denial and being a revisionist historian in chief said he did not rush to the bunker, however reporting from inside the White House said, when the protesters breached the outer temporary fence near the White House complex, that prompted the secret service to move Trump to a secure bunker. According to the Washington Post.  (Fake news or real?)

Former Secretary Defense and General “Mad Dog” Mattis has finally spoken out about Trump’s actions in an Op-Ed in the New York Times, which unloads on Trump. Mad Dogg was angry and appalled at his actions. “A leader must display strategic acumen that incorporates respect for those nations that have stood with us when trouble loomed. ”and that “The U.S. has dividing into hostile tribes and defends the importance of allies”

            In his letter of resignation he said “When my concrete solutions and strategic advice, especially keeping faith with our allies, no longer resonated, it was time to resign, despite the limitless joy I felt serving alongside our troops in defense of our Constitution,”

He also slams the President for trying to divide the nation in an article in the Atlantic, where he describes Donald Trump as a threat to the nation, ”Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try.  Instead, he tries to divide us”.  He goes on to write, ”We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.  We can unite without him, draw on the strength inherent in our civil society”…“What concerns me most as a military man is not our external adversaries; it is our internal divisiveness,” Mr. Mattis continued, “We are dividing into hostile tribes cheering against each other, fueled by emotion and a mutual disdain that jeopardizes our future, instead of rediscovering our common ground and finding solutions.”  Remember divided we fall?

He added tha,t “all Americans need to recognize that our democracy is an experiment — and one that can be reversed. We all know that we’re better than our current politics. Tribalism must not be allowed to destroy our experiment.”

  Mark Esper current Secretary of Defense called the area where the protesters were formed as the “ battle space” and we “should dominate the space”. Next day after those comments and push-back by other officers he said, in regard to use of the Insurrection Act of 1807, he came out forcefully against its use. He said “the option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used in a last resort and only in the most urgent and dire situations” “We are not in one of those situations now I do not support the insurrection Act.”  This Act authorizes the use of the military to put down a domestic insurrection.  Which is it? How long will he last?

George Will a conservative columnist said “Trump must be removed, so must his congressional enablers”  he goes on to write “In life’s unforgiving arithmetic, we are the sum of our choices.  Congressional Republicans have made theirs for more than 1,200 days.” He went on “We cannot know all the measures necessary to restore the nation’s domestic health and international standing, but we know the first step: Senate Republicans must be routed…”  Fear dominates these cowards.  Fear of a tweet or a snub by the republican finance base Trump controls.

Obama weighed in on the protest and urged mayors to pursue reforms proposed by his administration and review policies regarding use of force. 

Trump used unidentified soldiers as part of the troops no rank or service identification.  Is this the right thing to do?  Are they paid mercenaries?  Are they being used so when they do something untoward they cannot be identified?  Should this be illegal?  How do you know if the person has any authority?

A lesson can be learned here, Iran fell due to a youthful uprising having no hope for employment and the disparity between the wealthy and the poor had a contribution to the unrest.  When the revolution happened, the Military was deployed and would not fire on their own citizens.  Carter would not support any violence and the Shah fell.  A religious leader emerged out of the frustration looking for another answer.  I do not advocate a theocracy.  The CIA came out with a warning of seeing similar internal signs, with that of other failing democracies.