Tag Archives: Rioters

Biden Voters?

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I’ve noticed a trend among some writers on the Interwebz to refer to rioters and certain other criminals as “Biden voters.” I’m not sure that this is a generally accurate classification.

First, most criminals don’t seem to have the kind of civic engagement that leads one to vote, so many of them simply aren’t voters of any sort.

Second, I believe that a significant minority of the rioters are similarly disconnect for the mainstream of society and don’t bother with voting.

Third, to the extent that many of the other rioters are voters, they are Bernie’s not Biden’s. Some of them may hold their nose and vote for Joe Biden, but they will be voting against Donald Trump rather than for Biden.

I saw the hashtag #BidenRiots on Twitter this morning. Biden Rioters may be a more accurate classification.

Restraint, So Far

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On Saturday, leftist rioters in Portland murdered a counter protester. The victim Aaron Danielson was with the conservative group called Patriot Prayer. This morning, The Oregonian is reporting

Groups or individuals seeking to retaliate didn’t materialize Sunday despite chatter online and concerns aired by Portland officials earlier in the day.

Now why would that be? Given the failure of the local prosecutor to go after the protestors who have terrorized the city for months, why haven’t we seen a violent outburst from some rightwing group?

I believe the reason is that groups such as Patriots Prayer believe in the rule of law, that they expect the police to arrest a murder suspect, and that they expect that even the pro-rioter DA will draw the line at murder and prosecute the crime. I believe the people of Portland are waiting to see if justice will be done.

I wouldn’t want to be in Portland if the DA declines to prosecute the case.

UPDATE—These days, I wouldn’t want to be in Portland. Period.

Warning Shots?

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It’s being reported that when rioters tried to move into a residential area of Kenosha, at least one person fired warning shots at them. I was afraid this sort of thing would happen.

It’s understandable that an armed citizen would attempt to repel rioters entering his neighborhood. However, one should not use deadly force irresponsibly, and in almost every instance so called “warning shots” are not justified.

First, a fired bullet is going hit someone or something. A random shot can kill or injure a bystander or do unintended damage. The person pulling the trigger would be responsible.

Second, deadly force is only morally and (IANAL, but lawyers tell me) legally justified in response to an imminent threat of death or serious injury. If deadly force must be used, it must be applied only to the actual threat.

Third, pointing a gun at someone else is an assault. One shouldn’t do it except in response to an actual threat.

I was taught—first by my father, a lawyer with law enforcement experience, and later in the Army—to keep a firearm holstered or pointed in a safe direction until there was no choice left but to open fire. I was also taught that because shooting someone is a use of deadly force, choosing to shoot implies shooting to kill. Not to warn. To kill.

It looks as if things are about to get very messy.

Today is yet another day when I wish things weren’t proceeding as I have foreseen.

I’m Not Making This Up, You Know

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PJ Media reports that five “protestors” are suing Seattle. They claim the city effectively levied a “protest tax” by allowing police to use “military-grade munitions” to break up unruly crowds. The suit argues only people who are rich enough to buy armor have a First Amendment right to protest.

It looks to me like the real basis of the suit can be summed up as “No fair! You hit us back!” The cops dealing with the rioters in places such as Seattle have had rocks, bricks, and other projectiles lobbed at them. They’ve had large fireworks explode around them. They’ve been sprayed with bear spray which is much stronger than the pepper spray designed for use on humans. Most of the time, the police have held their fire, but when they have responded, they’ve used crowd control tools and techniques that are generally less dangerous than what they have faced.

While the military has access to the same sort of crowd control tools that the civilian police use, that doesn’t make them “military-grade munitions.”

BTW, just because a munition is “military-grade,” it isn’t necessarily too powerful to be in general circulation in society. The 9mm pistol cartridge used by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force is less powerful than the .40 S&W cartridge used in pistols carried by many officers of the Seattle Police. The 5.56 mm NATO rifle cartridge used in the M16 rifle and M4 carbine is less powerful than the .30/30 Winchester round that has been in hands of the public for over a century.

If the police cannot use a range of tools that are less dangerous than firearms when confronted with rioters and arsonists, their range of responses will be reduced as well. When faced with potentially lethal violence (one can be killed by a thrown brick, people die in fires), they will have to choose between retiring from the scene and leaving it to the rioters—or opening fire with live ammunition. When the Seattle Council voted to prevent the police using less lethal tools, the police chief let the community know that she would not risk her officers’ lives to protect property. A federal court has put the council’s order on hold for awhile, so the police haven’t faced a flee or fire choice. Yet.

I’m told it’s uncomfortable to be hit with a pepper ball. I’ll bet a 165-grain jacked hollow point bullet hurts worse.

An Unwise Escalation

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It’s being reported that rioters in Portland have used lasers to blind, perhaps permanently, federal law enforcement officers who were engaging in riot control. If so, it was unwise.

IANAL, but IIRC, an attack that can cause an injury such as blindness is usually considered dangerous enough to justify a response that can include deadly force. The feds’ response so far has been limited to normal riot control techniques, so the rioters haven’t experienced much more than a whiff of tear gas. There is a wide array of more powerful tools available to deal with the rioters.

Some of the Portland rioters may be trying to goad the feds into opening fire with their firearms, seeking to sacrifice some of their fellow travelers as Kent-State-style martyrs. I doubt that will happen. The BORTAC team has a reputation for being among the best trained and disciplined in the business. They aren’t a bunch of green, young National Guardsmen who’ve never been in a skirmish before.

I suspect that an appropriate response is coming, and I’ll bet that Antifa won’t like it.

Funding the Police

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This was posted on the Twitterz—Mayor Ted had a security detail (of Portland cops) protecting him. As I’ve noted before, the Inner Party will always take steps to insure that there is a sufficient police force to protect their interests.

BTW, this sort of unfiltered, on-the-scene reporting may be what defeats the street thugs of Antifa and BLM. They’re using the ’60s playbook that relies on the public getting fed reporting filtered through friendly editing. While the MSM is working to provide that sort of coverage, too much truthful coverage is leaking out faster than it can be suppressed.

Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.

Certain Sections That I Wouldn’t Advise You to Invade

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As I’m drinking my second cup of coffee this morning, I’m finding pictures on the Interwebz of an armed couple confronting a BLM mob outside of their house. This may become a more common scene as the ongoing marxist lunacy tries to metastasize to the interior of the country.

While Rick Blaine’s advice to a couple of totalitarian thugs may no longer apply in New York, it still holds true in most of America.

It’s even true in certain parts of Maryland.

Don’t Know Much About History

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The BBC reports that protestors in England are demanding that a statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi be torn down because he publicly expressed negative opinions about blacks when he lived in South Africa over a hundred years ago. It seems that these protestors have forgotten, if they ever knew, Gandhi’s contribution to the dismantling of the British Empire, whose colonization of the undeveloped world was arguably the greatest example of white supremacy.

How It’s Done

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The Daily Wire reports that an attempt to create an “autonomous zone” in Nashville ended before it began.

In Nashville, the effort was over before it even began.

“Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a warning hours before protesters are planning to take over an area outside the Capitol,” local news in Nashville reported Saturday. “Nashville autonomous zone ‘will not be tolerated,’ Lee said in a statement, citing that camping on state property is prohibited by law and it will be enforced.”

Occupying state property is a misdemeanor in Tennessee and despite organizers encouraging protesters to show up with “tents,” “food,” and other necessities, an autonomous zone never materialized.

While Nashville is a blue city, it is in a red state.

UPDATE—This is also how it’s done!

Newton’s Laws and Rioters

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One of Isaac Newton’s important contributions to Physics is his Laws of Motion.

Law I: Every body persists in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed.

Law II: The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impress’d; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impress’d.

Law III: To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.

A rioter in Portsmouth, Virginia, ran afoul of these laws while vandalizing a monument. A statue on the monument broke off and, obeying the Laws of Motion, proceeded to strike the vandal, sending him to the hospital.

We’re also beginning to see examples of a psychosocial analog of the Third Law in reactions to leftist vandalism. For example, The Sun reports that vandals have defaced the bust of Jamaican playwright by bleaching it.

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction …

The governors and mayors in the blue jurisdictions would do well to use their police and National Guard resources to put an end to the disturbances before citizens begin to take matters into their own hands.