“You pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves. I have, therefore, a right to order you as think proper.”
The Dey of Algiers to Capt William Bainbridge USS George Washington 1800
We have reached the point where people are being fired for stating that all lives matter (which is true) vs “black lives matter” (which is true because they are a subset of all lives)
We have also reached a point where business’ that I go to have found the need to state very emphatically that “black lives matter” out of fear that their will be looted or vandalized while not daring to state publicly “all lives matter” for fear that they will be punished for it.
To be unable to express the point that all lives matter, which is a central theme of Christianity, because of either financial property or physical retribution is oppression and to submit this is to become a slave to fear.
Furthermore more once you give in on this there will be a new demand and then a new one and then a new one, or as the Dey of Algiers told William Bainbridge when he balked at running an errand with his warship for him after delivering American tribute , a payoff to keep US ships from being attacked he said: “You pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves. I have, therefore, a right to order you as think proper.”
We are told by the left, by the media but the democrat that if we only submit we will not be hounded or fired or have our business looted or smashed.
This is unacceptable to me. What would my father who fought in world war 2. Who defended his business when thugs and/or officials demanded tribute from him over the years so I could have the life I do, and suffered for it, say if I agreed to this demand? What example will I be giving my sons to pass on to their children if I gave in?
So knowing the cost and the risks let me say this on this public platform:
I am scheduled to work on Wednesday from 3:30 till Midnight so as I write this I have no idea how things went in the 1st of two Fitchburg “protests”.
Wednesday’s protest is sponsored by 3 pyramids a local black organization and is scheduled to be a march from Crocker Field to the City Hall (I presume the temporary city hall as the regular one is under re-construction) and is supposed to begin at 2:30 which is just about the time that I will be finishing getting ready for work.
I took a drive, both to pay the water bills but actually to scope out the route. Externally things seem to be OK there is a city crew watering the common and clearing a monument, people are at Market Basket there is some traffic but thanks to the covid stuff the streets are pretty empty. I’m informed by DaWife that the local Dunkin Donuts has closed it’s lobby at noon but other than that I’m not aware of any other business closing although as you can see by the picture Enterprise Rent-a-Car has boarded up their windows (but oddly not moved their cars to a different location. While on social media there is at least one report of bricks hidden under some debris I scoped the potential path and didn’t see this, and I was looking for it.
Local business that would be in the path of any crowd that got out of hand that I talked to are worried but see little they can do about it. At one business an employee was instructed to close up & get out if there are sirens indicating trouble to close and leave. They seemed resigned that what will happen will happen, but people are on edge.
These are the days I miss the World War 2 generation and the Sicilians that once lived in the patch.
It’s very possible (even probable for Wednesday’s protest) that there will be little or not trouble but the potential is there, fed by the media and the desire to turn a local crime in Minnesota into a national story for the sake of scoring election points.
Here is the video I shot, sorry about the quality as I was walking with no monopod.
Again I am writing this at 12:52 PM EST on Wednesday. By the time this posts we will know if Fitchburg had a protest or a riot or both on Wednesday but the results of Friday will still be up in the air. But this description of previous protests from the Sentinal & Enterprise tell me that whatever happens will be spun to death:
On Sunday, peaceful protests were carried out in Boston throughout the day until the demonstrations turned violent in the evening, with reports of fires being set and looting.
Boston police later released a list of the 53 people who were arrested after the violence began.
In Worcester on Monday, thousands of people demonstrated peacefully during the day to protest Floyd’s killing. However, things took a downward turn at night when some demonstrators threw rocks and police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
God willing we’ll have good news.
Update: Got out of work at midnight it was a 20 minute drive back to Fitchburg and I checked out the area, I saw no signs of damage so I presume everything was peaceful or at least under control.
Several notes:
When I left for work I made it a point to drive toward downtown. There was a chopper hovering over the center of the city. Not sure if that was the authorities or the media.
Espresso’s pizza whose manager I interviewed a bit ago during my american success story series which was directly in the line of march of the protest as scheduled was simply plastered with Black Lives Matters signs all over the place. I don’t know if this was cheap insurance or not but the windows were all whole. Perhaps next time I order I’ll ask if my life and my family’s lives matters to them and will decide if I order then again based on their answer.
There was a solid police presence both on main street. Cruisers seems to be strategically placed to keep an eye on key spots from the policeman’s monument to key intersections. I saw car in the parking lot of the temporary city hall in a line that would block access to anyone attempting to drive by. There were a group of men in the lot, I presume officers. I presume they will be there for a while till the morning.
I saw very few people on the streets, when I stopped at Espresso to read the signs one person walking by seemed almost smug bragging about Fitchburg because there was no trouble. I pointed out that the Tea Party had held events on main street and protests and prayers had been in front of the planned parenthood that moved into town and no businesses had worried about violence or felt the need to close. But as violence & rioting (frankly there’s not much worth looting here) to my city was a worry I don’t mind grading them on a curve for the day. I also noted a few people in odd places who seemed to be watching things. Not sure who or what they were and frankly after a late night at work didn’t feel like checking
As I headed home from downtown I noted that Domino’s which is usually open till 2 AM was closed. I turned around to check out way and saw a sign on the door saying: “We are closed so our employees can support black lives matter.” Again I don’t know if this is their feeling or if it’s insurance but I’ll be sure to ask if my life and my family’s life matter next time I order.
When I got home I was told things were quiet but was also told that the National Guard was in town deployed at the Civic Center for a time but I’ve found no evidence of it online of course I’m not on facebook so I don’t know if there is some info there.
When it comes down to it, the bottom line is no trouble at least not yet. Hopefully the weekend with be the same, if it is I’ll be pleased but I still resent the fact that I had to worry about my city , my friends, my property and my family because the MSM decided to elevate a local story to play politics.
One of the distinguising features of DaTechGuy’s laws of media outrage is how they so readilty apply to the situations going on in the news. The current riots taking place in generally Democrat cities are an excellent example. To wit:
DaTechGuy’s 3rd law of media outrage
The MSM’s elevation and continued classification of any story as Nationally Newsworthy rather than only of local interest is in direct correlation to said story’s current ability to affirm any current Democrat/Liberal/Media meme/talking point, particularly on the subject of race or sexuality.
In an election where the Democrat/Media/Left is afraid that the black community is not energized the George Floyd case was a golden opportunity for the media to inject race in the campaign in the hopes that black voters would respond associating the police and authority with the GOP in general and Donald Trump in particular.
That’s why his death was national news but the murders of Ronald Lewis, Devin King, Justin Snipe, Troy Shelton, Brandon Brown, Tabaire Nix , Anthony Robinson, Gerrod Gibson, Jaquon Burke, Donnie Hill & Alex Wilson were not. None of these murders of black men were national stories because they did serve to advance a talking point.
Make no mistake the only reason why parts of Minneapolis are torched and Macy’s is looted and the College Football Hall of Fame is gone was because the Democrat/media/left wanted a talking point to motivate their base for election 2020.
DaTechGuy’s 2nd law of media outrage
The level of acceptance of the positions and/or actions of any group or organization by the left and media is directly proportional to their current or potential value in electing liberal Democrats.
The media did all they could to justify the riots at the start again in order to
Portray them as valid response to the death of George Floyd.
Not offend their Black base as images of black citizens looting appears
Not offend the members of their violent antifa base who were rioting
However as soon as it became apparent that the riots were becoming counterproductive in terms of generating votes to Democrats and actually driving some how have suffered from it to the right its value to electing democrats were gone thus narrative changed to “white supremacists” & “Russians”.
DatechGuy’s 4th Law of Media outrage:
The degree of media exposure of the corruption or illegality committed by any individual or organization under investigation is directly proportional to its distance from the media’s ideology.
As soon as it became apparent that the President was ready to go after ANTIFA the media rushed to defend them both on air and in articles. The violence they had committed previously, particularity in the northwest was a non story to national media and was not worth of discussing or critiquing or was minimized.
Finally:
DaTechGuy’s 1st law of media outrage:
The level of Outrage or interest of the media and their allies on the left concerning any insult or prevarication concerning a person or thing will routinely be equal to the inverse of the degree of the political distance between said media / leftists and the target of said insult or prevarication at the time it is made
If Donald Trump for example attacking rioting and looting, the media spins him as a person trying to suppress “peaceful” protest because the media and left are against him. However if any democrat or black leader suggest riots and looting are wrong he is he is considered to be trying to bring peace to a volatile situation.
Closing thought: In my city 1000 miles from Minnesota there are going to be two “protests” local business’ have been advised to board up their windows because of course a cop going over the line in Minnesota reflects on our police force. My own home is less than a mile from where this is going to take place.
If something happens to my home or family during tomorrow or Friday’s scheduled “protests” this Sicilian-American will not forget the role of the Democrats in general and the media in particular in making it happen.
Update: Instalanche, thanks Ed. I’ve been through fitchburg this morning along the path of the protest and talked to what few business’ are there. They’re all pretty worried. Oddly enough there was a drive by shooting earlier this week and later a body found in the Nashua river, purportedly both men were of color (although I don’t have police confirmation on race, I suspect they’re rather occupied today)
Enterprise Rent a car in Fitchburg MA near where the “protests” will be
As today’s protest is being done by local groups and will be in broad daylight people the danger is likely less, Friday might be a different story, we shall see.
Reminder I’ll be discussing this on the DaTechGuy off DaRadio No Frills Livestream podcast on Friday at 3:00 PM EST (right after rush)
Update 2; You can’t make this up This is the Sentinel / Enterprise on the scheduled Fitchburg Protests
Since Floyd’s death, protests, some of which have been described as violent or destructive by officials, have taken place daily in cities across the country.
On Sunday, peaceful protests were carried out in Boston throughout the day until the demonstrations turned violent in the evening, with reports of fires being set and looting.
Boston police later released a list of the 53 people who were arrested after the violence began.
In Worcester on Monday, thousands of people demonstrated peacefully during the day to protest Floyd’s killing. However, things took a downward turn at night when some demonstrators threw rocks and police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
“some of which have been described as violent and destructive by officials?” I wonder how Danial Monahan describes arson and the destruction of 170+businesses in Minneapolis and widespread looting in NYC? High spirits? perhaps.
What to make of a year in which there has been a worldwide pandemic punctuated by American mass rioting-looting-killing?
It’s only the beginning of June.
A lot of people will have a list of people to blame for the calamities which seem to have engulfed us – and they will probably be mostly correct. But my view is that this is a spiritual issue. Law enforcement personnel, politicians, regular citizens, terrorists and their fund sources, and all the rest of humanity are prone to the spirits they allow to rule them, whether the spirit is good or evil.
And there is only one that is good.
I say repeatedly that mobs are demonic. Here’s how those demons operate: they plant their anger and malevolence into human beings and when such human beings gather together, those emotions feed on each other and rev up the gang into a frenzy of violence and, often, horrific bloodshed. Any target of such violence will be unrecognizable after the mob gets through and this applies to human beings and to property. All rationality is banished – if it ever existed in the first place.
Therefore, we see mobs do mindless things like burn down their own neighborhoods or murder the pillars of their own community or attempt to murder innocent passersby or shoot at houses or gang rapes. Mobs do things as a corporate body that some individual members of the mob would never do by themselves. And later, after the horrific event is over, individuals will often have no memory of what they were thinking during the mayhem. It’s because something else took over.
I’ve already told you how individuals can protect themselves from the demonic. However, I have a hunch that these spirits know that they are already defeated and decided to have a nationwide party before they are conquered.
That, I contend, is what we are seeing now.
The other emotion which these entities feed on is fear and it’s understandable that many are afraid right now. Heck, we’ve been told since mid-January that leaving the house could result in our deaths. Well, guess what? That is true. But the key to defeating fear is to step out of the house in faith and in wisdom.
Ask me how I know.
This frenzy of demons will end, and we will look back at it and wonder if it was a mass nightmare we all had.