Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

Saw this tweet via instapundit via Not the Bee

I replied on twitter but here is my answer all in one go:

It was 33 years ago when I owned a comic book store. I had left to do a Sunday comic show putting a young but responsible teenage employee was in charge. When I came back he was nervous. He pointed to a young black kid that I had befriended and said he saw him stealing but was unsure what to do because I had been very friendly with him.

I said: “What are my standing orders if someone is caught shoplifting?”

He answered: “Lock the door and call the police”

I said: “Do so”

He locked the door and called the police. The kid was very scared until the officer showed up and I head him say in relief: “It’s a black cop”. I took the officer aside and told him I didn’t want the kid arrested because he’s young and didn’t want to give him trouble but I didn’t want him stealing from me, if he could put the fear of God in him I’d really appreciated. The officer made a big show of telling him “If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s a thief” and asking me if I wanted him arrested I said I’d let it go this time but if it happens again that wouldn’t be the case. He took the kid home.

The next day the kid’s mom showed up very angry that her son had been brought home in a police car. I explained that my employee had caught him shoplifting while I was gone and although I had not it myself the kid working for me was very responsible and I was obliged to believe him. She wanted to talk to him but as he was a teenager he didn’t work until next Saturday. I told her she was welcome to come back then and talk to him at that time. I’d let them speak in the back.

I spoke to him about it and he agreed. The word got around with the regulars at the store and a good sized crowd were at the store Saturday to see what would happen. She showed up around noon and she and the employee in question went into the back room.

She led with: “My son is not a thief”

My employee answered matter-of-factly, “Yes he is”

It went downhill from there.

After about 10 minutes she left in a huff pausing only long enough to say “Hello Monkey” to a tall black kid near the counter who was one of the regulars looking at baseball cards. She was followed by my teenaged employee came out with a smile having not backed down one bit from what he saw and not the least bit intimidated by the woman twice his age and talking about his encounter.

I had noticed that “monkey” seemed surprised at seeing her and from that presumed he had no idea what was going on he he had come in after she had showed up and was looking at baseball cards either completely indifferent to or completely unknowing of the day’s unfolding drama. I turned to him and asked:

“Do you know that lady?”

“Yes, she’s ‘xxx’s mom”, he paused for a moment, “She’s a racist.”

I did a double take, and everyone else in the store suddenly turned in amazement, a few already with silly grins already on some faces, particularly my employee who had just spoken to her.

Still surprised I asked him: “Why do you say she’s a racist?”

He answered calmly like a reporter stating a basic fact: “She hates my mother because she’s white.”

At this point the entire store erupted with laughter as the irony of what we had just heard combined with what had happened that day.

It was in that moment that the twenty something me considered what I had saw and realized most emphatically that whatever the merit of the struggles of the past might have been, the “white guilt” card, what is now called “wokeness” was simply a grift employed by some for advantage or profit.

Stacy McCain on why so many Police Confrontations these days:

One reason you’re seeing more situations “escalate” in this manner is simply that technology has shifted the balance toward law enforcement. More and more police vehicles are equipped with scanners that automatically read tags of passing cars, so that if you’re driving a stolen vehicle or, as in Nika Holbert’s case, driving a car whose owner is wanted on arrest warrants, the cops are gonna get you. Five or 10 years ago, you could be driving around with a car full of felonies and cops wouldn’t know it, unless you did something to attract their attention. Nowadays, it’s a lot harder for criminals to get away with crimes, which is why we keep seeing videos like this. Race has nothing to do with it.

Now I know why Massachusetts considered a dirty license plate a “safety issue” to flunk me on an inspection a few years ago.

Don Surber reports (among other things) on moments when silence is apparently golden:

The New York Post reported, “A federal judge on Thursday agreed with Ghislaine Maxwell’s request to keep certain details in the criminal case against her secret — finding that information would be too ‘sensational and impure’ to reveal to the public.
“US District Judge Alison J. Nathan issued a ruling on redactions that Maxwell had asked for regarding transcripts the government filed under seal last month.”
After watching the Grammys, nothing is too sensational and impure to reveal to the public.
Obama judge. He’s covering up for some Democrat. Likely the name rhymes with Blinton.

I guarantee you that if Maxwell or Epstein had videos of Trump among their blackmail collection they’d would have been out in the public years ago.

An excellent point on well adjusted kids at Adrienne’s Corner:

Comment from an esteemed blogger buddy:I worry about my grandson on a daily basis. I worry about all of the issues you brought up. I can see his social skills declining, and it worries me. The democrats had a plan and I’m afraid it isn’t fully implemented yet.

My answer:

I would look to how home-schoolers handle their kids. In all the years of hubby teaching music the most well adjusted, happy, socialized, and smartest kids were the home-schooled. Therefore, I have to wonder what is going on to make the public school kids so unable to cope. Is it how the parents are handling all this?

Given what our schools are apparently teaching our children I’d say the continued closing of the Public schools are the biggest silver lining of this entire pandemic shutdown. Parents would be wise to find permanent alternates to public schools.

William Hoge channels South Park on the cold dark effects of reality on journalism’s narrative:

after years in attack mode, they’ve been unable to find good news to report to sell the new Narrative. For example, years of ranting about kids in cages has made it hard to put a positive spin on a sudden surge in minor children being detained at the border. Masks still required after vaccination, no Fourth of July, and renewed bombing in the Middle East are not an easy sell as good news. Reality keeps interfering with The Narrative, and the public is beginning to suspect that the warm fluid on our legs isn’t rain.

Alternatives to the Main Stream Media and Main Stream Social Media are popping up and some are getting traction because the compete with The Narrative rather than colluding with it. There’s a market for news and truth, and I suspect that many of the legacy media companies will be replaced by new organizations.

You can see signs of panic in the calls for censorship that are beginning appear, some from media outlets beginning to sense they are at a disadvantage competing with truthful reporting.

The real problem is that when you decide to live on a niche market of exclusively serving the left you find yourself more and more needed to bend reality to keep that decreasing niche watching.

Finally Jeff Dunetz on the universal popularity of Voter ID.

Per a Rasmussion poll, support for voter ID runs across political parties. 60% of Democrats the party pushing HR1,  89% of Republicans, and  77% of unaffiliated voters support voter ID.  Support is also high for conservatives (91%) and moderates (68%). But almost half of the self-described liberals (47%) support voter ID also. Even likely voters who are African-American (69%) support  ID laws.

Photo ID is needed to get on an airplane, buy cigarettes, get into many office buildings, enter comedy clubs, and establish other establishments selling alcohol. Photo ID is even needed at the Democratic National Convention to receive their official credentials (at the GOP convention too). Heck, you can’t even get into the DNC office in D.C unless you can prove who you are.

I’ve said it over and over again I’ll believe that Voter ID is racist when I see lawyers suing banks, airlines and business for requiring them, and frankly if Democrats wanted to have the people believe the last election was on the up and up Democrats would jump to embrace it but not at the expense of losing the ability to steal election they can’t win otherwise.

Personal story my late mother used to work the polls and she knew the neighborhoods well, during key election large groups of people would show up at the polls (usually bussed in) to add last minute votes. Such people would come to her table and give an address. Mom would look at them and bluntly say. ” I know that address, you don’t live at that address.” Invariably said people rather than complaining would dash away quickly. Nobody every complained or challenged her on it likely because the game would be up.