Welcome…
Now the pleasantries are out of the way…
Could the illegal blockage of the road, be construed in any way as instigating the confrontation?
He did escalate it, but did he actually instigate the situation.
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While he may have escalated the situation, did he actually instigate it?
The ‘criminals’ in the street were ILLEGALLY blocking a public street, one that the driver had a right to be on.
Did the criminals create or cause the situation and if so, did the driver’s escalating it with non-violent means give cause for the criminals to react violently. (Remember, the ‘protesters’ (criminals) think lasers in the eyes is perfectly acceptable and that smoke, fireworks and other explosive devices are acceptable … when most of us would be arrested and charged with terrorist activity if we used any explosive charges…)…
Yes, they were in the street, laying on the ground, but they were illegally in the street, blocking the road, attempting to deny the right to freedom of movement…
Yes, he should have simply gone on, but there are alternate view points… and I can understand his frustration at the lack of law enforcement when the terrorists take to the streets.
He will face prosecution, but he should sue the city for the denial of his rights by the cities allowing the terrorists to be lawless.
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Did he?
Or did the lawless terrorists in the street instigate the situation?
The driver did escalate it, but did he start it, was he the cause?
Not saying he was correct in his actions, but we should look at the details.
Criminal behavior on the part of the street blockers… does not grant them some special protections, they are still violating the law.
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Indeed.
Cower in fear… hide in your home… wait for the government ‘cheese’…
Become dependent… allow your rights to be revoked and denied.
Interesting. It seems, we either learn from history or we are doomed to repeat it…
Wear a yellow cross on your cloths, denied access to church, put a sign in your window saying Christians operate the store… deny freedom of movement, allow ‘brown shirts’ to run wild in the streets… arrest and prosecute any who want freedom…
Hey, some of this was done in our not so distant past… by a little short man with a little mustache.
To think, the US was instrumental in defeating tyranny… defeating Communism and Fascism… only to see it’s hydra heads rise here.
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While the idea of avoiding the situation and backing up is something we should all consider and do…
Sometimes you can not back up… sometimes traffic behind you prevents that, or the criminal terrorists in the street block you.
They are illegally blocking the street, they are committing crimes, criminal behavior is not a protected right.
While we do have a right to freedom of movement, a right to travel the streets of our towns, to go to work, go home, go shopping, to live our lives.
They do NOT have a right to block the streets, start fires, to attack anyone, and while we should avoid these situations when we can… at what point do we say enough surrendering of the nation.
There are signs in the US… .INSIDE of the US, about 40-80 miles from the Southern border, that warn it is unsafe to go past those signs towards the border… This is INSIDE of the US. And we are allowing invaders, lawlessness, cartels to take over parts of the nation.
Yes, the driver should have simply gone on, but they were committing a crime, and a smoke grenade does not justify their violence… but he was not in immediate danger, so he should have simply driven on…
But.
I understand the frustration he must have been feeling.
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And the police don’t care about anything except the driver… They are two-faced hypocrites and not worthy of respect nor trust-- both of which must be earned, not demanded!!
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Yes they laugh, I laugh & move on however still the right thing to do.
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Welcome to the family brother and you are in the right place at the right time.
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Based on the video without assumptions they did not instigate the confrontation. Having someone block your path on the road is almost the same as someone blocking you in the grocery store. I saw no evidence that he or his passenger were in any danger. Again, this is based on the video only. The protesters were there illegally as most are that choose to block traffic. Had the protesters attacked the vehicle first, the rolls would have immediately changed. His best path would have been to seek another route or notify the police and wait till they cleared them. A responsible gun owner would have avoided the confrontation if at all possible. The instant you initiate an altercation you become the bad guy. It will happen every time.
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Based on the story an investigation is under way to determine who the protesters were. Authorities are aware that they were involved in an illegal protest and no permit was issued. They need to be allowed to do the job we pay them for.
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Thank you.
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The problem is that the police aren’t doing their jobs. The police should have been there already. The police provided the atmoshere for such incidences by standlng down and enboldening criminals and terrorists. I put the blame squarely on the police
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Let’s not forget the corrupt politicians issuing the orders to stand down!
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Looks to me like the truck was blocked by the horse drawn carriage in front of it… and the “peaceful protestors” were trying to break the passenger side window, which would have injured the lady in the passenger seat. This is a question about escalation? If they were laying in the street singing about peace love and understanding and that truck pulled up an threw a smoke grenade, why were the protestors not required to retreat and call the police on the driver? Didn’t they escalate by throwing a thermos and hitting the truck with a bike?
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You are seeing the end of it, not the beginning. If you are armed and initiate an altercation of any kind you become the aggressor and the law is going to follow that path. In this case, tossing the smoke grenade into the group was step one, step two was the retaliation followed by the driver pulling his weapon. Had he not thrown the smoke grenade the rest would not have happened.
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It almost seems, had the driver had a BLM sign on the truck, drove over the demonstrators and thrown a live grenade, he would have been considered a peaceful protestor, and sent on his merry way!
Gosh he may have even received the keys to the city! He would have been considered a hero, but because he was a normal guy when he woke up that morning and was just trying to maneuver through “traffic”, bodies in the roadway obstructing vehicular movement is NOT traffic. I consider the smoke grenade a form of dispersing the ignorant. Stupid games, win stupid prizes. When is this going to end?
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Ah, but you are attempting to equate blocking an aisle in a grocery store, which is not the same as blocking a public road, which we pay taxes for, which also has laws that make it illegal, and we do have our right to freedom of movement.
As I stated somewhere, I am not saying the driver did the right thing, nor am I condoning it, I am simply pointing out, the illegal behavior of one party does not grant them immunity.
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While the police do swear an oath, they are directed by the politicians of the city… and the politicians did order the police to stand down…
One would think they would disobey orders to maintain law and order, but it seems the job is more important than doing the right thing… but it did allow all to see what those politicians were like.
One reason I prefer a Sheriff’s Department over a police department.
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And the gestapo were directed by the NAZIs.
@Kevin29, you are truly one of the wise ones and I enjoy your perspectives and gentle corrections. My guess is that these same police that stood-down or, as Omaha police call it-- redeployed, didn’t leave their friends and family unprotected and I bet had THEY had to defend themselves they wouldn’t be charged. In my opinion, the police are without excuse.
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And I am not saying it does. I am saying that we do not have the right to attack someone just because we are inconvenienced. In this video, the driver had alternatives. If someone blocks your path in the grocery store, does that give you the right to punch them? No, it means you have to find another way. We have to keep emotion out of the equation. The protesters do not have immunity at all, they just were not the aggressors in this case. They should be charged for the illegal protest. Had they done anything to cause the driver to feel threatened, it becomes a different situation. I carry a firearm for protection, I do not carry it to threaten or cause fear. If I remove it from the holster I am prepared to use it so there can be no doubt as to right or wrong.
Another thing to consider is that the light in front of him was red, the traffic was crossing in front of him and all he had to do was go around. He tossed the grenade as he waited for the light. There is no reason for his actions other than to antagonize. He made a very bad choice, one he could have avoided.
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