Our powder keg

Folks, regardless of what side(s) you embrace on the various issues floating around right now, I urge everyone to keep a cool head and stay away from protests. I don’t see this going well.

Like many of us, I’ve never in my 60 years felt like we are sitting on a dry powder keg as much as we are right now. The confluence of so many events in such a short time has been breathtaking. This calls for smart, level-headed thinking. Observe and avoid.

Fear no evil, and stay as far away from it as possible.

“Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent, who devise ways to trip my feet.“ Ps 140:4

53 Likes

I agree. Mobs are collectively stupid. Don’t expect them to act rationally.

16 Likes

Agreed! Seems like in todays politics it’s “My Way or I’ll wreck your city”. Utah has passed some laws making it a little less attractive to protest violently but we all know, once the mob gets rolling there really are no boundaries for them.

10 Likes

They’ve got my Spidey sense going!

8 Likes

Us against them division is the perfect cover for the kleptocrats to divert attention from the mess they have made. They get an added bonus with violence in the streets that creates the opportunity for them to eventually rush in and “save” us. They just need to make sure the situation gets far enough out of hand that enough people will start begging for their draconian offers to “help”. I’m not playing that game. Hope the vast majority are able to resist the urge as well.

12 Likes

A lot of people are getting the hebe-jeebes over what can take place in the next six months. People are tired of this sh1t.

8 Likes

Especially important, now that warm months have begun. Our voices can be heard via other means, voting when we before might not have, contacting our elected officials, and or calmer more strategic peaceful means; Be your best, as you represent us.

If we must be outdoors to protest, keep calm and stay cool, you represent yourself and others.

Out of respect to one’s risk of prison or fine, beware of “carrying” when among masses of people. Even a small firearm at a protest can lead you in hot seat like Kyle Rittenhouse was a year ago. Not to mention, people got hurt on all sides. You might not be as lucky, different judge, jury, lawyer, etc.

You can still be an advocate for our rights, but be smart about it please.

And “think”, don’t fall for the bait. It’s not worth it.

7 Likes

I have always struggled to define the difference between “Communism” and “Fascism.” I know they’re supposed to be opposites, but here in the land of the free, they look like twin uglies.

I recently heard a great explanation based on Mussolini, whom many regard as the father of fascism. He started out as a socialist, but was eventually expelled when he suggested that Italy should join the Great War (WWI). The reason he was pro-war is that he thought it would unite Italians in a common cause, and promote socialism on a national level… which is basically what Fascism is.

Mussolini wrote that the problem with Communism is that it requires a bogeyman. Socialists always pit one group of oppressed against another group of oppressors. It splits communities apart in order to gain control. That’s why it struggled to take hold in pre-Mussolini Italy. In a nutshell, Mussolini wanted to find an external bogeyman to unite the nation and gain control.

I think about this a lot when I see politicians and political activists calling for action against the bogeyman du jour. They can only raise themselves up by putting other people down.

7 Likes

In the early 60’s I was at a base in Japan where they would have demonstrations when one of our nuclear subs docked. Some PAID ACTIVISTS would show up several days before and spread some yen around to get locals to show up with signs and practice chanting. At the time the exchange rate was 360 yen to the dollar. It didn’t take much money to get a large crowd to be there. After the activists worked the crowd into a frenzy, surging forward and throwing objects, the activists would slink away to avoid being part of the carnage.

Japanese security forces with shields, clubs and water cannons would confront the mob. We also had a large formation of Marines with weapons inside our perimeter, just in case. No one ever made it through the Japanese security forces. People were being beaten to a bloody pulp outside the gate, until the mob was dispersed. This happened twice while I was there, with the same result.

Protesting has become a profession with a large group of people. The PAID ACTIVISTS steer the mob in the direction they choose without fear of penalties. Changing the rules of engagement to favor the protesters has always been a high priority. Controlling the police presence and activity at protests has already happened. Using politicians, media and celebs to incite the protests and in the results always painting the protesters as victims, is the norm. None of this is going to change until people question what’s really behind it and hold people accountable, don’t let them slink away.

Of course this is just wishful thinking on my part. Pay attention to the man behind the curtain and try to stay safe.

10 Likes

Scary stuff!

3 Likes

It’s the same here, today.
It’s well known that there are “professional protesters” who are bussed in for rallies. I’ve even known a couple of them; young college grads who were promised a real job but instead were bussed all over the country and given signs to wave around.

It’s also pretty well known that big, mindless mobs are usually being manipulated by a small group of people. Police in bigger cities are trained to look past the screamers in the front lines and try to find the real trouble-makers hiding a block away. The average slob in a riot doesn’t even realize he’s being controlled.

9 Likes

I live in southern Oregon and it is not as bad here as it is up north, but when the hippies come to town it can be sporting when they suddenly show up and block the streets with their mostly peaceful protests

3 Likes

What can be done to wet the powder?

I believe it is to far gone. You know how the military disposes of ordinance. This will go off. Will go off in time for the midterms, new strain of covid, and lockdowns for all.

I do agree the large groups are a bad place to be. But, always felt that way. Gun sales by anti turned gun people will spike again in a couple months. I sure hope I’m wrong.

6 Likes

If you pray, pray more.

If you don’t pray, this is a good time to start.

7 Likes

I want to say “stop being paranoid,” but the mayor of Chicago literally tweeted “This moment has to be a call to arms” and “We will not surrender our rights without a fight.”

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot: SCOTUS Is Coming for LGBTQ Community Next

5 Likes

Yeah…I’d like to say that, too. But we are on a powder keg, and people feel it.

I work as a therapist at a behavioral health clinic, and our intakes are DOUBLE what they were just a year or two ago. People are afraid and anxious.

Stupid remarks by Chicago’s mayor certainly don’t help.

8 Likes

I have, I do, and will continue. Prayer without action, I believe, will be fruitless. God helps those who help themselves.

9 Likes

That goes for any official, we are spiraling downward. They all have the right to make mistakes, but they don’t have the right to be stupid or dangerous!
Like Phil Collins said, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight…”

6 Likes

I don’t think it’s just the mayor of Chicago, either. If I wanted to be pessimistic, I’d say that there seem to be a lot of elected officials who aren’t doing much to address the tension. They seem to welcome the powder keg, if they aren’t directly lighting the fuse.

If I wanted to be optimistic, though, I’d say that there are still a lot of decent people who- in spite of all the crazy stuff in our society- are still holding things together, the way they’ve always done. Relatively few people are capable of surviving as hermits, the rest of us need to work together. Yes, people are passionate about different issues, but ultimately, we all want to live in decent towns and send kids to good schools.

The real danger is if those people who bind our society together decide that they’re done carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, and simply shrug it off.

7 Likes

Here’s another example.
The second American civil war is already happening | Robert Reich | The Guardian

A former cabinet member starts by lamenting that the U.S. is splitting apart, then goes on a tirade about how backwards and evil the red states are, and how the blue states are better off without them.

2 Likes