A summer of discontent

OPINION by Bob Sweeney

Strange that in the summer preceding the election of a U.S. president, we have so much violence and mayhem, all supposedly triggered by the death of a black man killed by a cop.

Just in the past few days, we have had many black deaths, including two teenage boys in Seattle and dozens of deaths in Chicago. There has been very little outcry from the media or from Black Lives Matter. Black death is a black death, but to some, only significant if it comes from a police officer. It seems that maybe black lives don’t matter if killed by blacks.

Strange that the one death was seized upon for the catalyst of a major movement across America. This triggering a movement of protests that were engineered as peaceful events, while some turned violent and led to deaths, destruction of millions of dollars of property, looting of stores, a murder of a retired black police officer, and the burning of a police station.

The movement spread to states and cities, some governed by Democrat officials, who for the most part looked the other way. Mobs and anarchists took over blocks in Seattle as the mayor described it as a sort of loving summer fest. Several weeks later two youth have been murdered at the enclave area. At this point, it doesn’t seem like this movement was all an accident but planned and executed as a mass summertime rally to protest race relations. What the alleged organizers failed to realize is that a mob is like a raging forest fire that goes out of control. Just about every American believes in peaceful assembly and protest marches. But, the peaceful protests turned into anarchy and went way too far into a cultural revolution. Mobs destroyed statues and monuments and many historical figures who had fought to destroy racism, including Presidents Grant and Lincoln.

Attempts were made to destroy a monument of Andrew Jackson, one of the founders of the Democrat party, honored today at Jefferson/ Jackson dinners. Republicans have Lincoln Day events.

The wave of alleged or perceived offenses turned to proposed renaming of military bases, athletic teams, universities, eliminating Aunt Jemima from pancake mixes and John Wayne from the Orange County Airport. It’s open season on rewriting history and going back decades in attempts to change how the general public perceived the Civil War and the Founding Fathers of this nation at that era in history. Leaders who had any slaves are considered enemies of the Black Lives Matter agenda of today.

Woodrow Wilson led America through victory in World War 1 and became a casualty. His name was removed from the very highly prized Woodrow Wilson Institute at Princeton; one of the nation’s top think tanks for history, government and political education.

The picture is starting to emerge of an orchestrated summer of discontent leading to the fall election. But, the movement is backfiring with the overreach of violence and destruction and attempts to weaken law and order. The original intent had some worthy goals to increase racial equality, but not to assault our nation’s history and above all attacking the founding principles of this nation for law and order. The flagrant attack against our nation’s police force is stunning and came flying out of the death of George Floyd’s death like a hurricane against our police departments. Not so strange is that with violence, murder, and plundering, the anarchists want less police around to quell the destruction and lawlessness.. The anarchists have literally hijacked the peaceful BLM movement.

Lastly, covid-19 became another catalyst in the overall spring and summer with Americans paying more attention to the coronavirus than the BLM agenda until the protests became violent and attempts were made to destroy national monuments of founding fathers and presidents. Most Americans are supportive of racial equality, improving good schools for all, and providing opportunities for jobs without preference to the color of one’s skin.

Patience has now worn thin with the covid-19 virus and the violent protests and lawlessness. The violent blackmail threats to reduce police budgets and threats to “burn down the system” have been heard by the silent majority that are about to become less silent.

Strange that it has taken this long for Americans to wake up to anarchy and the rise of a socialist/communist inspired agenda. Bold attempts are made to destroy and reinvent America to their liking eliminating private property, destroying jobs and to equalize wealth, leading to central control by their own dictators who eventually turn America into a Venezuela.

America is not buying it, and law and order is not going to surrender to the mob and their demands. Wake up America!