Rant #2,420: Some Day We're Gonna Love Again

I said what I said yesterday, and in the previous days about what is going on in our world, and evidently, some people liked it, and some people didn't like it.

That is fine. I have no problem with that.

But I have found that in the dislikes is at least a scent of racism, racism towards white people and a hatred of police--all police--that I cannot believe even exists in today's volatile environment.

And that hatred is not only coming from some blacks, but also from some whites.

I have seen on Facebook such horrid comments coming from some people about the violence that is happening that I had to block a few people, in particular, who pretty much justified the violence as sort of "the icing on the cake" of the protests.

They said that groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa are peaceful organizations, looking to right wrongs, and nothing else.

One person even quoted me what she said was "an old African proverb" pretty much stating that once you see the flames, you get some type of personal satisfaction, because the glow of the flames signify that they intended job has been accomplished.

These people are black.

And another person came to the defense of these people, stating that I had no right to voice an opposite opinion, because I am white.

And this person told me that he was white.

And honestly, I would not have blocked any of them, but the discussion veered over the other subjects, and their views were so repulsive--in particular against Jews--that well, I had had enough.

In another instance, on one of my Facebook groups  related to my old neighborhood, I had to take down a video--which was put up at the wrong angle, making it difficult to watch--which was filled with one four-letter word after another about the situation, and was clearly anti-cop and anti-white.

It went against my site rules, which does not permit vulgarity, and its inner ugliness made it a real no-brainer for me to take down.

Happily, the general consensus between most of my friends of all stripes and colors on Facebook is the same: yes, the situation which caused the death of George Floyd was heinous, and that the police officer responsible for this act should get the book thrown at him for his horrid behavior.

We also pretty much agree that the protests are an American right, but we also agree on the fact that the looting and violence is completely uncalled for, and is taking away the focus of the protests from the victim to the wanton destruction of property and the looting, and the American dream permanently quashed for so many righteous and innocent people.

How anyone can defend the behavior of rioters--they are not protestors--looking to destroy things is beyond my comprehension. It not only takes away the focus from the victim, but it demonstrates that some people will do anything if the situation arises, even pillage and destroy their own communities.

And the narrative continues to be that these rioters are outsiders looking to make all protestors look bad, that they are actually organized groups fortified with weapons, directions and money to do what they do.

But until the actual protestors do something to thwart these rioters, I have to think that perhaps outsiders set this plan in motion, but once the cat was out of the bag, others joined these looters in their fury.

I was actually happy to see some footage of marchers actually trying to stop people who were doing things that they should not have been doing, with one video showing a group of marchers in New York literally jumping upon one person, and literally delivering him to police.

That is the right thing to do, but going back to other protests in other years and eras, you are always going to have an element which believes that the way to get back at authority is to steal, attack, rob and pillage, and when they see an opening, they jump right through it.

And then, we have our elected officials, who sit in their own ivory towers and have no clue about what they are doing and what they are saying and how they are handling these protests and the violence that has pervaded them.

Some say that some officials are coddling the protestors, because they feel that by doing so, they are creating potential votes in future elections from them.

I am sure that there is an element of truth to that, and certainly in New York, amidst the cries against the violence, you do get the idea that certain politicians are seizing this as an opportunity to influence participants in these marches.

You have others who are basically saying "shoot to kill," and let me tell you, if my place of business was being ransacked by looters, and if I had a gun permit and a legal gun, what recourse would I have to protecting my investment?

Happily or unhappily, we have not seen that happen, because it would only make things worse, but you can understand this thought when you see the destruction that has been caused by looters, who don't know George Floyd from Pink Floyd, and what's worse, don't seem to care.

And then, you have the truly clueless, people elected to public office who really don't have a handle on anything happening around them.

Leading that pack, as usual, is Mayor Bill deBlasio of New York.

Yesterday was perhaps the penultimate moment of his mayoralty, as he beat around the bush talking about his 25-year-old daughter, who was arrested during one of the protests in New York.

He constantly beat around the bush and never clearly spoke about the arrest when reporters questioned him about it, alluding to the fact that she was an adult now, could do what she felt was right without his guidance, and that he was proud of her for her stand that got her arrested.

This, in a city where blocks of storefronts have been destroyed and dreams gone up in smoke.

And you could literally see the pain and perspiration come out of the mayor's pores as he tried to punch his way out of this paper bag that his daughter had put him in.

Although he would not comment further on her arrest, it later came out that she and the group she was with was told to move, they refused, and they were arrested.

And by the way, the arresting officers had no idea that she was the mayor's daughter, and although she gave her residence as the area Gracie Mansion sits in, she is part of the problem--she is an outsider who has lived 3,000 miles away for the past couple of years, as her actual residence is in California, where she goes to school.

How the mayor has the least bit of credibility with anybody at this point is beyond me.

And none of this political posturing has the least bit to do with George Floyd, and that is a crime in itself.