And then I wrote...
by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"
... that I checked in the mirror as I shaved this morning to see if mere were any signs of gills developing, thinking they might be necessary soon if it doesn’t stop raining!
Bad weather apparently held down the crowds at those climate change rallies scheduled for the weekend, which seems kinda ironic, weather affecting climate change protests.
One protest which did not develop involved that bastion of liberal thought, the University of California at Berkeley. The university once again cancelled a speaking appearance by a conservative, implying that free speech advocating ideas with which the university does not agree could prove an incentive for riots.
The speaker threatened to come on campus anyway, but decided against it, so there was no riot, but there were protests. Unlike the earlier occasion, the Klan-like black hooded thugs did not appear, so there was no burning and no property destruction or human violence.
The incident reminded me of a couple things.
For one, the opposing groups stood on opposite sides of a street, taunting and jeering and yelling at each other.
We used to play a similar game as elementary school students at St. Pat’s. After choosing sides, the opposing teams would line up, hands joined, on opposite sides of the street (now Second St.) between the church and the old convent, now a playground. One team would call “Red Rover, Red Rover, send (insert name) on over.” The one chosen to send over was always the weakest link, unlikely to break the clenched hands fence presented by the other side. Eventually, with the supply of weak runners exhausted, some stronger kid would break the chain.
The second reminder was of a scene in Honduras, where thugs in similar black hoods fought government forces, and a number of people were killed, some by rioters and some by the government side.
It seems to me that the United States is all too close to seeing that happen in this country.
When those who do not like a government or its policies are given encouragement and free rein to riot in costumes designed to hide identity, how does that differ from insurrection?
Why are opponents encouraged to take to the streets instead of the ballot box?
