Back in August, the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by police officers started a slew of violent "protests" by both Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) rioters.
Several weeks have passed and so-called "peaceful" BLM "protesters" have now scared away their old supporters while Joe Biden has yet to offer concrete resolutions for the continued riots throughout the country.
Looting and property destruction disguised as "protests"
After the shooting of Blake, daytime protests eventually turned into nighttime looting and arson.
Violence continues in states such as Portland and these incidents are becoming a problem for Democrats, especially since the voting season is fast approaching. But citizens now realize that rage-fueled anarchy remains ineffective compared to orderly and reform-based policy.
Surprisingly, mainstream media is trying to pretend like these violent "protests" are nothing to worry about. Viewers will remember Omar Jimenez, a CNN correspondent, who reported live from Kenosha in front of burning businesses while a chyron described the scene as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests.”
Readers, take note: This narrative of “buildings burn at peaceful protest” is proof of Orwellian doublethink. It shows that mainstream media is only interested in sensationalizing arson and shootings, context be damned.
Citizens turned off by Antifa and BLM riots
Ill-advised Democrats may think that the national BLM "protests" would be a favorable issue for 2020, but crime and violence are making more noise compared to "peaceful protests."
Even CNN’s Don Lemon has lamented that the rioting is “showing up in the polling” and “in focus groups.” Lemon added that the rioting must end since it's “the only thing right now that is sticking.”
While there is no proof about these polls and focus groups, other reports support it.
The Civiqs tracking poll sheds light on the dynamics at play.
- Net approval for the BLM movement reached it's highest point on June 3, but it has fallen sharply since. The decline was noticeable after only about a week or so following George Floyd's shooting in Minneapolis, when riots started in major cities in the country.
- Among whites, net approval for BLM is already negative and on a downward trend.
- Democrats and Republicans had different views on the matter, as expected.
- However, data from white Independents point to a significant decline in BLM support, which was at a net 24 percent in early June to only net three percent recently, a number which lower than before Floyd was killed. (Related: Antifa and BLM rioters destroy Oakland to the chants of “Death to America.”)
The clamor to “defund the police” has lost traction as a political issue, not that it had any in the first place. While some cities reduced cut police budgets and reallocated funds to social programs, the positive buzz about the matter has vanished on the national level.
While Biden doesn't support defunding, he doesn't have any problem implying that President Trump supports it even if the latter doesn't. The move may be motivated by poor polling on the issue among African Americans, along with Trump’s unwavering support from police unions.
Upon checking, the “defund the police” mural painted on 16th Street near the White House in June, which leftists cheered loudly on various social media platforms, vanished without fanfare early in August.
How does Biden plan to resolve the riots?
There's no shortage of bad press for BLM supporters, from both well-known personalities and regular citizens alike.
On Aug. 20, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot received flak when she insisted that a heavy police presence around her block during Chicago’s disturbances was needed since her family has “a right in our home to live in peace,” suggesting that regular citizens in Chicago didn't.
The details of the matter were kept under wraps, such as “how much the extra security detail cost taxpayers, how often officers are on the block, or whether officers were being transferred from other parts of the city.”
John Catanzara, Fraternal Order of Police President, didn't shy away from criticizing Lightfoot's added security. He noted, “Maybe she should move into a high-rise downtown where you can put like 20 officers at the front of the building if need be.”
Lightfoot's request follows a report about the police department instructing officers to arrest protesters on the block where she lives if they refuse to disperse when ordered to do so. She defended the move, saying that she consulted mayors in other cities about problems they've encountered.
Lightfoot, who allegedly supports peaceful protests around the city, said, “Seeing the kind of things they have done to them and their families, I'm not going to let that happen.”
She concluded, “That's not what my wife and my child signed up for. It’s not what my neighbors signed up for. We have a right in our home to live in peace.” The directive issued to officers last June marks the first time that police are implementing an ordinance that bans all neighborhood demonstrations, even peaceful ones.
On Aug. 24, a viral video showed mostly white demonstrators bullying a white woman outside a restaurant in Washington’s gentrified Adams Morgan district.
Lauren Victor, who was minding her own business, was heckled for not doing as the rioters asked. Her companion can be seen giving in as the rioters loudly told others to raise their fists in a black power salute.
Even Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser warned that the performative antics did not have “anything to do with demands for social justice." Bowser told restaurants to call the police if it happens again.
Victor, an urban planner who was eating with a female companion, shared that she felt as if she was under attack, adding, “In the moment, it didn’t feel right.”
Victor wasn't scared, and she even defended the rioters by saying she didn't think they would hurt her. The alarming video proves otherwise.
Victor concluded, “I’m very much with them. I’ve been marching with them for weeks and weeks and weeks.” Who can say for sure if she feels the same after the harrowing incident?
A similar thing happened at at least one other DC restaurant on the same night, where rioters also bullied a young white couple.
Racial riots and the “law and order” mantle
Commentators have liked this election season to 1968, when Richard Nixon seized the “law and order” mantle after that summer’s racial riots.
Even Vice President Hubert Humphrey tried to tackle the issue. However, after Humphrey gave a speech in mid-October where he promised to address street violence, he instead alienated civil rights leaders like Julian Bond, Rep. John Conyers and Coretta Scott King.
Biden seems to be attempting the same tactic, but he's about to bite off more than he can chew because of several factors, like “the much greater strength of minority groups and progressives in the contemporary Democratic party.”
However, Biden must first address a white electorate that was already less engaged with the civil rights cause and is eventually withdrawing its support for the movement.
While the riots are continuing across the country, only President Trump has a concrete answer: Sending the FBI and U.S. Marshals to assist in Kenosha. To win the upcoming elections, Biden must present a concrete solution to increasing crime rates and rioting across the country.
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