It’s going to be the event of the year and cities across America and the media are holding their breath about the outcome. The TV cameras have all been positioned strategically in order to capture the best images and reporters are rehearsing their very best superlatives to describe the action.
It will be “the most important” or “the most spectacular” or perhaps, “the most frightening” event in (choose one): 1) U.S. history; 2) world history; or 3) the history of the universe. I’d go with #3 just to be on the safe side.
I’m describing the final act in the Derek Chauvin trial and whether he will be found guilty, innocent, or partially guilty and partially innocent. Or partially innocent and mostly guilty.
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It hardly matters. If the officer is found innocent, the crowds that will riot in the streets will be “angry” at the system and have every right to burn it down.
If Chauvin is found guilty, the mob will have every right to celebrate their “victory” by… doing the same thing.
This is not about truth, justice, or the American way. It’s about the narrative and how the media can best advance their political agenda.
Meanwhile, the protesters are making their own preparations. Molotov cocktails are being lovingly fashioned, well-formed rocks capable of being thrown with speed and accuracy are being gathered, and the hunt is on for glass bottles — a difficult task given that most bottles today are made of plastic — shields, and homemade gas masks — who knew it was such work to stage a riot?
American cities are preparing for the worst. And the media, hyping the possibility of violence, is making violence more likely. You have to believe that secretly, media companies are praying for a “big story” to draw eyeballs to their broadcasts and goose their bottom lines.
Where is Donald Trump when you need him?
Some stores downtown have already boarded up windows and doors in preparation for possible damage. Last summer, protests erupted in Chicago, as well as across the nation, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
On Monday, Illinois. Gov. JB Pritzker activated the National Guard in Chicago in response to the mayor’s request. About 125 members of the National Guard will deploy to the city to help Chicago police manage street closures.
Pritzker has also directed Illinois State Police to support the Chicago Police Department.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot sure has come a long way on these protests. She blamed last summer’s violence in Chicago on police. Now, she’s asking the governor for the National Guard? The organized looting and arson last summer was a two-by-four over the head for Lightfoot and many other liberal mayors who woke up and realized that many of these “activists” are not very nice people and don’t want change as much as they want to see the world burn.
[Los Angeles Police Chief Michel] Moore on Monday said his department is prepared to respond to any potential unrest following a verdict in the Chauvin trial, would have significant numbers of officers on the ground in the event of major gatherings and would be utilizing lessons learned from last year to ensure that order is maintained.
“Those added resources are already in play,” Moore said. “Our entire department is in uniform.”
In addition to enhanced deployments, the department has said it has retrained thousands of officers in crowd-control tactics since last year and streamlined processes for arresting, transporting and booking large numbers of demonstrators in a fair and efficient manner.
Mayors and governors are “flooding the zone” — a football term for sending more people into pass patterns in order to overwhelm the defense — with extra police, state troopers, sheriff’s deputies, and national guardsmen. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
But think of the visuals for the media! The real action won’t take place until after sundown, which should certainly make for stunning views of burning buildings, ghostly figures shouting “Black Lives Matter!” “The whole world is watching!” and “No Justice, No Peace!” The words won’t matter. The angry faces and clenched fists in the air silhouetted against the background images of joyous “protesters” looting stores is what counts. No doubt the reporters will dream of getting an Emmy for it.
Afterward, there will be trenchant analysis of why it happened, who’s to blame, and where the next flashpoint will be. Do you think that there will be any self-awareness on the part of the media that they are partly to blame?