Commentary

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last weekend was, to borrow a phrase from Garrison Keillor, a quiet one in our home town.

It wasn’t so quiet in other parts of our nation, if you were bothering to watch the news on television.

On one news program, I heard of an investigative reporter who went incognito–in black face mask and clothing–into one of the “demonstrations” to see for himself what was going on rather than rely on the dubious “facts” from CNN or other mainstream media.

What he found was not surprising: one third were sincere demonstrators, wishing to peacefully protest the death of George Floyd; one third were demonstrators with an axe to grind, going along to help incite whatever violence might be found; the final third were the criminal element, masked people wearing black and staying near, ready to exploit any Target of opportunity (pun intended).

(Can you imagine a more perfect storm? Everyone being required to wear masks and a breakdown in civil behavior.)

This situation appears to have divided America. If you follow the news, all that’s being reported is the cities around the country that are besieged with looting, burning and mayhem.

While Al Sharpton stirs up the hornets in Minnesota and speaks at George Floyd’s funeral…wait…The rest of the country waits to hold weddings and funerals yet one allowed because of the media spectacle?

But I digress....

I think people in large cities that have been under the control of progressive policies have lost their minds. And the national, liberal media is doing all it can to keep the momentum going.

It’s called Mob Mentality. Hitler was an expert at stirring up emotions and exploiting the mob.

But to keep this in perspective, the actions of the officers in Minneapolis were wrong and should be dealt with. It was the one spark needed to ignite the tinderbox of America and its pent-up tension since the coronavirus turned lives upside down.

Further perspective is that while media coverage and social-media posts portray an American burning down to its foundation, the rest of us in the real world are watching this madness and just shaking our heads in amazement and disgust.

Yes, it was disgusting that a man lost his life in that manner, but there’s 99% of America’s police who do their job to the best of their ability. It’s important work and now the progressives are frothing at the mouth about reducing police. Wow. Who ya gonna call?

Thank goodness our corner of the state isn’t like Seattle, where City Councilwoman Tammy Morales was on a media interview questioning why everyone was making a big deal about the looting.

“What I don’t want to be told is for our constituents to be civil, not to be reactionary, to be told that looting doesn’t solve anything, and it does make me wonder and ask the question why looting bothers people so much more than knowing that across the country, black men and women are dying every day, and far too often, at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve,” Morales said in a video.

These people are out of their minds, no?