Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.
– John Lennon
Punches and eggs.
Those are the two words that keep repeating over and over in the numerous articles I’ve read describing the mindless violence inflicted upon Trump supporters in San Jose, California last night. What’s worse, these protesters have undoubtably given Trump a huge boost in public perception.
The violence exhibited by some Trump protesters yesterday evening was so barbaric and so obviously unnecessary and indecent, my first thought was that it had to be Trump operatives who arranged the whole thing. That’s how senselessly counterproductive their actions were.
Ultimately, public perception matters a lot, which is why politicians spend virtually all of their energy managing it. Despite the twisted and corrupt nature of our political system, the fact of the matter remains that there will be an election in November 2016, and Donald Trump will be on the top of the Republican ticket. If your goal is to deal with this reality and defeat him, the last thing you want to do is make him and his supporters look good in front of the entire planet. Yet that’s exactly what these mindless imbeciles did. For the first time in this election cycle, they made Trump and his supporters look decent and upstanding, particularly compared to some of their opponents.
This is of huge importance. Personally, I think Trump’s statement about Mexicans in the beginning of the campaign was disgusting and inexcusable. It’s one of the many reasons I cannot and will not vote for the man (for more see, May Registrations for the Libertarian Party Jump 20-Fold). That said, saying extremely offensive things and violently attacking American citizens attending a political rally are not in the same ballpark. They aren’t even in the same galaxy — and I’m not the only one who thinks that.
As Americans sit down at their computer screens and smartphones over the weekend, they will respond with shock and horror to the images from San Jose. For some of them, their impressions of Trump and his supporters will improve materially. A certain percentage of these people will now be far more inclined to vote for Trump come November. If Trump protesters wanted to create an event that could make California competitive in the general election, they should be patting themselves on the back right now.
To prove my point, how do you think most Americans are going to react when they read the following, say from the Washington Post:
SAN JOSE, Calif. —Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in downtown San Jose spun out of control Thursday night when some demonstrators attacked the candidate’s supporters.
Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole “Make America Great” hats off supporters’ heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.
Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.
Trump supporters were surrounded and, in several cases, attacked as they left the rally.
In one incident captured on camera, a Trump supporter was struck hard over the side of the head as he was walking away from a group of protesters. The attack left him with blood streaming down his head and onto his shirt.
“I was walking out with a Trump sign and he grabbed my Trump sign, saying I was like a racist and stuff,” the man told bystanders and local media. “Then he followed me, like, spit on me.”
The Trump supporter said all he had done was chant the candidate’s name before trying to walk away.
Here’s what he looked like after:
Another Trump supporter was also bloodied after being attacked, his shirt torn almost completely off his body. Videos circulating on social media showed swirling, furious fights spilling from street corner to street corner, often with no police in sight.
“Often with no police in sight.” Remember that later when you see some of the mayor’s comments.
Marcus DiPaola, a freelance photographer following the Trump campaign, posted video of someone getting punched violently in the face.
At times, protesters began to fight among themselves. In one instance, two female protesters pleaded for nonviolence while trying to protect a Trump supporter from an angry crowd. Despite their efforts, someone snatched the Trump supporter’s hat.
A handful of the bright red “Make America Great Again” hats were set on fire by protesters, who then snapped photos of the scene or hung the charred hats from street signs.
Perhaps the most jarring scene was that of a young female Trump supporter being attacked by a crowd of protesters.
In multiple videos of the incident, the woman initially appeared to be happily posing in her Trump football jersey in front of the mostly male protesters, some of whom can be heard whistling and shouting at her.
Then an anonymous arm rises over the crowd and tosses an egg at the woman, striking her in the head and eliciting howls and laughter from the crowd.
A second later, a red water balloon bursts against the woman’s arm.
Suddenly, another projectile strikes her hard in the face. Eventually, someone comes to help her and, after she indicates that she is having trouble seeing, she is ushered back inside the convention center.
This is what the woman looked when all was said and done.
Or how do you think the following will play to the American public, via NBC Bay Area:
Donald Trump supporters leaving the presumptive GOP nominee’s rally in San Jose on Thursday were pounced by protesters, some of whom threw punches and eggs.
The protesters chased and taunted Trump’s supporters outside the San Jose Convention Center. They surrounded one woman and threw eggs and bottles at her.
“It was unbelievable,” said Steve Tong, a Cupertino resident who attended the Trump rally.
Tong said after the rally, he was walking toward a nearby parking structure and saw protesters surrounding and taunting an elderly couple.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in America before,” Tong said.
Tong also said he saw protesters smash car windows inside the parking structure.
Now listen to the incredibly irresponsible statement made by San Jose mayor, Sam Liccardo.
The mayor, a Democrat and Hillary Clinton supporter, criticized Trump for coming to cities and igniting problems that local police departments had to deal with.
“At some point Donald Trump needs to take responsibility for the irresponsible behavior of his campaign,” Liccardo said.
Just in case you still don’t think these protesters are playing right into Donald Trump’s little hands, see the following from USA Today:
Inside the rally, Trump was heckled by a protester in the crowd. Trump told the crowd not to worry about it.
“Let him enjoy himself…we need our protesters,” he added. “We’ve got to be nice.”
This message runs contrary to what Trump has said at previous rallies, including one in November when attendees kicked a Black Lives Matter activist (Trump said, “Maybe he should have been roughed up.”)
This time, Trump told the crowd, “I’ve learned. Don’t hurt him.”
Well done morons, you just achieved the impossible. You gave Donald Trump and his supporters the moral high ground.
In case you missed them., here are three of the more disturbing videos from the protests.
In conclusion, as Reason.com's Ed Krayewski so eloquently explained,
In this age of perpetual grievances, showing up to protest at the Trump rally has become a chic social signaling thing to do. Acting out at Trump rallies, including by threatening, harassing, and even physically assaulting Trump supporters, is a natural continuation of the culture of safe spaces and triggering speech being nurtured in college campuses around the country. It reveals the total flim-flam that academics and professional left-wing protesters have too often wrapped up in high-minded ideas about fighting the power structures or whatever else.
If Donald Trump won, he could end up being a fascist. But the imperial presidency that makes that possible has been a decades-long project, made possible by both mainstream parties and their supporters, who worry about the centralization of power in the presidency and the abuses government can commit right up until the point when the president and the government start doing things of which they approve.
Attacking Trump's supporters because of the danger Trump poses as an imperial president is an exercise in blame-shifting. Those so concerned about what Trump might do to the country that they feel called to stalk and attack Trump supporters should take a long look in the mirror instead. It'll have the added benefit of not building more support for Trump, as violence against his supporters certainly will.
What many came to realize last night was that Trump's real world supporters aren't the same as the online trolls that have come to represent him in an Internet-driven election cycle.
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