BLM protesters in DC harass diners who refuse to raise a fist in salute (Update: Another angle)

There was a BLM protest in Washington, DC yesterday. The size of the group wasn’t very large at first but eventually grew to around 100+ people.

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The group started marching and chanting through the streets around 4:30 pm:

Like a lot of places, restaurants in DC are trying to survive by moving their dining outside on the street. There were people out having dinner when the protest marched past and apparently some of them were raising their fists in support and some were not. And that’s when the peaceful protest began to turn into a mob.

This woman decided to berate a man who did not show his support for the protest, calling him a white supremacist. Notice there’s a guy at the next table who just sits there with his fist raised while this is happening. Does he support berating other people having dinner?

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An hour later the crowd is still marching and chanting “We keep us safe” which is intended as a reminder that this group believes in a world without police. It’s easy to feel safe when your part of a large group of like-minded people. I wonder how many of these people would call the police if someone broke into their home though.

A few minutes later the crowd has once again mobbed someone who refused to raise their fist in support of BLM. They are chanting “white silence is violence” which pretty much sums up their identity politics view of the world, i.e. people aren’t individuals just representatives of a race. I see 2 or 3 people screaming in this woman’s face while another 20 stand around with their fists raised.

This is a pretty good metaphor for what is happening around the whole country to both individuals and businesses. The question being asked is a trap. You can think, for instance, that Ahmaud Arbery was murdered and still not support things being done in the name of BLM including vandalism, arson and violence against police in cities around the country.

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Even putting aside the riots, BLM is a political movement with policy goals such as defunding/disbanding police. Most Americans do not support those goals. So demanding allegiance from people in this way is intentionally dishonest.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in DC. Earlier this month there was a similar scene when marchers with a bullhorn confronted a bunch of people eating dinner.

If it were me, the answer would be that I don’t take direction from strangers with a bullhorn or random people shouting in my face. But standing up to the mob takes courage and clearly not everyone has that.

Update: My friend Jeryl Bier sums it up.

Another take from James Lindsay:

And Bari Weiss:

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Update 2: Here’s another angle on the scene with the woman in pink being yelled at. Her name is Lauren Victor.

She’s exactly right about being coerced to show support. It’s a shame she was the only person brave enough not to give in to the mob.

Update 3: I missed this one earlier. Even Chris Hayes and Joan Walsh think this looks bad.

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Before the left decides the problem here is white people it’s worth noting that way up above there’s another clip of a young black woman doing this same thing on the same night to someone else. In fact there are two clips if you include the older clip above of the man with the bullhorn. The problem here is not white people it’s BLM street demagoguery of which this is just one example.

Robby Soave from Reason points out how familiar this scene looks:

Compare it to this. It’s very nearly the same thing. Surround the target and demand compliance.

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Beege Welborn 5:00 PM | December 24, 2024
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