Leadership Is In Chaos
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 5 months ago
The city government has not developed a strategic response to the takeover of Capitol Hill. According to one Seattle police officer with knowledge of internal deliberations, the city’s “leadership is in chaos” and “the mayor has made the decision to let a mob of 1,000 people dictate public safety policy for a city of 750,000.” The officer said that Chief Best had dispatched high-ranking police officials to the autonomous zone to establish a line of communication, but the officials were immediately sent away by armed paramilitaries at the barricades. “The tide of public opinion is on the side of the activists and they’re pushing the envelope as far as they can,” said the officer. “It’s not hyperbolic to say the endgame is anarchy.”
Politically, the Seattle City Council has already begun to champion the protesters’ demands. Socialist Alternative councilwoman Kshama Sawant declared the takeover a “victory” against “the militarized police force of the political establishment and the capitalist state.” Three councilmembers have signaled support for a 50 percent reduction in the police budget, with additional councilmembers likely to support a similar policy in the coming weeks. Sawant also opened Seattle’s City Hall—which had been closed by the mayor—to protesters, who immediately occupied the building.
The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone has set a dangerous precedent: armed left-wing activists have asserted their dominance of the streets and established an alternative political authority over a large section of a neighborhood. They have claimed de facto police power over thousands of residents and dozens of businesses—completely outside of the democratic process. In a matter of days, Antifa-affiliated paramilitaries have created a hardened border, established a rudimentary form of government based on principles of intersectional representation, and forcibly removed unfriendly media from the territory.
As I said before, to me this is easy with any real leadership. Where do I start?
Trespassing, petty larceny, felonious theft, felonious assault, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit crimes, numerous traffic violations, and kidnapping.
But there is no real leadership left.
On June 11, 2020 at 10:01 pm, Fred said:
“officials were immediately sent away by armed paramilitaries at the barricades.”
The article called this anarchy. Nobody even knows what words mean.
On June 11, 2020 at 10:22 pm, Bruce Gordon said:
And my life long friends now understand why we left Washington State, 29 years ago, for the bush of Alaska… We saw the “Handwriting on the wall” way back then, and Seattle has only gotten worse, in the since… The Seattle I grew up in has long since vanished, and been replaced by the Richie Riches, and the homeless squatters… Seattle was a very safe place to raise kids, back then, I could ride my bike anywhere in that town, day or night, as a 12 year old… I could take a Bus from my home in West Seattle, to MD Appointments at the Medical/Dental Bldg, all by myself at 12 years old, without any problems, even walking from 1st and Pine, clear down 1st Ave to the Pagotta in Pioneer Square, looking in all the Pawn Shop windows, along the way, and walking past the Porno Theaters & Peep Shows… A kid would be crazy to do that today, and what parent would let them… I even went to Warshall’s and looked at all the FireArms, as well as Central Guns, and the Army/Navy Surplus store across the street, all on 1st Ave… Spent a lot of time in the Federal Bldg, up at the FCC Office, get literature from the Engineers, on Ham Radio, and got my Novice Ticket from that office six months later… 1st Ave was a Cool Place to be, for a kid back in those days… Certainly not these days…
On June 11, 2020 at 11:56 pm, Bob said:
I’m too young to have known the turbulence of the 60’s. I know there were lots of bombings, armed sit-ins of universities, and violent riots, but were there armed occupations of territory like we see in Seattle?
On June 11, 2020 at 11:59 pm, BRVTVS said:
It sounds like the Paris Commune.
On June 12, 2020 at 2:48 am, luke2236 said:
Fine – if theyre gonna let em pull this off, just barricade the area and shut off any supplies going in. Theyre ‘autonomous’ ya know, so let them autonomously feed themselves and provide water. See how long that lasts…
The government is complicit in this; should the country ever be taken back, remember this and those who made it happen.
Ammo up my folk.
On June 12, 2020 at 6:39 am, Wes said:
@Bob To your last question, not really. Such things were swept up pretty quickly. Some may have other insights; my recollection only goes back to stacking ammo to repel boarders during the original Watts kerfuffle in ’65.
On June 12, 2020 at 7:57 am, ragman said:
The leadership failure starts with our flaccid president. All talk and no action. Threats of “coming to da ‘burbs” must be taken seriously. When there is nothing left to burn or loot in colored town they’ll be coming for our stuff. And our women folk. And eventually our lives. Plan accordingly.
On June 12, 2020 at 8:53 am, tired dog said:
Extract the residents who wish to leave, place secondary containment perimeter, watch ’em fold.
Do not engage in any action involving force of arms. Any exchange of gunfire will be used as justification to accelerate the war on our rights.
On June 12, 2020 at 10:10 am, Name (required) said:
Yes, it’s easy. Easy to prevent, easy to stop.
Notice also that it’s easy for the commie scum to do all this. The police provide pallets of bricks, the police obediently stand back and watch them throw the bricks, the police obediently withdraw when the commie scum order them to.
None of this would be happening if the state and local governments weren’t firmly on the side of the commie scum, ordering the police to enable them.
That’s why it’s easy in the communist strongholds, and easily stopped everywhere else.
On June 12, 2020 at 10:14 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Name,
Those are great points. I wish I had made them, but then, that’s why I have readers.
On June 12, 2020 at 11:54 am, William said:
“But there is no real leadership left.”
What? Women are in charge in Seattle. How can you make that claim?
(do I really need a /s?)
On June 12, 2020 at 6:12 pm, George1 said:
Also remember when Fox news has the Seattle Police Officer on, who they go to in order to show how cops really hate what is going on and they think the Mayor and other politicians are bad leaders, most of them voted democrat.
They vote democrat because they get better contracts. So they should not expect traditional Americans to a fig what happens to them.
On June 13, 2020 at 4:21 am, Hudson H Luce said:
There’s been perversely bad leadership in Seattle for a *long* time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsLTWrJ7lQY