Sunday 14 June 2020

Vive la soulèvement culturel: (Hooray for the cultural uprising) Paris, London and Atlanta suffer another weekend of rioting: Could the West be about to emulate the Arab Spring, The Chinese Cultural Revolution, the Russian, or the French Revolution?

Romantic history painting. Commemorates the French Revolution of 1830 (July Revolution) on 28 July 1830.

The question on many peoples lips at the moment is, will the 2020 Cultural Revolutionists desire to dwell on the past, end up with history repeating? Will the BLM, Antifa and other left-wing movements, be satisfied with merely damaging monuments, statues and buildings glorifying the Western Slave Trade, or will we see the Revolution escalate into a full-blown civil-war where academics, police officers or government officials, being dragged into the street by mobs of thugs and tied up, humiliated or even possibly beaten to death. Protests ended up as riots again yesterday for the fourth weekend in a row after the senseless murder of George Floyd on the 25th of May this year.

Confederate monuments are coming down and statues of Christopher Columbus along with other historical figures are being toppled as Americans grapple with the ghosts of the country's racial history in the wake of George Floyd's death. In New Orleans, protestors tore down the statue of a slave master and tossed it into the Mississippi this weekend, mirroring the demise of slave trader Edward Colston who's statue ended up in the River Avon last weekend.

The US Police caused yet another wave of public outrage in Atlanta on Friday night over the killing of an unarmed black man, Rayshard Brooks. Protests escalated into riots, with protesters blocking streets and setting fire to a Wendy's restaurant where the fatal shooting took place as another weekend of protests and riots unfolded across American cities.

A BLM protester rescues a far-right protester after he was beaten on the streets of London yesterday. Credit Reuters.

With another weekend of rioting in London, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued a warning to demonstrators who have been attacking the police. In a statement, Johnson warned: "Anyone attacking the police will be met with the full force of the law.” He also claimed the  demonstrations have been “subverted by violence.” And issued a thinly veiled threat to the far-right, claiming: "Racist thuggery has no place on our streets." More than 100 people were arrested in London yesterday when far-right movements and football hooligans clashed with left-wing, BLM and Antifa demonstrators, smoke grenades, bottles and bricks were hurled at police officers.

A man stares in disbelief after being knocked to the ground on the streets of London yesterday. Credit AFP

Meanwhile, if events are not confusing enough, The Seattle Times is claiming: "Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone!" The story goes on: Fox News published digitally altered and misleading photos on stories about Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) in what photojournalism experts called a clear violation of ethical standards for news organizations. As part of a package of stories Friday about the zone, where demonstrators have taken over several city blocks on Capitol Hill after Seattle police abandoned the East Precinct, Fox’s website for much of the day featured a photo of a man standing with a military-style rifle in front of what appeared to be a smashed retail storefront. The image was actually a mashup of photos from different days, taken by different photographers — it was done by splicing a Getty Images photo of an armed man, who had been at the protest zone June 10, with other images from May 30 of smashed windows in downtown Seattle. Another altered image combined the gunman photo with yet another image, making it appear as though he was standing in front of a sign declaring “You are now entering Free Cap Hill.”

The Fox News homepage on June 11 displayed an image from May 30 protests in St. Paul, Minnesota, to illustrate a story about Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

The left-wing mainstream-media across the West would have us all believe peaceful protest is taking place in many of our cities across the globe, while the right-wing would have us believe the world is going to hell in a handcart and the situation is getting worse and worse, with no hope of stopping the decline... The constant bombardment of conflicting, facts, alternative truth and downright lies is becoming the symbol of 2020.

France 24 reported that Paris riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse a largely peaceful but unauthorized protest of police brutality and entrenched racism, as a wave of anger continued to sweep the world following the death of African American George Floyd. The protesters gathered in Place de la République, where the crowd chanted “No justice, no peace” and some climbed the statue of Marianne, who personifies the French Republic. Police refused organisers permission to proceed to the Opera House in central Paris. The protest was generally peaceful but after three hours skirmishes broke out. Organisers urged protesters with children to leave as riot police charged pockets of protesters and projectiles were thrown at police lines. The outrage generated by Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last month has resonated in France, in particular in deprived city suburbs where rights groups say that accusations of brutal treatment by French police of residents of often immigrant background remain largely unaddressed.

Protesters tear-gassed by French police on the streets of Paris yesterday

If the death of George Floyd has sparked a worldwide protest movement, Africa is not to be outdone. In Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, demonstrators are taking to the streets. Others would like to see their leaders tackle the issue more firmly, in solidarity with their "African-American brothers". In South Africa, the movement's other major slogan, "Black Lives Matter", has a special resonance in a country scarred by apartheid and still torn apart by sharp racial inequalities.

Is what we are witnessing in the West at the moment a carbon copy of the Arab Spring, in the early 2010s, The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 50s and 60s, the Russian Revolution in 1917, or the French Revolution in 1830? Time will tell.

Boogaloo 2020

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6 comments:

Gary Walton said...

Gloria Simons Richards
They have no idea what they are asking for if this continues. They also don't see to realize how lucky they are. I was listening to a BBC program on Venezuela the other day. The one thing that truly stuck with me was when they interviewed a woman who made the remark, "we didn't know how rich we really were". This is that kind of a group. They want, they want, they want... but yet, they work for nothing other than destruction and chaos. They don't even seem to realize how many other people in this world would gladly trade places with them in a heartbeat. So many of their demands are insane. The idea of eliminating police in itself is ignorant and they are not even thinking about the evil people that care nothing about wiping people off the face of the earth or destroying everything in their sight. Maybe because in many ways, they aren't that far off from it. They, among themselves even, have no idea what they want or what they even want to give their comrades in arms. They have no true purpose, just chaos whether it's what they really want or whether is because they think they need to follow the leader (whoever that may be) they are in for a rude awakening. I am surprised that a mayor would abdicate her office and turn her city over to a bunch of anarchists. I'm not sure where her heads are at but it's not with the city of Seattle. I hear they are in negotiations with the horde but no matter what they promise, those holding the city hostage will always want more. Besides that, do those hostage takers truly believe that the city of Seattle can really make good with their demands? They really need to think on this because most demands are nonsense in regard to having them full filled. The city couldn't begin to afford them and I'm sure that even the state itself would balk at the thought. This is not a winning situation for the malcontents.

Anonymous said...

Susan Haws
Gloria Simons Richards, thank you for intelligent words! I'm in Tennessee, between Nashville and Atlanta GA. It is like a boiling pot. This isn't truly about race. That is just the convenient and emotional tag the anarchists hang on all this. And while we do have a police force who seem to have less and less for the people they are supposed to serve, it's not so bad to justify this terrorism going on. Although as of yet I have avoided any hostile area, it does seem to be simply chaos and destruction for the sake of chaos and destruction. And citizens have been enduring and tolerant so far. But that pots at Rapid Boil now.

Anonymous said...

Margaret Peppard
This is much larger than George Floyd. The extreme imbalance of moral justice worldwide has been on a long, slow simmer and George's murder triggered the boiling point. Pandora's Box of racism and other injustices have come to light and people are pushing back on all of it. Unfortunate that most all significant change has to happen this way...but it does.

Unknown said...

I personally thought 2019 was a terrible year w/ crop failures across the world, but the tensions from the Corona virus shutting down the world has sparked anger from all nations. Love ones are dying, small businesses are going bankrupt, nations are against nations b/c of mistrust from this deadly virus, citizens do not trust any authority, hate and anger against each fellow man is swelling. Are these the signs & sick actions that needs to happen before the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ? I truly believe so. God Bless. Melly Watchman.

Gary Walton said...

That is a really accurate description of 2020 Melly, the leaves of the fig tree are opening be prepared.

Unknown said...

Thanks Gary. I am prepared w/ my Faith in the True God & accepted Jesus's death at the cross to pardon me from all my sins' past, present, & future. I am a new creation in the eyes of my God & a true believer in His Son Jesus Christ as my redeemer. He will come again to stop total human annihilation from the judgements sent down on the people during the 7yr. tribulation. God Bless. Melly Watchman.