By Donald Jeffries
Classical liberals and civil libertarians were once plentiful in this country. They fought for the rights of those who’d been denied them, and supported free speech for all. Unfortunately, what passes for liberalism today is an authoritarian nightmare that the likes of Thomas Jefferson and Charles Dickens wouldn’t recognize.
Portland, Ore. Mayor Ted Wheeler epitomizes the new “liberal.” As nonstop violence, spurred by Black Lives Matter and Antifa demonstrators, ravaged the city continuously for more than 40 straight days, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf offered his department’s assistance. Wheeler responded by tweeting, “I told the acting secretary that my biggest immediate concern is the violence federal officers brought to our streets in recent days, and the life-threatening tactics his agents use. We do not need or want their help.” Fox News has estimated that the looting and destruction of property in the city has already caused some $23 million in damages. Earlier this month, federal agents deployed to Oregon were met with violent resistance. One officer was struck in the head with a hammer. Wheeler told them to leave, declaring on Twitter, “The best thing they can do is stay inside their building, or leave Portland altogether. Our goal is to end these violent demonstrations quickly and safely. And in the meantime, I asked him to clean up the graffiti on local federal facilities.” Lincoln County, Ore. at one point had made masks mandatory, but exempted “persons of color.” Now all racial groups are required to wear masks.
Also in Oregon, Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters mimicked what happened in Seattle, with their “autonomous zone” known as CHOP, by creating their own Chinook Land Autonomous Territory (CLAT) near the federal courthouse. Tents were erected, and barricades blocked streets all around the area. Fittingly, stolen construction equipment and kitchen appliances were used to set up the barricades. Wheeler has done nothing to stop these absurd activities, following the lead of virtue signaling “liberals” in Seattle and elsewhere.
In Chicago, where black-on-black violence continues unabated, black Mayor Lori Lightfoot has refused to act and wholeheartedly endorses the protests. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany recently blasted Lightfoot during a briefing, stating, “But there are other things the president has to focus on: namely, Democrat cities not controlling their streets, namely the mayor of Chicago—people dying in the streets of her city every weekend. And the president sent her a letter saying, ‘You must secure your city.’ ”
The combative Lightfoot acerbically replied by tweeting, “Hey Karen. Watch your mouth.” “Karen” has become a new pejorative term aimed at “overly caring” white women and is widely considered a racial slur. However, to paraphrase Orwell’s Animal Farm, some slurs are more equal than others. Lightfoot’s tweet received almost 100,000 “likes” on Twitter, illustrating again the venomous hatred of all things Trump in this divided land. McEnany called it a “dereliction of duty” for Lightfoot to refuse Trump’s aid, but the Chicago mayor wasn’t about to back down an inch from her offensive comment. And the mainstream media isn’t about to pressure her to do so, as would certainly be the case if the races were reversed.
Despite shedding crocodile tears for the cameras at the funeral of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of a white police officer triggered the nationwide demonstrations, Minneapolis Mayor Greg Frey was booed out of a Black Lives Matter protest after not committing to defunding (abolishing) the city’s police department. The protesters shouted at the sniveling, weak-willed mayor, at one point telling him to “get the f—k out of here!” The city council, meanwhile, voted to, in the words of council president Lisa Bender, “dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was among those who supported her, tweeting, “The Minneapolis Police Department has proven themselves beyond reform. It’s time to disband them and reimagine public safety in Minneapolis.”
In New York, as violent crime has soared, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s commitment to identity politics was best expressed by his participation in the painting of a huge “Black Lives Matter” “mural” on the street across from Trump Plaza. The mayor , for whatever reason, banned parades, street festivals, and other large gatherings, but exempted BLM protests. “I’ve said many times—the protests, this is a particular moment in history where 400 years of oppression, 400 years of racism are being addressed in a very powerful way,” de Blasio declared. “That can’t compare to anything else.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) explained that she was “actively engaged in advocacy” for a “reduction of our NYPD budget and defunding a $6-billion NYPD budget that costs us books in the hands of our children and costs us very badly needed investment in NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] and public housing.” One must wonder, if the students in New York schools had more books, would they be required to read them, and would they all be copies of White Fragility or other racist literature provided by the 1619 Project?
Donald Jeffries is a highly respected author and researcher whose work on the JFK, RFK and MLK assassinations and other high crimes of the Deep State has been read by millions of people across the world. Jeffries is also the author of three books currently being sold by the AFP Online Store.
