June 26, 2020

"It’s getting more scary. My customers, they call me, and they don’t want to come down to State Street anymore. I don’t know what we’re going to do. Business is very tough. Very tough."

Said Abbul Lababidi, owner of Princess of India Imports on State Street, here in Madison, quoted in "State Street businesses threatened, harassed as worry escalates/From the Pain and protest: Madison responds to the police killing of George Floyd series" (Wisconsin State Journal).
Statues were toppled, a state senator assaulted, windows broken and the state Capitol vandalized over several hours after the arrest of Devonere Johnson, 28, a Black activist.
Passive voice.

We're told, "Merchants say they are grateful that a man they claim repeatedly harassed and threatened several State Street business owners." When he was arrested, Johnson had gone into a restaurant with a bullhorn and a baseball bat. Using the bullhorn, he expressed the opinion that the people in the restaurant were racists.
[S]everal business owners... said Johnson and others entered multiple businesses on State Street on Monday and Tuesday, played loud music, called business owners racists, threatened to burn buildings, demanded free food and drinks and knocked over patio chairs and tables.

95 comments:

Temujin said...

At some point, every city in the US that allows the destroyers to do as they please, while asking their law enforcement people to stand down, or worse- to defund and depart- will have to face the real consequences that they only people who will want to stay are Democrat office holders and their own destroyers.

Everyone else will have moved away...and armed themselves.

donald said...

Madison is a dump.

Owen said...

Nice town you got there. Be a shame if anything happened to it.

pacwest said...

The thin veneer of civilization.

chuck said...

The barbarians have breached the city walls and you are living in the ruins of a once great civilization.

Kevin said...

Progressivism is like the mafia.

You pay tribute, these people are supposed to leave you alone.

TreeJoe said...

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

In this case it means when the laws start being ignored and petty tyrants and gangsters, like this fellow, start operating with more and more impunity....then the public with either be cowed by them or will resort to vigilantism.

In Madison, I'm willing to bet it's the former. I don't think the populace has the will to fight back against petty tyrants who terrorize under the banner of coming from an "oppressed" identity group.

Paco Wové said...

"Merchants say they are grateful that a man they claim repeatedly harassed and threatened several State Street business owners."

Sentence without verb.

Sebastian said...

"Passive voice."

So? Everyone knows protesters did it. To protest the killing of George Floyd.

wendybar said...

Isn't Utopia beautiful?? At least you have pretty murals to look at!!!

Leland said...

Democrats convinced people to stay home and inside.
Democrats let convicted criminals out of jail.
Now the criminals are roaming the streets.
Democrats are demanding defunding of the police.

Have you ever considered how poor the early COVID models were showing millions of deaths worldwide, yet nobody is even modeling this current trend of violence? Imagine if we reacted to this violence with as much conviction as we have COVID in order to stop it.

Etienne said...

In Oklahoma, when someone comes into your store with a bat, they better be baptized.

For those who don't know, it's legal in Oklahoma to wear your pistol outside your pants. The right to carry is automatic at the age of suffrage. No permit required.

Be careful out there...

Dave Begley said...

Does the Mayor ignore the business owners?

Larvell said...

One single incident like this by a guy wearing a MAGA hat, and the world would be turned on its head for weeks. Nah, there’s no double standard.

iowan2 said...

I know what I would tell those shop owners. I know how to speak their language to them (they do vote Democrat straight ticket)

You. Did. Not. Build. THAT.

That just defines them as the whiny pussies they are. Their store was never theirs anyway, they didn't invest the sweat, and hours, and energy, and love, into that store. All of it was provided to you by the GOVERNMENT. Now times have changed...move on...kwitchurbitchin

Democrats hate self sufficiency. Dependency is their stock and trade.

hawkeyedjb said...

In this orgy of self-flagellation and abasement, we have somehow decided that pretty much any kind of abuse and name-calling and abuse and even violence are acceptable. Our 'leaders' apologize, excuse, rationalize or encourage the worst behavior imaginable and think they are contributing to some bizarre kind of racial accounting. A cowed and submissive populace sits and takes it, having little choice or imagining that this must be the right thing to do. Surely our people in charge will draw a line at some point. How long can this go on?

Larvell said...

I hope a white teenager didn’t smirk at him while he was using his bullhorn.

Sydney said...

From what I saw on the video you posted, that guy was threatening people. He wasn't carrying that bat because he was on the way to baseball practice. And the reason he was doing it was he thought he could get away with it. And evidently he did, for a while.

Rory said...

The thing is, if these people - the corporate elite, the Hollywood people, the very comfortable government and education, and their - were sincere, they could bring about massive change by private, voluntary action. They're not sincere.

tim in vermont said...

The DNC militia. Keep voting for those lefty DAs and this is what you get Madison. I notice that as soon as Trump let on that he was going to let Seattle stew in their own juices and they weren’t going to get the video of head cracking Federal troops, the mayor shut down CHOP with a phone call.

The only cities that need to worry about this coming to their town are those who have elected Soros backed DAs. The left has discovered that it's the prosecutors who have final say over what is illegal and what isn’t. Toppling those statues undoubtedly broke multiple laws, a fact which the DA has complete power to ignore.

In a couple of decades, when passions have cooled, there are going to be some amazing histories written about the collapse of the rule of law, unless we are under the rule of some kind of Chavez and criticism of The Party is outlawed.

Jersey Fled said...

When will mainstream Democrats realize that they made a deal with the devil.

They won't be any more satisfied with Biden, Schumer and Pelosi, or even AOC, than they were with Trump.

Democrats think that when Biden wins, it's over and they can treat these revolutionaries and anarchists like they have Blacks for all these decades. Pat them on the head, make them promises, and they will fall in line behind enlightened Progressive leadership.

It ain't gonna happen.



jaydub said...

What do the merchants expect? A police officer in a city 268 miles away in a different state used excessive force while arresting an ex-con who was high on drugs during the process of committing a felony, and the arrestee died. Sure, the police officer has been arrested and charged with murder, but that doesn't mean justice has been served for the citizens of Madison, particularly the ones who were not involved, which is all of them. Madison merchants and their customers need to intimidated and assaulted until they defund police in Minneapolis. Madison businesses' windows have to be smashed so they can be covered with plywood and local artistes can paint political murals on them. Stores on State Street need to be de-customered because social justice. If the merchants don't like it they should just expend some of their white privilege and fix Minnesota. For Christ's sake, this isn't that hard.

MartyH said...

Rather than the schadenfraude, we should be making the case for conservatism to her. Saying “you deserved this” won’t get her to vote for Trump.

tim in vermont said...

"So? Everyone knows protesters did it. To protest the killing of George Floyd.”

You mean rioters, because rioters do damage like that. The Constitution protects the right to peaceably assemble. And no, everybody does not “know” that it was to protest the killing of Floyd, though everybody knows that that was the pretext. Seems more like a bid to end capitalism and install the kind of suffocating state it requires to do an end to free markets. Even the Soviets never totally did that, though it was a free market in pilfered goods, mostly.

Old Soviet joke: “

"Will there still be pilfering when perfect communism is built here on Earth?”

“No, everything will have been stolen under socialism."

Mike Sylwester said...

Merchants say they are grateful that a man they claim repeatedly harassed and threatened several State Street business owners was arrested ...

Although the verb is missing from Althouse's quote, the vert is in the linked article.

Todd said...

Madison responds to the police killing of George Floyd series" (Wisconsin State Journal).

Continuing to use that phrasing is journalistic malpractice. Anyone with 3 or more working brain cells knows all of this is NOT about that. It stopped being about that the moment those police officers were charged with crimes.

After that it just became an excuse to tear things down, burn things up, and steal shit. A huge Gen-Z (is it 'Z' or some other letter now?) temper tantrum with a smattering of millennials thrown in. A bunch of basement soy boys/girls/zirs that want to get their smash going as part of trying to tear down "society" because they were too coddled by their parents and their educators as well as charged too much for their worthless degrees, thought the great and mighty O would save them from their bad decisions (because until now bad decisions did not have consequences) and when that failed, that crooked Hillary would but too many folks saw through her and caught the DNC off guard so they did not cheat enough resulting in OrangeManBad winning instead. Resulting in no great give-away/wipe-away of their dumb college degree decisions, hence the temper tantrum.

So, yeah, not about Floyd and hasn't been for some time now.

JES said...

Yesterday I heard the Dane County Sheriff tell people to stay away from State Street, just what shop owners wanted to hear, and the leaders of these organizations should tell their followers not to vandalize and threaten people. The new policing in action. That should work.





Mike Sylwester said...

From the linked article:

[quote]

Tiffany Kenney, executive director of the Central Business Improvement District, said Johnson has been harassing the BID and her for more than a year and over the past week-and-a-half was actively harassing and threatening businesses up and down State Street and on Capitol Square. ...

Johnson is on probation until 2022 after pleading guilty in 2017 to felony theft.

[end quote]

Johnson has been on probation since 2017.

Nevertheless, he has been harassing people for more than a year and has been threatening businesses for the past week-and-a-half.

The article does not mention Johnson's race, but every reader understands that Johnson is Black.

Josephbleau said...

The government of Madison is not helping anyone by allowing this kind of stuff to go on. Eventually it will escalate to the point where it has to be addressed on a larger scale, and it will impact more people than it would if addressed earlier.

Wince said...

Across a range of issues, I find Tucker Carlson a very astute observer and chronicler of what’s wrong.

But time and again, across a range of issues, I find his political and economic advice very poor. For example, he goes on about how leaving blue stronholds to their own devices unless asked for federal intervention as a loosing strategy for Trump and national Republicans.

I disagree for a host of reasons.

Carlson would make a good speech writer but a bad policy advisor.

M Jordan said...

The woker the city, the broker the future. My town is pretty woke but is ensconced in a very Republican county. I’m concerned.

Dave Begley said...

A retail shopping district is a very fragile thing. Look at where the malls are today. People's tastes change.

A grocery store was burned in the Omaha riots of 1968. It hasn't been a grocery store since then. It took years for a new grocery store to be built again in that neighborhood.

Kai Akker said...

---In Madison, I'm willing to bet it's the former. I don't think the populace has the will to fight back against petty tyrants who terrorize under the banner of coming from an "oppressed" identity group.

TreeJoe, you may be right. But did you ever see the movie Straw Dogs?

Even nicey-nice can have a limit.

tim in vermont said...

All you need to know is that any contributions to BLM go instead to ActBlue.

The goal is to make people afraid and scapegoat Trump for it.

rehajm said...

Rather than the schadenfraude, we should be making the case for conservatism to her. Saying “you deserved this” won’t get her to vote for Trump.

Rational arguments prolly not gonna work either.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Without any control or abatement of this destructive behavior, it is only going to get worse. The cities...yes even Madison, will be hollowed out. Shells of buildings, graffiti and trash everywhere. The rats, mice and roaches are going to love it.

See photos of Detroit before and after Progressives took it over. Before full of beautiful buildings, proud homes owned by people working in the industries (now gone because Democrats are in charge),....NOW... ruined homes, destroyed buildings, trashed and decayed parks, vacant lots full of trash, destroyed lives. THIS is the future of Madison if people don't wake up and stop being "woke".

In the meantime, anyone who CAN will be fleeing to other areas (likely to bring the same destructive impulses and votes for progressives and ruin where they are going).

They will find that they are not welcome in "normal" land. Maybe we need to build a wall too!

(edited cuz before coffee I can't type or evidently read)

narciso said...

I noted last night, susan rosenberg of the maoist m 19th organization, arrested in 1984, who was associated with black liberation army's assata shakur,

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Mike S- that's the new normal.

If you're black and criminal, you get to be criminal.
Woke lecture at 5 and 11.

Birkel said...

To which party do the mayor and governor belong?
Did you vote for them?

Then own your dog's breakfast.
Pottery Barn rules.

Lucien said...

Assume, arguendo, that Anti-Fa and BLM are paramilitary arms of the Democratic Party.

It that case it makes sense that local party leaders will do nothing to impede them, and party organs in the media will provide covering propaganda.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I bet Abull Labiaba and her family members vote for Dems all day every day.

hawkeyedjb said...

Dust Bunny, Detroit is pretty much the way the powers-that-be and the (remaining) residents want it. Emptied-out, poor and thoroughly Democratic.

Jersey Fled said...

BTW, media in Philly is incensed that woman arrested for fire bombing a police car was brought up under federal charges. Otherwise Soros DA Krasner would have just let her go.

Smart move by Barr.

Paul said...

Try that s*it in Texas... and see what happens.

Birkel said...

I don't care to help stupid people resolve the problems they created for themselves.

And I count all the Marxist professors at Wisconsin among the stupid.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

hawkeyedjb said... Dust Bunny, Detroit is pretty much the way the powers-that-be and the (remaining) residents want it. Emptied-out, poor and thoroughly Democratic

Yep. That's my point. If you keep voting for and tolerating the current idiocy.....Detroit is what you are going to get.

I won't feel sorry for you....because you did it to yourself. Everyone....even poor people, black inner city people....have votes. Use them.

It isn't my problem to worry about you or fix the mess you made for yourself.

Birkel said...

Mark sympathizes with the Marxist message.
But he doesn't support the tactics Marxists always use.

Fuck Madison.

Birkel said...

Smart to delete your dumb post, Mark without a profile.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Abdul can go back where he came from, shithole to shithole.

Fr. Gregory Jensen said...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Abdul has a store on sacred Ho Chunk land. It belongs to feather Indians, not dot Indians, or dot com Indians.

mikee said...

The proper response to bat-weilding extortionists is a videotape of their behavior, followed by consultation with law enforcement to bring charges against the criminal.

If that is not done, expect more of the same.

Leaving the extortionists dead or dying on the sidewalk in front of City Hall with a note explaining your self-defense actions should not be necessary in a city with proper governance.

Jupiter said...

"Using the bullhorn, he expressed the opinion that the people in the restaurant were racists."

One hopes that if they weren't racists when he walked in, they had at least begun to reconsider their position by the time he was dragged off.

Dude1394 said...

Wisonsin rushing headlong into Detroit and Memphis. ****holes.

Caligula said...

"Biden can't handle it, so we don't need it" sounds lame (because it is), but it follows from the realization that refusing to debate may be less politically harmful to Biden than letting people actually see his current physical and mental condition.

But if so, I'd like to see Trump debate a stand-in, who would use Biden's stated positions as a source to debate Trump. I doubt any TV network would sell him airtime for that, but internet video distribution would work well enough.

Give Biden a choice: debate Trump, or let an actor do it for you.

Rory said...

"Rational arguments prolly not gonna work either."

It's all just vanity now. Who to the left of center can conceive of themselves as just being equal in the eyes of the law.

Rory said...

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"

Yes, this.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

I identify Abbul as Abdul — prove me wrong.

Anonymous said...

Madison deserves to get the government it elected.

good and hard.

Sorry Ann, Move sooner rather than later...

Michael K said...

awkeyedjb said...
Dust Bunny, Detroit is pretty much the way the powers-that-be and the (remaining) residents want it. Emptied-out, poor and thoroughly Democratic.


Yes, Coleman Hawkins told white people to leave. These cities will end up like Zimbabwe. That is a better example than Liberia. Zimbabwe had a good economy in spite of sanctions while Rhodesia. Mugabe even knew he was in trouble and wanted Soames, the British ex-Governor, to stay. Mugabe's "followers" destroyed the place the way BLM and Antifa will destroy those cities.

JB71-AZ said...

You get what you vote for.

Even if you didn't intend for things to go like this.

Intentions don't matter.

Results do.

Sebastian said...

tim: ""So? Everyone knows protesters did it. To protest the killing of George Floyd.” // You mean rioters, because rioters do damage like that. The Constitution protects the right to peaceably assemble"

Tim! You mistook my meaning! I am so disappointed -- in my writing or your misunderstanding, still trying to decide.

WuFlu alarmism aside, we seem to be in sync.

Original Mike said...

""It’s getting more scary. My customers, they call me, and they don’t want to come down to State Street anymore. I don’t know what we’re going to do. Business is very tough. Very tough."". Said Abbul Lababidi, owner of Princess of India Imports on State Street

Surely your mistaken, sir. Our very own Inga assures us you are sitting on prime property. You have nothing to worry about.

TrespassersW said...

[S]everal business owners... said Johnson and others entered multiple businesses on State Street on Monday and Tuesday, played loud music, called business owners racists, threatened to burn buildings, demanded free food and drinks and knocked over patio chairs and tables.

And people are rioting because these [EXPLETIVE]s were arrested?

Madison is so screwed.

Original Mike said...

"And people are rioting because these [EXPLETIVE]s were arrested?,"

This is just the excuse. People are rioting because our mayor and governor won't do a damn thing to stop them.

Gordy said...

Johnson has been harassing the BID and her for more than a year

He just got a head start on the protesting of George Floyd's death.

Amadeus 48 said...

I can't imagine why people are staying away from State Street.

Yancey Ward said...

Sorry, I am all out of fucks to give. Madisonians have to take care of their own damned town.

TrespassersW said...

Original Mike said...
This is just the excuse. People are rioting because our mayor and governor won't do a damn thing to stop them.

Like I said, Madison is so screwed.

Skeptical Voter said...

Poor Old Abbul Lababidi. Didn't he get the memo from the president of the Minneapolis City Council? Abbul is "speaking from a position of privilege" when he expects the street in front of his business to be safe for his customers.

Amadeus 48 said...

It was Coleman Young who fundamentally transformed Detroit. For 20 years (1974-1994), he viewed every white family that moved out as one less obstacle in his path.

The Detroit suburbs returned the favor.

Detroit's population has shrunk by 56% from 1970.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Rather than the schadenfraude, we should be making the case for conservatism to her. Saying “you deserved this” won’t get her to vote for Trump."

Many are impervious to the obvious, but you can bet RastaBullhorn created more than a few Trump voters during his excursions.

Sonny said...


Added to the list of cities you don't want to visit anymore.

hombre said...

Just keep voting for Democrats. There is no connection between them and the destruction of your businesses. All the troublemakers, including do-nothing city officials, are Trump supporters. Right?

hombre said...

Blogger MartyH said...
“Rather than the schadenfraude, we should be making the case for conservatism to her. Saying “you deserved this” won’t get her to vote for Trump.”

Neither will making the case for conservatism. TDS aside, it’s too late. If Democrats could think, they wouldn’t still be Democrats.

My son, the Democrat, never asks why I am no longer a Democrat after being one nearly my entire adult life. We don’t discuss politics. Why do you suppose that is?

Bob Smith said...

What’s operative in this post? “Demanded free food and drinks”. It always boils down to free stuff. And has been as long as I’ve been alive. “Gimme sumpin “

AZ Bob said...

The bat-wielding man with megaphone was allowing himself to be shot on video. It may be that he was in agreement with the person shooting the video to post it online for the clicks, i.e. money. There is another man does this making wild accusations to unsuspecting victims. I would hate to have my views of these video encourage more of them.

Freeman Hunt said...

Blue cities gone wild. This is what happens when a city tolerates rioting. People feel they are entitled to whatever demands they can dream up.

Mary Beth said...

Johnson and others entered multiple businesses on State Street on Monday and Tuesday, played loud music, called business owners racists, threatened to burn buildings, demanded free food and drinks and knocked over patio chairs and tables.

If it were just one person, I would say it sounded like mental illness. Since it's "Johnson and others", it sounds like they did it just because they could. I feel sorry for the business owners, but not for the city as a whole. Whatever you reward, you get more of.

Aryan khanna said...

It seems like the situation arises like The Purge movie where everyone armed themselves to destroy others.

narciso said...

think of those areas, like the guerilla redoubts in central america like morazan province in el salvador in the 80s, our would be simon phoenix seems to have lost clout to the armorer for the enclave,

Gk1 said...

There is still time for free enterprise to step in whether it's the russian or hungrier Hmong mob to step in and offer to rearrange the face of the Black agitator or break his legs for a small weekly protection fee. That's traditionally how its been handled when law enforcement is too thinly spread out or in Madison's case simply refuses to do its job. The shop owners have options.

hawkeyedjb said...

"Detroit's population has shrunk by 56% from 1970."

Some interesting figures on population loss since 1950 (which was about the last time most of these cities had Republican mayors):

St. Louis -65%
Detroit -64%
Cleveland -58%
Baltimore -37%
Newark -35%
Chicago -25%
Philadelphia -24%

JAORE said...

Mr. Lababidi, there are certain things you have not learned that have led you to your current state of unrest. Once explained I am sure you will feel better.

Ready?

First of all, that store, you didn't build that. In fact property rights are a racist holdover from the (very recent)past.

Second that store is only brick and mortar. You should be ashamed you place them ahead of the murder of a black man.

Finally if your business fails you should rest assured you can survive on governmental largess at a level we deem acceptable.

Feel better now? We are sure you do.

But make sure you send in those taxes before the closing of that business.

Krumhorn said...

What struck me when the bullhorn/bat guy was finally arrested is that it took well over a half dozen officers to get him into cuffs over the course of many minutes. Rather than take him to the ground in order to get control when he resisted, they tried to pin him against a fence which didn't work. Ultimately, everyone ended up on the ground, but no police department has the resources to devote that many officers to arrest a strong wiry man who resists.

If the police have to go hands-on, they can't use half measures or they will inevitably be hurt. But there is always the risk that things go sideways leading to being fired and then criminally charged. And the lefties now want to ensure that they can also be civilly sued for damages.

Why would anyone choose an occupation with those kinds of risks? There is no upside whatsoe0ver.

- Krumhorn

Otto said...

I wonder what's going on with property values in Madison?

Michael said...

Your charming Madison downtown had its mask ripped clean off. Now you have the appropriate shit scrawls to enjoy.

Michael said...

Why hasn’t anyone ripped that shit down, replaced the glass and reopened a cute little independent shop specializing in all the stuff you pretend to need. Oh, because they know it will be destroyed again?

narciso said...

in other news


https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-coronavirus-reopen-plan-church-synagogue

Kai Akker said...

"Coleman Hawkins told white people to leave."

In between choruses of "Honeysuckle Rose."


"It was Coleman Young who fundamentally transformed Detroit."

Lester Young. "Lady Be Good."

I forget where Don Byas got mixed up. My "Byas'd Opinion."

Martin said...

I think Lababidi is making too much of this. It's not like any liberal Mayor of a liberal city would let a bunch of slogan-shouting thugs take over part of downtwn, right?

Matthew Heintz said...

How many Dem.local pols that have created YOUR PERSONAL NIGHTMARE OF DISBELIEF did you vote for, Althouse?

Nichevo said...

MartyH said...
Rather than the schadenfraude, we should be making the case for conservatism to her. Saying “you deserved this” won’t get her to vote for Trump.

6/26/20, 7:39 AM



Nah, only the grave will cure the hunchback. She won't learn, she won't listen, she won't evince any humility or remorse, only disbelief and displeasure that two and two make four, not five or liberal paradise or whatever her creamy hippie chick math led her to expect. She has no compassion except for the undeserving so compassion is wasted on her.

Nothing will "get her" to vote for the President of it hasn't already so save your breath to cool your porridge. She can draw her own conclusions. If she wants to, and if she has the courage.

Michael K said...


"It was Coleman Young who fundamentally transformed Detroit."
<

That's what I get for relying on memory.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I once explained to my sister what an innovative animator Tex Beneke was.