September 19, 2021

What if they gave a riot and nobody came?

I'm seeing this in the NYT:
Fewer than 100 right-wing demonstrators, sharply outnumbered by an overwhelming police presence and even by reporters, gathered at the foot of the Capitol on Saturday to denounce what they called the mistreatment of “political prisoners” who had stormed the building on Jan. 6.
It was, we're told, "peaceful." Maybe it wouldn't have been so small and so peaceful if only the government hadn't prepared so well:
Where only movable metal barriers stood between a mob and the Capitol on Jan. 6, layers of newly erected fence and dump trucks lined end to end guarded the building. Mounted police, absent eight months ago, now stood at the ready. Riot shields were stacked at Capitol entrances, and law enforcement from the capital region, including the Virginia State Police and the police departments for Fairfax County in Virginia and Prince George’s County in Maryland, arrived with armored cars. One hundred National Guard troops from the District of Columbia were also on alert. 

Was that ridiculous or a demonstration of why they say "If you want peace, prepare for war." 

My post title is a variation on another old saying: "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" 

I went down a rathole looking for the source of that saying, which I just remember from common speech in the late 60s/early 70s. I won't bore you with the arguments that it originated with Allen Ginsberg, Bertolt Brecht, or Carl Sandburg. I'll just say that the attribution to Brecht is the most scurrilous — written in German, mistranslated. And the Sandburg reference is the oldest, though not verbatim: "Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come."

56 comments:

Big Mike said...

Was that ridiculous or a demonstration of why they say "If you want peace, prepare for war."

Yes

Tim said...

Let me help the NYT out here. A thousand jackbooted thugs and less than 100 agents provocateur showed up for a fake protest today. Nobody was buying what they were selling, but the uniforms present did almost arrest one of the undercover fibbies by mistake. Meanwhile, at college stadiums across the country, college students, normally reliably Democratic, were chanting "Fuck Joe Biden", which we denounce as uncivil. Justified, mind you, but definitely uncivil.

Clyde said...

Gotta say that the “undercover” FBI agents stood out like a sore thumb in the “Abercrombie and Snitch” pictures I saw.

gilbar said...

maybe the Jan 6th one would have been 'peaceful' too, if the cops hadn't opened up the doors, and invited the protestors in?

Come to think of it? The Jan 6th one WAS pretty 'peaceful' too, except for the that one cop, that walked around shooting his gun into people.

"so, what did you do at work today, daddy?"
"well remember a few months ago when i was So F*cking Stoned, that i left my pistol in the toilet?"
"Oh NO! daddy! you didn't leave forget your gun again, did you?"
"Nope! This time i Remembered it; and then used it to MURDER an unarmed white bitch!"
"Oh daddy! between your drug use, and your anti white racism; you're gonna get in trouble!"
"Daddy's Not gonna get in trouble honey! daddy's a black man! Only white cops have to answer"

Tank said...

Maybe nobody came because it was an obvious setup?

Unknown said...

The article fails to mention that Trump told people not to go, that it was a setup.

michaele said...

Be nice if there was that kind of mobilization of law enforcement and barrier building to protect our borders. But, oh, no, "we the people" don't warrant such defensive protections...only our elected representatives do.

Unknown said...

And how many of those attending worked for law enforcement?

Tank said...

"Fewer than 100 right-wing demonstrators, ..."

How many of the 100 were FBI agents?

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Blogger Unknown said...

The article fails to mention that Trump told people not to go, that it was a setup.


This.

Temujin said...

Trump and most right leaning blogs told people they were being set up. Told them not to attend. There were as many Feds in the crowd playing 'patriot' as there were actual partisans. That said, what about the real story that the Times seems not able to address? Nor WaPo, nor any of the feckless 'professionals' who like to call themselves 'Journalists!'?

Here's a story for them. Dozens of people have been held in jail, most of them in isolation, some of them seriously beaten, since Jan. 6. They have not been charged with anything. The Government has no case and has repeatedly requested the hearings be pushed back. This is a horrid abuse of power and those involved need to have a light shone on them.

I would start with Nancy Pelosi who seems to think she is the Queen, not the people's representative.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well Nancy fled the Capitol for the safety of the UK where she could denounce Republicans as a "cult".

jaydub said...

One of these demonstrations should be scheduled for every weekend. Keeps the FBI off the streets and would bankrupt the DC and Capitol police in a few months. Think of it as a novel way to defund the police.

MikeR said...

"What if they gave a war and nobody came?" It's been tried. The most recent example was Afghanistan. What generally happens is that one side does come and they win.
All my life, the left has been misunderstanding what wars are for. They tried hard to lose the Cold War. Conservatives have been doing the same for a while too.
And by now, both liberals and conservatives think that wars are a way for defense corporations to make a lot of money.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I’ll bet a lot of the “reporters” recognized quite a few FBI “sources” among the fake “protesters” dressed as “Trump supporters” and then they all went out for a drink and laughed about what a great production they pulled off.

Charlie Currie said...

Just one more intelligence failure in a long list of intelligence failures by our Keystone Cops "Intelligence" agencies.

Wince said...

And who else didn't show up?

The "Antifa" crowd who typically shows up to counter "right-wing" demonstrations.

Why not?

Antifa were told to stay away by their Democrat masters because stray Antifa might have attacked/exposed the FBI plants in the crowd.

Narayanan said...

I wish Capitol Police had been ALL WHITE (gear) to give this the STAR WARS VIBE and also assist Disney to showcase to China patrons

... Disney owns Lucasfilm and all the new Star Wars films, but that doesn't mean they have the whole franchise under their umbrella. By Chris Agar Published Aug 10, 2018 Star Wars has been a part of Disney's ever-expanding media empire for the past several years, but that's not the only company with their hands in the lucrative pie...

Narayanan said...

Unknown said...
The article fails to mention that Trump told people not to go, that it was a setup.
-----
But the narrative is : So if only Trump had similarly dissuaded on 1/6/2021 ? or did Pelosi set them up by telling Capitol Police to open the doors?

Achilles said...

Our government is the enemy of the people.

They are an illegitimate regime desperately clinging to power.

They build walls around other countries and are tearing holes in the wall we want built on the southern border.

They are losing their black and hispanic support en masse right now.

I expect more flailing desperation like this.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Okay now I’ve seen them. Definitely a Fed meet-up more than a MAGA rally.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/474586/

Critter said...

So the working assumption is that protestors for the civil rights of abused citizens accused of trespassing will do what they did not do on January 6? I guess the under-cover instigators from the FBI won’t get a bonus for this event.

rcocean said...

So the Liberal/Leftists are all about "Freedom of choice" now? Lets get the Government out of my private life? LOL!

DCE said...

What if all those 'right wing' protesters were actually FBI, ATF, and antifa instigators? Wouldn't that be a embarrassing?

rcocean said...

Looks like my previous post was on the wrong thread. This demonstration was fake from the beginning. And you had more Fed agents then Trump supporters. Trump, before the rally, said it was a setup, and that the media would claim his support was evaporating if no one showed up. As a result, everyone on Conservative media was saying "don't go". So they didn't.

DC is enemy territory for Trump supporters. Its been shown before, the DC/Capital Police will sit back and allow Antifa to attack and then give them a slap on the wrist (assuming they're even arrested). Meanwhile, any possible reaction by a trump supporter will result in them rotting in jail for weeks or months. Its anarcho-tyranny at its finest.

Maynard said...

Was AOC worried that he protesters would storm the Capitol and rape her, as she fretted on January 6?

Wait. She was not in that building.

I hate to ruin a good narrative.

who-knew said...

"Was that ridiculous or a demonstration of why they say "If you want peace, prepare for war."
Neither. It was wishful thinking. The faux Biden regime would have liked nothing better than for enough people to show up to allow them to claim it was another 'insurrection' If there was a large enough crowd they could show pictures of all the equipment needed to prevent another attempted 'coup' by 'domestic terrrists'. You know, those people who don't agree with Biden's handlers.

JK Brown said...

"It was, we're told, "peaceful." Maybe it wouldn't have been so small and so peaceful if only the government hadn't prepared so well"

Only because there weren't enough dupes to give cover to the undercover federal agents there to start something. Heck, I don't even think the Antifa instigators showed up to throw the first punch. Neither of those ploys work if their aren't enough of a crowd to get worked up and not thinking about what they are being led into doing.

Tom T. said...

The absence of counter-protesters seems like a significant indicator that word was out on the left that the protest was fake.

Narr said...

What's 'scurrilous' about the Brecht quote or attribution?

His poem is just a restatement of the quip attributed to Trotsky, that "You may not be interested in War, but War is interested in you."

The pix are revealing, and will probably be memory-holed along with the rest of the Deep State -sponsored 1/6 Happening, especially the lean and hungry looking young G-men from the Rainbow Boys class. Ready for anything!

Yancey Ward said...

"One of these demonstrations should be scheduled for every weekend. Keeps the FBI off the streets and would bankrupt the DC and Capitol police in a few months. Think of it as a novel way to defund the police."

Every day, not every week.

pacwest said...

Dozens of people have been held in jail, most of them in isolation, some of them seriously

If you support Democrats think long and hard about that. You are not immune.

Tina Trent said...

Brecht supported a regime that killed hundreds of millions of people in Russia and China. Watching his plays ought to be treated like the moral equivalent of enjoying an exhibit of Hitler’s watercolors.

Now let’s make a list of all the police murdered and wounded, the public buildings occupied and destroyed, the private businesses looted and damaged, and the reporters who suppressed these truths.

stlcdr said...

The federal government wants a war with the American people. We are on two different sides. Keep that 'war' in DC away from where the American people want to actually freely live peacefully.

Drago said...

Tom T.: "The absence of counter-protesters seems like a significant indicator that word was out on the left that the protest was fake."

Absolutely correct.

The lefties that weren't posing as MAGA types/provocateurs stayed away to "clear the field" for the Star Wars Stormtroopers to target actual people there to protest and these armored up John Candy "Spaceballs" looking idiots ended up desperately seeking someone, anyone(!), who could be painted as a criminal.......and what did they come up with?

LOL

One undercover dude who was there in full provocateur status with a concealed weapon.

Watch the video. Its hilarious. Especially the part where the undercover fed has to admit to the other morons that yes, he is in an undercover status and you could just see the body language change (full shoulder droop because "Darn it!").

Then, you've got 20 or so "Hunger Games"-clad "warrior" cops (with buffet bellies and one little gal who could barely walk with all the NFL gear on) surrounding the clear fed and then the leader of the band shouting "Diamond Formation, Go!", like it was some sort of serious tactical situation!

Now, I'm sure that activity was titillating for certain LLR's in MI, but to all normals the absurdity was off the charts.

Michael K said...

Were there really 100 "right wing" protestors there? All I saw were feds in their black sunglasses trying to look like right wingers as they imagine them to be.

Gospace said...

What Tim said at 6:05 AM covers it. And what Wince said at 9:17 AM happened. Some people in the crowd started yelling- "He has a gun!" and the jack booted thugs responded. And he did have a gun. And pictures show he showed some sort of gold colored badge to the the jack booted thugs and was hustled away from the crowd. And that's the last we'll ever hear about it- there'll be no official reports and we'll never know who he is or why he was there not in uniform.

Our DemoncRAT overlords really set this up to be Reichstag Fire Redux. They failed, miserably, as they failed with the Afghanistan withdrawal, and with improving foreign relations throughout the world, and with immigration and border control.

Lurker21 said...

Nobody showed up so that those who did could be assumed to be federal agents or informants.

Tim said...

Speaking of the political prisoners held without bail since January 6th, why is no one pushing for dismissal of all charges based on their 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial being violated. Because we can argue about how long "speedy trial" indicates, but my best guess is 95% of all citizens would say 9 months is a definite violation.

Howard said...

The hole event was a DNC false flag deep state Honey pot designed to disparagus the Misters Pillow and Cheeto. It totally epic failed.

Bilwick said...

Since statism is the war of the State against those of us who want to live in peace and freedom, what if they gave us statism, and no one came? See Ettienne de la Boetie, "On Voluntary Servitude."

Clyde said...

All the Federales say
They could have had them any day.
They only let them go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Howard (not that Howard) said...

@Michaele exactly right to draw the parallel with the current border sitch. Perfect juxtaposition to build campaign ads around.

Big Mike said...

How many of the 100 were FBI agents?

275 +

Bruce Hayden said...

“What Tim said at 6:05 AM covers it. And what Wince said at 9:17 AM happened. Some people in the crowd started yelling- "He has a gun!" and the jack booted thugs responded. And he did have a gun. And pictures show he showed some sort of gold colored badge to the the jack booted thugs and was hustled away from the crowd. And that's the last we'll ever hear about it- there'll be no official reports and we'll never know who he is or why he was there not in uniform.”

Here’s the funny thing. Despite Heller, DC still has some of the most restrictive concealed carry (and other gun) laws in the country. The 1/6 protesters weren’t armed at all, and that is part of why (and the stupid Babbitt shooter who supposedly believed they were is lying through his teeth). DC has no concealed carry reciprocity whatsoever. That includes cops from outside DC. The only way that this supposed protester was carrying a concealed weapon in DC that publicly was if he were either a federal or DC LEO.

J said...

A spectacular lesson in how to chill dissenting speech.Reductio ad absurdum.

Bruce Hayden said...

Some of my favorite comments at Instipundit: PEOPLE ARE STILL HAVING FUN WITH THAT PHOTO OF HARDCORE MAGA QANON INSURRECTIONISTS AT THE #JUSTICEFORJ6 RALLY:

“Rare photo of FBI, ATF and USCaPo agents attempting to recruit each other as informants”

“They look like they're at the Annual FBI Picnic & Pig Roast.”

“This is what happens when the class in Under Cover Work is replaced with Critical Race Theory at the FBI Academy.”

“They’re all dressed like the cool kids did in 1978”

Check out rage photos too.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Speaking of the political prisoners held without bail since January 6th, why is no one pushing for dismissal of all charges based on their 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial being violated. Because we can argue about how long "speedy trial" indicates, but my best guess is 95% of all citizens would say 9 months is a definite violation.”

The exception is when there is a conspiracy that takes a long time to unravel. Bogus excuse from Day 1. Turns out that a couple of the judges involved have realized that the Feds have very little actual evidence of such a conspiracy. The real, much more extensive, conspiracy was between the Feds and AntiFA (etc), and a number of the Feds involved should be facing jail time for Obstruction of Justice and Conspiracy to Deprive Civil Rights (plus maybe RICO). But, of course, that isn’t going to happen.

Skippy Tisdale said...

"Fewer than 100 right-wing demonstrators"

How many of the less than 100 demonstrators were actually "right-wing" and how many were Antifa?

tim in vermont said...

Whatever happened to 'allegedly'?

PB said...

Attempted false flag.

tim in vermont said...

"Brecht supported a regime that killed hundreds of millions of people in Russia and China."

Don't ruin The Three Penny Opera for me. Well, he wrote, or rather adapted for German audiences, the play before he became a commie, and when he had become one, when the movie was made. he wasn't a very effective propagandist for them. So I am going to give him a pass.

Tina Trent said...

Hey Tim : you can swallow as many deaths as you like. He was a commie then too.

Read more.

Tina Trent said...

Also, Tim ,learn some basic history. Or stay silent if your’re ignorant of, so, say, genocide.

mikee said...

My adult son sent me screenshots from far-right forums which are resounding with cries of coming US civil war. He also noted the preponderance of government employees at the 9/18 rally, "potatoes (white, crew cut, muscular guys) in shorts." I suggested to him that the forums could well be overloaded with government agitators, potatoes inciting those online to violent crimes. Potagitators.

As Google shows no previous use of this word outside typos for stirring devices, I claim a neologism here. Use it as you will.

tim in vermont said...

Jeezum Tina, even the commies complained he sucked at propaganda, or so it has been said, and I agree that it seems true. I can't get worked up over every deluded artist who fell for communism. I would have to give up Hemingway, and he wrote some unflinching stuff about the commie atrocities in the Spanish Civil War. I doubt Brecht turned a single person toward communism with his art.