“The people pursuing luxury beliefs are engaged in a kind of status competition. Who can épater la bourgeoisie with the boldest, most transgressive political statements? After Oct. 7, 2023, we saw this kind of status-jockeying on college campuses, where elite students vied to become the most fervent supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah. Keffiyeh scarves became de rigueur. Celebrating political murder is the next step on this progression. For most, it’s only talk. But there will always be a few who seek what they see as the ultimate status: actually carrying out a political attack.
“People who shrug off this violence chic as mere talk need to take a hard look at what’s going on. The foiled attack on President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was the third attempt on Mr. Trump’s life in less than two years. The 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was tragically successful. As was the hit on two Israel embassy staffers on a street in Washington, D.C., last year. We’ve seen hundreds of attacks on Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues. An anti-Israel extremist firebombed the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. The list goes on and on. And the pace of these attacks seems to be accelerating.”
– James B Meigs, Wall Street Journal ($)
His article also addresses how it is now considered chic for these poseurs and self-regarding halfwits to steal stuff.
One consequence of all this nastiness will be a rise in vigilantism, and I don’t at this point think anyone has an excuse for being surprised.
Johnathan Peace – sadly the left (the establishment) have prepared for vigilantism, anyone who defends their life or property (for example a house they own, against squatters) is ruthlessly persecuted by leftist controlled “justice” systems – neither private property or human life (such as taking action against attackers on New York metro trains) may be defended by private action.
The left (the establishment) believe in “Social Justice” the great enemy of justice – sometimes they base this belief in “Social Justice” plundering on false economic theories (such as the Labour Theory of Value or David Ricardo’s economic theory on land), sometimes on corrupted religion, and sometimes on secular philosophies – but the end result is the same, theft and murder.
And it is not a totally recent development in the Democratic Party – for example Mayor Curley of Boston (after whom the “Curley Effect” in local government is named) did not just believe in “Robin Hood” steal-from-the-rich-to-give-to-the-poor politics – he also stole a lot for himself as well. And Mr Sullivan in New York was not just a politician remembered for the “Sullivan Act” (the first major “Gun Control” law in the United States) he was also a gangster – and the two facts are directly connected, Mr Sullivan did not want people to be able to resist his armed gang members.
However, what was once the criminal fringe of the Democratic Party (Curley, Sullivan – other degenerates) has become the mainstream – they are all (or nearly all) “Social Justice” swine now – they will steal anything that is not nailed down (and they will steal what is nailed down as well) and they are quite happy about using violence (including killing) anyone who gets in their way.
In case anyone thinks I am “going too far” in my words – I remind you that the person who the Democrats want to be Speaker of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections, endorsed Mr Mamdani for Mayor of New York – and Mr Mamdani won.
What is happening in places such as New York and Seattle under their socialist Mayors, or Los Angeles under the Castro loving Karen Bass (who has even allowed the bridge lights to be stolen – yes “LA” is becoming like South Africa where people steal the copper wire), will happen generally in the United States if the Dems take national control. They will be no where to run to – no where to flee to, for the writ of the Federal Government is everywhere, and the Federal Government will be used to plunder (rob) anyone the Dems feel like plundering – including each other.
“They even stole the wine bottles” – well of course they did, stealing is what they believe in, they also believe in murder – as their celebration of the murder of Charlie Kirk showed.
And their courts, both Progressive judges and Progressive juries, endorse the same philosophy.
I remember Progressives claiming “stochastic terrorism” for people on the Right not being adequately nice in the aggregate, and then some other random person attacked someone that was not-having-been-nice-to as a group. (ie, “the right says ‘transphobic’ things, someone attacked a trans person, thus stochastic terrorism from saying those things and Causing It Handwavingly].
Oddly, their response to assassination attempts from their own side, plainly encouraged by claims of “dictator”, “fascism”, “86”, etc., has been … to claim it was a fake attack? Because more handwaving?
Not “we’re stochastic terrorists” [or “stochastic freedom fighters”]. No “our rhetoric can have effects just like Theirs can”, no sir.
Do they actually know what “stochastic” means? I do.
We’re looking to establish a new org here in communist Minnesota – Stochastic Vigilantism. 😉
This relates to the random chance that the guy you’re about to rob – or attack for political reasons – is carrying a pistol.
The fear of attacking an armed victim – a random occurrence – factors more and more into overall violent crime rates.
So, we work to spread this fear of encountering their own random vigilant death amongst the thugs – to épater la thugs. It’s surprisingly effective.
The fact that people CAN carry weapons becomes as important as actually carrying one, because thugs can no longer be certain they are attacking a weak target, and it’s too late when they do find out.
Paul:
I have come to the conclusion that the US Democrat Party is little more than an organised criminal conspiracy. Our Labour Party is not so bad yet, but is getting there.
I think the Democrats have been degenerating since the New Deal, which was akin to fascism, but the decline has been marked since Clinton administration. Anyone at this point who votes Democrat is surely colluding with the destruction of the American constitutional republic.
@bobby b
So, we work to spread this fear of encountering their own random vigilant death amongst the thugs – to épater la thugs. It’s surprisingly effective.
I think I have pontificated on my theory of deterrence of crime here before, namely that the severity of punishment is much less important than the speed and certainty of punishment. Which explains a lot with murder clearance rates in many cities being 25%, and trials taking years, decades in some cases before coming to a final conclusion.
But Messrs. Colt, Smith and Wesson provides an immediacy and certainty of justice that no reform of the the judicial system can provide.
JohnK.
Yes – agreed Sir.
They have become more consistent – the philosophy they embraced long ago, logically leads to criminality (the violation of natural law – private property) not just by the state, but on a gang and individual basis – and now they are doing this.
And they are finding that robbing people is fun, and that murdering people is fun – and human beings do have this darkness within us, which are better selves (our moral reason) fights to restrain – the Democrats have been taught that such efforts are unnatural, that if it feels good – they should do it.
“Why do the left embrace groups as Hamas – Hamas is about robbery, rape and murder”.
That, the robbery, rape and murder, is why the left embrace Hamas – and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and so on.
It is NOT about religion (the left are atheists – they do not believe in Allah), what they want, what they believe in, is robbery, rape and murder.
Whether it is on the streets of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles….. (and so on), or personally (one of the prosecutors of the January 6th protesters, some of whom were kept in prison for years – to be tortured and abused, recently stabbed a motorist, for kicks, he got only a few days in prison – think-about-all-that, think about what it says about the “justice” system), or by using the power of the Federal Government.
Hakeem Jeffries is likely to be Speaker of the House of Representatives soon, he is not some “lunatic fringe” – he is part of the mainstream.
The mainstream establishment left that wants to rob, torture and murder – because it is fun to do these things.
I’d say that the left doesn’t embrace robbery, rape and murder per se.
I think they just naturally ascribe merit to anyone who fits their definition of “oppressed.”
They do it so single-mindedly that they forget that some people are oppressed for good reason. We oppress murderers and robbers and rapists – and Hamas – because they are unreasonably inimical to decent human life.
But they simply think that, if WE the normies hate them, then they must be good.
It’s a childish philosophy, which usually leaves them standing against a bloody wall once they have liberated the scum.
Bobby, I think that the people you described are the useful idiots on the Left – those on the Left who use those idiots do in fact embrace robbery, rape and murder per se.
BTW, the same goes for nominal Muslims as opposed to Islamists.
Has nobody else considered the possibility that all this is about political “theatre?
Set loose some “wind-up” toys / straw-men; thus “justifying” the usual boots stomping on faces, as noted by George Orwell (1984), and so beloved of the “usual suspects”.
See the writing of Daniel Boorstin about “pseudo-events”, for a different look at the general drift.
bobby b and Alisa.
Yes they support the robbing (and raping and killing) by the “oppressed” (people who are “exploited and oppressed” according to the FALSE economic theories of the Labour Theory of Value and Ricardo’s theory on land – and also according to the FALSE cultural doctrines of “Critical Theory”) – but they also rob (and so on) themselves.
A rich leftist can not claim to be “exploited and oppressed”, even according to their own false economic and cultural doctrines, but they still rob – and celebrate rape and murder.
As for nominal Muslims – thankfully there are many people (very many people) from Muslim families who do not practice the doctrines of Islam, they do NOT seek conquest. But, unfortunately, Muhammed declared that such people were “hypocrites” and put them under sentence of death.
Some people suggest a “Reformation” in Islam – but that is NOT something we should want, as a “Reformation” is about getting back to basic, founding, doctrines – and it is the basic, founding, doctrines that are the difficulty.
Bruce Gentner – Charlie Kirk is dead, and the left (including the mainstream television “comedians”) celebrated. And the left were out celebrating the mass murder of October 7th before the bodies were even cold.
This is not political theatre – they want to rob, rape and murder.
“One consequence of all this nastiness will be a rise in vigilantism…”
If we’re lucky.
An important detail about Robin Hood. In the popular stories it is excessive taxation that he was fighting against, returning the money that had been stolen from the poor in the first place.
Re: As was the hit on two Israel embassy staffers on a street in Washington, D.C., last year. We’ve seen hundreds of attacks on Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues. An anti-Israel extremist firebombed the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. The list goes on and on. And the pace of these attacks seems to be accelerating.”
We are constantly assured here in the USA that the bulk of political violence is right wing and they invariably point to anti-Semitic activities. Anyone want to place a bet on who is performing most of these attacks. Given the presence of anti-Semitism in certain parts of the African-American community and the Muslims, two key Democratic thus left wing voting blocs, it’s little wonder that the Democrats and the media turn a blind and blithe eye to these actions. That it goes unchallenged is maddening.