SHUT HER DOWN.

 Link: Author chased from the stage by Black Lives Matter protesters at Claremont McKenna College.


I've been writing this blog for just over a year, and from the beginning, I was prepared for disagreement.  I recognized that each time I made someone angry, I had succeeded in penetrating the other side, so to speak.  For any of us who write blogs, letters to the editor, or even simple Facebook comments, the goal should always be to impact persons who have a different perspective.  What is to be gained by preaching to the choir, as they say?  So I've always welcomed expressions of disagreement, polite or otherwise.  Last year, as the GOP Convention drew near, I made the decision to support Donald Trump for President.  A simple review of my archived blog posts will illustrate clearly that I did not support Trump during the majority of the GOP primaries.  Early on, I went back and forth between Dr. Ben Carson and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.  I did not appreciate Trump's penchant for personal insults, nor was I impressed with his communication skills.  But once the Convention opened, I jumped in line with the millions of Conservative voters who had decided long ago that the carcass of a dead housefly would get their vote over Hillary Clinton.  I didn't anticipate having trouble writing blog posts in support of Donald Trump, because even if I didn't like his campaign style, I agreed with everything the man promised to do.  Before the Convention, I wrote a number of posts that were very critical of Hillary Clinton, and occasionally I would receive a negative comment in reply, usually on Twitter.  The critical messages I received were usually mild, at least until Trump won the Republican nomination.  When I began writing posts in support of Donald Trump, it was as if I had run down a group of nuns escorting young orphans across the road, and each orphan was carrying a kitten.

By now, the amount of animus that Donald Trump manages to engender in people should come as no surprise.  Donald Trump is hated, reviled and despised, and that's from Republicans!  Before Trump jumped into the political arena with serious intentions, I think most people were either indifferent to the man or respectful of Mr. Trump's business success.  He started giving folks the red ass early-on in the primary season by flavoring his political criticisms with the odd personal attack.  Trump made quick enemies of the candidates who had yet to establish any traction by flatly telling them to stop wasting everybody's time, and get off of the stage. His attacks on Florida Governor Jeb Bush created ill will which is still palpable in Crawford.  In fact, the Bushes came out in support of Hillary Clinton, and it wasn't because they agreed with her platform.  Donald Trump had collected a sizeable group of haters long before he sent Hillary packing, which set him up to be the most despised man in America.  Its not difficult to understand why I would receive threatening phone calls, hateful emails, and nasty twitter messages.  My defense of Trump's political positions is akin to an endorsement of Trump as a person, and there is nothing that can be done to alter that reality.

The amount of insulting, hateful and occasionally threatening messages I receive are almost all a reflection of my support for Trump's candidacy and my approval of the actions he has taken since the inauguration.  I am aware that my previous line of work and the memoir I published in 2015 negatively impact my popularity amongst Islamic Extremists and those who excuse their behavior, but fortunately I can distinguish the origin of the threats and insults without much difficulty.  When I wrote a blog post defending President Trump's Executive Order on refugees, I was called a Nazi countless times in many different forms of social media.  Since I'm responsible for announcing the new blog post and its subject matter on Twitter, I know what to expect, although the majority of the responses I receive are usually supportive, thank goodness.  I can't help but be amazed, though, at how easy it seems to label people for the progressives on the left.  I'm a Nazi, a Racist, and a Fascist.  I'm a Bigot, a Homophobe, a White Supremacist, the KKK, and a Bully.  It wasn't that long ago that the Democrats and Liberals were screeching about Conservatives "labeling" people, and name-calling.  The media led the campaign to paint Republicans and those on right as being guilty of bullying people, and abusing them with stereotypical labels and pejorative titles.  But now that Trump is a Nazi, and Rush Limbaugh is a Bully, and I'm a Bigot, name-calling is just fine in the offices of the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Last Thursday, April 6th, Author Heather MacDonald, who recently published a book analyzing the conflict between the "Black Lives Matter" organization and various police departments, was scheduled to speak at Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles.  The "Black Lives Matter" organization, which has spoken out against MacDonald's book, decided in advance to disrupt MacDonald's speaking engagement.  Flyers were distributed to all the various progressive groups, including the University Democrats, which labeled MacDonald as a racist, and directed protestors to "SHUT HER DOWN".  MacDonald was greeted by a mob of angry protesters, who succeeded in chasing her from the premises under heavy police protection before she was able to speak.  Controversial Conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos was treated in a similar fashion before a scheduled speaking engagement at the University of California-Berkeley earlier this year.  I realize many young people today seem to have a problem with even basic history, so I guess its up to us to educate them.  From 1933 until 1938, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist movement in Germany took control by refusing to let opponents speak.  The Nazi's ability to intimidate persons with opposing viewpoints allowed for the eventual domination of public discourse.  Hitler used the SA, a special para-military private police force of sorts, to beat up and frighten anyone who opposed the National Socialists.  This is a tremendously poignant example of why FREEDOM OF SPEECH is so important, young people.  SHUT HER DOWN.  SHUT HER DOWN.  SHUT HER DOWN.  Black Lives Matter is being used to intimidate anyone with a divergent perspective.  This effort, alongside what I refer to as "the branding" of Conservatives as Nazis, Racists and Homophobes, is becoming more and more reminiscent of the actions of the SA and real National Socialists.  No doubt if Black Lives Matter had copies of MacDonald's book, Milo Yiannopoulos' book, Rush Limbaugh's books, and probably even my book, there would have been a book-burning.  Will young people clear their heads of leftist propaganda pushed by academics, pick up a World History book, and figure out for themselves that they are on the wrong side?  Those of us who understand history, and have been around the world enough to understand how easy it is for the monsters of the past to be reborn, can only hope.  

    

Addressing the professional athletes who chose to sit or kneel on one knee during the National Anthem.

I have waited some time to discuss this issue, as I had hoped it would disappear before becoming a true national disgrace.  Unfortunately, my patience was in vain.  For anyone who is unfamiliar with the controversy, Colin Kaepernick, backup Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, chose to sit during the playing of the National Anthem before a preseason football game.  Since then, Kaepernick has continued to sit during the remainder of the preseason and for the first game of the regular season.  One professional female soccer player (yes, they exist) and a handful of additional professional football players have repeated Kaepernick's demonstration, but the numbers were not nearly what was hoped for by persons affiliated with the "Black Lives Matter" movement and other far-left organizations.  What exactly is Kaepernick protesting?  Simply put, his sign of disrespect to the National Anthem and the Flag stems from his desire not to support a nation that "oppresses Black people and people of color", and that allows police officers to receive "paid leave while getting away with murder".  The most galling of this situation is that Kaepernick himself is worth somewhere in the area of two-hundred million dollars.  We live in an age when the professional sports and music industries are dominated by African-American performers, and the current President is Black.  I'm not sure just when Kaepernick was "oppressed" during his young life, and I can't help but wonder why he doesn't donate half of his multi-million dollars to support educational programs and anti-drug initiatives in poor communities.  The truth is, this entire circus has nothing to do with anyone's sincere efforts to encourage positive change.  Kaepernick and his ilk are interested in accomplishing one goal, and that is to offend patriotic Americans who love the United States of America.

I hope I don't regret speaking my mind, but I'm prepared to take that chance, because what I have to say is exactly what many Americans truly believe.  Whenever a Police Officer feels the necessity to discharge his/her firearm, its a tragedy.  But where to put the blame?  I do not believe that Police Officers in the United States purposely target anyone, at least not with a weapon, unless that individual has become a threat.  We have to trust Law Enforcement to make that decision, because otherwise, who will protect us?  If you don't want to end up on the unfortunate end of an encounter with the Police, then don't break the law.  Don't rob a store and pistol-whip the owner, don't steal a car, don't carry around a stolen weapon because it makes you feel like a badass, and don't pull a weapon in the presence of a Police Officer.  If an accredited Peace Officer is involved in a shooting which raises questions, we have to trust the system in place to dispense justice.  If you feel that the system isn't adequate, then work to bring the changes that you feel will make a difference.  In the meantime, don't break the law.  I am a former Federal Law Enforcement Officer and I was obliged to carry a Beretta 40 caliber pistol holstered to my waist.  It wasn't something any of us enjoyed.  All it takes is one determined criminal or lunatic to attempt to grab your weapon and people can get seriously hurt.  Its a heavy responsibility, one that should never been taken lightly, but the streets of many of our cities are owned by young people, flashing weapons as a sign of their authority.  Over three-thousand persons have been shot in Chicago already this year.  How many times have Police Officers been forced to pull their weapons in order to protect innocent people?  It happens everyday, in San Antonio, in New York, In Seattle, and in Chicago.  The lives protected and the lives that are saved are never counted by the Kaepernick's of the world.  He and his supporters aren't interested in educating themselves on the reality of life as a Police Officer.  The only people who live more dangerous lives are the unfortunate folks who live in the inner city, who are held captives by thugs, gangs, and drug lords.

Sitting during the National Anthem is a slap in the face of every soldier who gave their life so that we could be free.  Its not just a cliche.  Kaepernick and his posse are allowed to express themselves because brave men and women died so that we would not be forced to live under the tyranny of Communism and Nazism.  Our troops are putting their lives in jeopardy as I write this, fighting the growing threat of Islamic Terrorism that threatens at any moment, to rear its ugly head in a grocery store, at a High School football game, or during a parade.  Kaepernick could not live the life he enjoys in any other country in the world.  Why does the Anthem and the Flag represent those who gave their all?  Because those who continue to protect our freedoms (Police Officers included) have chosen those symbols.  If you are a filthy rich, entitled athlete or performer and you want to make a difference, go into the community and set an example as someone who can be admired.  Give as opposed to taking all the time.  As a closing thought, let me express to you what really gives me the red-ass.  Sometime in the last fifty years of our Republic we have decided that athletes and performers should be treated as special class citizens, and should be rewarded with mansions, first-class vacations, expensive cars, and all sorts of other "bling".  Why does Kaepernick earn, in one day on the football field, more money than my mother and sister earned in their entire careers as High School teachers?  Why does Britney Spears earn more money from one album, than an entire hospital full of nurses earns in a year?  Do you think the average city bus driver in Houston or Denver earns as much money as a professional baseball player?  I doubt it, but I can guarantee you that the bus driver has a more stressful, difficult job.  If you are looking for a cause, try that one on for size.  I'd better be careful, I'm beginning to sound a bit like Bernie Sanders.........