Thread by @GodlessNZ

(1) Thread: The Yellow Vest protests in France and elsewhere.

It's complicated.

cbsnews.com/news/paris-pro…

(2) It's evening in Paris, and I expect the worst of the violence to occur in the middle of the night. Then, I assume, they will do it all again on Sunday.

Currently nearly 1,000 arrested, 50 injured... I am sure the injury numbers are under-reported.

(3) I don't support the protests, bc they have passed from protests to riots. They are no longer "peaceful protests." which are the only kind I support, unless you're in a country like Iran at the moment.

Yes, the French people have a legitimate grievance.

(4) Protests & riots in France are common, year in year out. I watched the French take to the streets to resist basic free market reforms in the 80s & 90s, while my own country of NZ reformed & became more competitive. It was hard but it works!

(5) The media & activist groups on the left & right are trying to whip up hysteria & panic to justify the violence. They are very anti-Police, which all conservatives should have a long, hard think about.

The left have infiltrated groups on the right, to make us look bad.

(6) Much the same dynamic is occurring in Belgium and the Netherlands. The activist groups are trying to incite protests and then riots in the UK & Europe, Canada, and probably Australia, too.

Street violence is NOT the right way to make our countries great again.

(7) If Macron were to resign, he will be replaced by another president just like him. At the next election, the French will either elect more of the same, or perhaps someone who appears to give them what they say they want, who will then make things even worse once in power.

(8) Macron has contributed to the problem by not being tough enough with the rioting from the day it started. Even now, there are only something like 12 armored vehicles available in Paris. It's ridiculous. He has the means to quell the violence lawfully & reasonably.

(9) But Macron, like most of his forebears, is weak and will not order adequate law enforcement that would reduce injuries and the very real risk of deaths, including among police. Compare this to the great job done in Hamburg at the 2017 G20.

(10) IMO, Margaret Thatcher provides the best example in living memory of how to deal with violent and terrorist movements. She withstood the terrorism of the IRA in the UK,, and Argentina in the Falklands.

She was like Churchill: #NeverSurrender #PeaceThroughStrength

(11) Putin is laughing his ass off right now. Not only has he been able to incite violence in France (always the first to surrender), he has exploited the gullibility & stupidity of the American left, making it unfashionable on the American right to criticize him & his tactics.

(12) The Russian collusion narrative is so ridiculous that certain activists who carry weight among many Trump supporters have been able to lull people into a false sense of security about what the rogue regime (dictatorship) in Russia is actually doing.

(13) Far from unconditionally *supporting* the Yellow Vests movement, we should now be standing WITH the French government as they try to restore the rule of law and protect the civil rights of everyone who is impacted by the violence and economic damage it entails.

(14) Like I said, my support for the Yellow Vests is CONDITIONAL. No violence.

I read today that French motorists are required to carry yellow vests in their cars, in case there is a crash and they need to move about safely. Using them for political purposes was foolish.

(15) People are going to fear yellow vests after this. The self interested & usually left wing activists who exploit genuine grievances like this, never seem to think of the unintended consequences on everyone else. They don't care. Vive la revolution!

(16) If the French government has to declare martial* law, the left wing criticism in legacy and social media will go off the charts. But it shouldn't. I will explain what martial law involves.

*It's fun to see people spelling it marshall law.

(17) Martial law sounds wrong, but it is right. There are many components a govt can include or not. Rioting is worse at night, so curfews are introduced. Large gatherings of people can be stopped before they start.

If they had stayed peaceful, they'd have been left alone.

(18) I have no sympathy for people who insist on going into the streets of France to join a "protest" once its clear that violence is a part. So IDC if the terms of their arrest and detention are harsh. They CHOSE to go there.

Without the rule of law, bystanders get hurt.

(19) Iran is totally different. For 39 years, Iranians have legitimately had NO way of expressing themselves politically or choosing their own government. I support innocent Iranians doing whatever they are willing to do in order to change that.

The French can vote & speak.

(20) I also support the ability of Americans to defend self & and republic IF IT CAME TO THAT. I believe the *ability* to overthrow tyranny works, as a deterrent. At this time, federal, state & local law enforcement have the capacity to keep the peace. Esp. federal, under Trump.

(21) Obviously, I wholeheartedly support Trump in his policies and actions. I do not support every statement he makes in tweets, but that is fine. He is right about climate taxes and trade. He also is a firm supporter of police.

(22) A good take, in 3 tweets from my friend @drawandstrike:

https://twitter.com/drawandstrike/status/1071508367473033218

(23) My issue with some of the commentary about the protest-riots is this.

Yes, the movement includes mostly peaceful protesters, with a violent majority.

No, it does not matter who put the rioters there or why: It ALWAYS happens in mass protests, esp. in France.

And:

(24) What matters more atm is stopping the violence.

Many twitter accounts are celebrating, glorifying, encouraging the violence, while using blame, denial and minimization to exploit it for their own gain.

It's not a "war," it's civil unrest.

(25) Some are obsessing about the EU flag on armored vehicles, which is a red herring. French voters elected people who brought them into the EU & maintained a major role in it. The British are in a different situation: They unequivocally rejected the EU, peacefully & lawfully.

(26) The French govt has the legal right to use EU-flagged vehicles to help restore the rule of law. Yes, we all know the EU would like a federal army & full-throttled globalism (socialism) but that isn't the main issue today. Preventing injury is.

(27) If I'm in a peaceful protest and it become abundantly clear that a violent minority (of various political stripes) is ruining it for everyone, then I WOULD GO HOME. And I'd wait for a better opportunity to start again later.

(28) Antifa and associated anarchists are indeed violent little shitheads, the world over.

So what.

Some rioters are leftists deliberately trying to make the genuine protesters look like right wing fascist thugs.

Some are right wing fascist thugs.

Going home fixes it.

(29) #JobsNotMobs was and is a powerful slogan for use in the US because there is a clear choice in the ballot box between the two.

In France, the mobs need to put down the molotov cocktails and rocks, in order to make the country great again, leading to good jobs.

(30) Destroying the streets, monuments, museums, private property and tourism industry is not going to solve France's jobs problem.

It makes armchair quarterbacks in other countries feel good for a while, though.

France's fate was sealed a long time ago.

(31) France is a very socialist country, with many periods of civil unrest in its past. The level of over-regulation is off the charts. Productivity takes a back seat to the insatiable desire to give out free stuff, like 10 weeks vacation & a 35-hour work week, for votes. Insane.

(32) In the US, paid vacation leave is minimal for low to mid level workers, & the working week is long, for most. In NZ, everyone gets 4 weeks paid vacation leave & the usual work week is 40 hours. Even we view the French system as supremely lazy and bureaucratic.

(33) Correction to tweet (23): I meant to write minority iso of majority. Sorry, was rushing.

It doesn't matter that most protesters are peaceful... it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. Police have to deal with the bad apples, but their heroism is spun into brutality