The people being arrested for vandalism, rioting and arson after the protests are not Black Lives Matter or “Antifa.” Report after report names Boogaloo & Proud Boys style white nationalists trying to scare white people onto their side and anarchists, who attach to any protest.
We in media need to be much more precise in how we’re talking about the legitimate, peaceful protests against police violence and the mostly nighttime vandalism and mayhem that no report I’ve seen has tied to BLM; while in multiple cities it’s the white nationalist right.
What would even be the point of Black Lives Matter committing mayhem?? The Black protesters among them are statistically more likely to be shot when police arrive, and they were polling well among white Americans. Use your logic. Who besides Trump benefits from any violence?
White nationalists in this country and in places like South Africa have long tried to woo ordinary white folks into their ranks using fear of Black violence and retribution, pushing people to cling to segregation, police violence and guns as self-protection.
If you and a bunch of your far right friends wanted white suburban women to be so scared of Angry Black Mobs that they would actually pull the lever for Trump again, how would you do it? You’d need a Willie Horton. Black Lives Matter is Trump’s Willie Horton.
David Duke, the former KKK grand wizard, played the same game (Crime! Taxes!) when he ran for Louisiana governor in 1991 (against the same-surname governor the current Louisiana gov, John Bel Edwards’ father worked for). And he won 55% of the white vote. baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-19…
As @timjacobwise who worked against Duke in that campaign will tell you, most Duke voters would likely swear they weren’t racist —
they just liked the policies, and had Black friends! nola.com/300/article_e0…
they just liked the policies, and had Black friends! nola.com/300/article_e0…
And in 2016, with the rise of Trumpism and the latest khaki white nationalism called the “alt right” —Duke felt moved to try again. Thankfully with no greater success. npr.org/sections/thetw…
The point being, if you want white ppl who don’t want to openly identify with white nationalists to side with them anyway and vote in what they’re told is their urgent racial interest, perceived Black violence is the historic American go-to. Politicians go there because it works.
