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George Floyd Tag

The Black Lives Matter movement was born of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. While the BLM founders started their organizing after the prior Trayvon Martin case, it was Brown and Ferguson which launched the BLM movement into the public spotlight through the protests and riots in Ferguson. Nothing was more associated with the BLM movement than the chant "hands up, don't shoot," based on the narrative that Brown had his hands raised and said 'don't shoot' when shot. That same chant drives protesters and rioters ripping up cities after the George Floyd killing.

I haven't had much time to reflect on the looting and riots that swept mostly (but not exclusively) large Democrat cities. It was a wilding on a scale we've never seen. It was a bloodletting and release of criminal fury. We should be clear what is happening. It is not protest over the death of George Floyd. That is the spark, but not the fire.

I spent the better portion of Saturday night listening to the distant wailing of police sirens responding to a protest in a community not far from my current home. I lived happily in the La Mesa, California, area for several years before my marriage. It is a beautiful community and very special. Its quaint shops and attitude reminded me more of the Mid-West, from which I come. I had often gone there to shop, as well as to enjoy its Oktoberfest and special Christmas events.