I’ll bet you’ve noticed protests and riots now target property and possessions, including some lady’s beverage in Rochester. Poor George Floyd is so yesterday, because Antifa and Black Bloc now see looting as a legitimate means to social justice. Antifa has it in for Michael Jordan, whose property derived from capitalist greed, and Black bloc has it in for white homeowners, whose property derived from slavery. If radicals in the US no longer value personal property rights, civil war is around the corner.
Star Parker, a conservative black activist, is alarmed by America’s plurality of values, because that was the root problem in the 1850s, when a divided US lurched toward armed conflict. According to Parker, early America held because a plurality of opinions debated slavery in the context of an ideal; that all “men” are created equal. By the 1850s, a plurality of values reduced civil debate into a bitter argument in which pro-slavery sophists argued African-Americans were not even human beings.
The lesson of 1860 is that America can survive a plurality of opinions (such as the Vietnam War) but not a plurality of values. The Civil War was inevitable when abolitionists faced deniers of black humanity. Today, the law and order debate has devolved because of deniers of personal property rights, such as Vicky Osterweil, who argues “the very basis of property in the U.S. is derived from whiteness and through Black oppression.”
In her book, In Defense of Looting, Osterweil claims looting is legitimate protest, despite being a clear violation of the 8th Commandment; thou shalt not steal. It is fact – not opinion – that personal property rights are essential to prosperous nations and domestic tranquility. Osterweil knows this fact because her book includes a plea to respect her intellectual property rights. Even socialist Bernie Sanders, when pressed about his book royalties, said he would not to share “his” royalties with we the people.
There are legitimate voices – of every race – protesting peacefully in pursuit of social justice, and no reasonable American can oppose equal treatment by police officers or in court sentencing. The dead-end problem are the self-proclaimed Marxists inside Black Lives Matter. Read their anti-civilization manifesto: no nuclear families, no property and no police. Even worse, most Americans – of every race – see Black Lives Matter staging “peaceful” protests when Antifa and Black Bloc burn and loot private property.
The anti-property forces are doomed to fail. Start at the top, President Trump showcased a Saint Louis couple at the RNC to explain why they bore arms to defend their house. Later, Attorney General Barr told CNN, “the American people are being told a lie by the media [that riots are] mostly peaceful protests.” Half true, because CNN’s black stars, Van Jones and Don Lemon, faulted Dems for ignoring the “economic devastation” across the USA.
In July, 77% of Americans were concerned about the spike in urban crime (source: Harvard CAPS/Harris). In August, 59% of black Americans opposed violence as a means to social justice (source: Gallup). Right now, 67% of black voters worry about “cop shortages and public safety” (source: Rasmussen). Duh! In 2016, 47% of black Americans owned homes and a million have bought a home since (source: USCB). Back to Rasmussen, it’s no coincidence 64% of all Americans own homes and 64% of all Americans fear cop shortages.
After the first Floyd riots, many were in denial – until 90 days of arson and looting ignited conservative anger and liberal fear. Two-thirds of Americans own homes and expect local police to defend their private property with necessary force. In fact, many Americans so value their property, they will take the law into their own hands if 911 calls go un-answered. This is why 2020 has produced 5 million new gun owners, including 3 million black citizens.
This election will probably turn on the economy and coronavirus, which are short-term matters. However, the existential threat is the plurality of values about personal property, because anti-property insurgents are infecting Democrat-led cities. If Biden is elected, he’ll appease the extremes of his party; thereby inviting a new Tea Party movement – with guns. If Trump is elected, he’ll call insurgency what it is and send in federal forces to crush the truly un-thinkable.