Sadly, many leftists thought the events in Washington D.C. on Saturday were all about President Trump “throwing himself a military parade.” That’s what the progressive group Indivisible told their minions. Founded in 2016 as a reaction against the election of Donald Trump, Indivisible fancies itself the Wuhan lab of the TDS virus.
The group’s founders, Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, have had their share of controversy for their confrontational tactics and criticism of party establishment strategies. When Senator Chuck Schumer announced that he would vote to advance the GOP bill last March, it was Levin who whipped liberals into a frenzy with talk of the “Schumer surrender.”
Levin and Greenberg come off as well groomed, kind-hearted, middle class Americans — yet they emit the same unsettling ‘something’s off’ vibe as Norman Bates.
Yet Levin and Greenberg can no longer be passed off as quirky progressives riling the waters in the background. After the “No Kings” marches across the country drew thousands of people, I submit they are a force with which to be reckoned. They deserve credit in the same way Madame Defarge deserved credit for her role in the French Revolution. In a Tale of Two Cities, Defarge’s apparent passivity belied her relentless thirst for vengeance. And that’s what I heard and saw Saturday — no intelligent discussion, no thoughtful sharing of ideas — nothing except a thirst for vengeance.
When I approached the crowd at Fort Stanwix, in Rome, NY, I was surprised to see hundreds of people. The usual group of Flag Day patriots were on the corner, waving their flags, passing out cake, and making patriotic speeches. Less than a block away was a much larger crowd of “No Kings Day” protestors.
I immediately wanted to jump down the rabbit hole and immerse myself in the protestors to see how badly they were suffering from the TDS virus.
The problem was, I was wearing a patriotic shirt with a flag on the front. “Somebody give me a different shirt,” I yelled to the friendly flag day patriots on the corner. “They’ll never talk to me while I’m wearing this!”
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” one of them answered. “They’ve decided to cover themselves in American flags!”
She was right. From a distance it seemed the No Kings Day protestors were as patriotic as the Flag Day celebrants. But as I approached them, trying to smile, speak, and interact, I was met with some of the angriest looks I’ve ever encountered. I walked back to the patriots, “I don’t get it, what’s wrong with how I look?” I asked. “It’s not the flag shirt,” someone finally pointed out, “It’s the ‘In God we trust’ underneath it that’s the problem!” Of course. I forgot those words were on my shirt.
With a jacket completely concealing my shirt, I headed back and was accepted by the crowd.
From afar, they seemed patriotic, but up close, many of their flags were upside down, or defaced with permanent marker. In addition to “No Kings” signs, often accompanied by offensive caricatures of Trump, slogans included: “Rejecting kings since 1776,” “Stop fascism,” and “#undothecoup.” (Apparently, Trump pulled off a “coup” with 77 million people voting for him.)
The American flags were intentional. Progressive websites urged protestors to display the flag at “No Kings” rally’s. (Note that they had to be told to do this because it doesn’t come naturally to them.) As one person posted on an Indivisible Facebook page, they are “tired of the right-wing co-opting the American flag.”
There were a few signs warning participants not to engage with outsiders, so they kept the conversation light.
But it was the ones who quickly covered their faces when I pulled out my camera that bothered me — like the young woman in the “Los Angeles” t-shirt clutching a crumpled “No Kings” flyer. Complete with sunglasses, hat, and a full face covering, she acted like she was dodging an international arrest warrant.
They pulled no punches. Videos posted online showed protestors across the country continuing to depict President Trump as Hitler and calling him a fascist, rapist, king, and oligarch. A video from Saturday’s protests shows a sweet-looking grandma holding the sign that matters most: “Stop him now.”
What I felt at Saturday’s protest was intense hatred. Their outer veneer was pleasant enough — heck one of the women holding an “8647” sign practically purred when I asked to take her picture. “Ooh, you like this one, don’t you?” she asked with an evil grin as she posed.
But these folks were not pleasant and the peaceful protests were a façade. Curling lips, narrowing eyes, and hushed whispers hid a vicious edge. The people gathering for these rallies want vengeance so badly they can taste it. They don’t even really know what they want retribution for, but they’re waiting for someone to lead them to it. They fancy themselves a fifth column, and would be happy with a revolution. Check out this posting from Rep. Julie von Haefen in North Carolina who posted a guillotine with Trump’s head hanging to the side.
Then there was Spencer, who told his 18M followers that Trump should ride in an open convertible with Melania during Saturday’s parade — blatantly referring to the assassination of JFK. As “I Meme Therefore I Am” wrote on X, the video “has nearly 500,000 likes, and the top comment reads: “SOME DON’T MISS THIS TIME.” The X poster then asks, “Why are Democrats so comfortable joking about — or even encouraging — political violence against their opponents? And how many violent and dumb people are out there who would actually follow this lunatic?”
The answer is — we shouldn’t be waiting around to find out.
I submit to you that Indivisible — and all the organizations assisting them — are doubling down on their violent rhetoric, not being deterred from it.
Their June 13th email made their message clear:
No crowns. No thrones. NO KINGS. No midnight raids or masked abductions... No troops patrolling our streets, guns pointed at peaceful protestors… No slashing and burning vital services to enrich wealthy allies and patrons… No more lawlessness and terror tactics from the White House.
All those horrific things Trump is doing are meant to strengthen his power by dividing us and chilling dissent. He wants us to give up our rights, bow down, and obey in advance.
Wow. If you really believed all that violent rhetoric, what would you do?
In the movie A Tale of Two Cities (1935), a clockface looms with the inscription, “It is later than you know.” A man walks up and scrawls “blood” in wet cement; later he will write it in actual blood. Who’s blood? That’s the same question I ask now.
Like the people of France before 1789, some on the left fail to see that pursuing their hateful fantasies could plunge the nation into indiscriminate violence and chaos.
Our leaders must take decisive action against threats and inflammatory language, while the left — especially Indivisible — should advocate for moderation and restraint before it’s too late.
Image: Free image, Pixabay license.