I wonder if the Capital Police would be so easy going if the mob was going after the Governor’s Mansion, State House, or something else owned by the citizens of the State of North Carolina
Police told to stand down before protesters toppled monuments, officials explain why
One of the main questions about Friday’s protest in downtown Raleigh — where two Confederate statues were torn down by protesters — was the lack of police presence at the height of it all.
A spokeswoman for the State Capitol police said the decision was made to tell officers to stand down not long before protesters eventually toppled the monuments. She said officers were present but the chief of State Capitol police made the call to make sure no officers got hurt.
Protestors took matters into their own hands Friday night after the officers left, using straps to pull two statues down at the State Capitol in Raleigh.
The spokeswoman with State Capitol police told WRAL officers remained on the grounds as they prevented protestors from trying to pull down the same statues earlier Friday to maintain public safety. She said crowds grew and the situation escalated after dark as protestors tried removing the statues a second time.
Audio obtained by WRAL reveals the incident commander calling for assistance but telling officers to back off for their safety.
Interestingly, WRAL doesn’t seem to be asking the question “who, exactly, gave the order for the police to not do their job in stopping a mob from destroying public property?” It shouldn’t matter what the statues are, they are still public property and a mob should not be allowed to destroy them. We have a civilized process in place.
Officials also said there were injuries to officers earlier Friday, which also led to the decision to pull back and away from the protesters. One officer had a fractured wrist, another had lacerations to the hand and another had to have their eyes flushed due to an unknown liquid being thrown in their face. Numerous officers also had paint and what is believed to be urine thrown on them, as well as getting pelted with rocks and frozen water bottles.
That says they aren’t protesters, they are a mob. Neither the 1st Amendment nor the NC Constitution allow violent protest, just peaceable ones. These people are breaking they law. They assaulted official Law Enforcement Officers. While one mob member was arrested, all involved should have been hauled away. Really, they never should have been allowed to destroy property.
Would WRAL or NC Governor Rory Cooper be so glib about this if they were going after the WRAL’s building or the gates of the Governor’s Mansion? The bricks were made with prisoner labor, as prisoners were used for construction. Marble for steps were stolen from the Native Americans in Cherokee County. Of any number of racist Democratic Party NC governor’s, let’s consider Charles Brantley Aycock, who even spoke of the “Negro problem”: he lived in the mansion, so, tear it down! That’s how this works, you know.
Look, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not a fan of the Confederate statues, excepting the more general ones which are odes to all those who died in the Civil War. The common person sent to fight. But, Confederate big wigs? They lost! They defended the Confederacy. Even Robert E Lee, who was no friend of slavery, shouldn’t have one. He lost. He was part of rebellion against the U.S., and was defending slavery. I’ve been in NC since 1985, full time since 1991, and, while I rarely ever saw one, I never cared for them. We shouldn’t have monuments and such as odes to people who lost.
That said, there are processes for this. Civilized ones. Mob violence should not be tolerated. What if it was a Conservative group tearing something down, would that have been allowed? Would the news media be so accommodating?
Problem number two is the old saying “give an inch, they take a mile.” That’s what’s happening, just like we saw last time. They say they just want to get rid of the Confederate/slavery stuff, and then they come after Jefferson, Washington, heck, even ones like Junipero Serro and
Grant was given slaves by the family he married into, and freed them. There’s always something more they want, the goal posts always move. Hence the reason Conservatives haven’t been willing to comply. I suspect most are not fans of Confederate monuments and such, but, we don’t give in to mob rule. Say, when does the mob go after things like Yale University and Columbia University? Both have big links to slavery. How about Hollywood, which has produced racist movies and TV shows, and had ones with people in blackface?
We can be civilized or a mob.
Read: Mob Rule: Police Told To Stand Down As “Protesters” Tore Down Statues »
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