Not meaning to stir up a sh*t storm where there isn't one...but I am getting mighty suspicious..

[Peacetrain]

Bear with me.. this has been rolling around in my head all day, so I am just going to put this out as it comes.

First of all.. why has Trump not said very much...truthfully he has been sitting on the sidelines.. oh he throws a bomb blaming Democrats or Antifa for the riots..but he is keeping basically quiet.. why is that?? that is not his MO..

These people who are tearing it up after dark, not during times of Protest..but under the cloak of night, with back packs of who knows what , and stirring up the burning of buildings, breaking windows, instigating looting's..are they doing this in mostly states that have either Democratic Governors or the cities in the red states that have Democratic Mayors???

If that is true, and the one thing we have heard from Trump is his willingness to send in the military.. how far off are we from having a military junta put in with Trump in the lead??

The Russians have been known to instigate this kind of operation in other countries.. suddenly Trump wants to bring them back into the G-7 alone..

Just saying.. this is starting to look like some of the scariest movies I have seen in the past on how a country loses its way

I have never said this before in the 12 years I have been posting in DU..

But someone talk me off the ledge!!!!

[kentuck]

1. You are not alone.

There is something about all these protests that seems planned and organized. The innocent protestors are put out front, between the cops and the "protestors" in the back.

Russia is messing with the November election much more than they did with the election of 2016. Now, they know they can win.

[Peacetrain]

3. I am actually scared Kentuck..

[kentuck]

14. Resign Now!

The next time Antifa goes to the White House to protest, they can carry a few signs requesting immediate resignation.

He needs to go. The pressure needs to be placed on McConnell and the Republicans. They deserve much of the blame from where our country is today.

"Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho!
Donald Trump has got to go!"

We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis, in my opinion.

[monmouth4]

23. Didn't trump and putin have a lengthy convo a few weeks back? I seem to recall someone asking

him what was discussed but of course, no answer.

[Hoyt]

2. I'm sure he's glad to see CV19 out of headlines. Not particularly worried about Military junta.

No doubt in my mind that he will attempt to turn this on Democrats.

[Peacetrain]

5. Oh definitely going to try and blame the Democrats and Obama..

but he has been too quiet.. I was just reading the headline of another thread where even Fox news is trying to get him out to talk.. makes me want to go hmmmmm

[EarlG]

4. IMO

Trump is paralyzed. He’s way out of his depth, he’s gotten rid of anybody who could present him with a reasonable course of action — not that he would listen to them anyway — and he has no clue what to do next. That’s why all we’ve gotten out of him so far are a couple of pathetic knee-jerk MAGA! tweets.

[Peacetrain]

8. That helps.. he does seem completely disconnected from what is happening!!

[Lars39]

6. I keep thinking how organized it all seems

The targeting of media, the senseless escalations.
How involved has homeland security been in training and overseeing all of the country’s police departments?

[Peacetrain]

9. Yep, that is what got me to write this.. how coordinated it is across the country

to diffuse the progress of the protests..

[Claustrum]

18. I agree with you

The whole thing just seems off to me. The protests seem organic at first but it escalated rather quickly. It just seems like someone coordinated the whole thing for years and was waiting for any trigger signs.

Do I believe some random angry person would go off and turn violent? Yes, definitely.

Do I believe there are so many and ramp up so quickly at so many cities around the US? Nope.

I thought at first that cooler heads will win when the bad press of looting and fire started to come. Instead, the chaos ramp up rather quickly. And the police aren't trying to de-escalate the situation when they are shooting at press and peaceful protesters. I fully understand the tear gas against the looters and people starting fires. But I can't understand firing at Ali Velshi and other press when they are with peaceful protesters. At the very least, warn them before firing at them.

[BannonsLiver]

7. I'm not sure I agree with the keeping quiet part

On Friday he called people thugs and encouraged violence against them. Saturday he’s tweeting about vicious dogs and ominous weapons. Today he’s going on about antifa, and this is just a basic outline of some of the nutty shit he’s been saying. He’s not “keeping quiet”.

[Peacetrain]

10. I agree he has said some things... but honestly BL.. he is usally much more verbose

and will hold forth for hours ..

[BannonsLiver]

11. They're actually some of the worst things he's said so far in his presidency

And I totally forgot the “MAGA loves the blacks” comment from yesterday.

[Qutzupalotl]

12. I think the reason Russia is pushing Trump to get back in the G-7

is because they don’t think he is going to win in November, no matter how much help they give him. They can move the needle a few percentage points, but they can’t close an 8 or 10 point gap. They’re calling in their chips now, so to speak.

I think Putin is pushing Trump to be as destructive to America as he can. If we can’t pull out of NATO, we can completely screw up the pandemic response (and reopen too early), and fan the flames of racial tension rather than unite the country.

[AntiFascist]

13. Bringing an end to the violence, or at least a beginning to the end, would be very simple...

Arrest the remaining officers involved in the death of Floyd and throw the book at them. Also bring charges of second-degree murder against Chauvin.

I'm curious as to what is holding up the prosecutors.

[Jedi Guy]

30. They're not going to charge him with second degree murder based on the evidence as it stands.

According to what I read of Minnesota's murder statutes, a second degree murder charge would require the prosecutor to prove that Chauvin intended to kill Floyd without premeditation, and proving intent can be tricky when you're up against the reasonable doubt standard. Overcharging a defendant is a great way to wind up with an acquittal. That's what happened with the cops who killed Freddie Gray. Based on the statutes, I think third degree is much more likely to stick based on the evidence at hand.

As for what's holding up the works on charging the other three, it could be any number of things. It's possible they may be considering plea deals to get some or all of the others to testify against Chauvin. Or they may be going over it all with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that they bring charges that'll stick.

I also very much doubt that changing the charges against Chauvin or charging the other three will have a significant quelling effect on the violence.

[AntiFascist]

32. Thanks for the explanation. I would disagree with the last part...

there seem to be a lot protesters calling for the arrest of the other three.

Also notable is the fact that MN State AG Keith Ellison just took over prosecution of the case so I guess we'll see what he can do.

[Stuart G]

15. I will talk you off the ledge. Trump could try to install a military junta..But it won't work.

2 Reasons to bet on....A & B..pretty simple.

A...Most republicans will not go along with it

B...Military leaders will not go along with it. (against the Constitution that they are sworn to protect)

[mercuryblues]

16. trump is sitting back and enjoying the show he created

That is his MO, this is exactly who he is.

He throws shit out there, stirs the pot then watches everyone else fight over it. I first noticed this in the gop primary debates. 1 by 1 he picked off his challengers this way.

This is his for his amusement, nothing more, nothing less.

[Luz]

22. Well, it stopped stories of what a miserable failure his covid

response was. Keeps 40 million unemployed off the news. It's sweeping 105k deaths under the rug.
Would he support riots and violence to cover his ass?

Yup

[Blue_true]

27. Someone posted that the ex-cop that killed Mr. Floyd spoke at a Trump rally.

Let that sink in. If true, that explains everything, a killer cop spoke at a rally for a man that advised police to be extra physical with suspects, WITHOUT concern that "suspects" ,by definition, refer to people that may have done a crime, but who also may be innocent.

[Quemado]

17. George Floyd Murder Theory

https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/gskf44/george_floyd_murder_theory/

Quote from the Reddit post: "I think there is at the very least the “possibility”, that this was a filmed public execution of a black man by a white cop, with the purpose of creating racial tensions and driving a wedge in the growing group of anti deep state sentiment from comon people, that have already been psychologically traumatized by Covid 19 fears."

It's my suspicion that either Trump or his people knew this was going to happen. Trump is playing the situation to his benefit.

Remember: Trump's approval ratings have been going down recently. He (or his people) had to do something to turn things around. Having a full-blown race issue is one way to divert the public's attention away from Trump's mishandling of the coronavirus epidemic. Maybe Trump's not saying very much is part of the plan.

[Jedi Guy]

31. So your suspicion is that the administration plotted to assassinate Floyd or someone like him?

And this cop offered himself up as the sacrificial lamb for Trump's political ambitions? You think he's such a true believer that he's willing to stare down 25 years in prison for Trump? That really seems believable to you? No offense intended, but that's pretty damn silly.

[Quemado]

33. I know it's far-fetched, but

Why would the police officer do such a blatant act in public and knowing that he was being filmed? I mean, if he was bound and determined to kill George Floyd, why wouldn't he do it in a place where the act wouldn't be filmed or witnessed?

[Jedi Guy]

35. Yeah, it's definitely far-fetched.

One, I can't imagine the administration keeping that secret for long, given how leak-prone they've been in the past. Someone in the WH is always ready to spill to the press about something. And two, Trump doesn't have the power of the pardon here since Chauvin's charges are at the state level. Trump couldn't shield him even if he cared to do so.

I don't think Chauvin intended to kill Floyd and had this idea that Floyd could "stand up to it." I remember reading a news item about a study that concluded that doctors, nurses, and cops routinely underestimate the amount of pain African-Americans feel as compared to other races. So in an ER setting, for instance, a doctor would prescribe less painkiller for an AA patient than he or she would for a white patient with a similar pain level.

Other possibilities are that he thought he was immune to consequences, or he's just an asshole. Or some combination of these and other factors.

[Baclava]

19. He sees Dem cities looted/burned with Dem voters doing the damage and Dem mayors taking the heat

More winning in his eyes

[rockfordfile]

28. true

[ancianita]

20. Your thinking is solid. Make them control your feelings, which feel on a ledge.

There is no legal standing for using the US military for law enforcement. The US military just won't do it.

If reading can calm you down, I suggest Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities, which lays out all the ways one can find things to do and people who do them. It helps quell fear.

Breathe. Get out in nature. Watch starry skies at night. Dave Chappelle's latest show is thoughtful and funny in uplifting ways.

Hope that helps a little. We can get through this.

[Peacetrain]

21. I did go outside.. and you were right.. it helped!!

[Poiuyt]

24. I think trump is too chickenshit to do something drastic like that

He likes screaming and crying so that everyone feels sorry for him, but I doubt he'd send in the military.

[davekriss]

25. Yup - Peacetrain your paranoia is justified

The coup continues. We’re watching deep manipulation of our citizenry and media by dark powers that have every interest in ending liberal democracy.

I fear where this ends.

[Blue_true]

26. Instigators don't cause people to loot.

Moral decay cause people to loot and that has nothing to do with poverty or racism. There were poor, destitute people in the locations where looting took place who saw the windows that had been broken by instigators and took nothing, because they knew that merchandise was not theirs.

[HipChick]

29. I am right there on the ledge with you

[GreenEyedLefty]

34. This one is easy.

Someone else said something along these lines. He is a flailing, abject failure. Nothing he says or does helps anything, not least himself. With that said he is no doubt welcoming the distraction from his failure on the pandemic.

Putin and Russia are being given way too much credit. This shit show belongs to Trump alone.

What I am seeing is civic engagement on a level not seen in a long time. I'm not talking about the looters. I'm talking about people turning out (during a pandemic no less) to peacefully protest in cities large and small across the nation. That is not a sign of a country that has lost its way, at least to me.