It is necessary to state at the outset that I despise neo-Nazis. But that does not mean I approve of violent attacks on them as they peacefully exercise their rights to free speech. (UPDATE: The group attacked, the Traditionalist Workers Party, does not identify itself with Nazism; that label is applied by its opponents. So that may be an unfair characterization.) And that seems to have been what happened in Sacramento yesterday, despite media reports that “violence erupts” and other such passive-voice euphemisms that obscure the difference between perpetrator and victim. An important caveat is that I was not there and am relying on both reading between the lines of media reports and on local Sacramento talk radio.

Coming dressed in masks to a rally of opponents is a sure sign of trouble. That the media are not reporting this as the real story is a travesty. We are on a slippery slope toward political violence used to silence unpopular viewpoints.

There is a cancerous belief held by many on the left (and no doubt some others) that violence against those with whom one strongly disagrees is justified. We have seen this at Trump rallies.

Many of the protesters were dressed all in black, some wearing face masks and hoodies zipped up to their chins, and it was difficult to tell at times who was on which side as they waved sticks, chanted and occasionally set off large fireworks.

Somers said there have been other skinhead rallies at the Capitol, but “this time the anarchists have taken a much more aggressive stance to wreak havoc on the city.” (snip)

“It’s a highly volatile situation,” Sacramento police Chief Sam Somers said in the midafternoon, before the Capitol grounds on the west side were cleared.

In videos published online, people could be seen punching, kicking and swinging sticks at one another amid screams of “racists” and “Nazis.” At one point, police officers in riot gear intervened as several people kicked a person on the ground . At another, people dressed in black became physically confrontational with a news crew , ordering it to leave. Here is video of that confrontation via The Sacramento Bee :

It is necessary to state at the outset that I despise neo-Nazis. But that does not mean I approve of violent attacks on them as they peacefully exercise their rights to free speech. (UPDATE: The group attacked, the Traditionalist Workers Party, does not identify itself with Nazism; that label is applied by its opponents. So that may be an unfair characterization.) And that seems to have been what happened in Sacramento yesterday, despite media reports that “violence erupts” and other such passive-voice euphemisms that obscure the difference between perpetrator and victim. An important caveat is that I was not there and am relying on both reading between the lines of media reports and on local Sacramento talk radio.

See, for example, the New York Times:

In videos published online, people could be seen punching, kicking and swinging sticks at one another amid screams of “racists” and “Nazis.” At one point, police officers in riot gear intervened as several people kicked a person on the ground. At another, people dressed in black became physically confrontational with a news crew, ordering it to leave.

Here is video of that confrontation via The Sacramento Bee:

The Bee also reported:

“It’s a highly volatile situation,” Sacramento police Chief Sam Somers said in the midafternoon, before the Capitol grounds on the west side were cleared. Somers said there have been other skinhead rallies at the Capitol, but “this time the anarchists have taken a much more aggressive stance to wreak havoc on the city.” (snip) Many of the protesters were dressed all in black, some wearing face masks and hoodies zipped up to their chins, and it was difficult to tell at times who was on which side as they waved sticks, chanted and occasionally set off large fireworks.

There is a cancerous belief held by many on the left (and no doubt some others) that violence against those with whom one strongly disagrees is justified. We have seen this at Trump rallies.

Coming dressed in masks to a rally of opponents is a sure sign of trouble. That the media are not reporting this as the real story is a travesty. We are on a slippery slope toward political violence used to silence unpopular viewpoints.