It’s Patton time in Minneapolis

May 30, 2020 21 Comments

It wasn’t Minnesota Nice, it was Minnesota Fail.

What we saw unfold before our eyes Friday night was proof of the adage that in war — and this is war — plans die when the first shot is fired.

This is what Mini-Apple says it will not allow to happen again. (Photo: Getty Images)

In this case, the first shot was a gas canister fired by state police or national guard. It was fired after authorities announced the curfew, which was ignored by the mob.

The cops and guard then vanished, inviting widespread looting and arson.

I was lulled by the Friday afternoon news conference led by Gov. Tim Walz, the national guard commander and public safety leaders. Each seemed earnest and intelligent, but appearances were deceptive. They got smoked.

At midnight, the forces returned, and at a 2 a.m. news conference, the governor said there were far more protesters than was expected and there were suspicions of outside agitators — white supremacists, anarchists, even drug czars.

Here’s a flash: It doesn’t matter what motivates the rioters or what they called themselves. They need to be smashed.

You can argue this — and it will be — but I believe the earlier abandonment of the 3rd police precinct emboldened the rioters, whether they were Minnesotans, Mickey Mouse Club members, anarchists, drug czars, or white supremacists. They learned force works and that’s why crowds got larger.

The authorities had bad intelligence, believing crowds would be smaller. Here I agree with Ronald Reagan, who said weakness invites attack and strength is a deterrence. These ideas were earlier expressed by President John F. Kennedy.

Before the rioting, everyone — and I mean everyone, even supreme conservative superstar Rush Limbaugh and the national FOP — agreed that George Floyd’s death was at the very least unjustified and at the most homicide.

Had there been peaceful protests and marches — which were welcomed by authorities almost everywhere — it would have been what they call a teachable moment. It would have demonstrated how to channel grief and rage into positive actions that summon the righteous to your cause. But the rioters among the protesters — they are not one and the same — taught a different lesson.

Let me quote Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta: “So what I see happening on the streets of Atlanta is not Atlanta. This is not a protest, this is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., this is chaos. A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn’t do this to our city.” Here’s a transcript of her full remarks, which I strongly recommend.

Yes, the cops could and should have been indicted earlier, but looting a Target does not change that. The riots drove people away and shifted the focus from George Floyd to the criminal activity.

The second part of the equation was the wholly inadequate reaction to the violence.

Here’s another adage: Underpromise and overdeliver.

Minnesota did the opposite on Friday.

“The situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities,” said Gov. Walz as he announced on Saturday that he had activated 13,000 National Guardsmen to enforce the Saturday curfew.

The use of federal troops has been mentioned. That should not be necessary. 

To me, Democrats are always Mommies, filled with forgiveness, second chances, kisses on the forehead and excuses for all failure. 

Tonight it’s Daddy’s turn to stand up. 

Minneapolis needs a strong, confrontational Plan A, followed by a fallback Plan B, a “God forbid, what if” scenario. It must make demands to clear the streets, not requests to discuss it. That idea went up in smoke with the Dollar Mart, Wells Fargo branch and the Minnehaha Lake liquor store. Minneapolis needs Patton, not Plato.

Plan A has to mean fast, firm, early action, with police forces posting themselves before the curfew.

Walz and weak-kneed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who ordered the precinct  to be abandoned,  both said the mob outnumbered police. That is usually the case. The proper police response is to divide the crowd so smaller numbers can be dealt with, and suspects can be taken into custody. That’s what Atlanta did. 

Like the Fire Department knows about fighting fires, it’s imperative to get there fast, to smother the flames before they can suck oxygen and explode.

Minnesota cops need to take control early, and be on the offensive. 

Break them up, make them run, and then arrest them, whether they be anarchists or drug czars or garden variety criminals. 

I’ll be watching tonight with my fingers crossed.

P.S.: As I file this just before 6:30 p.m., cars have been torched in Philly, there is arson and vandalism — and no cops.

21 thoughts on “It’s Patton time in Minneapolis”

  2. Yup – just watched what you did too, Stu (in Phila). Almost seems like a certain element is trying any excuse to get back payback for the Osage Ave debacle from 1985. But no bomb this time. Too close to City Hall.

  4. still HAPPY SATURDAY !!!
    Well, not so much for the bleeding heart liberal electives ( George Soros ) in Philly and else where.
    Stu wrote another good blog. Mommy, go watch t.v.. Daddy, get out the leather strap – AND USE IT !
    Why are we so worried about “civil liberties” when these same hoods are breaking every law that they can. To me, it’s very simple. You break the law, you forfeit your legal rights. You go directly to jail, and in todays’ climate, you pay a big fine. Have a problem with that ? Try China, or Venezuela or Russia, or where ever you screwed up brain takes you, but please don’t stay here.
    One thing for certain. I lived in the “pines” in South Jersey before I moved to Chester County. Both areas strongly believe in the 2nd amendment !
    Tony

  6. Excellent! Is our mayor reading your posts?? Where is he right now? Does anyone know?
    Just when the bars and restaurants were starting to eek out some semblance of a living serving cocktails and bites on the streets of our city, these idiots come out and dash their chances. Now they are boarding up and getting out of Dodge.

    Too much pent up frustration, too much time on their hands…but “we’re all in this together”, right?! Ha!!!

  7. White supremacists -ha what a clueless joke by the gov.-I live around Antifa and communists and anarchists in west philly-chaos and destruction is manna its oxygen for these cretins.They despise America – don’t you get it?Floyds murder is what they live for and pounce on.That cop should be drawn and quartered for this mess.

  8. The cops arrests Krasner releases. Next protest more damage because of no ramifications. The tenth circle hell.

  9. Riots prove nothing and undermine the reason for protesting. As I’ve said in earlier posts, it’s time for all of us to address police brutality and systemic racism.Angry people often do things that aren’t in their best interests and at times are flat-out dumb. It’s time the cause of that anger gets addressed. Current unrest just proves we’re really not “all in this together”.

      1. Barry, Stu,
        we ask ordinary people to do extraordinary things. A cop could be your neighbor. Married with kids and maybe a hobby. He gets dressed to go to work, and the partner says, have a good day, be safe, see you later. YOU HOPE ! As been noted before, on any day the cop can go from good guy to bad guy or dead guy or killer. Barry, Stu, I wont ask you if you could do the job. I KNOW that I’m too old for it. If you have to think twice, you’re done. I have nothing but respect for the people that put on the uniform. True. Some people should not own guns, never mind be a cop !
        Police Brutality. Yea, it happens, but why ? As in the recent case. It appears that the cop was bad for a long time. Why ? Who’s checking up on these cops ? Nobody ?!? I know that in the ’60s & ’70s, a lot of cops were drunks and wife beaters. Again, WHY ? We are asking ordinary people to do extraordinary things, then go back to being an ordinary guy when the shift is ended.
        When I came home from Asia, the neighbor ( committeeman ) came over to the house, knocked on the door and handed me a job application for the city. Here Tony, become a cop for the city. I said,”Mr. S., I’ve just got back from ASIA ( not S/E Asia ), I was ***doing stuff ****”. He said, perfect, your hired ! You didn’t want to put another gun in my hand after what I just did. And you think Derek Chauvin is bad ?!? He started out good. I would have started out nuts, then gone crazy !
        Tony

        1. Somebody in the dept. had to see some signs of this cops behavior and they didn’t act on it. I worked in mental health for years and I had no problem confronting a colleague when I felt they were abusive toward a particular client or were inappropriate. Yes the police have difficult job, but so do many others. It’s a damn shame that within the past year two people of color were killed in their own homes by police. It’s also a shame that the good cops(the majority are good) aren’t cleaning their own house!

          1. Amy Klobuchar passed up many opportunities to hold this cop for trial.Must laugh at you bringing up the president and saying nothing about Amy. You sound like you suffer from TDS.

        2. I am reflexively pro-cop, but only good cop. I considered doing the job. I concluded I had the smarts to be a detective but lacked the guts to be a patrol cop. And that’s how you start.

      2. You start by getting off your rump and attending local meetings in your neighborhood and get involved as opposed to reacting after something happens. We also need a president who can unite instead of incite!

          1. I’m not a fan of Amy K. either though we a centrist in gov’t, we don’t need another buck-passer.

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