Bacon Bits: And in More Riot-and-Protest News…

Image credit: Progress-Index

Support the blue. Here’s a story covered by the (Petersburg) Progress-Index but ignored by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia’s newspaper of record for left-wing causes): Several hundred people gathered in Chesterfield County to support the blue. Remarkably, no rocks were thrown, no windows broken, no cars or buildings torched, and no one was arrested.

Crying Wolf. Up in Alexandria, a group of about 30 assembled Sunday morning assembled in front of the house of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to protest the detention and removal of demonstrators in Portland, Ore., by federal officers, reports the Washington Post. The peaceful protesters — these actually were peaceful — were joined by some of Wolf’s neighbors. Wolf himself was nowhere to be seen, but another group of neighbors lined his lawn with tiny American flags and planted handmade signs saying, “Thank you for your service.”

Wokeness won’t save you from the mob. Meanwhile, Virginia Commonwealth University administrators have learned that no matter how woke you are, you can’t buy off the mob. VCU has gone further than any other higher-ed institution in Virginia to embrace social justice principles, but the university suffered more than $100,000 in damage from 80 windows broken by a predominantly white mob bent on protesting the police and creating mayhem Saturday night.

According to the Commonwealth Times: VCU President Michael Rao said in response: “We are concerned about groups that promote destruction and violence co-opting important social justice reform movements. … Violence against people and deliberate destruction of property are contrary to the values of our community and will not be tolerated.”

Perhaps Rao should rephrase that statement. Deliberate destruction of VCU property is not be tolerated. Turning Lee Circle into a police-free zone and allowing protesters to harass and intimidate neighbors — spray painting graffiti, defecating on lawns, driving down alleyways off Monument Avenue, popping off firecrackers and shooting guns at 2 p.m. — that’s a different story. Perhaps I am overlooking statements they have made, and I’m willing to stand corrected, but I have seen no expressions of indignation or even concern by either Rao or Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney about the plight of homeowners near the statue.

It would be interesting to know the degree to which VCU itself has become an incubator in Richmond of the anti-fascist radicalism of the white nihilists causing so much of the mayhem in the city.

— JAB


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10 responses to “Bacon Bits: And in More Riot-and-Protest News…”

  1. NorrhsideDude Avatar
    NorrhsideDude

    To add to the VCU saga… the self-proclaimed ANTIFA RVA Tweeters were joking about the shock parents will have when they drop their kids off for the fall semester. They also said Rao can easily pay for new windows by firing his 99 officer police force.
    They are right. We’ll see how people vote with their money when it comes to Richmond and VCU’s future. Again if that’s what the people of RVA and VCU want and vote for more power to you. But accept your fate and don’t ask for a bailout down the road.

    1. CREGUY Avatar

      I’m sure Mr. Bacon can offer commentary on this, but I think you are correct. A lot of people are unaware that what meager urban growth RVA has seen (and it lags greatly behind former peer cities) is, in large part, due to VCU.

      I think that if VCU is really going this way, then RVA is probably going to fall off an economic cliff. It literally is seeing its growth engine turn into an economic anchor.

      I’d really love to hear Mr. Bacon’s thoughts on this.

      1. CREGUY, Over the past 10 to 20 years, VCU has been a major driver behind the revitalization of a large swatch on the edge of downtown Richmond. I think most Richmonders appreciate what the university has accomplished in that regard. What worries me is that I’m not sure how well its business model will hold up under the COVID-19 virus. Its tuition is high for a run-of-the-mill state university. Maybe its balls-to-the-wall commitment to social justice will appeal to some segments of the population and bolster its applications, but it will alienate others. The school year will begin shortly, so we should know pretty soon how well its enrollment (and revenues) is holding up.

  2. Nancy_Naive Avatar
    Nancy_Naive

    “In any free society, the conflict between social conformity and individual liberty is permanent, unresolvable, and necessary.” — Kathleen Norris, novelist and columnist (27 Jul 1880-1966)

    1. CrazyJD Avatar

      And your point would be…?

      1. Nancy_Naive Avatar
        Nancy_Naive

        Endless strife is a good sign…. or placard as the case may be.

        1. CrazyJD Avatar

          Doesn’t that depend on the setting? If you’re talking about strife between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, yes. You get better music as a result. If you’re talking about busting up buildings as the point of strife…Not so much.

  3. James Wyatt Whitehead V Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead V

    I busted my tail two years ago to get a former homeless student into VCU with a full ride. This young lady had a great first year, pandemic and all, at VCU. She called me yesterday to explain she is not going back to VCU. Safety and climate concerns. As Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn once said:
    “Thanks, thanks a lot
    I got a broken heart that’s all I got
    You made me cry and I cried a lot”
    Stoney and Rao need to consider the needs of all involved.

    1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      Heartbreaking story. Thanks for sharing it. I suspect the nation is full of such stories and loss, and that they grow daily.

  4. VaNavVet Avatar
    VaNavVet

    “anti-facist radicalism of the white nihilists causing so much of the mayhem in the city”
    Who isn’t anti-facist and perhaps even a little radical in order to bring about change? And with “white nihilists” have we moved beyond BLM and perhaps more towards the Boogaloo Boys. No question that individuals are out to cause mayhem and that some groups from across the spectrum have become involved. It becomes increasingly hard to paint these groups with a broad brush while some still try to do so.

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