Apart from the fact that the DHS et al have been sending signals loud and clear that they regard heartland American Whites as The Enemy, I think it's pretty well been accepted that tabs are and have been kept on people who are involved in protests of whatever kind. Back when I was young, and anti-war protests were common, the accepted belief was that pictures were taken and files were kept on participants, with leaders being the most important targets. It appears that whatever the political orientation of the current administration, the opposite side of the spectrum is the main concern. Whether this should be so in a truly free society is something that can be discussed, but it's accepted that it has been going on for some time.
And it isn't just the left which has been an object of interest over the years; groups that are designated 'far-right' have always been of interest as well, but it does appear now as though the definition of 'far-right' or 'extremist' has become considerably broader and more inclusive of what were once mainstream patriotic Americans.
Over at the LRC blog, Karen DeCoster has said that she believes that the government is fanning the flames.
I've said time and time again that the government (think Eric Holder's hate speech) is trying to fan the flames of a race war in this country. And they are trying to set it up so that they can blame peoples' rebellion on the fact that Obama is (half) black and not the fact that the government, under Bush and now Obama, has stepped up its totalitarian, Communist, Fascist, Socialist agenda faster than ever. And now that the economic boom period - which provided enough false prosperity to paint over the underlying gloom - has been shattered, people are waking up out of their (mostly jobless) slumber, and they are looking to fight back. People are going to fight against more and more taxes, spiraling unemployment, looming inflation, the nationalization of life, the quasi-governmental ownership of business, an ever-increasing corporatist state, an escalating war scene, a step-up in the Security State and Drug War, more creeping gun control, and the consistent chatter about a draft and/or a national service plan that is akin to outright slavery. This is a grass roots movement - libertarians, constitutionalists, traditional conservatives, civil libertarian leftists, etc. - that is dedicated to the ideals of the founding fathers and the explicit meanings of the Constitution, and they are sick and tired of the government eroding their private lives one decree at a time.''
She says that the issues are not racial for most of the participants in the protests, and as I've said, that is probably the case. I suppose libertarians see that as a good thing, and as the right thing; obviously I don't agree. I think we continue to try to ignore race at our great peril; we are the only ones who pretend to be, or try to be, ''colorblind.'' Nobody else feels compelled to pretend such impartiality. But whether the colorblindness is naivete or willful denial because of PC, I think most Americans publicly persist in that attitude, though they may not continue to do so forever in today's incendiary climate in which everything is made racial by the media and by politicians and race-hucksters.
The fact that the media, government, the political classes, and academia seem to be avidly fomenting conflict leads me to believe, as I've said, that there is a conscious strategy. It seems to me that they are purposely goading and trying to provoke the majority to some rash action which will provide a needed pretext for the next planned step. Am I paranoid for considering that possibility?
To my way of thinking, the powers-that-be, who seem to be inciting things by their constant attacks and accusations, their perpetual fostering of grievances, are either doing so because they are completely clueless and tone-deaf, oblivious to the resentment they are creating, or they are following a prescribed strategy. To suppose that they are completely oblivious to the resentment and indignation that they are producing would require us to think that they don't monitor right-wing forums and blogs as well as more mainstream media like talk radio, and we know that they do in fact monitor what people are saying. They do in fact keep tabs on any kind of activist groups, however innocuous they may be.
So I find it impossible to imagine that they don't know that they are creating a backlash. I tend to think it's by design. I can only hope that some on the right don't take the bait and act rashly; it can only be harmful all around. On the other hand, I don't think we should respond by trying to be more politically correct and more censorious of those to our right; those in control would love that, too. They are also, I'm sure, following the old 'divide and rule' script, and encouraging division and discord on the right.
What thoughts do my readers have about this?
