Peace, Love and Fire

On Valentine's Day a group of unmasked marauders barged into Trader Joe's market in Santa Cruz proving that ignorance and disruption are their calling card while shouting "peace and love." 

The above video captures this event and speaks for itself. I have a few thoughts about it below.

I believe it's a very mild version of what happened at our nation's Capitol on January 6. The connection is clear and I believe this kind of thing will happen again and is potentially very dangerous.

One obvious similarity between the two events is that members of the mob recorded videos of their activity. The above video was uploaded on YouTube faster than you can say "Operation Money Drop," the name of their "peace and love" caper.

Welcome to the age of social media, the age of Trump twitters and unruly mobs storming capitol buildings while snapping photos of themselves. We are in the midst of fake realities where anyone can make up their own lie, their own grievance or conspiracy to justify their actions, however disrespectful they may be of the rights and health of others.

I shop at this Trader Joe's store, and wait in line just like the folks who were waiting their turn to enter the store on this day. The store is careful to count how many people enter, ensuring that it does not become crowded with shoppers. The emphasis is on safety and they do a good job of it.

The unmasked gang cut in front of the line of people who follow the safety rules set by the store.

Boiled down to its essence, this is a blatant act of selfishness. It's all about me and what I believe. F-you! It's the F-you mentality. They call it "freedom" and pretend they're spreading "peace and love." This group claims that TJ employees and shoppers are victims of a mass scam. And they are here to save us! 

That is a lie, somebody's false narrative that gullible people have fallen for.

We know who the models of this kind of thinking and behavior are, or more precisely who spread the popular anti-government lies and conspiracies: Fox News, (the late) Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, Sara Palin, Ted Cruz and the gang of Dividers. They foment hate and claim that you and they are the victims. They say those who disagree with them are the haters. They make a ton of money doing this.

Social media has enabled them and the conspirators we see here to spread their lies into the homes of people everywhere, people who may feel lonely, aggrieved, depressed. They go to Social Media for comfort and answers. It gives them someone to blame. It riles them up. 

"Why am I supposed to wear a mask everywhere I go?"

"It's the government's fault!"

"Everything's a scam!"

When I last checked, this YouTube video had received 984 "likes" and 994 "not likes." 

I clicked "not like."