Protesters target D.C. diners, triggering backlash after heckling woman

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

A demonstration that began Monday evening in the District to protest the shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin wound its way through two of the city’s entertainment districts, targeting diners in a tactic that has triggered backlash online.

The crowd of protesters confronted a woman seated at a table outside a restaurant on 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan and demanded that she raise her fist in a show of solidarity.

...snip...

But the woman, Lauren B. Victor, refused, even after her dining companion complied.

“I felt like I was under attack,” Victor, 49, an urban planner and photographer who lives in the District, said in an interview afterward.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/25/dc-protesters-blm-diner-confrontation/

---

As a tactic this is beyond stupid. It scares off potential allies and gives opponents fuels to claim protests are "out of control", all in the name of meaningless symbolism.

[still_one]

1. It is self-destructive behavior, and there is no doubt that trump and the republicans will use this

in their ads and propaganda

It doesn't matter that the BLM movement did not condone or endorse this is the nonesense that will be used against us

It just makes everything much more difficult

[Atticus]

2. If provocateurs are not yet involved in this stupidity, they are at least a little embarrassed that

they did not think of it first.

[still_one]

4. Probably. The Washington Post followed this group of protesters and it doesn't appear they

are "right wing provocateurs"

[Cha]

46. I'm not so sure.. like snowbirdy & BRDS.. below

Link to tweet

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142569432#post8

[appalachiablue]

48. Looks very contrived, overly aggressive & loud,

in the woman's space and face harassing, for the cameras. IMO

[Cha]

51. Exactly! Overkill & Extra LOUD for the Camera!

[question everything]

54. I would have thrown my drink in their faces, or just call 911

How dare anyone telling others how to behave?

[calguy]

3. I wish they wouldn't do that

All they are doing is making campaign ads for trump.
The violent demonstrations in Chicago in 1968 contributed to Nixon winning the election.
Today's violence in Portland, Kenosha, and elsewhere are only giving trump talking points to attack Biden. People don't stop and think about what they're doing because it's a herd mentality in control. A mentality that can easily be exploited by the opposition simply placing a few professional agitators in the midst of peaceful protesters to stir things up and trump has his isdue, his ad, his talking points.
Whatever we may feel about the issues being protested, right now is not the best time. And maybe it was all planned that way.

[still_one]

5. Exactly. Hopefully they will have learned something from this, and realize that this kind

of "persuasion" is counter productive

[llashram]

43. yeah and Democrats

need an ad showing the police helping the armed coward in Kenosha that shot and killed unarmed protestors. All this whining is disgusting. Protestors being killed by white supremacists helped in their deed by police and poor woman shouldn't be heckled. Hell, she'll probably vote for trump if she hadn't planned on it in the first place. Black lives don't matter to people like her, so to hell with her. To get equal justice, people are now beginning to die after being shot by civilian white supremacist brownshirts for trump. This little coward rottonhouse needs to face the death penalty.

But he'll live and is another trump hero to the gun-toting RW, right now.

[snowybirdie]

6. Actually

These so called protesters appeared to me to not be real. All white, publicly threatening diners and trying to intimidate them. Remember, it's DC, cameras were around and it went viral quickly. Anyone remember Roger Stone and his dirty tricks? Wouldn't be surprised if a good journalist might find a casting call notice somewhere.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Exactly right.

I posted the same below.

The "assumption" has been for months that the "majority" of "protesters" for the BLM marches and rallies are "black" despite what our "lying eyes" might see, so anything "negative" that happens will automatically be blamed on "black people".

This despite the fact that from all the footage I have seen for the past 4 months from around the country and from around the world, you will see that the majority of RECENT BLM protesters, have been non-black, which is in itself fascinating and heartening, but is also being carefully manipulated.

[appalachiablue]

49. Not genuine, way too loud & aggressive for attn; white

[BumRushDaShow]

52. Meaning

staged for viral internet dissemination.

All the "dirty tricks" are being deployed.

[pazzyanne]

10. DC has a very active Proud Boys chapter.

That would be my guess. They strongly support "the donald" and will do anything to promote his election. Their MO is using chauvinistic tactics. I'm almost positive tRump has them on speed dial.

[appalachiablue]

47. +1 Doesn't look genuine, white, super aggressive

maybe faux

[SKKY]

7. I fail to see how this is, in any way, useful...

....especially during a political convention where this can be used against us.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. I never thought I'd see the day

when I'd see a whole pile of white kids yelling "No justice, no peace" and heckling another white person.

But what the media narrative will become is that what you see before your eyes are not white kids but are actually "violent black thug protesters" heckling an innocent white person (despite the tweeted video that shows an all-white group doing white-on-white harassment), so that they can say - "See what these (imaginary black) 'protesters' do?".

Link to tweet

TEXT

Fredrick Kunkle WaPo
@KunkleFredrick
1) In a scene that played out several times Monday, a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights confronted White diners outside D.C. restaurants, chanting “White silence is violence!” and demanding White diners show their solidarity. #DCProtests
3:39 PM · Aug 25, 2020 from Washington, DC

ETA - as you can see by the above WaPo reporter tweet, he has already "defined" what you are to see "Black Lives Matter protest" (meaning black people) "confronted White diners", as if you have black people confronting a white diner rather than saying "WHITE Black Lives Matters protesters confronting a WHITE diner". This is the very manifestation of "institutionalized racism" within the media and their point of view of what they claim to be "seeing".

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. I'd tell them to get the hell out of my face...

... especially during this pandemic!

[BumRushDaShow]

13. I guess they could try that in a red state

and see what happens.

[SMC22307]

55. Jesus, that is NOT a good look. And I didn't even watch the video.

I'm all for a good protest, but this is becoming counter-productive.

[Miguelito Loveless]

11. Plays right into Trump's tactics.

[Dial H For Hero]

33. I agree wholeheartedly. These people are fools.

[irisblue]

14. There appears to be a MAGA hat in the posted tweet, at 11 to the blue arrow

Ratfucking

[Buckeye_Democrat]

15. There sure is!

Invading the space of the woman like the other bullies!

[nsd]

18. I think it's a parody hat.

Like this:

Parody hat

[irisblue]

20. Can you enlarge the image and post it here? Thx

[oldsoftie]

21. Wow, you have a GOOD eye! Thats exactly what it is. I would've never noticed it at all

[brooklynite]

24. Don't jump to conclusions

There are a lot of MAGA style alternate message hats in circulations.



FWIW - I have an AIR GREENLAND hat that stylistically looks exactly the same.

[oldsoftie]

30. When I zoomed in real close, this is pretty much what it looks like.

Then again, theres always the "power of suggestion".
Remember back when people said if you played certain songs backwards you'd hear sayings? Yeah, AFTER you were told what you were about to hear!

[IronLionZion]

36. That's a sweet hat

I think you're right. I definitely saw the word "Black" on it but couldn't make out the rest.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. Now I think you're correct.

I tried to enlarge the hat on my phone, but struggled to read the words. The length of the words don't match up well with a MAGA hat, though,

[louzke9]

16. WHATS NEXT?

A group of rowdy skinheads harassing diners asking them to give a Nazi salute? This behavior is unacceptable and dangerous!

[janterry]

17. I would be terrified of the crowd and covid

not to mention I feel bad for the business - they are struggling, I am sure, to stay in business. This is not good for them, either.

[Peacetrain]

19. This is so stupid.. and my first inclination is that someone is

trying to destroy the BLM movement by doing something like this.. if these are not right wing kids stirring up trouble..it is jackasses

[appalachiablue]

50. +1

[oldsoftie]

22. This shit keeps up & someone will get hurt.

[Devil Child]

23. I admire her courage while being confronted by a rabid mob

[mcar]

26. Looks like one of the "protesters" is wearing a MAGA hat

Link to tweet

?s=20

ummmm. so the media needs to point out that trump people are pretending to be BLM activists.

[C_U_L8R]

27. The bad tattoos are another hint.

They don't have a monopoly on bad tattoos but they certainly lead the way in poor decisions.

[brooklynite]

28. See #24

[mcar]

29. How do you know it's that hat?

[nsd]

38. The Washington Post reporter says that it is.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The red hat, whose writing is hard to read in these clips on Twitter, says, “Made Ya Look - Black Lives Matter.”</p>— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) <a href="

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[MrScorpio]

31. This is not helpful at all.

[ripcord]

32. If put in that situation I'm not sure they would like the gesture I made with my raised fist

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

34. AS A WHITE PERSON, if I was being harrassed by what seemed to be a white person I would certainly

want to question his credentials as an ally of BLM. Ask where hes getting tactical advice from - or is it a renegade bunch just making up stuf? Turn the tables on him, engage, question whether what he's doing actually supports BLM or is it benefitting white power groups who are actively and intentionally driving wedges and inflaming the situation or their own purposes.

As a white person shouldnt I speak up if another white person is doing or saying something questionable?

Of course it may not be so easy (or safe) to do depending on the situation..... Its easy for me to advise sitting here at my computer!

[Dial H For Hero]

35. In the situation shown in the video, your attempt to present a calm, rational argument would simply

be met by dozens of people screaming at you, some of them practically in your face.

These aren't people who can be reasoned with.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

37. I'd probably yell for them to take it outside...

... where I'll be willing to raise my fist with them later.

In the meantime, get the hell out of my face as I try to eat! (Not that I've been inside a restaurant for months, but hypothetically.)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

39. They are outside. Now what? NT

[Buckeye_Democrat]

40. Oh, you're right!

Well, they need to take it away from that eating area regardless!

Then I'd cry and say, "Stop bullying me, you meanies!" Lol.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

41. The poor diner is surrounded (edited from "cornered"}.

Last edited Wed Aug 26, 2020, 01:10 PM - Edit history (1)

I wouldn't be any too happy in that situation either. I'd probably throw up. That might help drive away her tormenters.

The protesters are frequent flyers. For the past few weeks, they've gone around DC annoying people. Their tactics seem to consist of forcing people to agree with them, or the aggrieved people won't be left alone.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

42. I'd probably just go along with the jerks...

... like the other person at that table, actually, just to get their damn cloud of droplets and aerosols away from me.

Then show them a different elevated hand gesture, involving a single finger, as I was ready to drive away.

[RobinA]

53. I'd Be Wishing I Still

smoked so I could calmly light up a cig and blow smoke in their faces. I'd do it, too. I was a social worker and now I work in a psychiatric hospital. I don't scare easily.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

44. Hours after March on Washington, protesters scattered throughout city, blocking roads and yelling

I suspect there's a lot of overlap with the crowd that harassed the diner in DC last week:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/25/dc-protesters-blm-diner-confrontation/

It was covered at DU. "As a tactic this is beyond stupid."

Wed Aug 26, 2020: Protesters target D.C. diners, triggering backlash after heckling woman

Local

Hours after March on Washington, protesters scattered throughout city, blocking roads and yelling at police

By Michael E. Miller, Samantha Schmidt and Tom Jackman
August 28, 2020 at 9:48 p.m. EDT

Some protesters who stayed in the District after the March on Washington ended Friday afternoon continued to spread their message, and elements of mayhem, around the city by temporarily shutting down major roads and tussling with police, even while rain deluged the area at nightfall.

At various points in the late afternoon, protesters blocked the Key Bridge, the Whitehurst Freeway, M Street in Georgetown, and the ramp to Interstate 395 from South Capitol Street during the evening rush hour. Often, they received gestures of support from motorists trapped in the sudden gridlock.

{snip}

The group later moved on, blocking the Key Bridge. They soon became a target, not for police but for pedestrians interested in photographing them. Protesters called them out, fearing the photos would be posted on social media and used by police.

“I’m just documenting history,” a White man argued with them. He refused to delete the photo. ... “I just took a group shot,” he said. “I support you.” ... “No, you’re not with us,” a protester snapped back, “because I’m asking you to delete that, and you won’t.” ... With police keeping their distance from those blocking Key Bridge, a few protesters pulled out cans of spray paint to leave messages on the bridge: “Free them all.” “Teach financial literacy to Black children.” “Look what you created.”

{snip}

Michael Brice-Saddler, Marissa J. Lang, Jessica Contrera and Rebecca Tan contributed to this report.

Michael Miller
Michael E. Miller is a reporter on the local enterprise team. He joined The Washington Post in 2015 and has also reported from Afghanistan. Follow https://twitter.com/MikeMillerDC

Samantha Schmidt
Samantha Schmidt is a reporter covering gender and family issues. Follow https://twitter.com/schmidtsam7

Tom Jackman
Tom Jackman has been covering criminal justice for The Washington Post since 1998 and anchors the True Crime blog. He previously covered crime and courts for the Kansas City Star. Follow https://twitter.com/TomJackmanWP

SeriesOfMiniHats Retweeted

Stephen Gutowski
@StephenGutowski
·
5h
Don't harass reporters (or anyone else) for covering public protests. This is wrong and also remarkably stupid.

[oasis]

45. Stop the stupidity. nt