Peaceful Anarchy

Welcome to Seattle:

Not only did the Christians involved have to deal with hateful, violent attacks from masked lunatics, but the Mayor of Seattle promptly came out and condemned...the Christians. Mayor Bruce Harrell released the following statement, labeling the worship concert as an "extreme right-wing rally" and threw his support behind the "counter-protesters" who fought with and allegedly injured police officers.

Seattle is proud of our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice. Today’s far-right rally was held here for this very reason – to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city’s values, in the heart of Seattle’s most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood. When the humanity of trans people and those who have been historically marginalized is questioned, we triumph by demonstrating our values through our words and peaceful protest – we lose our voice when this is disrupted by violence, chaos, and confusion.

Let me help Harrell out here. A city does not have "values." A city in America is a conglomeration of people who are all free to express their beliefs, including religious beliefs, in whatever legal way they see fit. If someone is "provoked" to violence and hatred by the singing of worship songs, then that's a symptom of their own depravity. But the "trans community" is nothing if it isn't a deranged cult, dead-set on bending everyone to its will by any means necessary. Pay attention to the words Harrell uses. He's essentially saying that being "LGBTQ+" in Seattle gives one veto power over the rights of others. Harrell went on to blame "anarchists" who "infiltrated" the counter-protest for the violence instead of just admitting that the counter-protesters were the anarchists. He then directed the city's parks department to investigate the application submitted by the Christians for their worship service, suggesting they should not have been allowed to be there.

While there are broad First Amendment requirements around permitting events under free speech protections, I am directing the Parks Department to review all of the circumstances of this application to understand whether there were legal location alternatives or other adjustments that could have been pursued. The Police Department will complete an after-action report of this event, including understanding preparation, crowd management tactics, and review of arrests and citations.

You see, it's not the fault of the left-wing crazies who showed up and injured police officers. It's the fault of the Christians for simply existing. Had they not dared to exercise their rights to free assembly and expression through the legal permitting process, none of this would have happened. That's Harrell's argument.

It's the usual one from the Left...