Victor Davis Hanson
. . . "Millions of youths were sequestered in their apartments and basements, unemployed, without school, and worried over their career prospects. Many simply wanted to vent their rage at the world and almost everything in it.
"The media romanticized the “summer of love” unrest and downplayed the violence. Newspapers ran bizarre photo essays on the chic garb at the protests — umbrellas, leaf blowers, wooden shields, armor, and colored bike helmets.
"Many in the street seemed as interested in taking selfies as they were in smashing windows.
"Some cite furor directed at President Trump, the tensions of an election year, and the weaponization of almost every current issue by both political parties.
"Still others claim that the violence is mostly careerist-driven. Demands are made to fire ideological enemies and hire partisan friends. If the old guard is banished, then their lucrative billets can be snapped up by a new woke generation. Demagogues see political careers birthed with the bullhorn.
"None of these explanations are mutually exclusive. But all reflect confusion over why often-senseless vandalism has been directed at statues of Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass, and at the World War II Memorial.
"Why do liberal authors and artists fear there is a new McCarthyite cancel culture that threatens to take out even progressive sympathizers?" . . .
Why do city governments defund police departments at the very moment vulnerable residents are most fearful for their safety?
. . . "Millions of youths were sequestered in their apartments and basements, unemployed, without school, and worried over their career prospects. Many simply wanted to vent their rage at the world and almost everything in it.
"The media romanticized the “summer of love” unrest and downplayed the violence. Newspapers ran bizarre photo essays on the chic garb at the protests — umbrellas, leaf blowers, wooden shields, armor, and colored bike helmets.
"Many in the street seemed as interested in taking selfies as they were in smashing windows.
"Some cite furor directed at President Trump, the tensions of an election year, and the weaponization of almost every current issue by both political parties.
"Still others claim that the violence is mostly careerist-driven. Demands are made to fire ideological enemies and hire partisan friends. If the old guard is banished, then their lucrative billets can be snapped up by a new woke generation. Demagogues see political careers birthed with the bullhorn.
"None of these explanations are mutually exclusive. But all reflect confusion over why often-senseless vandalism has been directed at statues of Ulysses S. Grant and Frederick Douglass, and at the World War II Memorial.
"Why do liberal authors and artists fear there is a new McCarthyite cancel culture that threatens to take out even progressive sympathizers?" . . .