Change of approach

Over the last several weeks we have seen reports of people objecting to closures, social distancing, quarantine, and wearing face masks and doing so by gathering maskless and in close quarters, sometimes in front of and often inside state capitol buildings, quite often carrying various styles of rifles. While they were protesting their inability to get a haircut, have their nails done, and go bowling because states were following the steps for a safe reopening of the country in accordance with Trump’s own steps for doing so, he agreed with the protests in telling many of those in at least three states to liberate themselves from the oppressor and connecting the protest to the need to defend their Second Amendment right to bear arms even though that last was in no way relevant to the purpose of the protests.

No one got arrested.

After all, the Second Amendment gives gun owners the right to own them and protest any attempts to curtail that right, and the First Amendment gave them the right to assemble for that purpose.

But the First Amendment qualifies the assemblies to which we have the right, and it specifically states that these are to be peaceable assemblies, something that is belied by the presence of arms being brought into state capitol buildings as legislatures were in session.

So it would seem that the President of the United States is encouraging protests which could turn violent with the presence of arms even if those protests  are opposing him and his policies.

And when it came to earlier protests that could have, and in at least one instance did result in violence and death, nothing was done because the president declared that there were good people on both sides even though one side was chanting “Jews will not replace us” while carrying the flag of the only enemy to have waged war against the United States on its own soil, other than the War of 1812 which was in actuality a continuation of England’s opposition to our independence and thus an extension of the Revolutionary War, and the flag Of Nazi Germany.

Armed protest would seem to be acceptable.

However, protest a pipeline that could leak into your water supply or destroy land considered sacred by Native American tribes as the land is raped during the construction of it, and you become criminals.

Although those protesting the XLPipeline were unarmed and peaceably assembled, there were hundreds of arrests, protesters were rushed with horses and dogs, and arrested  protesters were strip searched.

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Among the offenses were setting up illegal roadblocks, trespassing onto private property, and establishing an encampment, and this forced law enforcement to respond at this time.

There was law enforcement from six states, armored personnel carriers, and hundreds of law enforcement officers with concussion grenades, mace, Tasers, and batons.

Alabama lawmakers are moving along legislation that would add new criminal penalties to nonviolent protests against pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.

Joining Kentucky, South Dakota and West Virginia the bill would designate virtually any oil, gas or coal equipment or facilities in the state as “critical infrastructure”, would prohibit where drones used to track pollution can fly, and would make any action that “interrupts or interferes” with pipelines, storage depots, or refineries a Class C felony, punishable by at least one year in prison and up to $15,000 in fines. 

The only thing holding up the bill is COVID-19’s keeping the legislators from gathering.

In 2016 the Colonial Pipeline Co. spilled 11,800 barrels of gasoline in Shelby County and 2018 the company agreed to pay $3.3 million in state fines and faced at least one lawsuit over alleged contamination of land.

So why would anyone even think about protesting pipelines?

Koch Industries owns the biggest stake in Colonial, and Colonial lobbied Alabama lawmakers during the first three months of this year and it was joined by Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and the utility giant NextEra Energy.

The Alabama bill is aimed at proactively stopping demonstrations, protests, or acts of civil disobedience against any fossil fuel project.

This is in response to the months-long unarmed standoff over construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline which was ended when security forces mounted a military-style takeover of the area where the protest was taking place.

Many states are pushing a bit of generic legislation drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) called the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act including Tennessee, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas.

So it would appear that armed protests that include armed invasions of State capitol buildings and legislatures in session to oppose steps that are designed to protect the health of American citizens are acceptable, but unarmed protests of the construction of pipelines and fossil fuel facilities that benefit industry while endangering the environment, water supplies, and the health of American citizens are what is unacceptable.

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