Stupid Reichstag Fire?

John Oliver coined a term to describe the debased nature of this scandal-ridden-yet-farcical era: Stupid Watergate. Last week's vandalism of the NYC Metropolitan Republican Club immediately struck me as a 'false flag' incident- the halfassed 'anarchist' iconography and the letter referencing 'blacks' seem to point to an individual trying, and failing, to grasp the language of the 'Social Justice Warrior'. The vandalism preceded a speech by Proud Boy founder Gavin McAnus, which preceded a brawl on the streets of the Upper East Side. The UES is one of the whitest, richest neighborhoods of New York City, and even though it has a storied bar culture, is not the sort of place where brawls regularly occur. I view the vandalism of the Republican club as the 'Stupid Reichstag Fire', given the violence which followed in NYC and Portland soon afterwards.

The police seem to be passively supporting the fascists, having allowed gang assaults to occur in New York, and covering up the discovery of a sniper's nest in Portland. Of course, the President is comfortable with encouraging violence- there is a move to normalize political violence. Thankfully, public outcry has led to the arrest of one fascist gang assault perpetrator, and more should follow.

With the midterm elections coming up, and voter suppression campaigns being waged around the country, this is going to be a long, stupid season. Hopefully, the violence will be tamped down, and the police forced to forestall gang assaults rather than acting as not-so-innocent bystanders. I'm not exactly holding my breath, though.