Congratulations, Donald Trump, you finally got your military parade

[babylonsister]

Congratulations, Donald Trump, you finally got your military parade
Mark Sumner
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday June 03, 2020 · 9:50 AM EDT

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 02: Members of the D.C. National Guard stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as demonstrators participate in a peaceful protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. Protests continue to be held in cities throughout the country over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)


Ever since he began his occupation of the White House, Donald Trump has wanted to see tanks and troops on American streets. After being treated to the pomp and circumstance of a military review in France, and seeing the annual parade of tanks, missiles, and goosestepping troops that are commanded by his pals Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, Trump has been jealous. He’s repeatedly drawn up plans for rolling military hardware down Pennsylvania Avenue even when the cost of that event was tagged at $100 million—which may or may not include repairing the damage left behind.

But Trump has finally gotten his military parade in the worst possible way. Using protests over the police murder of George Floyd and decades of racist police brutality as an excuse, Trump has flooded Washington, D.C. with federal police, the National Guard, active duty military, and whatever the hell these guys are. Peaceful protesters have found themselves at the receiving end of tear gas, pepper balls, flash-bangs, rubber bullets, bean bags, and other theoretically nonlethal weapons. And that was just the start. As Trump’s plan to “dominate” the First Amendment has rolled out, protesters have found themselves face to face with armed and armored troops, battered by low-flying helicopters, and driven away from spaces that remained open to the public in the midst of every past protest. All so Trump can feel “safe.”

On Monday evening, Donald Trump literally blasted his way through peaceful protesters so he could march between twin walls of troops, occupy a church where he was not invited, and wave an upside-down Bible in a photo op. For Trump, this was a “show of strength” in which thousands of troops “dominated” the protesters and made Washington, D.C. the “safest place in the nation.”

In truth, Trump’s actions showed a weak man operating out of fear. A man whose impression of safety is a police state in which citizens’ rights are curtailed in favor of his, the dear leader’s, protection; a man who believes that throwing thousands of troops at peaceful protesters makes him “tough.” In other words, Trump got exactly the North Korea Wonderland he always wanted. And found it good.

It’s the kind of attitude that sees Tiananmen Square not as a tragedy for democracy and human rights, but as a triumph of power. The Chinese government sure did dominate. Boy, did they make Beijing “safe.”

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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/3/1950068/-Congratulations-Donald-Trump-you-finally-got-your-military-parade

[global1]

1. So Has CNN or MSNBC Identified Who These Guys Are On The Steps Of The Lincoln Memorial Yet?....nt

[babylonsister]

2. Photo caption says members of the DC National Guard. nt