Bloody Well Right

Right (right), you're bloody well right You got a bloody right to say

The lyrics from the 1974 Supertramp song come to mind after watching the recent authoritarian developments in Los Angeles. I have been thinking about this post for over a month - I actually wrote this a week ago - and I kept postponing because it pains me to write this.

I see no peaceful end to the United States’ descent into autocracy. I only see blood.

I really, really hope I’m wrong but the incompetence and the cruelty displayed by the Trump administration clearly shows that it wants to destroy democracy. These sycophants have also shown that they would rather kill than lose power. Unleashing the military National Guard against unarmed protesters in California leaves no doubt about that resolve.

And while being peaceful during a protest is paramount, let’s not be naive. The military Personel facing you are trained to kill and have already shown that they have no qualm about using their guns. On peaceful protesters, on journalists and on any onlookers.

Many Americans are starting to recognize this kill-or-be-killed attitude of the Trump gang. We’ve already seen videos of protesters with shields and batons forcing ice goons to retreat. I’m afraid some may start unlocking their gun cabinets. Remember, American civilians own more than 500-million firearms. This cannot end well.

It cannot end well, not just because of the use of military force, but mostly because Americans are so divided. You may despise what Trump is doing but remember that millions of Americans voted for Trump knowing full well what he was going to do. And most of that cult still supports him. And they also have guns. This cannot end well.

I don’t know about you but I seem to have read the words “civil war” way too often in in the last six months. As I wrote above, I truly hope that the American system will be strong enough to counter that menace. But when I match the two belligerent sides, an administration bellied by an ineffective Congress, the fascist delusional intellectuals the tech bros and a militarynwith no backbone, versus a divided judiciary and peaceful protests, allow me to doubt.

I don’t believe in God but sometimes I wish there were one. This cannot end well.