Just Like a Picnic

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) is less than
two miles from the Space Needle and Pike Place Market.

On Tuesday Antifa militants took over six blocks of downtown Seattle in the Capitol Hill area, including the East Precinct Police Station.

It's a sign of news polarization that your humble blogger learned of it through conservative media, some of which are likening the takeover to the armed insurrection by the Confederacy.

Looks like fun in the sun (Seattle Times photo)

As for liberal publications, the San Francisco Chronicle as of this writing has zero mention of the story, not even on the back pages. (It's a conservative belief that a biased media buries stories unfavorable to Democrats until they are forced to cover them.)

President Trump has made noises about sending in the military to re-establish control, while the Governor of Washington and the Mayor of Seattle dismiss the ongoing situation as minor.

The Seattle Times, which of course has to report on the story, has chosen to cover it from the human-interest side much as it would a picnic. The first three paragraphs:

Welcome to the CHAZ, the newly named Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, where most everything was free Tuesday.

Free snacks at the No-Cop Co-op. Free gas masks from some guy’s sedan. Free speech at the speaker’s circle, where anyone could say their piece. A free documentary movie — Ava DuVernay’s “13th” — showing after dark.

A Free Capitol Hill, according to no shortage of spray paint on building facades. And perhaps most important to demonstrators, the neighborhood core was free of uniformed police.

A mask-wearing family! (Don't
show anyone without a mask)

Hey, free food, free movies, free gas masks. Except for the guys openly carrying guns, the air is filled with peace, love, and understanding.

President Trump would be wise to let Seattle and Washington State handle the situation. It's way too early to give the political opposition a photo-op of the tanks rolling in. (Too much like Hungary, for you old-timers.)

As of this moment the area is controlled by a peaceful mob (an oxymoronic phrase, to be sure) but the situation is unlikely to remain stable. Without a police presence the temptation of a few bad actors to loot businesses and perhaps residences will be too strong to resist. At that point Seattle police will have to step in (frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the area isn't already crawling with undercover cops.)

Show them you believe in Federalism, Mr. President, and wait for an invitation.