Trump's visit very stressful.....

[Lainey]

...
There's a great deal of historical precedence to make it easy to believe. My city was home to an international fruit company for many years with extensive farming interests in Central and South America. One of our local Nun/Professor at local college ran an advocacy group which routinely paid a good percentage of our local homeless shelter residents to inflate numbers at her organized protests against the company. Protests are all about drawing attention, and sometimes you have to pay for it.

]
Quite an anecdote. The inflated numbers I recall were those thousands of Catholic school teens who were routinely bussed to the annual anti-abortion march in Washington, D.C. They got out of the school for the day for a field trip and got to be on television. Wonder who paid for that?

In the meantime, some of my friends are still waiting for their check from George Soros [who is always mentioned as the payor of any anti-establishment protest]. I imagine he's been quite busy what with the million women march, etc. etc.

[LDAHL]

There is rarely vandalism at demonstrations--.

Tell that to Seattle.

[JaneV2.0]

Tell that to Seattle.

Keyword being rarely.

[LDAHL]

Keyword being rarely.

Tell that to Baltimore.

Tell that to Ferguson.

Tell that to Milwaukee.

Tell that to Berkeley.

Tell that to Washington DC.

Tell that to Portland.

[JaneV2.0]

Tell that to Baltimore.

Tell that to Ferguson.

Tell that to Milwaukee.

Tell that to Berkeley.

Tell that to Washington DC.

Tell that to Portland.

Local authorities were the provocateurs in many of these cases. Nonetheless, there have been many more peaceful and orderly demonstrations than otherwise--they just don't get much press. Thus the "breaking eggs" concept.

[LDAHL]

Local authorities were the provocateurs in many of these cases. .

Sure. The cops made them break those windows, loot those stores and torch those cars.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I'm glad some time has passed and Trump has come and gone and left Arizona alive and in one piece, and that even though tear gas was used on the protestors after Trump's embarrassing speech, at least there were only four arrests and no major injuries or deaths. My hunch was wrong and I'm very happy about that - I was afraid someone might gun down Trump and swarms of media from all over the world might swoop down on Phoenix, or that martial law might get declared with resulting complete and total disrespect for human life and the resulting deaths such governmental overreach brings about with it. Luckily, none of this came to pass and once again, I'm very happy. My husband lived to tell the tale and is safe and is excited for the huge check he will be bringing in - 14 hours that day at $25/hour - even after taxes that's still quite a boost. He wants us to go back to Nogales to spend some time with his family in Colonia Kennedy. So maybe something good will come of this visit for me, after all. Just happy it's done and I sincerely hope Arizona stays off Trump's radar screen going forward - though with Arpaio as an issue, and with both John McCain and Jeff Flake against him - unlikely. I'm of the opinion that this is not the last we will be seeing of Trump's appearances in Arizona.....Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

Of the thousands there protesting Trump's policies, total arrests for the night = 4, including 1 juvenile. No property damage, no one killed. A number were injured from the pepper spray pellets and tear gas, including one Vietnam veteran who was carrying a sign "Veterans Against Intolerance."
The sign had a pellet hole in it, and his arm was bleeding where it was hit by a pellet.

That's what you get for exercising your "freedom" to lawfully protest.

Lainey, I heard that lawsuits are in the process of being filed against these injustices. Hopefully (though I rather doubt it) there will be no gag orders on settlement amounts so as to encourage others to sue in similar situations - to use law enforcement for what it's good for - monetary settlements.

That all said, I'm very grateful that things did not turn out much worse as I was afraid of/expecting. Breathing a sigh of relief that all the protestors I know from the 85006 came back alive and in one piece. Things could have ended out much worse. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

"A good bit of provocation"?? According to the local newspaper, none of the protestors crossed the barrier lines established by police.
One eyewitness saw an empty water bottle lobbed towards the police line, and police "responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. I saw several people get hit. They opened fire into areas where no one threw anything."

People have been blinded and even killed by rubber bullets, although luckily not this time. Now there's going to be an inquiry into what's being described as police over-reaction.

In a related news item, yet another assertion on Twitter and Craigslist that the protestors at the Trump rally were paid. I guess we should no longer be surprised how fervently many Republicans believe this.
Make America Think Again.

Lainey, you were there? I so respect you for going - very much so. I am sorry that I was not equal to your courage here. Thank You for being present and witnessing events unfold. Rob

[Lainey]

No, I was not there but one of my friends was there. Thankfully she left just before the tear gassing, etc. I was quoting from a news article from eyewitness reports.