Mountain Times - Vol. 50, Number 2, Jan. 13-19, 2021

14 • The Mountain Times • Jan. 13-19, 2021
Domestic terrorism: President's fiction about widespread fraud has emboldened a new breed of domestic threat
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from page 10
At one point during the invasion of the Capitol,
it was announced by the TV commentators
that the invaders were beginning to leave the
area. Careful examination of the TV footage at
the time shows that the people leaving the area
were old, often female – a less fit, less bellicose
group. In fact, they were the Capitol invaders
who had no intention of getting involved in
what clearly was becoming a potentially violent
situation. They simply were not up to it politically,
mentally or physically.
On the other hand, who stayed behind?
Those who were actively interested in becoming
involved in violence. Did you notice how many
of them wore helmets? The only reason you
wear a helmet is to protect yourself from violent
attacks on your head and that is clearly what
they were doing. They anticipated participating
in violence. In addition, the stay-behinds were a
major cut in age below those who were leaving.
They were the sort who could climb vertical
walls, break through windows and throw projectiles
at the protecting police force. The fact
that five people died, over 80 were arrested, and
50 police officers were injured bears eloquent
testimony to the fact that this was a terrorist
invasion encouraged by the sitting president
of the United States, his family members and
Republican colleagues.
Ever since the results of the November
election became known, the president has
created and maintained the fiction that
widespread fraud was involved in the Biden
win. Whether Trump knows that his major
premise is all lies (which would make him a
calculating criminal) or doesn’t know that his
positions are all lies (making him deranged)
is almost irrelevant. In either case, calculating
or deranged, he is a strangely questionable
choice for leader of this country.
Terrorism is the use of fear (terror) and acts of
violence to intimidate societies, governments
or ideologies. Domestic terrorism is a form of
terrorism in which victims within a country are
targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship
as the victims.
It is worth noting that in the middle of the
Jan. 6 invasion, the FBI became involved,
presumably on the basis of a logical conclusion
that they were looking at an act of domestic
terrorism. The FBI’s definition of domestic terrorism
is “violent, criminal acts committed by
individuals and/or groups to further ideological
goals stemming from domestic influences, such
as those of a political, religious, social, racial or
environmental nature.”
It is clear that the invasion of the Capitol
building involved criminal activity. It is equally
clear that if the criminals are to be identified
and tried for their crimes, as has been clearly
stated by all the government elements involved,
it will be the FBI that will lead the way. It is, after
all, the premier law enforcement organization
in the United States. As such, it is most likely to
be the only organization capable of resolving
the many complicated issues involved in this
crime, most emphatically including the issue
of domestic terrorism, its initiators, motivators
and perpetrators.
Pardon:
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from page 10
construction.
Why take him out of
it, energize him with
the opportunity to once
again rally his base, and
subject the nation to
more of the echo chamber
solicitations of rage
that pass for journalism
on social media today in
both parties?
The media circus that
has blared nonstop for
Another
impeachment
will not
change the
minds of
either tribe.
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WW III: There are many to blame for this digital war being fought on social media and in the annals of cyberspace
from page 10
shouldn’t be punished, operatives from Russian
and the Ukraine are being identified as
part of the mob one by one. They were here at
our capital, and they may have left with Nancy
Pelosi’s laptop...
In China, the government is using
the capitol riots as an excuse to crack
down on protesters in Hong Kong.
Last week was certainly a stain on
our national reputation, but it has
much broader, more global implications
for democracy, too.
Indeed, giving Trump the credit for what happened
in Washington, D.C., is too simple.
Foreign powers took advantage of social
media to do this. Twitter and Facebook’s bans
of Trump do very little to solve the problems
they have created, both with providing a
platform for hate groups to proliferate, and
allowing easy access for foreign adversaries to
the majority of our citizens.
The social media companies must also bear
History will show that we are in the throws
of World War III. This one won’t be fought
with nuclear bombs and armed attacks,
but ... with keystrokes and data breaches.
some of the blame.
In a recent article titled, “Platforms must
pay for their role in the insurrection,” published
on Wired: “Facebook’s own research
revealed that 64% of the time a person joins an
extremist Facebook Group, they do so because
the platform recommended it. Facebook has
also acknowledged that pages and groups associated
with QAnon extremism had at least 3
million members, meaning Facebook helped
radicalize 2 million people. Over the
past six months.”
It’s scary because it’s true. And before
you cry “First Amendment” you need
to remember, having a social media
account is a privilege, not a right. And
individual freedoms end when they
infringe upon the safety and security of
others and/or our constitutional democracy.
History will show that we are in the throes
of World War III. This one won’t be fought with
nuclear bombs and armed attacks, but rather
is already happening digitally, with keystrokes
and data breaches.
the last four years has
exhausted our country.
Another impeachment
will not change the minds
of either tribe.
There are so many
critical issues that must be
considered, debated, and
resolved.
A president must be
able to rise above the
clamor and do what is
right for all citizens. Pardon
President Trump, and
get on with what should
be the primary concern of
all politicians today: uniting
our terribly divided
nation.
Dan Pipes
Fairfield
Stockton: Private security firm founder is the new leader of the ProjectVISION coalition, which aims to reform neighborhoods and lower crime in Rutland
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from page 2
VTD: How were you introduced to Project VISION?
MS: We patrol in the plaza in downtown Rutland, seven
days a week. The plaza is the heart of downtown. We
brought a new, different way because our company, we
were patrolling to the point where elderly people could
walk in and not feel so nervous, just trying to clean it up
to make it enjoyable for everybody. Lt. Kevin Geno, who
retired from the police
department — I think he
saw that. He invited me to
a meeting, and then one
thing led to the other.
Now, Stockton Security
and the Rutland Police Department, we have a very good
collaboration, and a good working rapport. We’re like another
set of eyeballs for them so they can take care of other
things that are more important. We take care of exchanging
minor paperwork, if there’s just a little fender bender. We
handle parking, we handle trespassing.
So I came in, and I got to know what Project VISION was
like. I sat in a lot of meetings and didn’t say one word.
VTD: How would you describe Project VISION’s mission?
MS: It’s getting all the government, community businesses,
and people all together to make the community
better as a whole. You have everybody in the same room.
You take all the expertise of all the people around you. All
"Anywhere you go, you’re going to
have some people who are being
misled by the misled," Stockton said.
these agencies are like an orchestra. They play the music.
I’m just out there conducting. I’ll be saying, ‘OK, that
sounds good,’ or ‘Why don’t you try a B-flat now, and see
how that works?’
I’ve only been in this position two weeks, so I’m trying
to get my feet wet. I’m changing a hat. Now I have to
start to think, and I have to see, and I have to go out and
look and talk. Do I have
the answers? No. But the
only way you’re going to
find out is to go out in the
community and see.
VTD: After Tabitha
Moore announced she’d leave Rutland County because
of racial harassment, Project VISION decided to create
a racial justice committee. What steps can VISION take
to make Rutland a more welcoming place to live for
people of color?
MS: As a person of color, I’d say it’s a work in progress.
Anywhere you go, you’re going to have some people who
are being misled by the misled. But at the same time, I’ve
seen so many changes from when our kids graduated
from Rutland High School.
During the Black Lives Matter protest that they had
this year, I saw every nationality there at the park, up and
down the street. One of my supervisors and myself drove;
I saw some officers kneeling with them. But you still have
people who, I think, are afraid of the unknown.
I try to instill in some of my acquaintances out there:
Don’t see me as a Black man. Just see me as a man. My
kids have interracial backgrounds, and I will say that I am
glad that we raised them and they went to school here in
Rutland. They’re all college grads — one of my daughters
works for Microsoft; another works for Homeland
Security. My son is a physician’s assistant. All of them are
married, and they’re doing well.
Nothing’s going to happen overnight. I don’t know
all the answers yet; all I can say is that when I see new
people in the community, I like to try and say hello.
VTD: What plans do you have planned for the first
few months as the organization’s leader?
MS: Everybody is in their igloo, because of the pandemic.
We have to wait until we get our shot, but I think that’s
going to be a big thing, to get out and start seeing people.
I’m not going to come in with a bullhorn. My wife is
a big “Rocky” fan, and she says, ‘one step, one punch,
one round.’ That’s what I’m going to try to do: I’ll step
back, and I’m going to listen, and I’m going to ask. If I
don’t know something, to this day, I will ask. And I’m
not going to pretend I’m someone that I’m not, and
like I said, if I don’t know the answers, I’ll communicate.
My life works around three things: My name
(‘cause that’s all I’ve got), family and integrity. Take
one away and I don’t work too well.