Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Friday, April 29, 2016

At The April 28 Trump Rally: Mexico Attacks

One of my sons attended the April 28 Trump rally in Costa Mesa, California. Below I provide his account of the event. I, of course, provide some commentary at the end.

Begin Dan's Account:

My buddy, Jake, his girlfriend Lindsey, and I went to the Trump rally at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Jake is from Wisconsin and a Trump supporters since the beginning.  He's the one who convinced me to go. We parked our cars about two miles from the rally site; there was no way we were going to risk our cars there. We expected trouble. We took an Uber to the rally.  The Uber driver was Asian, and told us that his cousin is a big Trump guy.  I had an extra ticket, so I gave it to him.  He told us he would think about it but, he was concerned with parking.  We gave him our phone numbers, and told him he was welcome to join us if he changed his mind.

At the rally, the security presence was strong and visible. I've never seen so much law enforcement.  There were protestors, some with Anarchist flags and others with Mexican flags, but not too many, not yet, and most of the "anarchists" were of the pajama boy variety--the really nasty thugs came later. The cops were trying to keep the protestors away from people waiting in line to get in. The first thing I noticed about those people in line was that it was majority women. I thought, it would be mainly white guys, but no, it was mainly women. Lots of minorities, as well; I was quite surprised. 

While we waited in line, the protestors yelled cuss words, and the "usual" insults, such as calling everyone a racist and a bigot. Some of the protestors would get through the police line and run up to the people waiting, and start yelling at them. Initially the protest remained peaceful, other, of course, than the chant of wanting Trump dead.

As noted, the most interesting part of the rally proved the demographics: it was probably 60% women. Lots of minorities as well, plenty of people holding "Latinos for Trump" signs. It was a good mix of African-American, Asian, White, and Hispanic--everybody got along well. Over the loudspeaker, we kept hearing somebody saying over and over that if we saw protestors in the crowd, please do not touch them or say anything to them, just alert security by yelling "Trump! Trump! Trump!" Initially, I thought this was ridiculous, but it worked. Random protestors would get in with the rally crowd and start yelling, and folks would shout, "Trump! Trump! Trump!" The very efficient security personnel would escort the protestors out. No violence.  

Trump showed up about 45 minutes late, actually sooner than I expected. He started talking about parents who had lost children to illegal immigrants. He eventually moved on to other topics such as jobs and foreign policy. He had no note pad or teleprompter. He never had any pauses or 'ums' or anything like that. He went on for about an hour and could have probably gone on longer, but it was starting to get late. 

He has an interesting way of engaging people. The casualness of the way he speaks, makes it seem he is talking directly to you; almost as if he were in your living room and we were all just having a beer and talking politics. He knows how to hype up the crowd and get them energized. Every now and then he would go off on a tangent on how "awesome he is" and start to lose the crowd. Once he started losing the crowd, he would immediately get back to talking about the issues. He has a sense of humor as well. Some funny jabs at the media, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and John Kasich. The crowd was on their feet the whole time.

At the end, when we left, we were slightly concerned about what was waiting outside. While inside, we could smell burning tires, which can't be a good thing. There was also a hovering police helicopter shining its light on the parking lot outside the arena. When we went outside, the police had managed to move some of the protestors, many waving Mexican flags, away from the entrance and towards the street. Other protestors were vandalizing cars, slashing tires, throwing bottles at the cops. We tried to get closer to the protestors until people starting running the opposite direction; our curiosity ended and we began to leave. There were cops and protestors everywhere. We walked by some guys in a car with a Mexican flag trying to pick fights with anyone driving or walking by; they would yell insults and make threats. One maniac started pulling doughnuts in the parking lot with his car, putting people's lives at risk. We promptly walked away from all of it and booked it back to my car.  

Oh, by the way, the Uber driver? He texted us telling us he was in the rally. Maybe we converted him? 

End of Dan's Account.

Ah, the lefties. They can't stand freedom of expression or assembly. Wonder who the great genius is who decided that the best way to undermine Trump's message on illegal aliens is to get a bunch of guys waving Mexican flags, threatening and punching people, trashing cars, and attacking cops. All that, of course, makes one feel all warm and fuzzy about letting in more illegal aliens . . . One has to wonder what would be the reaction if some Americans showed up at a Mexican political rally, waving American flags, trashing cars, punching people, and attacking cops? Hmmmm . . . 






31 comments:

  1. I live in the Portland Oregon area. There is no way I would display any sort of bumper sticker or apparel that is in support of Trump. If I put a bumper sticker on my car I can guarantee at the very least the sticker will be vandalized, and likely far worse. If I were to wear anything supportive of Trump, I could expect plenty of spit in my food, if I get service at all. You can't refuse to provide services for Gay weddings here, but outright discrimination of Republicans, well that is fighting the good fight, and these people have the audacity to call us haters, and bigots.

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    1. Sounds very "Soviet" in Portland?

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    2. Salvorhardin...hang in there anyway, baby. DO NOT give up your freedom to express your choice of candidate or your political views. I'm not advocating physical risk, but, please continue to support Trump. If we back down to the Establishment and to the MSM, and the continuing discrimination toward anyone who dares call it what it is -- totalitarianism, then we are traitors to our country, our inherent freedoms and ourselves. Vote for Donald, and encourage other to as well. Thanks for posting!

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    3. This tempts me to move out there, put on my Cruz shirt (he was the guy I checked in my state's primary), and if they do something nasty, I will sue, sue, sue, sue, sue.

      Someone with time ought to tape a Farrakhan or other Leftist foaming-mouth screed against Christians, Jews, or conservatives and sue them for hate speech. Perhaps even the ugly Ms. Justice Kagan would all of a sudden rediscover the importance of the First Amendment.

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    4. President Bush-I called Portland "Little Beirut".

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    5. Salvo: this may very well explain why polls consistently show Trump having such high negatives. It is just not safe enough (yet) for most people to admit to a pollster or anyone else that they agree with Trump, so they lie to the pollster and say they would never vote for him. Watch how this changes in 3 or 4 months. Scott Adams argues very effectively on his blog that Trump is a master at persuading people to support him. Once people are focused in on the race directly and see how the Media make fools of themselves, it will become more acceptable to admit support for Trump. Once that happens, it could very well be a landslide.

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    6. Glen, agreed with your analysis.
      I don't think it's a matter of who's the best GOP candidate... as much as it is an 'can anybody stop Hillary'?

      I'm not female, and I despise Hillary and her lack of care for anything but her political career (I mean, who hears of their worker's suicide and immediately ransacks their office first thing?? who does that?), but I lament that we haven't even had a female Vice President in our history.
      It wont be a surprise if Hillary takes a huge female vote, and further wont be a surprise if men vote for her simply because of the historical situation.

      That said, as you mentioned, Trump has a way of a) leading the media into its own traps, and b) giving people as sense that he knows how they 'feel'.

      The real genius in the 'border wall' that nobody else (even GOPers trying to jump on the train) get, is that Trump's not making some anti-immigrant screed, or even an anti-illegal-immigrant screed. He's making the case that in America we have something of *value*. If you have something of value in your house, you lock your door at night. Not because you're afraid of someone robbing you, but simply because that's what you do when you are guarding something of *value*.

      I don't know *how* Trump seems to get that when nobody else does. Despite his claims, he generally doesn't *seem* to bright to me... but he's got this issue in the bag and he's working it quite well. The whole time, the media goes on stoking hatred of him, and claiming he's about hate, and getting it all wrong... which just ends up helping... you guessed it... Trump.
      I don't think anybody can beat Hillary, but if someone can, it's probably Trump.

      - reader #1482

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    7. I meant to follow that up with: By giving people the sense that he thinks there's something of *value* inside the US that merits a locked door, they are directly receiving the message from him that *they* are part of what he values. In essence, his talk about a border wall makes people feel *valued*.
      My belief is that there's no way Hillary can fight this strategy, because I believe she doesn't *value* anything but herself and her political career. She's hell bent on being the first female President, and it doesn't matter how many times she has to look the other way while Bill diddles his strumpets or who's deaths she has to simply manipulate to her own purposes. She, and the media, don't *value* the American people for any reason other than that which serves their purpose. Trump is making the case that he's not that. He might not be brilliant for the reasons he says, but I think it's actually a brilliant strategy.

      - reader #1482

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  2. good point, i'm going to get a bunch of Trump bumperstickers to place on the cars of people who piss me off!
    Ok, not really, but it would be effective!

    - reader #1482

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    1. I've been to three Trump rallies here in Indianapolis this past week, and one last month in Dayton, Ohio. The Trump supporters NEVER cause trouble. NEVER, and yes, they are not all the most sophisticated folks, but they are respectable, considerate of the law and law enforcement, and warm and caring. They support Trump, as I do, because he kicks butt and never backs down. What DiploMad wrote here is an exact description of the rallies I've been to. It is HILLARY CLINTON and her minions who are causing all the trouble. She and BILL know how to pay for this crap, and they sure have the money to do so.

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  3. Of course the lefties are trying as hard as they can to get a Trump supporter to throw a punch. You're right MAD, these guys are going to assure the election of Trump if they keep it up.
    James the Lesser

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    1. I have been a conservative since my teen years--largely because I was disgusted by people who, on the one hand, decried the "dehumanization" of the VC, yet, on the other, would yell "fascist insect!" at anyone who didn't see Mao Zedong and Che Guevara as saints. It seems they're trying to rekindle the fire--and I hope it provokes one big backlash.

      @Anne Rector--it's not Hillary Clinton, it's Shrillary Shroooooooo.

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  4. Good stuff, thanks. Someone in the comments on LA times website linked to you. If you can, please set up a Twitter account also and link to your articles. Same with FB if you can.

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    1. You can follow me on twitter at Lewis Amselem@TheDiplomad

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  5. This thing of the left not getting the irony of their out of control violent protesting at a perfectly legtimate political candidate (regardless of one's opinion of him) continues to both amaze me, and make me think "so typical."

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    1. It's a reason why I don't like the Left.

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    2. LC: really it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Lefties have been indoctrinated since grade school to see this kind of behavior as heroic and morally superior. In their twisted logic, violence, bullying, arson, lawless behavior is all legitimate and necessary *if* used in pursuit of the "truth." It's awfully convenient that they are always on the side of Truth. That's why all the genocidal regimes have been Lefties. Ends justify means, no matter how horrific.

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  6. Remember, a Mexican presidential candidate was shot in the head at a rally in Mexico a few years ago.

    I was thinking of going to that rally last night but heard about it too late and figured the rioters would be there.

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    1. There were but, costa mesa PD and the sheriffs department took the brunt of the rioting. I was there and I never was in any danger.

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    2. I'm getting a little old to walk 2 miles to park my car safely. I would like to go to one.

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  7. At this time, Trump doesn't have the legal authority to throw anyone out of the country, no matter what they are doing. When Trump becomes president of the US, then he can do as FDR did. Don't blame him now; he probably would if he could.

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  8. A further problem with FDR's internment of Japanese in WWII was that it also involved internment of naturalized and US-born persons of Japanese heritage, who were citizens.

    As a contrast, I recall that when I was working as an archivist in southern Illinois, I saw records of how European Axis nationals were treated (Germans, Finns, Italians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Slovaks). Generally, there was little internment, and most (including non-naturalized natives of Axis powers) were given the benefit of the doubt on profession of loyalty to the USA or interest in naturalization.

    However, I agree that there should be better enforcement of our immigration laws; and as the grandson, husband, and father-in-law of legal immigrants, I strongly resent the way "immigrant" and "undocumented alien" have been made synonymous on both sides of the immigration debate.

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  9. FDR's concentration camps for citizens of Japanese descent: do I understand correctly that those citizens were also looted?

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  10. We may be straining the analogies here between FDR and the current "illegal immigrant" issue. Let's keep in mind there was a war going on...a REAL war involving most of the world with full participation by the superpowers. The situation today is nothing like that; reasoning in what to do with those whom we feel should be living somewhere else, would be entirely different.

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    1. Enforcing E-Verify, which is after all the law, would stimulate a lot of these people to go home, just as the construction crash did in 2008. Many of them plan to retire to Mexico with the money they make here, anyway.

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    2. Anne: correct in terms of illegal immigration. Completely different matter, however, when talking about settlement of refugees from Islamist countries. We are very much engaged in a *real war* with Islamofascism and it is far more dangerous than WWII for two reasons: 1) the enemy masquerades as civilians among our population and targets civilians in the main; 2) there were no nuclear weapons in WWII until the final days whereas it is entirely possible that Islamofascists could get their hands on a nuclear device--- just the possibilities of a single EMP strike could literally kill millions of Americans and cripple much of the U.S. So employing what may seem like radical measures the keep out all muslim immigrants until we can either weed out the Islamists or win the war is justified.

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  11. The takeaway I see is that Trump is impressively competent. He has problems like these protests, he knows how to solve them and deflect the attention back to him. It's things like this that probably come from his decades-long experience in running a business, something no politician can match.

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    1. While it's arguable as to how well he's run his businesses, it's inarguable that 'for the most part they've stayed afloat', which is better than most people who inherit some sort of fortune.

      - reader #1482

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  12. Kepha, yeah, that's the real disaster here. When a candidate can talk about enforcing borders and the media calls him/her 'anti-immigrant' or 'xenophobic', which completely begs the question of the distinction between those immigrating to the US legally and those doing so illegally.
    A bunch of hay is being made about illegals mostly coming here legally. I've seen my lefty people showering me with links to papers of research, mainly links to huffpo, of course, supposedly 'showing' that most illegal immigrants are here legally first.
    I think that's probably true for 'traceable illegal immigrants'.
    But if you don't know someone has come into the US, how do you know that they're even here, much less illegally?
    First step is to take back the nomenclature. Immigrant <> Illegal Immigrant.

    - reader #1482

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  13. I believe backers of the Clinton campaign are behind these protests. She has so very much money--the hideous Chelsea is here in Indiana as I write this, at a FUND RAISER. Not out touching the people, but getting more money. Anyway, that campaign can stir the pot wherever it will in order to make Trump look like a warmonger. He is playing it the correct way, not inciting, but we have to hope the media and those who aren't yet supporting him will not blame his rhetoric for these demonstrations.

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    1. You mean Soros, Bezos and Facebookman, among others. All in theirs ecure compounds.

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