Five Woke Companies You'll Want to Avoid When Shopping This Holiday Season

Teri Christoph reporting for RedState 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are upon us, friends, and that means discounts upon discounts upon discounts. You'll want to get in on those deals because, well, Bidenflation, but be careful where you spend your precious dollars. Woke corporations that don't share your values are greedily awaiting your business, so it's important to be aware of the bad actors out there.

Here are five places to avoid this shopping season, as compiled by Consumers' Research. Some of these may surprise you.

TARGET

What will come as no surprise to any of you is that Target is on the list of places to avoid, and not just during the holidays. They have embraced DEI initiatives like no other retail giant, showing their true colors when they released their now-infamous "tuck-friendly" bathing suit to celebrate Pride Month. Despite receiving fierce blowback for their efforts to erase womanhood and indoctrinate young children, Target has proceeded with its tone-deaf agenda and recently released a line of woke Christmas items. Its tanking stock price shows just how out of step they are with consumers.

BEST BUY

This one hurts. Best Buy is well-known for it's smoking hot holiday deals, with people camping out to get in on the Black Friday discounts. Unfortunately, Best Buy is also known for adopting "a race-based management training program that prioritized race above other factors by requiring applicants to 'identify as Black, Latino, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander.''' This program is still in place, and the big box retailer has big plans for 2024: prioritizing the hiring of BIPOC and women corporate employees.

ACTIVISION

Avoiding Activision will hit gamers and gamer families hard, as they are the creators and distributors of some of the best-selling video games on the market, including Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, and World of Warcraft. They've also leaned into the DEI nonsense favored by Best Buy, with a stated sexist and racist goal of increasing the number of women and non-binary employees by 50%.

NORDSTROM

Nordstrom is headquartered in Seattle, so it's little surprise that their corporate vision has fallen into lockstep with the liberal politics of its hometown. Not only are they big embracers of Pride Month, but they are also affiliated with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), "an organization who created the Welcoming School Program, known for promoting harmful ideologies related to children in schools." A quick look at Nordstrom's website confirms that they are all-in on promoting a leftist agenda.

HOME DEPOT

This one is a bit of a surprise since its billionaire co-founder, Bernie Marcus, often makes the rounds of conservative media and recently endorsed Donald Trump. Sadly, it seems that Home Depot's current leadership is leaning hard to the left. Like Nordstrom, they support HRC's Welcoming School Program, "which is specifically geared towards indoctrinating schools on how to promote LGBTQ+ ideology among vulnerable students under the guise of inclusivity."

Luckily for conservatives, a booming parallel economy is rising from the ash heap of the DEI-embracing corporate retail world. One company in particular, PublicSquare, popped onto the scene this year with a shopping app and website filled with small businesses whose owners reject the leftist agenda that has infected so many businesses and, instead, embrace traditional, pro-American values. If you've been wondering if these businesses actually exist, wonder no more. They're here and they're ready to handle all of your holiday shopping needs.

PublicSquare CEO Michael Seifert told RedState:

Major retailers have recently operated like progressive political organizations rather than functioning companies and this Christmas season, consumers should remember that what they spend their money on is what they empower. If Americans want the “woke” politics out of the marketplace, they have to move their dollars toward businesses that will stand for the country, the Constitution, and the values that document protects. We’re proud to host the largest network in the world of businesses like that at PublicSquare.com.

Conservatives have options these days, something we should celebrate and keep in mind as we plan our holiday purchases. If you're in the mood to treat yourself, a friend, or a family member to heaps of great conservative news and commentary this holiday season -- and who wouldn't want that as we head into 2024? -- you should consider joining the ranks of our VIP community right here at RedState. Just click this link, sign up and you're on your way to accessing exclusive content and, most importantly, a community of like-minded thinkers. And, trust me, participating in the comments section alone is worth the price of entry. 

X22, And we Know, and more- November 24

 

At 94, Home Depot Co-Founder Explains Why He's 'Never Been More Frightened for This Country'

Leah Barkoukis reporting for Townhall 

Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, explained earlier this month why he’s “never been more frightened for this country” in his life. At 94 years old, that’s saying a lot. 

“If you look at what's going on around you, you know that we're falling apart. Our economy is falling apart,” he told an audience in Palm Beach, Florida during an event for Job Creators Network, which he founded 10 years ago.

“I get up every morning, I swear to God, and I say, ‘what the hell is [President Biden] going to do today to kill our country? And he never fails to disappoint me. Something always happens every day that makes this country weaker, not stronger,” Marcus added. 

He explained how different America was when he started Home Depot. Of course it was challenging, but the world then allowed them to succeed. Now, small businesses are being crushed by inflation. 

Marcus called on all those in attendance to do everything possible to save the free market from socialism—because under such a system, small businesses “will not survive.” 

And the upcoming election is key to changing the trajectory of this nation because no change can happen out of power, he noted.  

“Get off your asses and work hard. Don't sit back,” he implored. “Invest yourself. Go out and work and commit yourself to saving this democracy.”

Marcus said going back to the "old America" is key, which is in line with his recent endorsement of former President Trump as the right man for the job. 

"We have to go back. Trump was right," he said. "We have to clean the place out. And we need someone who's going to have a lot of cojones to do it."

In an op-ed for RealClearPolitics, Marcus argued that people "cannot let [Trump's] brash style be the reason we walk away from his otherwise excellent stewardship of the United States during his first term in office.”

Not only does Marcus believe the 45th president has the best shot at winning in the general election, he also argued Trump's "the best person to take on and dismantle the administrative state that is strangling America.”  

High-End Prostitution Ring Allegedly Served Several Politicians and Military Leadership as Clients

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

In a wild but not surprising plot twist that would appear to belong on daytime television, Boston and its suburbs have become the setting for a scandal involving a high-end prostitution ring. Three people are being accused of operating a network of brothels that serviced a slew of high-profile individuals.

Indeed, the clientele list reads like a who’s who of the well-heeled and powerful. Even further, the suspects have been raking in the cash from this enterprise.

Earlier this month, RedState's Ward Clark reported:

Authorities arrested three individuals accused of organizing a "high-end brothel network" that had been in operation since 2020 and whose customers included elected officials and military officers, a new indictment alleges.

Federal prosecutors announced that Han Lee, 41; James Lee, 68; and Junmyung Lee, 30 were arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly operating an "interstate prostitution network" including multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. 

The prostitution ring is believed to have serviced a slew of high-profile individuals, including government officials and corporate executives.

Prosecutors say that the high-end brothel network serviced customers working in the following professions: "politicians, pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, business executives, technology company ex

Now, more details have emerged about the case, and they are quite salacious. 

The suspected ringleader of a high-end brothel network in Greater Boston and Virginia kept meticulous records in a Louis Vuitton shoebox and stored lingerie, pregnancy tests, and bulk quantities of condoms and lubricant in her apartment, authorities alleged Wednesday.

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, federal officials argued that Cambridge resident Han “Hana” Lee, 41, and her alleged co-conspirator, Dedham resident Junmyung Lee, 30, pose flight risks due to their lack of community ties and access to vast amounts of cash.

Han Lee, according to the affidavit, concealed more than $1 million in prostitution proceeds through structured money orders, bank deposits, and account transfers.

The three individuals are being accused of recruiting women from out of state to participate in commercial sex work, handling the brothel’s website and business records, and maintaining the apartments used for the prostitution ring. The details of the investigation, led by Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy, are still unraveling like the poorly knitted sweater from that Weezer song.

The charging documents alleged that the defendants used high-end apartment complexes in Massachusetts and Virginia as fronts for their operations. The operation was rather sophisticated, with two websites used to advertise appointments with Asian women. Each customer was subjected to a vetting process that included providing their driver’s license photos and names of employers.

Mitlitsky indicated that “Han’s financial and business record keeping was impeccable.” In fact, one of the DHS agents on the case indicated that the co-conspirators could have even more funds than investigators previously believed.

This story highlights a broader issue of sex trafficking and exploitation – especially of Asian women. It also raises questions surrounding the identities of the clients who frequented the establishment. If the operation’s patrons are as high-profile as they sound, it could cause a scandal in the slight chance that their identities are revealed.

Media Launder Stories Like The Fentanyl Letters To Blame Republicans For Everything

Media outlets used the poison letters to peddle the left’s favorite new ‘crisis’: death threats to election workers from angry Republicans.

Hayden Ludwig reporting for The Federalist

The true danger to American democracy comes from the radical left. Just don’t expect to hear it from the corporate media.

On Nov. 9, Americans learned that law enforcement intercepted a handful of fentanyl-laced letters intended for election offices across at least five states, including Georgia’s Fulton County. While alarming, fentanyl isn’t like anthrax — briefly touching it isn’t deadly. But ingesting it is — just ask the families of the 74,000 Americans who died from fentanyl in 2022 alone, much of it produced in China and smuggled in through President Biden’s wide-open southern border.

But dozens of media outlets used the poison letters to peddle the left’s favorite new “crisis”: Death threats to election workers from angry Republican voters.

I’ve tracked this myth since it was hatched in early 2021 as a sequel to the now-infamous “Zuckbucks” scheme, in which partisan billionaire Mark Zuckerberg effectively privatized the 2020 election in swing states with $420 million. After Biden’s victory, activists pivoted to solidifying that funding, only now from the federal government.

But there’s a price: With more federal funding comes even more federal control over our elections.

The scheme works because sympathetic reporters never have to prove that election officials are at a greater risk of threats from kooks post-2020 than they were pre-2020 — they simply assert it, as virtually all did with the fentanyl letters.

Except this time, the media buried a problematic detail: The fentanyl letters apparently came from the far left, not the far right.

Pictures of one letter mailed to the elections director of Pierce County, Wash., was adorned with an LGBT pride flag; the “anti-fascist” Three Arrows symbol marking Antifa, a violent extremist group; and an inverted pentagram, often used to denote Satanism.

The letter reads:

END ELECTIONS NOW 

STOP GIVING POWER TO THE RIGHT THAT THEY DON’T HAVE

WE ARE IN CHARGE NOW AND THERE IS NO MORE NEED FOR THEM.

The FBI has since seized the letters and has yet to announce any suspects, so take the story with a grain of salt (we certainly are). But true or false, the media’s response is enlightening.

While 177 outlets covered the fentanyl letters story, just 60 stories quoted their demand to “stop giving power to the right,” according to data from Lexis Nexis. Yet almost all referenced “terrorism” or “domestic terrorism,” a key phrase in the threats-to-election-workers narrative.

In its initial report on Nov. 9, Oregon Public Broadcasting didn’t bother to comment on the letters’ hateful political symbols in the rush to push its preferred narrative: election worker harassment.

New York Magazine glossed over the overtly partisan symbols, noting blandly that “authorities are still uncertain as to the political leanings or particular motives of the sender.”

The Washington Post admitted that “the symbols in the letter are associated with left-leaning politics” — an astonishing euphemism when describing Antifa — before adding that the sender’s political views “remain unclear.”

Politico and NPR were the worst offenders, suggesting — without evidence — that it could be a conservative hoax:

While the symbols have sometimes been associated with leftist politics, they also have been used by conservative figures to label and stereotype the left, and the sender’s political leanings were unclear.

It’s hard to imagine those same outlets describing an alt-right symbol — say, Pepe the Frog — as “sometimes associated with far-right politics.”

All but one quoted David Becker, a political operative who runs the Washington, D.C. advocacy group Center for Election Innovation and Research, on the “sad reality” of “threats” “terrorizing” election officials. Here’s what they don’t mention about Becker: He’s a far-left elections activist working to turn states blue.

At the Justice Department, Becker earned a reputation from colleagues as a “hardcore leftist” who “couldn’t stand conservatives” — an image he’s since tried to obscure. Then he led election policy for the partisan group People for the American Way, a connection he’s also attempted to downplay or hide.

Becker accuses his political opponents of threatening election officials and spreading “election denialism,” as if well-intentioned skepticism is a disease.

We can guess why: Becker’s group, CEIR, is the source of that unproven theory through its front group, the Election Official Legal Defense Network, which was formed in early 2021 to label Republican voters a threat to democracy.

CEIR took $70 million from Mark Zuckerberg to register and turn out Democratic voters in swing states as part of the 2020 Zuckbucks scheme, which NPR later celebrated for “saving” the 2020 election. Shamefully, the corporate media continue to bless CEIR as “nonpartisan.”

In May, Becker hosted a conference at the D.C. Spy Museum where Colorado’s Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold declared that there are six election-denying secretaries of state, six U.S. senators, and 150 congressmen who are “desecrating the halls of Congress as we speak” — all Republicans.

“This is part of the national Republican strategy to cause chaos to [win] elections,” she blasted, later intimating that these conservatives ought to be prosecuted for their opinions.

Arizona Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes went further, labeling conservatives “fascists” and “election deniers” for questioning the contested 2020 election. Elsewhere, he’s called Republicans “MAGA fascists” and “authoritarians” who spew “lies” in order to “destroy our democracy.”

Does that sound like someone who should be in charge of Arizona’s elections?

We’ll doubtless learn more in the coming weeks from the FBI about the source of the fentanyl letters. Or then again, Biden’s agents may bury the story completely; it wouldn’t be the first time. You be the judge of what Uncle Sam reports to the public.

But what we can’t do is fall for another conspiracy theory that has one objective: weaponizing the federal government against the Democratic Party’s enemies. The clues are all there. Will Americans pay attention before it’s too late?

'They Are Here': Middle East Expert Warns That Hamas Is Not Only Focused on Destroying Israel

Jeff Charles reporting for RedState 

The Israel-Hamas war has continued to spark fears over hostilities spilling outside of the region and reaching as far as the United States and other Western nations. Even as the two sides are set to abide by a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the release of hostages, there are still concerns about how the conflict might stretch beyond Middle Eastern boundaries.

The car explosion in New York, which some have suggested is a terrorist attack, might go far in illustrating why people would be right to be concerned. On Wednesday, Middle East expert Walid Phares chimed in on the overall battle between Hamas and Israel and suggested that we should take a broader view of what is happening in the Middle East, warning that terrorist groups like Hamas do not only view Israel as their enemy.

If you are Christian, a member of another religion or even participate in your local Rotary club or the Lions, Hamas also considers you an enemy, too.

"Hamas is using Gaza as an umbrella to be legitimate," says author and Middle East expert Walid Phares. "The reality is this is a jihadist movement, and it is manifesting itself in America and Canada, and in Western Europe. We have never been at this level of danger for our democratic world."

Phares went on to note that Israel has served as a buffer between Hamas and the rest of the world but pointed out that the group, along with others, also has its eyes set on the U.S.

"Israel is just a thick skin though the rest of the international community that happens to be blocking them," says Phares, who has written the new book, "Iran, An Imperialistic Republic and U.S. Policy," that explains how Tehran's proxies, like Hamas, spread their message of hate.

"They know our society very well. They are here," he said.

Phares' assessment is correct. The past two decades have shown that Israel is not the only target for radical extremists. In its charter, Hamas points to Christians as an enemy and even mentions America and charitable organizations like Rotary and Lions clubs, portraying them as part of a conspiracy to undermine societies and further Zionist interests.

The fact that Hamas has acted as a proxy for Iran further highlights the potential threat the organization could pose to national security.

Iran, despite having a complicated history with Hamas, is one of the group’s primary backers. Since the group’s inception, Tehran has supported it with funding, military training, and weapons. It is part of the country’s broader geopolitical and ideological objectives.

Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray urged that Americans be vigilant in the face of these potential threats and explained that the Bureau has opened “multiple investigations into individuals” who are affiliated with Hamas.

As of this writing, it has not been verified whether the explosion was the act of terrorists. Currently, there has been conflicting information on the matter. Still, if it is confirmed to be a terrorist attack, then it will prove Phares' warning is apt. But either way, given what we have seen since the start of the Israel-Hamas war and over the past 20 years, concerns about terrorists carrying out assaults on American soil are well founded.

Voice Of America Aids Hamas Terrorists By Refusing To Call Them That

In the West’s war against Islamic terrorism, 

Voice of America is feigning neutrality instead of forthrightly standing for American values.

Sean Durns reporting for The Federalist

“Neutrality,” the Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famously said, “helps the oppressor.” Yet in the West’s war against Islamic terrorism, a key U.S. agency is feigning neutrality instead of forthrightly standing for American values. The culprit is the U.S.-owned and operated news network Voice of America (VOA).

VOA’s reporting on the war between Israel and Iranian-backed proxies such as Hamas has fallen woefully short. Journalism demands both specificity and accuracy. But the taxpayer-funded VOA has refused to call Hamas “terrorists.”

In an Oct. 23 report, journalist Jimmy Quinn revealed that VOA’s management told staff not to call Hamas and its members “terrorists.” Three days before Quinn’s dispatch, VOA associate editor for news standards Carol Guensburg told employees that VOA must maintain neutrality and its reporters should “be especially careful with word choice in dealing with a conflict.”

VOA added that while it was permissible to call the Oct. 7 massacre of hundreds of civilians a “terrorist attack,” the news outlet must “avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes.” Instead, “useful alternatives” like “militant group or militants or fighters” should be used. VOA’s decision echoes that of some other news outlets, including the Associated Press.

Clearly Terrorists

Yet Hamas is, in fact, a U.S.-designated terrorist group — and it has held that designation since 1997. The European Union, Israel, and others have similarly designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. And they’ve done so for good reason: Hamas is a terrorist group that commits acts of terror.

The group, which has its origins in the Muslim Brotherhood, has targeted civilians in suicide bombings and other acts of terror that go back decades. Hamas’ charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of Jews. The Brotherhood’s founders supported Hitler.

Hamas’ barbarism isn’t up for debate. During the Oct. 7 massacre, Hamas invaded Israel and murdered more than 1,200 people in one day. It was the largest slaughter of Jewish civilians since the Holocaust. The terrorists were so proud of their atrocities that they filmed themselves. They shot babies to death in car seats and cribs, they set the elderly on fire in their own homes, and they tied up and dismembered families in front of each other. They gouged out children’s eyes while eating their food. They raped women on the dead bodies of their friends before executing them. They raped some women so savagely that they broke their pelvises.

At one music festival, more than 360 attendees were slaughtered, many shot to death while they ran from Hamas operatives who had paraglided in, a tactic that they apparently learned in Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Hamas took an estimated 240 hostages, including Americans and other nationalities, and brought them back to Gaza. Some are reportedly being held in the underground tunnels that Hamas has built underneath schools, mosques, hospitals, and universities, pilfering international aid to do so.

If this is not terrorism then nothing is terrorism. The word becomes devoid of meaning.

Selective Standards

Importantly, VOA’s standard is selective. VOA had no problem labeling al-Qaeda or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) “terrorists.” Yet Hamas, a similar Islamist movement, is given a pass. There is little difference between the groups. Indeed, proportionally to each country’s population, the Oct. 7 massacre led to more casualties than the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack by al-Qaeda. The only difference is that Hamas’ primary focus is on destroying Israel, though the group has murdered dozens of Americans throughout the years.

VOA’s coverage of the latest war has been replete with anti-Israel bias.

In a Nov. 9 report, the outlet regurgitated Hamas claims that an Israeli missile hit Shifa Hospital. In fact, it was an errant terrorist rocket that fell short. Shifa Hospital has long been used as a primary base of operations for Hamas — a fact confirmed by U.S. intelligence and noted by U.S. administration officials. Indeed, one can go back more than a decade and find reports from The Washington Post, PBS, and others detailing how Shifa is used by Hamas. Nonetheless, in a Nov. 11 tweet, VOA presented this as merely an Israeli “claim” that “Hamas and hospital staff deny.”

Some former VOA employees are rightfully outraged at the organization’s bias. Ted Lipien, formerly VOA’s acting associate director, has called for a bipartisan effort to replace the agency’s management.

VOA was established on the eve of World War II. In its first broadcast on Feb. 1, 1942, VOA promised, “We shall tell you the truth … today and daily from now on.” This vow was made when the U.S. was at war with Nazi barbarism. Eight decades later, the West is at war with another group of genocidal antisemites, and one of America’s information arms is taking the wrong side. 

You Should Get a Gun

posted by Brandon Morse at RedStateVIP 

Things are starting to look like they're going to get dire, and you should probably get a firearm for self-defense. 

The reason you should get one probably isn't going to surprise a lot of my readers. In fact, this isn't necessarily directed at you scrolling through this article (unless you don't own a firearm, in which case, sell your cloak and buy one) but the people you might know who are either on the fence or don't think something nasty isn't coming their way. 

Something is coming this country's way, and if our recent history has taught us anything, it's going to get bloody in the streets. 

The thing coming is the 2024 election. While all elections have a "this is the most important election in our lifetime" feel hanging over it, this election is particularly tense. That tension is only going to grow from here, and you're going to see it get worse by leaps and bounds after the Republicans nominate their candidate to run against President Joe Biden. 

No matter who gets the nomination, you're going to see the left flip out and begin ramping up riots, protests, and violence, likely because the media will stir the fears and anxieties of those who still believe them. If the pattern holds, then the media will focus on a cause of some sort that will foment hatred and division that puts Republicans at the center of the blame. 

But the real barrel of gunpowder in the middle of it all is the fact that, as of this writing, former President Donald Trump is likely to win the nomination. Provided something doesn't happen that alters the course of the primary, Trump currently stands the highest chance of winning. 

As I wrote yesterday, this is causing some very real panic among the left...and we know how they can get when they feel like their backs are against a wall. 

The left has been convincing itself that Donald Trump is the manifestation of everything that is evil in this world. As I write this, the left is currently directing its useful idiots and mouthpieces to repeat that Donald Trump's reelection will cause something of an invasion of America by American armed forces. 

Never mind that there are literally heavily armed federal agents showing up at people's houses for even potentially being connected to the January 6 event and that the Democrats were infusing the IRS with over $80 billion for "enforcement." Trump wants to park a tank in front of your house, take aim at your living room window, and shoot your dog with it. 

As the threat of Trump being president again gets closer and closer to being true, the rhetoric from the left will ramp up the violence in the streets just like it always does. Whether it's done under the banner of a cause or some nebulous anti-Trump reasoning won't matter. The point isn't the cause, the point is the mental effect it will have on society. 

"Trump = violence." 

That's what they want you to think whenever Trump comes up. 

It's my opinion that the left is well aware that violence is on the horizon as well. PBS published an article in August warning the public that the threat of political violence is rising as 2024 draws closer, only they're trying to get out ahead of it by making the upcoming violence seem like something the right will be responsible for: 

Experts warn the escalating rhetoric could increase the risks of violence, especially as the 2024 election and Trump’s trials draw closer. Lone attackers acting impulsively, rather than mass violence such as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, are the greatest worry, said Javed Ali, a former senior FBI counterrorism official now at the University of Michigan.

“That threat can materialize very quickly with no notice,” he said.

This is, of course, nonsense. Political violence is common on the left, especially during election time. Republicans tend to be very peaceful, and January 6 is so convoluted with inside job evidence and Democrat manipulation that you should take any claims about it being proof of Republican (or even Trump voter) violence with a whole truckload of salt. 

It's not conservatives the nation needs to worry about getting violent. The violence will come from the left as sure as day turns to night, and you need to be ready when it does, especially if Trump gets close to or obtains the office of the Presidency. Should that happen, the reaction from the left will be fiery both figuratively and very literally. 

Violence will be cheered on by Democrat politicians, a fearmongering media, and leftist advocacy organizations of every variety. In their self-induced fear and panic, they will begin destroying and assaulting, attempting takeovers of city blocks, and punishing anyone they believe to be guilty of paving the way for Trump's return. 

You need to be able to defend yourself if you happen to find yourself in an area where the backlash happens. 

As Jeff Charles wrote in an article on Monday, it would appear that gun sales are already skyrocketing in anticipation. This proves that my warning to arm and train yourself isn't some hyperbolic clickbait. There's a very real danger here. The left has taught America what it's willing to do when it doesn't get its way, and America needs to be prepared for that inevitability. 

Go buy a gun. Learn how to use it. Learn the laws around it. 

And pray you never have to use it. 

Will America Heed The Warnings Of Panama’s Violent Riots?

How long will police protect those who view them as expendable — and even as a politically expedient scapegoat?

posted by Casey Chalk at The Federalist

Many Americans have seen the footage of 77-year-old American lawyer Kenneth Darlington approaching and engaging a group of demonstrators blocking the Pan-American Highway in Panama before firing his handgun. Darlington is currently in Panamanian custody for killing two people during the incident. But what most Americans don’t know is what is going on in Panama, and what has been going on here for more than a month. Yet they should, because the unrest in this Central American country — home to a canal through which 40 percent of all U.S. container traffic travels — should serve as a warning as to what might await our own nation.

Holding a Nation Hostage

Since late October, protests have roiled Panama because of a government contract with Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals, which would grant the company rights to mine massive deposits of copper for years. The Cobre Panama mine already contributes almost 5 percent of the nation’s GDP. However, many Panamanians view the contract as unfair, too favorable to the Canadian company, and an ecological threat, especially given that almost 9 percent of national GDP comes from the tourism industry and the country’s many celebrated nature reserves. Thus the contract has united labor unions and environmental activists against the Panamanian government for negotiating the contract under what they perceive as poor terms.

These protesters are highly organized and have been quite efficient at bringing Panama’s society and economy to its knees. Major roads across the country have been routinely blocked, as have various ports. Roadblocks in certain parts of the country have prevented fresh produce grown in the agricultural region of Chiriqui from reaching the capital, where more than a third of all citizens live. Many fruits and vegetables, including bananas, have been unavailable for weeks. Thousands of Panamanians who live outside the city have been unable to commute to their jobs. Major tourist attractions — such as the World Heritage Site Casco Viejo, the historic section of the city — have often been inaccessible, affecting the hundreds of businesses located there. United Airlines even canceled flights into the city because the roads to and from Tocumen International Airport were blocked.

The alleged murder of two Panamanians by a U.S. citizen has provoked international headlines, but there has been extensive other violence and crime. Clashes have resulted in several other deaths, many stores have been vandalized, and enterprising demonstrators have established checkpoints at major thoroughfares where they shake down passersby for money.

Multiple American friends of mine have been robbed at these checkpoints, and one of them was pulled out of his car and beaten so badly he required more than a dozen stitches, including to his skull. In that example, Panamanian police stood nearby and did nothing until after the criminals had robbed my friend and left him lying on the road. (It was, if you can believe it, the second time he had been attacked and almost killed by criminals in Panama).

Panamanian police have engaged with demonstrators when they’ve congregated en masse and threatened government buildings or the financial district but have been notably absent elsewhere in the capital or broader country. Why, I’ve wondered, do the police not simply clear these roadblocks and tell protesters that even if they have the right to demonstrate, they are not free to cripple the country?

“They aren’t paid enough for that,” was the response from one American expat I asked who has lived in Panama for more than two decades. The typical response from the government and security forces to these kinds of protests, which happen fairly regularly, including last year, is to give demonstrators extensive latitude to express their frustrations. It is, authorities believe, a sort of “release valve” that will eventually lose steam.

Does Any of This Sound Familiar?

I hope I have provided enough details for readers to recognize the similarities between what is happening in Panama in the past two months and what happened in the United States more than three years ago. Between May 26 and June 8, rioters caused between $1-2 billion worth of damage in about 20 states, making it the costliest example of civil disorder in U.S. history. An estimated 25 people died in the riots. In some cities, such as Minneapolis and Chicago, police were ordered to stand down from intervening while rioters looted or destroyed businesses and even police stations.

The results of city governments punishing, castigating, and defunding their own police forces despite rising mob violence, looting, and destruction of property are readily apparent today. Urban crime has risen dramatically since 2020, as has the national murder rate, both of which have remained much higher than they were pre-pandemic. Many city police forces (including the New York and Chicago Police Departments) are plagued by underfunding and retention issues. Shoplifting and carjackings are soaring in places like Washington, D.C., which has police staffing levels at their lowest in a half-century. Why would anyone want to sign up for that kind of dangerous, underappreciated work? One might say they aren’t paid enough for this.

What Comes Next?

In Panama, popular frustrations over the roadblocks are growing. Working-class Panamanians are increasingly vocal in their anger toward road closures that have lost them as much as one month’s pay — when you’re already poor, that kind of financial loss is more than an annoyance, it’s debilitating. Some clashes have already occurred between laborers and protesters, and if this crisis isn’t resolved soon, there’s likely to be more protests, and they’ll probably be more violent.

Panama’s elite, who live in tony districts such as Costa del Este — which could easily pass for downtown Miami or San Diego — have been thus far largely insulated from the damage caused by more than a month of protests. They may not have butterhead lettuce for their salads or bananas for their smoothies, but they’ll make do, much as the American elite class did in 2020. Yet, also like America, the continued wealth and success of the elite class and their neighborhoods can distract from decaying infrastructure, a massive divide between rich and poor, and systemic corruption.

How long, one wonders, will everyday citizens put up with a system so obviously biased toward those wealthy and powerful enough to shield themselves from increasingly common criminality and violence on their streets? How long will the police protect those who view them as expendable, and even as a politically expedient scapegoat? In Panama, we may learn the answer soon. Perhaps Americans should be pursuing policy options with regard to public safety and police forces that ensure we won’t have to ask that question ourselves.