Although there are times when I take the role of a curmudgeon, complaining through assuming the role of “Crotchetyman,” most of my columns have been on the lighter side. I leave the more serious topics to Brittany, Brian and Julie. First of all, what Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd was inexcusable in every sense of the word but now I think it’s time to stop the continued confrontation which will end up with little more than hard feelings and petrified minds.
That first demonstration on Capitol Hill in Seattle was planned to be a peaceful display of the fact that brutality has no excuse, even in police matters. There was conjecture at the beginning that the choking to death of George Floyd by Derek Chauven might have had a personal factor behind it since they both had part time jobs with the same employer, but it was the racial factor that received paramount attention of reporters and with the general public. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” became a national slogan.
Now we come to the point where some of you are going to swear to yourselves (or to others as well) that you will never again read one of my columns, because I’m going to suggest that whoever thought up the BLM slogan wasn’t thinking clearly enough. The wording might imply to some people that there could be a difference between black lives and the lives of those of us who have somewhat paler features. While “All Lives Matter” would be closer to the intended meaning, it wouldn’t have the same impact. Eliminating the adjective and saying, simply, “Lives Matter” comes closest to what we really mean, doesn’t it?
Let’s leave that portion of the topic and return to the issue touched upon earlier. The first march on Capitol Hill in Seattle was intended to be a peaceful demonstration but the “peaceful” aspect of it was soon overshadowed by the destruction and looting that went along at the same time. That certainly wasn’t the intent of the march’s planners and the majority of the marchers. But as it declined into scenes of violence, images emerged, reminding many of a similarity to — at least to those of us of a certain age — of a country named Germany when a guy with a funny little mustache came onto the scene. He, skillfully, overwhelmed a young democracy with mob violence.
I’m convinced the destruction of property and the looting that followed was, obviously, deliberate — scripted ahead of time and not an incidental sidelight to the march. The number of young men — and a few young women as well — was too large to have been spontaneous. The tools they carried with them for their destructive actions were not just picked up from the gutter as they joined the crowd. Their actions were more like a deliberate attempt to discredit the sincerely concerned participants. How did they know when to appear and begin their destruction? Do they gather in secret meeting places or is there, perhaps, a telephone network set up? Let’s just hope that we get some answers soon. And, most importantly, that we find some solutions to the real reason the demonstrations had to happen.
Enough of that. Let me return to something less controversial and end on a lighter note by reminding you of yet another way I’ve found where you can tell if you’re an old timer, or not. You most likely qualify if you can remember the five words that followed “Hut-Sut Rawlson on the Rillerah.”
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Bill Moeller is a former entertainer, mayor, bookstore owner, city council member, paratrooper and pilot living in Centralia. He can be reached at bookmaven321@comcast.net.
