Stop me if you’ve heard this before… A couple takes steps to protect themselves and their property from an angry mob. The mob is engaged in a felony. But the victims are the bad guys because they displayed firearms. Up is down, down is up, bad is good…
When is hate speech hate speech and when is it peaceful protest? Here are some examples of violent speech, as compiled by the Center for Hope and Safety.
Violent Phrases That Are Used In Everyday Speech
Center For Hope and Safety
Violence is all around us. Turn on the TV and it’s in the news or the hour-long police procedural drama. Explosions and gun fights are a common staple of the latest blockbuster in the theatres or on DVD. One place you may not noticed the infiltration of violence is in what you say each and every day. Have you ever said any of the following?
| When push comes to shove | Give it a shot |
| Adding insult to injury | Take a shot at it |
| Hitting on an idea | Something to shoot for |
| Deadbeat | Right on target |
| Take a stab at it | Need more ammunition |
| Shot in the dark | Bullet points |
Mark McCloskey and family good liberals all, were just sitting down to dinner. They were doing it in their multi-million dollar home located in an exclusive gated community. To add insult to injury it probably wasn’t a vegan meal. That in itself means they deserved everything that followed.
A group of peaceful protestors broke down a century old wrought iron gate to gain entry to the subdivision. The nature of the gate is important because it is unlikely that a trip to Home Deport and $49.95 is not going to replace the gate. Here is an example of a possible replacement.
The destruction of the gate likely represents a felony criminal mischief. According to federal sentencing guidelines, the criminal damage of property is considered a crime of violence. The concept of “peaceful protest” stopped being peaceful and a protest when the gate came down. What was actually happening is a felony in progress with all of the protestors acting in concert and agreement to accomplish the crime.
In an interview with KMOV, Mark McCloskey said that the protesters — who were chanting, “Resign Lyda, take the cops with you” — said that he and his family were having a peaceful family dinner when the crowd rolled in, reportedly smashing through the community’s wrought-iron gates, despite signs prohibiting trespassing and proclaiming the street to be private property,
“A mob of at least 100 [protesters] smashed through the historic wrought-iron gates of Portland Place, destroying them, rushed towards my home where my family was having dinner outside, and put us in fear of our lives,” Mark recalled. “This is all private property. There are no public sidewalks or public streets. We were told that we would be killed, our home burned, and our dog killed.”
He added, “We were all alone facing an angry mob.”
Compare and contrast:
“When push comes to shove” Violent speech.
“Burn your house down!” Peaceful protest and establishing a meaningful dialog.
“Something to shoot for” Violent speech.
“Kill you and your family.” Nurturing and supportive speech.
“Take a stab at it.” Violent and threatening speech.
“Kill your dog” Offer to free the dog from the tyranny of ownership.
I haven’t examined the video footage. But from the still photos the only person that McCloskey pointed his AR at was his wife. As to the wife, it’s pretty obvious she could use some range time.
McCloskey didn’t know these folks. The protestors were engaged in a criminal trespass and felony criminal mischief. They backed up the actions with verbal threats of injury and death. Given the circumstances McCloskey was justified in taking them at their word.
Fortunately, one side was scared and the other was damned glad of it. Next time the rioters may not be so fortunate.
