Your story reminds me of my encounter with a confrontational protest.
So, the year was 1969. Big million man marches were scheduled every month in the fall in DC to protest the war. The SDS was one of the primary movers. SDS stands for Students for a Democratic Society — which most of them were against.
I rode with a friend to DC to see it (I was not that into the SDS anti-war movement, too many hairy men in worn out army fatigues pretending to be heroes, hiding their sociopathic behavior behind “The Movement,” and trying to get laid). Anyway, we wound up near our apartment where we had lived as summer interns working for the government and which was then occupied by a friend. DuPont Circle was nearby. The SDS had decided to hold a big pre-rally on Friday night at DuPont Circle — a kind of lollapalooza of protesters, a warm up for the next day. When we entered Washington, we noticed USArmy deuce and a half trucks parked to block access to federal office buildings and the White House surrounded by buses parked tight. DC was under siege.
The crowds formed gradually and then steadily on the Circle and traffic was shut down. The bull horn speeches got louder and louder and gave way to the crowd being led in chants. I noticed lots of army fatigue goons starting an armed-locked Conga line that pushed the growing crowd down Massachusetts Ave. toward Sheridan Circle and the old S. Vietnam Embassy. “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, NLF is gonna win!”
My friend and I stayed away from the center and just observed. We moved a little further away as the crowds kept growing, standing near an office building. As we moved around, I noticed lots of fast moving traffic moving down a side street. The police could be seen moving swiftly in busses in full riot gear. My friend and I were able to move even further away from the human snake and get to a side road before the SDS pushed plunged the crowd down Massachusetts Ave. and full on into a police line. Very soon, all of DuPont Circle was covered in tear gas. As we moved carefully down a short cut alley we knew, we encountered an SDS type talking on the police ban radio trying to confuse the police — he was a calling in emergencies to disperse the riot police.
Because we knew the neighborhood, we managed to get back to our apartment, but not until the pepper gas got us. It was fired from a police car as we hovered under a roof overhang of a modern glass office building. The police car was driving down the sidewalk to clear the few stragglers like us who escaped the confrontation. It was dangerous for those who had no idea where they were or how to escape.
I often thought had we not known the neighborhood, we might have spent the night in jail, crying our eyes out from the gas. When we got to the apartment, we ran for the refrigerator and washed our face and eyes with milk. It works. Later on, as a government employee I underwent tear and pepper gas training. Yes, it is a thing. And guess what. We used milk to cleanse our faces when it was over.
"securing for themselves money and power and most importantly clicks." My subconscious/id mind was reading a nano-second ahead before the rest of the word recognition software of my brain kicked in . . . and so for a brief flicker I read this as "securing for themselves money and power and most importantly [chicks]." I suspect both readings are absolutely correct.
As long-retired attorney, I commend your answering the true calling of a lawyer by stepping up to do the job when the people who were paid to do it didn't. Most lawyers today have no belief in that concept. Vide: the J6 defendants' pathetic "defense" by federal public defenders assigned to most of them because most, hauled away from far away, could not dream of affording DC area lawyers even if they could have found one willing to defend them. I know you would have done the right thing. Susan would have told you "don't think twice; it's all right".
Max, that was superb. Your analysis of the true Marxist motive is not surprising, but it makes perfect sense.
It helps loosen the Gordian Knot regarding how Marxists are able to seemingly increase their ranks with folks (who I assess, admittedly from MY perspective) have no logical business forming an alliance with them. It's a bit depressing that the Marxists seem to have no lack of success with their tactics.
Your own experience caused me to have a ton of flashbacks. The vast majority of my criminal defense work was as an Army JAG officer (a total of 5 and 1/2 years over two tours). After retiring, I spent nearly 30 years prosecuting or directly supporting prosecution.
My defense experience was invaluable as a professional prosecutor. It made it far easier to determine which defense attorneys I could trust, and those who i could not.
My quick story: My last major trial as an Asst. U.S. Attorney was in 2006. The trial involved a major drug dealer with a long, shocking record of previous convictions for virtually evert crime you can think of that involved violence.
Our case required my trial partner and I to get the District Court to admit about six different sets of official records. This is almost a ministerial exercise. Records are considered Hearsay (an out of court statement offered to prove the matter asserted), but can come in according the official records exception. Admission by a Court is routine, since the drill is to call a records custodian, and ask six questions regarding the manner that the record was kept.
Normally, defense counsel will stipulate to the six questions, but object to relevance. As a result, the Courts admit the documents. In my case, the defense counsel, who i considered a real sleaze, declined to stipulate.
That was fine, so we had six different custodians sit in our separate waiting room near the end of our case-in-chief. After we called the last substantive witness, the Court wanted to break for the day. This meant that the witnesses would have to come back the next morning, so we could resolve the issue before we rested.
The defense counsel, who I will call Louie, came up to us and offered to stipulate to the hearsay issue on the following morning. My trial partner was a rookie. She was very grateful, since she sincerely worried about the witnesses, and didn't want them inconvenienced.
After we left the Courtroom, I told her that we would NOT release the witnesses, and i would explain it all to them, since it was clear that they would not be happy. Four were from out of town, and would have to stay over.
My trial partner was upset with me, and thought that I was being a hard [expletive deleted], unnecessarily inconveniencing nice, hard working people. In light of her negative rebuke, I chose not to explain. I simply told her to wait until tomorrow and all would be revealed.
I briefed the six witnesses, and told them to convene in the snack bar in the morning, and NOT come to the witness room until my agent came down to get them.
The next morning, my witness room was bare, and my trial partner asked where the witnesses were. I told her they'd been abducted by aliens. She was not amused, and reinforced her negative comments from the previous day.
Right before Judge Bucklew convened the Court, Louie came in and said that he had bad news for me. He claimed that his client would not agree to the stipulation, and we'd just have to find a way to admit the evidence w/o the witnesses. My trial partner had an epiphany, she turned her ire on Louie, who told her to stuff it. He added that his recollection of the earlier conversation was that he MIGHT stipulate but couldn't promise it 'til he spoke to his client.
I reminded him that evidentiary issues are NOT the province of the defendant, and he had the right to stipulate, object, remain silent as his professional experience guided him. He told me bring that up with the Court. And, BTW, he was going to demand a mistrial, since I'd addressed the docs in my opening statement.
I turned to my trial partner and asked her if she still thought I was a hard [expletive deleted]? She just shook her head. I turned to the agent, and said, get the witnesses up from the snack bar.
Louie asked, are the witnesses in the Court House? i told him to his face that I'd seen him try too many sleazy tricks to ever trust him, and that my partner needed to see him in action.
I did not realize it, but the Court's clerks were eavesdropping thought the PA system and reported the whole exercise to Judge Bucklew. The Judge, in a social situation, mentioned it to me a year or two later.
Defense counsels are critical to the integrity of our adversary system of criminal prosecution. I have the highest respect for those who slave for small pay to do right and guarantee that their clients have all the rights the Constitution provides. But, the defense bar has it's share of sociopaths too
You misunderstood me. I meant my comment but I didn't mean to upvote myself. So I just posted that I was "liking" my own comment accidentally, not to purposely enhance the upvotes for it.
Very interesting. I am lucky I have never gotten into any demonstrations or been carried away by even good movements that went a little off. Such as in my time the JDL which started out trying to accomplish something and did and then went crazy. Its unfortunately easy to do.
Yes I would too. The late Rabbi Meir Kahane, with his faults did try. And was willing to pay a personal price. Both in a federal prison, and being assassinated. ( I appreciate these back and forths on my comments so thank you)
Tim, Joe bought your excellent novel for me. I have only read a few pages due to many distractions of preparing for CC4 and getting my own columns in and, oh yeah, this whole Israel/Iran deal. But it looks wonderful and I'm taking it on our trip north to Brainerd. Also, I will not need to bring my weights! Will just use the book! Susan
Your story reminds me of my encounter with a confrontational protest.
So, the year was 1969. Big million man marches were scheduled every month in the fall in DC to protest the war. The SDS was one of the primary movers. SDS stands for Students for a Democratic Society — which most of them were against.
I rode with a friend to DC to see it (I was not that into the SDS anti-war movement, too many hairy men in worn out army fatigues pretending to be heroes, hiding their sociopathic behavior behind “The Movement,” and trying to get laid). Anyway, we wound up near our apartment where we had lived as summer interns working for the government and which was then occupied by a friend. DuPont Circle was nearby. The SDS had decided to hold a big pre-rally on Friday night at DuPont Circle — a kind of lollapalooza of protesters, a warm up for the next day. When we entered Washington, we noticed USArmy deuce and a half trucks parked to block access to federal office buildings and the White House surrounded by buses parked tight. DC was under siege.
The crowds formed gradually and then steadily on the Circle and traffic was shut down. The bull horn speeches got louder and louder and gave way to the crowd being led in chants. I noticed lots of army fatigue goons starting an armed-locked Conga line that pushed the growing crowd down Massachusetts Ave. toward Sheridan Circle and the old S. Vietnam Embassy. “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, NLF is gonna win!”
My friend and I stayed away from the center and just observed. We moved a little further away as the crowds kept growing, standing near an office building. As we moved around, I noticed lots of fast moving traffic moving down a side street. The police could be seen moving swiftly in busses in full riot gear. My friend and I were able to move even further away from the human snake and get to a side road before the SDS pushed plunged the crowd down Massachusetts Ave. and full on into a police line. Very soon, all of DuPont Circle was covered in tear gas. As we moved carefully down a short cut alley we knew, we encountered an SDS type talking on the police ban radio trying to confuse the police — he was a calling in emergencies to disperse the riot police.
Because we knew the neighborhood, we managed to get back to our apartment, but not until the pepper gas got us. It was fired from a police car as we hovered under a roof overhang of a modern glass office building. The police car was driving down the sidewalk to clear the few stragglers like us who escaped the confrontation. It was dangerous for those who had no idea where they were or how to escape.
I often thought had we not known the neighborhood, we might have spent the night in jail, crying our eyes out from the gas. When we got to the apartment, we ran for the refrigerator and washed our face and eyes with milk. It works. Later on, as a government employee I underwent tear and pepper gas training. Yes, it is a thing. And guess what. We used milk to cleanse our faces when it was over.
"securing for themselves money and power and most importantly clicks." My subconscious/id mind was reading a nano-second ahead before the rest of the word recognition software of my brain kicked in . . . and so for a brief flicker I read this as "securing for themselves money and power and most importantly [chicks]." I suspect both readings are absolutely correct.
Excellent analysis Max. The Leninists were small in number but were able to pull it off because nobody then followed that sage advice.
Plus you gained legal knowledge they don't teach in law school. When someone says, "All you need to do is".....RUN!
As long-retired attorney, I commend your answering the true calling of a lawyer by stepping up to do the job when the people who were paid to do it didn't. Most lawyers today have no belief in that concept. Vide: the J6 defendants' pathetic "defense" by federal public defenders assigned to most of them because most, hauled away from far away, could not dream of affording DC area lawyers even if they could have found one willing to defend them. I know you would have done the right thing. Susan would have told you "don't think twice; it's all right".
Max. When your friend asked for the favor, you didn’t say, I would prefer not to?
No. I guess I failed as a true Bartleby.
You got it!
How could you doubt him, even for a moment?
Max, that was superb. Your analysis of the true Marxist motive is not surprising, but it makes perfect sense.
It helps loosen the Gordian Knot regarding how Marxists are able to seemingly increase their ranks with folks (who I assess, admittedly from MY perspective) have no logical business forming an alliance with them. It's a bit depressing that the Marxists seem to have no lack of success with their tactics.
Your own experience caused me to have a ton of flashbacks. The vast majority of my criminal defense work was as an Army JAG officer (a total of 5 and 1/2 years over two tours). After retiring, I spent nearly 30 years prosecuting or directly supporting prosecution.
My defense experience was invaluable as a professional prosecutor. It made it far easier to determine which defense attorneys I could trust, and those who i could not.
My quick story: My last major trial as an Asst. U.S. Attorney was in 2006. The trial involved a major drug dealer with a long, shocking record of previous convictions for virtually evert crime you can think of that involved violence.
Our case required my trial partner and I to get the District Court to admit about six different sets of official records. This is almost a ministerial exercise. Records are considered Hearsay (an out of court statement offered to prove the matter asserted), but can come in according the official records exception. Admission by a Court is routine, since the drill is to call a records custodian, and ask six questions regarding the manner that the record was kept.
Normally, defense counsel will stipulate to the six questions, but object to relevance. As a result, the Courts admit the documents. In my case, the defense counsel, who i considered a real sleaze, declined to stipulate.
That was fine, so we had six different custodians sit in our separate waiting room near the end of our case-in-chief. After we called the last substantive witness, the Court wanted to break for the day. This meant that the witnesses would have to come back the next morning, so we could resolve the issue before we rested.
The defense counsel, who I will call Louie, came up to us and offered to stipulate to the hearsay issue on the following morning. My trial partner was a rookie. She was very grateful, since she sincerely worried about the witnesses, and didn't want them inconvenienced.
After we left the Courtroom, I told her that we would NOT release the witnesses, and i would explain it all to them, since it was clear that they would not be happy. Four were from out of town, and would have to stay over.
My trial partner was upset with me, and thought that I was being a hard [expletive deleted], unnecessarily inconveniencing nice, hard working people. In light of her negative rebuke, I chose not to explain. I simply told her to wait until tomorrow and all would be revealed.
I briefed the six witnesses, and told them to convene in the snack bar in the morning, and NOT come to the witness room until my agent came down to get them.
The next morning, my witness room was bare, and my trial partner asked where the witnesses were. I told her they'd been abducted by aliens. She was not amused, and reinforced her negative comments from the previous day.
Right before Judge Bucklew convened the Court, Louie came in and said that he had bad news for me. He claimed that his client would not agree to the stipulation, and we'd just have to find a way to admit the evidence w/o the witnesses. My trial partner had an epiphany, she turned her ire on Louie, who told her to stuff it. He added that his recollection of the earlier conversation was that he MIGHT stipulate but couldn't promise it 'til he spoke to his client.
I reminded him that evidentiary issues are NOT the province of the defendant, and he had the right to stipulate, object, remain silent as his professional experience guided him. He told me bring that up with the Court. And, BTW, he was going to demand a mistrial, since I'd addressed the docs in my opening statement.
I turned to my trial partner and asked her if she still thought I was a hard [expletive deleted]? She just shook her head. I turned to the agent, and said, get the witnesses up from the snack bar.
Louie asked, are the witnesses in the Court House? i told him to his face that I'd seen him try too many sleazy tricks to ever trust him, and that my partner needed to see him in action.
I did not realize it, but the Court's clerks were eavesdropping thought the PA system and reported the whole exercise to Judge Bucklew. The Judge, in a social situation, mentioned it to me a year or two later.
Defense counsels are critical to the integrity of our adversary system of criminal prosecution. I have the highest respect for those who slave for small pay to do right and guarantee that their clients have all the rights the Constitution provides. But, the defense bar has it's share of sociopaths too
Some lessons cannot be learned by hearing, they must be seen. Well played.
Revealing and fun story, Tony!
If I was still teaching PS 101 I would use your explanation of Marxism. In fact, I would use the entire essay. I loved the photos.
Excellent essay. Thank you.
Very good column as usual … but now I’m afraid to go outside.
Paul
You misunderstood me. I meant my comment but I didn't mean to upvote myself. So I just posted that I was "liking" my own comment accidentally, not to purposely enhance the upvotes for it.
I understood that. :)
Very interesting. I am lucky I have never gotten into any demonstrations or been carried away by even good movements that went a little off. Such as in my time the JDL which started out trying to accomplish something and did and then went crazy. Its unfortunately easy to do.
I would love to see a New, Improved JDL make an appearance again today, Alexander.
Yes I would too. The late Rabbi Meir Kahane, with his faults did try. And was willing to pay a personal price. Both in a federal prison, and being assassinated. ( I appreciate these back and forths on my comments so thank you)
I inadvertently pushed the "Like" button under my own comment. Sorry about that, folks.
That's okay. If you didn't like your comment, you could have deleted it.
Or undid the like by pressing it again.
That's the difference between a rioter and a protester. Respect the latter, truss and transport the former.
Tim, Joe bought your excellent novel for me. I have only read a few pages due to many distractions of preparing for CC4 and getting my own columns in and, oh yeah, this whole Israel/Iran deal. But it looks wonderful and I'm taking it on our trip north to Brainerd. Also, I will not need to bring my weights! Will just use the book! Susan
I salute you, Susan. I assure you my book is ponderous only in weight!
In just the few pages I read, it made me deeply resent all the tasks I had to do rather than curling up with the book.
700 pages! 2 pounds weight! I just ordered the Kindle version. Any friend of Adam Smith is a friend of mine.
They value action above thought.