Stand by
About Trump and the Proud Boys…
The president was asked repeatedly by the moderator, Chris Wallace, to condemn violence by white supremacists and rightwing groups, such as armed militias, as well as criticizing leftwing protesters.
Instead, Trump addressed the Proud Boys, a far-right group whose members have been sentenced to prison for attacking leftwing protesters in political street fights, and said: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”
The Proud Boys, whose uniform is a black polo shirt, immediately celebrated the president’s comment in posts on social media platform Telegram. One Proud Boys group added the phrase “Stand Back, Stand By” to their logo. Another post was a message to Trump: “Standing down and standing by sir.”
Ready to “do something” about antifa and the left sir.
In 2019, a New York judge who sentenced two Proud Boys members to prison for assaulting leftwing protesters after an event in New York City said that cracking down on political violence was essential.
“I know enough about history to know what happened in Europe in the 30s when political street brawls were allowed to go ahead,” the judge said at the Proud Boys’ sentencing, the New York Post reported.
And what happened in the 40s as a result.
Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, also condemned the president’s refusal to disavow white supremacists. “The president of the United States, in the year of our Lord 2020, refuses to condemn white supremacists,” she said.
Maybe they’ll make him their god when he loses the election.
Not that Trump was ever subtle about his racism and affiliation with the far right, but knowing that he stands a good chance of being ousted has made him panic, put away the dogwhistle and dust off the bullhorn to cry for help.
When he said there were “good people on both sides”, it was a reprehensible statement equating white supremacists with folks opposing white supremacy. But, of course, it’s worse than that: there are good people on only one side, and it is the side with the nazis. Remember when they were the bad guys?
“Stand back and stand by” = don’t do anything yet, but be ready for further orders.
Thing is, there really aren’t that many of them in absolute numbers; they’re not a waiting army as such. The fact that only a couple hundred could be arsed to show up in Portland last weekend was a testament to that.
Which isn’t to say they can’t hurt a lot of people and make a mess…