A 1930s Communist Spy Can Help Explain What’s Motivating The RiotsPeaceful onlookers struggle to understand violent actions ostensibly committed in pursuit of justice. An earlier generation of Americans had the same questions about communism.
By Elle Reynolds
September 22, 2020
“We hope they die,†chanted a crowd of people in front of the emergency room entrance of St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, California last Sunday. Some attempted to block the ambulance that was bringing two police officers into the hospital to be treated after they were shot in a random attack.
In August, a crowd of white “Black Lives Matter†supporters approached diners at a restaurant in Washington D.C., raising their fists and demanding they follow suit. When one of the diners refused to raise her fist, the crowd surrounded her and yelled in her face, accusing her of violence.
A similar scene erupted in Rochester, N.Y. a few weeks later. This time, the crowd smashed plates and glasses on patrons’ tables.
Whether they support the social causes these protesters claim to represent or not, peaceful onlookers grapple with these actions in bewilderment. What could possess a normal person to commit apparently mindless acts of mob madness like these? Does anyone sincerely believe that blocking an ambulance or terrorizing diners will help bring about justice or a more perfect union?
An earlier generation of Americans wondered the same thing about the supporters of communism. What was the appeal of a movement that brought famine, oppression, and death around the world? Americans could not understand the appeal of communism to the soul, and therefore could not understand the actions it produced.
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https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/22/a-1930s-communist-spy-can-help-explain-whats-motivating-the-riots/
