Guy Page: When disrupters attack pro-police rally on social media, what can you do?

By Guy Page

Attendees at Saturday’s Rally to Support Law Enforcement could hardly fail to notice the squad of camera-wielding friends of the rally disrupters, circling the gathering and looking for … what?

As it turns out, they were looking to record racist comments, to promptly post on social media and bring to the attention of other media. Apparently it’s too hard to find real-life expressions of racism in Vermont, despite the state being supposedly riddled with white supremacists and systemic racism.

How frustrating for them.

So here’s what they do. A crowd of them — including wearing threatening Antifa riot gear — descend en masse on a quiet, peaceful, permitted gathering of mostly middle-aged and elderly people sitting in lawn chairs. They shout down everyone. They announce that police and their supporters are racist. They wave signs that say you-know-what the police. They rip signs out of elderly ladies’ hands. They generally confront and provoke as much as possible without actually drawing police intervention.

Guy Page

At the pro-police rally held Saturday at the State House, anti-police disrupters arrived and started yelling, screaming and turning on sirens while rallyers tried to observe a moment of silence for fallen police officers.

And, they wait for The Moment. The young folks with cameras and smart phones are circling, circling, looking for that one encounter that will make the whole trip worthwhile. Apparently at least one person obliged with an angry statement in response to — well, we don’t know what it was in response to. The post conveniently doesn’t record whatever the disrupter said. (For that matter it’s not impossible that the rally attendee who claimed blacks have been especially well treated in the USA was a “plant.” At least I didn’t recognize her.)

Their policy of provocation is cold-blooded, cynical and deceptive. Get some unprepared schlub to blurt out statements on camera, convince the public that everyone who supports the police is just like this Bad Guy, and create division. It’s a ploy to sell the idea that society is irredeemably racist and, starting with police, must be abolished and rebuilt from the bottom up. Down with the Bill of Rights, individual determination, the Constitution, capitalism. Up with socialism, which has always needed an evil, oppressive “Them” to justify denying rights and seizing power. For the National Socialists in the 1930’s, the target was the Jews. For today’s Marxist Socialists, it’s the police — and the law-based, capitalist society they protect. And, last Saturday in Montpelier, the startled attendees of a peaceful rally to honor the Blue.

At least in the short term it’s an effective strategy. When asked at today’s press conference, Gov. Scott showed that his view Saturday’s event were influenced by the viral post, which he noted has gone across the country. “I would hope that the rest of the country doesn’t believe that we are represented by the woman on the video,” he said.

As a follow-up, Vermont Daily asked: “Governor, I heard your comments about Saturday’s rally. Are you also concerned when anti-police protesters — some dressed in threatening Antifa riot gear — disrupt a peaceful, permitted gathering of people sitting in lawn chairs. They shout down everyone so that no speakers can be heard. They yell that police and their supporters are racist. They wave signs that say you-know-what the police. They rip signs out of elderly ladies’ hands. I think you and I and most others are for racial equity, but do these tactics concern you?”

Gov. Scott replied: “Yeah, obviously … I’ve been a promoter of respect and listening to each other. Racism is on center stage. We should listen.” He added that he is “a promoter of law enforcement” and does not support defunding police.

But what’s a police-supporting American without press credentials to do? In my humble opinion, when Antifa or BLM is screaming in your face, you turn the other cheek. Don’t give them the satisfaction. Or the photo op.

Also, use social media and letters to traditional media to dispute their narrative. For example, some media called the disrupters “counter-protesters.” Yet there were no protesters for them to counter. There were only people thankfully celebrating the good work of Vermont law enforcement, at least until (maybe) a few felt sufficiently provoked to protest their conduct.

Cameras don’t have politics. You point, you shoot, it works. Vermont Daily (see YouTube video) caught the disrupters jeering when a local pastor asked for a moment of silence to honor fallen police officers.

We figured WCAX ought to know about it, and sent the following email this morning:

“As a rally attendee, it’s clear to me that the anti-police disrupters were looking, hard, for expressions of anger, to be caught on video — they had at least half a dozen people walking around doing nothing but shooting photos. This is so sad — some good people showed up to calmly, peacefully honor police — only to be targeted as racists by a disruptive crowd. 

“If you do a follow-up to your social media piece that aired this morning, you might want to include this clip — which shows the disrupters yelling, screaming and turning on sirens while rallyers tried to observe a moment of silence for fallen police officers. This happened immediately after everyone, at the request of rally speaker Pastor Gordon Wells of Barre, JOINED TOGETHER in observing a respectful moment of silence for George Floyd. It was really beautiful. But when Pastor Wells asked that a similar moment of silence be observed for fallen police officers — immediately they resumed their cacaphony.

Will WCAX pick up on this side of the story? FYI their website says comments and newstips can be emailed to news@wcax.com. You have Vermont Daily’s permission to send them the video, and to share it online.

Read more of Guy Page’s reports. Vermont Daily is sponsored by True North Media.

Image courtesy of Guy Page

14 thoughts on “Guy Page: When disrupters attack pro-police rally on social media, what can you do?

  1. 13 V.S.A. 1026
    Disorderly Conduct.

    (a) A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if he or she, with intent to cause public inconvenience or annoyance, or recklessly creates a risk thereof:

    (4) without lawful authority, disturbs any lawful assembly or meeting of persons.

    I find it strange that law enforcement can’t, or won’t, enforce Vermont law at a rally for law enforcement.

  2. This is how, in part, VT Digger reported this story.

    “As a scrum of demonstrators from both sides formed on the steps, protestors clashed, some exchanging words in nose-to-nose arguments while others continued chanting and waving flags off to the side. Many counter-demonstrators continued chanting throughout the day as some danced and others held Black Lives Matter signs, creating a sort of rally of their own. Zanevia Wilcox, a Burlington racial justice advocate who has spoken at other Black Lives Matter protests, said she was called a “f—ing n—er” in the middle of the scrum.”
    https://vtdigger.org/2020/07/25/demonstrators-clash-at-montpelier-pro-police-rally/

    So “…counter protestors danced and others held Black Lives Matter signs” while a racial justice advocate was called a …….”.

    Well, you get the idea. Are we talking about the same event? It’s not that any of this didn’t happen. I don’t know. I wasn’t there. My concern, as a trained journalist, is what reporters choose to record and report…and what they choose not to record and report. Clearly, cognitive bias is at work.

    Again, we are at a crossroad. The following report on the demonstrations, one of several I considered, seemed reasonable, at least to my cognitive bias.
    https://www.wcax.com/video/2020/07/26/rally-montpelier-support-law-enforcement/

  3. The other side has a strategy and the tactics to accomplish it. What can you do? Stop holding impromptu gatherings.

  4. My observations are 1. there were paid agitators there trying to get confrontations started. Why else would they be yelling at people and getting in their faces? Fortunately they failed. But people need to see these punks specifically and their antagonizing. 2. I’m beginning to believe she was a plant. No where have I seen that anyone recognized her..

    • The irony of these police protesters is they will be the first and loudest screamers when they are robbed, beaten or attacked. They will be screaming bloody murder if the police look the other way and let them suffer. You and I know the police will step up to protect and serve these undeserving thugs.

  5. What were these disruptor crowd looking for ??……. your reaction!!

    They try to provoke you so you’ll react and the can catch you ” putting a thumping ”
    on them, so they can cry that there first amendment was violated.

    These agitators are like flies, they just annoy you, but need to be swatted !!

    It’s coming……………

    • the key word?

      Organizers.

      aka Trouble Makers

      often pawns for those seeking money and power, it’s in their playbook.

      What are they doing? Are they helping our brothers and sisters in Chicago? Nope, they don’t care about 700 people getting killed in one year nor the 2200 people that have been shot so far, just this year!

      You’d have vans full of conservatives going to show support and solidarity to reduce this. What does BLM say? Don’t bring in any law enforcement to reduce the violence. What is BLM doing in Chicago? Anything to reduce the shootings?

      They are really good at laundering money. We’ve made so many, so many ways for people to launder money these days.

      Trouble makers, trained Marxists…aka organizer. It all means the same.

        • Well, I’d like to think, and I believe it to be true based upon other friends I have is the Democratic Party has left the American loving democrats.

          The entire party has gone radical left in the leadership. Many unwittingly follow. The same has happened to the Republican Party too, we are now (the majority) where the Democrats used to be.

          Look at Scott and Milne, they are fine moderate democrats of 1960 to 1970.

          Nothing inherently evil vs. the NWO pimps which I’d argue do have evil intent. But the balance is so far off as to make a great little Republic lean so far into the socialist realm that the morals and financials of this state are both soul and economically crushing the people of Vermont.

          We are a party divided. The same is for the left, but the NWO pimps crush and publically hang any in the ranks. See our latest principal. This gets compliance from many, but many know in their hearts something is wrong. Something is not making sense.

          It’s the kind hearted conservatives and the American loving democrats that can save out state.

          • “It’s the kind hearted conservatives and the American loving democrats that can save out (state)/Country.

            Well stated. Fixed slightly.

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