The summer of 1968 was a hot one in Chicago. An early summer heat wave in May and June saw temperatures rise to the mid 90s and 100s with brutal, life-draining humidity.
There had been riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the Democratic Party convention was coming to town in August. The forces of anarchy were gathering in Chicago, planning and hoping to provoke the Chicago police into a violent response to gain sympathy for their cause.
What was that "cause"? The stated objective of the radical left was to end the Vietnam War. But the real goal was a social and political revolution to be initiated by a "storming of the Bastille" moment: the theatrical sacrifice of thousands of kids who believed they were going to a peaceful protest but ended up as actors in a bloody, revolutionary play written, directed, and produced by the radical left.
The loosely affiliated radical left groups included the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE), the Youth International Party (Yippies), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). These weren't idealistic young people. Many of them were hardened revolutionaries hell-bent on setting off a spark that would end the Vietnam War and create the conditions for revolution.
The three groups applied for permits to hold protests in Lincoln Park, about 10 miles from the International Amphitheater where the convention was to be held. Mayor Richard Daley, who vowed the protesters would not disrupt the convention, granted the groups one permit for the nearby Grant Park bandshell.
About a week before the convention, thousands of young people began to camp out in Lincoln Park. On Sunday, August 25, the day before the convention opened, Mayor Daley played right into the radical left's hands by ordering police to enforce the 11:00 PM curfew in the park.
Stupidly, the cops threw tear gas into the crowd, causing panic and sending kids blinded by the gas running in every direction. The cops were further agitated by bags of excrement being thrown at them, as well as flares, firecrackers, and other objects. Dozens of protesters and cops were hurt.
It was a scene repeated several times over the next few days. The TV cameras captured peaceful protesters being clubbed and pushed by 12,000 Chicago cops. At the same time, at the rear of the crowd, the real action took place as radicals sought to do everything in their power to provoke a violent response from the police.
In truth, the Chicago police were poorly trained for confrontations like this. Contrasted with the 2012 NATO protests in Chicago, where the police mostly acted with intelligent restraint, the 1968 convention degenerated into "a police riot," as the commission set up by President Johnson to investigate what happened called it.
Now, the same forces of anarchy and revolution are driving the anti-immigration enforcement protests in Chicago, hoping to provoke a violent response from law enforcement. The same kind of earnest, well-meaning, idealistic people who protested in 1968 to end the war are out front of the anti-ICE protests. They are the ones bearing the brunt of the police response to the rocks and other objects thrown by those who aren't interested in "peaceful protests."
About 25% of the U.S. population lives within 500 miles of Chicago. Far more than Portland, Chicago represents the epicenter of the "resistance." The radicals are being assisted by politicians like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and, especially, the most irresponsible Democratic politician in America: Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Pritzker is like a madman running toward a gasoline dump with a lit stick of dynamite. In refusing to call up the National Guard to protect immigration and Border Patrol agents in carrying out their lawful duties, Pritzker ratcheted up the rhetoric against law enforcement.
There is no need for military troops in Chicago, he claimed. “This demand follows unprecedented escalations of aggression against Illinois citizens and residents,” Pritzker said. “Yesterday, Kristi Noem’s and Greg Bovino’s masked agents threw chemical agents near an elementary school, arrested elected officials exercising their First Amendment rights, and raided a Wal-Mart. None of it was in pursuit of justice, but all of it was in pursuit of social media videos. ”
He called the demand to deploy federal troops "outrageous and un-American" and said the troops were intended for a "manufactured performance," not for public safety.
Pritzker has crossed the line. He sees provoking violence as his ticket to the White House. The more violent the response to federal law enforcement, the more he can portray himself as a heroic figure standing up to Trump to the radical left base of the Democrats, who have taken over the party.
Pritzker's outrageous incitement is going to get someone killed.
The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member