Hundreds of protestors shut down all westbound traffic on I-80 Thursday at a time that usually sees thousands of commuters heading from Oakland into San Francisco across five lanes of traffic. A California Highway Patrol incident report called the protest "peaceful for now," according to local KRON-4.
The Bay Bridge typically carries about 260,000 cars each weekday, so a rough estimate is that the morning westbound traffic should be roughly 100,000. As of sometime this morning, protestors reduced that number to zero.
As a former resident, I can tell you that seeing zero commuter traffic on the westbound lanes is one creepy sight — like something out of a zombie movie.
CHP reporting 100s of protestors are on the Bay Bridge shutting down westbound traffic into San Francisco. Not a single car on the western span upper deck into SF when it should be packed right now for the morning rush pic.twitter.com/uS3FjEa5LB
— Drew Tuma (@DrewTumaABC7) November 16, 2023
With Communist Chinese strongman Xi Jinping visiting San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, my first thought was that liberty-loving Bay Area residents must have taken to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to Communist oppression.
I'm kidding, of course. My first reaction — and yours, too, I'd wager — was, "I bet this is a pro-Hamas thing."
And sure enough: "Protesters shut down Bay Bridge's westbound lanes, calling for Gaza ceasefire."
More:
Videos posted to social media showed demonstrators rallying with bullhorns, chanting slogans and waving large signs reading “stop genocide” and “no U.S. military aid to Israel,” facing a line of officers dressed in riot gear. Pro-Palestine protesters claimed responsibility for the shutdown in a post on Instagram, saying they were sending a message to President Joe Biden to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
I'm sure there are those who believe that being pro-ceasefire is not the same thing as being pro-Hamas. But as George Orwell said during WWII, "Pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist." Anyone calling for a ceasefire, as opposed to brief "humanitarian pauses" to make room for refugees, is in favor of letting Hamas survive and commit more October 7 atrocities — which is exactly what it has promised to do.
I can't even begin to explain what closing the Bay Bridge is doing to local traffic, but, as milblogger CDR Salamander quipped, the delays and frustration "couldn’t happen to a more deserving group of voters."
I'll leave you with this reminder from USAF vet and military analyst Patrick Fox:
The German-American Bund could only dream of the numbers the pro-Hamas rallies are getting in the US. It is worth noting that mere affiliation with certain organizations, including terror groups, is grounds for revoking even naturalized citizenship. See 8 USC 1451.… pic.twitter.com/yp00JZj55P
— Patrick Fox (@RealCynicalFox) November 16, 2023
The German-American Bund was a pro-Nazi organization founded in this country a few years before World War II. The group was tiny, maybe 25,000 members, and they smartly dissolved themselves after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. It seems that even American Nazi sympathizers had some small sense of shame.
The same should have gone for our modern-day pro-terrorism groups — and maybe it will again, someday, if we would start expelling their members as we're legally entitled to do.
Recommended: You'll Smash Your Kid's Smartphone After Reading This
Join the conversation as a VIP Member