the riots and shittiness metastasize (in certain places)

Styx:


Tim Pool:


My brother Sean texts that all is quiet in DC, even where Sean lives downtown. He writes:

I've heard some people trying to push the narrative that DC has become some dystopian hellscape of violent rioting on par with the race riots decades ago here. If you're ever reading articles that say such a thing: it's a lie. In fact, since we live in a very busy area of DC with tons of bars and restaurants, the past few months have really been quieter than I've ever seen in DC due to the virus closures. Before quarantines, our neighborhood was so loud every night Thursday-Sunday. Jeff and I have stood outside many a night since the closures and remarked at how we can hear crickets and other animals at night now. It's crazy!

In the above video, Styx also notes that most rioting has died down except in Portland and Seattle. With Antifa concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, this makes sense. I do expect rioting to resume this November, once Trump wins reelection.

Putting this in a larger perspective, I'd say that there's little reason to believe the country is near collapse, or that everything is burning down. Taken in its entirety, America is actually rather peaceful. The riots make the news in part because they are scattered and relatively rare. Tim Pool tends to be overdramatic about the situation, expecting there to be a "hot civil war" soon. Granted, that day may be coming if the left keeps pushing things and projecting their nastiness onto far-right straw men, but pundits like Styx don't think so. We also have to factor in that America is, physically, a huge country, so the metastasis of violence isn't guaranteed. Note, too, that any violence and looting is mostly happening in concentrated urban areas (and by New York City standards, DC barely qualifies as a city).

My text conversation with Sean started off with my congratulating him on his upcoming move to the famous neighborhood of Highland Park, Illinois, about 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, and also not far from the lake. I expressed misgivings about the possibility of riots and looting in Chicago suburbs, which is what caused Sean to flare up ("You're kidding, right? This house is 30-40 minutes from downtown") and talk about how peaceful DC has been. That doesn't address the issue of rioting and looting outside of DC, but Sean is probably right to imply that things probably aren't quite Armageddon everywhere (assuming that that's what he was implying). That said, I'm hearing news of billions of dollars in property damage in other cities, and continued attacks on federal buildings, so it's not exactly rainbow-farting unicorns and roses out there, either. As always, everything we see is mediated by people with agendas, so whatever truth is to be had probably lies somewhere in the middle of two extremes.