I cannot get past this Scary People On a Plane thing. This isn’t some disheveled person on the bus, it’s not even an agitated cousin at the family reunion, this is the president of a heavily armed nation.
Apparently he got it, directly or indirectly, from Facebook.
It’s unsettling, to put it mildly, to think the sitting American president believes there are nefarious forces lurking in “dark shadows,” whom he won’t identify, but whom he sees controlling both a presidential candidate and American streets.
But Trump didn’t stop there.
In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump claimed that “we had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane it was almost completely loaded with thugs, wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this and that.” He then claimed the matter was “under investigation right now.”
Steve Benen points out certain aspects of that claim that make it especially hard to believe.
I won’t pretend to be an expert in tactical disruptions, but if I were part of a gang of thugs, wouldn’t I try to keep a relatively low profile — especially on a commercial aircraft? Wouldn’t I encourage my fellow thugs to wear different clothes, in order to remain inconspicuous? Wouldn’t I recommend storing my “gear and this and that” until after we arrived at our destination?
Also wouldn’t TSA spot the “gear and this and that” and call security to escort them out of the airport?
The likely explanation for this is that the president saw some weird rumor online months ago, and took it seriously.
The claim about a plane flight matches a viral Facebook post from June 1 that falsely claimed, “At least a dozen males got off the plane in Boise from Seattle, dressed head to toe in black.” The post, by an Emmett, Idaho man, warned residents to “Be ready for attacks downtown and residential areas,” and claimed one passenger had “a tattoo that said Antifa America on his arm.”
Wait a second. Dressed head to toe in black – why is that even worth mentioning?
Ok but he saw it on the internet.
Updating to add Pliny’s latest:
Comments
12 responses to “Guys in monochrome”
Dressed head to toe in black is SCARY and associated with antifa, even though the conservative ‘militia’ dolts use it too, when they aren’t in full camo.
This may be over-analyzed, but if I were part of a gang of thugs, I wouldn’t want to be on a commercial aircraft at all. Commercial air travel is one of the most tightly controlled and monitored environments in our entire society.
If I wanted to move my gang across the country, I do it in a bunch of old pickups and Datsuns, and I’d stay off of the interstates.
There are now only two kinds of Republican officer-holders:
1) People so gullible and stupid and conspiracy-minded that they believe every dumb thing they see on conservative Facebook.
2) People who know better but pretend to be (1).
Time to drink.
I am sitting at my computer dressed in black…that’s my most common form of dress, because it’s so much easier to find matching clothes when you’re half asleep in the morning. My husband is dressed all in black. My cat is dressed all in black. I think we must all be part of a gang devoted to destroying Trump (actually, we are devoted to destroying Trump, so maybe he’s got something there. Actually, I’m not sure the cat cares, as long as she has food in her dish).
“Apparently Trump Whine is made from the Grapes of Wrath”. @DanRather
According to Harold Meyerson:
Trump could be facing serious porridge, by which I mean banged up in the slammer.
https://americanprospect.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=9dcb88e0137649590b755372b040afad.194&s=9346513e86478ad80c3c0789768527f0
The Wrath of Con.
(I’ll see myself out.)
Well, no. He breaks law after law after law with impunity. Now if he loses, that might start to catch up with him…
Iknklast, your cat is really letting its side down. When humans are dressed in black, it’s a rule that cats – even black ones – shed white fur.
The USA’s stance on free speech has many plus sides. One of the downsides is that, as I understand it, incitement to violence takes more than simply saying horrible and inflammatory things about people. So I doubt Trump or his various mouth pieces are actually breaking any laws, even though they almost certainly have a stochastic effect. Add the layer of political speech and being President on top and it all becomes even more appalling, but even harder to make a prosecution case. Isn’t a Screechy a lawyer? Maybe they can clarify?
Sounds to me as though Trump’s ‘somebody’ boarded a plane headed for a city hosting a Johnny Cash convention.
Rob:
The really weird thing is that this rule applies even if the human doesn’t have a cat. It is a very similar rule that vomit always contains diced carrot whether or not the vomiter has recently eaten carrots.
AoS, True and true. Gross, but true and something my friends and I in teenage years rediscovered (bu observing others of course), as every generation does.