The Donald has announced a new government plan in the wake of BLM protests (FOX News). The plan includes $500B to promote black owned businesses. It will make lynching a federal hate crime. The program will also designate the KKK and Antifa as terrorist organizations. Let’s tear this apart shall we?

A stimulus plan to help the black community build businesses is a great idea. It is notoriously difficult for black members of our society to gain access to capital to fund their own enterprises. Racists shouldn’t worry too much though because the government is certain to bungle most of it anyway, Fraudulent applications and government cohorts will be taking the money; just like the PPP bailout (Time).

Lynching is a hate crime. I’m pretty sure if someone lynches a black man they will be charged with a hate crime. However, if someone stands up against this proposal the first thing out of Trumps exceedingly large mouth will be “YOU THINK IT’S OK TO LYNCH BLACK PEOPLE!”

Designating the KKK and Antifa as a terrorist organizations may not be legal. They are domestic organizations. The KKK is an unpopular group and few will debate legal aspects on their behalf. Tying in the KKK will give Trump the ability to reply to anyone challenging this proposal to say with his exceedingly large mouth “YOU THINK THE KKK IS AN OK BUNCH OF GUYS!”

Antifa has grown in popularity but who are they exactly? Antifa means anti-fascist. I’m against fascism. I think Mussolini, Franco and Hitler were war criminals and wouldn’t want them taking over my country. I’m certainly not a terrorist.

Antifa is partially defined as members of far left groups such as socialists and communists. I don’t like Marxism at all ( read my posts ) but I wouldn’t arrest Bernie Sanders as a terrorist. Antifa members have also been associated with the far right; anarchists. How, then is this Antifa defined; radical leftists or radical right wingers? Is there a clearly defined group at all?

The cornerstones of democracy are freedom of speech and thought. People have the right to believe as they choose. How does being against fascism become a crime?

Antifa isn’t really an organization. It’s a loose association of people against fascism. It’s partially a fad. People supporting or wanting to be a part of something that they believe is against racism. How does this make them terrorists? I bet there are plenty of 13 year olds with Antifa slogans on posters in their rooms. We gonna lock them up under the Patriot Act?

The sudden anti Antifa media blitz should cause us to think. This is fear mongering at it’s worst. It seems to be timed with this plan.

The real violence at the BLM protests, above burning and looting, was carried out by Boogaloo Boys (Forbes) and those with similar intent. These are right wing former yuppie kids that after leaving prep school didn’t do so well in college. They want to preserve the status quo. What they decided was to join protests posing as supporters of BLM, and then act like asses to give the movement a bad name (Rolling Stone). One guy even killed a cop and tried to use BLM as a cover (Salon), Why aren’t we labeling these guys as terrorists?

This declaration opens the door to label almost anyone as a terrorist and apprehend them with impunity. Terrorist designations don’t offer the same legal protection to citizens compared to those arrested for other crimes (Patriot Act). What will be the yardstick used to designate someone as a Antifa member? I’m sure AG Barr will be busy writing a legal justification for this one. If it’s long enough no one will read it.

Tying the designation of the KKK as a terrorist organization to the bill seems to legitimize labeling Antifa as well. We will see how many KKK members disappear as compared to “members of Antifa.”

If creating a less racist society is the goal this whole thing falls flat. Racist people will believe the stimulus to be unfair to poor whites. They will wonder why there is no stimulus for them. It will fuel their anger with a system already perceived as treating whites unfairly. They will question why riots and property destruction ends with benefits. It will probably make the KKK and other organizations like the Aryan Nations more popular. Here is a list of white nationalist organizations – wikipedia. Only one is being declared illegal.

The bill is sold as a plan to help the black community. As such liberals will be loath to challenge the plan. Adding the KKK as a terrorist group is simply a stunt with the same intent, to make sure it passes. No KKK members will be apprehended. We aren’t really sure who will be arrested under this plan.

This bill will probably do more to increase racism than decrease it. It will look good for pre election Trump. In the fine print will be a means to arrest anyone the government wants as a terrorist, in secret, with no judicial oversight and without justification.

(Added 9/27) Here’s an idea. How about a Senator or Congressperson introducing a competing bill that has the stimulus but excludes the other parts. In this way the stimulus could begin without the Orwellian overtones. The same could be done with COVID relief checks. This would keep the politicians from leveraging their political interests.