Schadenfreude

If you’re not familiar with the term, Schadenfreude is a German word meaning “taking joy in the troubles of others”. I will confess to a sense of Schadenfreude on reading this article in the Los Angeles Times by Richard Read, the LAT’s Seattle Bureau Chief. The short version of it is that the Bolsheviksare now turning on the Mensheviks:

PORTLAND, Ore. — The day after President-elect Joe Biden delivered his victory speech, telling the nation it was time to heal and unite, a clandestine Twitter account — @safePDXprotest — summoned Portland anarchists.
Meet at Laurelhurst Park at 8 p.m. and “Wear Bloc & Be Water,” the message said, calling for black garb and vigilance to evade police for a protest “in solidarity with BLM” — Black Lives Matter.

The 50 or so people who showed up — nearly all of them white — looked like ninjas as they put on balaclavas, hoods and scarves. Some carried gas masks.

The call to action had declared “No Masters” — leaders, in the parlance of 19th century European anarchists — but the crowd huddled around one young man as he lambasted liberals for celebrating the defeat of President Trump while capitalism and the political system remained entrenched.

“They can show up to dance ’cause of Orange Man bad, but they can’t be out here fighting with us,” he said. “So that’s why we’re going. … I’m tired of liberal complacency.”

Word spread through the group that the target tonight would be the local headquarters of the Democratic Party.

Somebody started beating a drum as a chant broke out: “F— Joe Biden!”

Then the anarchists marched into the upscale neighborhood, intent on destruction.

If you’re not familiar with my allusion above, let me explain it for you. There were actually two Russian revolutions in 1917: the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The Tsar was overthrown by three (at least) factions: the Mensheviks (literally “minority”), the Bolsheviks (literally “majority”), and the Socialist Revolutionaries. The names were ironic since by all appearances the Mensheviks outnumbered the Bolsheviks somewhat and were certainly more moderate. Following the February Revolution the Mensheviks joined the liberal provisional government. Following the collapse of the provisional government the Mensheviks lost influence and in the October Revolution AKA Bolshevik Revolution the Bolsheviks put down the Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, and liberals to form their own government. There are echoes of this in what’s reported in the article above. History may not repeat itself but it does rhyme.

I won’t both fisking Mr. Read’s article but I will comment on this:

Black activists and community leaders, who generally view the defeat of Trump as an opportunity for change within the system, said the anarchists are hijacking the movement and undermining the push for racial justice by continuing to commit violence.

By what authority does Mr. Read who is white speak for them? Just a question. I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. I think the original leadership of BLM was Marxist, at least that’s what it said on their website until that was expunged, and that while many black activists are Marxists or progressives most blacks are neither Marxists nor even progressives but moderates and even conservatives. Shorter: I don’t believe that viewpoints among blacks are as monolithic as Mr. Read would have you believe.

All of this could have been prevented by putting the rule of law above other political goals. Now we’ve got to hope that the national Democratic Party will recognize the risks and show more foresight than the party has in Portland.