As many of you will recall, Heather Heyer was mowed down by a pro-Trump white supremacist on August 11 in Charlottesville. Though the grass has yet to grow on her grave, this is what "Christian" Bernstine tweeted about protesters who blocked traffic in St. Louis last week:
"If anyone EVER tries to stop my car on a highway with negative intentions... I will not stop under any conditions."
When taken to task, he doubled down with this:
"Feel free to call my office and let me know if you think it is ok to refuse to stop if thugs try to stop me or my family on a highway."
And this:
"Difference between me and these snowflakes is that I won't be assaulted in name of "free speech"
And even this:
"Wrong.... I'm saying when thugs try to stop cars and threaten drivers trying to go to work."
These offensive have actually trumped Trump, at least within the last week. although Trump has everyone beat over the long haul.
The Pennsylvania Democratic party has asked Bernstine to apologize, like that's gonna' happen. Bernstine's Republican leaders will no doubt get him his own engraved hood, along with a year's supply of tiki torches.
They may also advance a legislative proposal that already exists in six other states to shield drivers who negligently hit protesters who obstruct traffic. This has been criticized by the ACLU as a "hit and kill" bill, but defended as a way to protect drivers from liability when a protester darts into traffic.
Does this KKKlown know that the woman was run down by a guy who went out of his way to run over people? I mean who assaulted him? Seriously, people get a grip on reality. This was neither a life nor dearth situation for the driver but it ended up being the death of a young woman who intended him no harm.
ReplyDeleteIf this crazy shit is the new Republican brand, count me out.
Which district in PA is not gerrymandered ?
ReplyDeleteWell, if a mob is trying to stop my car, I am going to keep going, I would rather be judged by my my peers than be assaulted by a mob. since when do these people believe they have the right to detain people and do who knows what, this is not about free speech this is about anarchy.
ReplyDeleteI clearly remember the Truck driver during the LA riots, he stopped because they stood in front and climbed onto his truck. He was driving a tri-axle dump. They pulled him out and smashed his head with a hollywood block. He never fully recovered. He should have just kept going. Once you stop you are at the mercy of those filled with hate.
ReplyDeleteHis statements were imprudent for an office holder. But I can't say I disagree with him.
ReplyDelete6.01
ReplyDeleteand those people who attacked him were charged and put on trial.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Reginald_Denny
" Miller was sentenced to 17 months in jail and 27 months on probation. Gary Williams was sentenced to three years in jail for attempting to rob Denny and assaulting another man."
"a hung jury resulted for all charges except a felony count of mayhem for Williams and one misdemeanor assault charge for both Williams and Watson on October 18. Watson was given credit for time served and was sentenced to three years probation for the assaults of Denny and truck driver Larry Tarvin. Williams was denied bail and sentenced to a maximum of ten years for the assaults of Denny and four other people on December 7, 1993."
did those people who beat the truck driver get off easy?
probably.
that is a fault of the justice system.
And did denny have his life restored?, no, He should have put the named individuals under the wheels of his Truck, then he may have had a chance to be acquitted, and start another riot. They were the perpetrators of crime, not denny.
ReplyDeleteOnly a fool would stop his car for rioters.
ReplyDeleteA rioter needs to think twice before getting in front of my car.
ReplyDelete7.12
ReplyDeleteso when the tea party folks decided to wave signs at me at the wawa at 248 and 33 before the election i could think they were trying to harm me so i could run the lot over?
or one of those fanatics trips and falls on the road and i have no reason to stop because i feel threatened by the mob?
someone who thinks i passed them too closely when they came out of walmart and they yell and raise a fist --it is ok for me to run them over?
encouraging people to use their vehicles as a weapon is a bad idea
from Bernie's link
"Rep. G.A. Hardaway said he worried the law would allow extremists to deliberately attack protesters and then claim it was accidental. He cited social media posts from Trump supporters that suggested the bill would make it legal to “run down protesters” when the president visited Tennessee."
Firstly, the Patriot driver had a running start and was not impeeded t a stop. Hisnintentions were clear. So would this legislator defend theses acts as an exercise of ones rights? What if this was a gathering of pro lifers? Would this so-called legislator yield to construction worker?
ReplyDeleteernie, every district is jerrymandered and always has been. t
ReplyDeleteSetting some examples by sending a few protestors to the hospital after being run down sends a clear message to the others that their nonsense will not be tolerated,
ReplyDeleteAccidents do tend to happen when people step out in front of moving vehicles. They need to stay out of the way of traffic.
Gerrymandering is done by both Democrats and Republicans Bernie.
ReplyDeleteMobs are not nice people. They are there do damage to people, property and what ever they can unlawfully do. Everybody has right to self protect themselves and their family. Therefore, if you have run some of these idiots over to protect themselves and family; so be it!
ReplyDelete"Gerrymandering is done by both Democrats and Republicans..."
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
I have the misfortune of living in Darth Voter's district and recently received one of his franked "newsletters".
In it, he moaned about gerrymandering and used a US congressional district map to argue his point.
Wonder why he didn't use a map of his own district?
http://static.lakana.com/mara-wfmz-media-us-east-1/photo/2016/05/27/Legislative-district-jpg_2399595_ver1.0_640_360.jpg
A classic example of "truthiness", and to add insult to injury, he did it on our dime.
Bernie:
ReplyDeleteWhere did the graphic come from?
Lots of Rs have received my vote over the years, but I will never again vote for a party which fails to heavily sanction elected officials who talk publicly of running people over with cars on purpose.
This is total insanity.
Canary, I stumbled across that graphic as I researched this story. It is quite popular among the alt right sites.
ReplyDeleteThis congressman is right on. we need to protect ourselves and our families from the anarchists. And there is no comparing rioters to peaceful protesters along the road with signs. Peaceful protest is wonderful , just as flat rioters is wonderful.
ReplyDelete"since when do these people believe they have the right to detain people and do who knows what, this is not about free speech this is about anarchy."
ReplyDeleteThe law gives you the right to use deadly force if you have a reasonable fear that your life or the lives of others are in jeopardy and there is no retreat option. But running down protesters who simply annoy you is murder. Running down protesters who are making you late for work, as this state rep said, is murder.
"Only a fool would stop his car for rioters."
8:35, Schlossberg never voted to gerrymander his own district and is opposed to the current mess. His constituents should know what his views are on this and other topics bc he is own of the cosponsors of legislation that will end the gerrymander.
You are very foolish to be opposed to legislation that would fix this problem bc in other jurisdictions, Democrats do the gerrymandering. In fact, the Pa. Supreme Court has the final say in this matter and is now Democratic. That court could do just as much damage as the Republicans did.
Unless your life or that of others is in danger, being obstructed along the highway gives you no right to use deadly force. This kind of argument would never have been made two years ago, but Trump has emboldened hateful people who really want to run down anyone who does not think as they do.
"Mobs are not nice people. They are there do damage to people, property and what ever they can unlawfully do."
I agree mobs are not nice. But that's no justification for running down Trump supporters who, as someone noted, are lawfully or even unlawfully assembled across the street from the Blue or outside KidsPeace or along William Penn Highway at the 33 intersection.
Hmmmm. How did this clown feel about the Boston Tea Party ?
ReplyDeleteProudly proclaiming that protesters deserve to be run down is probably incitement if not terrorism. So the only wisdom in some of the posts above was the decision to remain anonymous. Or maybe in their hearts they know that a rational state would deprive anyone who speaks that way of a driver's license.
ReplyDeleteThat someone would view protesters as so annoying that they deserve to be murdered by vehicle says a lot about the individual. Ironically these are the same people who are petrified of refugees because a crazy person with a perverted understanding of Islam commits murder by car in Europe every once in a while.
This entire discussion I believe results from FOX/MSNBC depicting "the other side" as violent thugs. It's a lot easier, and makes for better ratings, to claim your opponents are a bunch of criminals than to actually think and engage on policy.
For example, if you watched endless FOX NEWS reports on one illegal immigrant who raped someone, or a few criminals loosely associated with BLM/ANTIFA, you too would eventually start to believe that there's danger lurking behind every shrub. FOX wins ratings, and its viewers spend their lives living in fear.
None of us should judge the other by the worst actions of an individual or a few. Whether it be a group or an individual. Would you want your entire life or career to be defined by your worst moment? Bill Buckner will forever be remembered for letting the ball go through his legs, which cost the Boston Red Sox the championship in 1986. Few will remember him for his earlier days with the Cubs when he was quite the player. The individual who killed Heather Heyer or the state representative whose tweets are the basis for this article, would not be indicative of all conservatives, or all those who may support the President, for example. He would be an unstable individual who should be held accountable for his behavior. I do not believe, IMHO, that the representative was wise with his "tweets", neither is our President. Other than the "tweets", what has this representative done? What has the President accomplished on the positive side? It is there if you want to find or see it. If one prefers to only focus on the negative and "gotcha" politics, that is their choice. IMHO it is not a good one. And it's not just happening in politics. Bernie, this blog and many of its' commenters have become more and more part of the problem. Both "sides" seem to base comments and opinions on the extremes. If we cannot even admit there are extremes on both "sides", and focus elsewhere, we will get nowhere. The fact that such "sides" exist is problematic.
ReplyDeleteProtest and rallies are fine, but how do you know when people want to stop you on the highway that they just want to protest, If I was women at night and a group of men would try to stop my car, I would assume they want to do me harm. Must we find out by stopping. If you trying to stop cars you are breaking the law and putting lives at risk.
ReplyDeleteJeff, I would agree that it would be entirely unfair and illogical to slam all Rs or conservatives based on the actions or words of one person. That is my whole point about identity politics.
ReplyDelete2:56, if you have a reasonable fear that your life is in danger and are unable to retreat, the law permits you to use deadly force.
ReplyDelete@2:56
ReplyDeleteThat sure is a creative scenario. It's almost like you started with your desire to run protesters over and then invented a far-fetched reason why it must be done. Gosh I wonder where that comes from.
By your logic, anyone breaking the law is a candidate for murder. How about we have sharpshooters assassinate people who speed, since speeders pose a risk of death to everyone on the road?
4.18
ReplyDeleteor the precious snowflake drivers could look into
http://jalopnik.com/a-flamethrower-option-for-your-bmw-was-once-a-totally-r-154701708
"The $650 device was mounted a pair of nozzles under each side of the car, pointing out. The nozzles were fed by tanks of LPG in the trunk, and activated by a combination of a switch and a small foot button placed near the gas pedal. When a driver felt they were in danger of a carjacking, or maybe driving down a road fenced with hot dogs and marshmallows, they'd turn the switch, hit the button, and shoot massive flames out of either side of the car."
How did a whacko intentionally going out of his way to plow into a crowd, become an issue of life or death for a driver? Am I missing something here?
ReplyDeleteWell, if a mob is trying to stop my car, I am going to keep going, I would rather be judged by my my peers than be assaulted by a mob. since when do these people believe they have the right to detain people and do who knows what, this is not about free speech this is about anarchy.
ReplyDeleteSadly, we live in a time when Trumpian bloviators like this person posting here and the Republican State Congressman get taken seriously. Civil disobedience has been around as long as this country has been around. This stooge thinks these "thugs" (Google some photos) are doing something more than stopping traffic. I even saw one guy who compared it to the LA riots and the truck driver pulled out of his truck and beaten. In Trump derangement, civil disobedience and riots are one in the same IF they involve black people.
I clearly remember the Truck driver during the LA riots, he stopped because they stood in front and climbed onto his truck. He was driving a tri-axle dump. They pulled him out and smashed his head with a hollywood block. He never fully recovered. He should have just kept going. Once you stop you are at the mercy of those filled with hate.
ReplyDeleteThat was a RIOT. My god man.
Setting some examples by sending a few protestors to the hospital after being run down sends a clear message to the others that their nonsense will not be tolerated,
ReplyDeleteYou should read the Constitution.