DIMOND: Enemies of the State

As if the current COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t created enough chaos in our lives, yet another outrageous, race-based police brutality case emerged to engulf the nation in its terrifying aftermath.

Righteous street protests were infiltrated by agitators whose sole goal was to create mayhem, destroy property and upset the delicate balance of a society just getting back on its feet.

It seems enemies of the state are lurking in every corner these days. It is clear we are being manipulated by adversaries both domestic and foreign.

Of course, it started with the sickening scene of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s takedown of George Floyd on suspicion of passing a counterfeit 20-dollar bill. As Chauvin crushed Floyd’s neck with his knee, grinding his face into the pavement for nearly 9 minutes — and the handcuffed, immobilized suspect could barely squeeze out the words, “I can’t breathe”– three fellow Minneapolis Police Department cops stood by and took no action to stop Chauvin. It escaped no one’s attention that Floyd was a black man and the officers were not.

We all know what happened next. Justifiably angry citizens of all colors took to American streets to exercise their constitutionally protected right to assemble and protest.

But lurking within their ranks, according to law enforcement officials across the country, were vicious extremists who were determined to create pandemonium. They stoked outrage, facilitated violence by smashing store windows and encouraging looters, set fires and then watched from the sidelines as cities burned. Outnumbered and exhausted police tried to quell the chaos.

The worst of the lot were identified as left-wing radical members of antifa — short for anti-fascist. Members protest anything they see as authoritarian, potentially racist, homophobic or discriminatory against foreigners. They despise conservative philosophies, especially capitalism. Many in this pro-anarchy movement want to dismantle governmental authorities, including police forces. They communicate via encrypted internet messages and typically wear black. Some sport ominous, white, plastic face masks. After antifa members staged violent protests at a “Rally Against Hate” demonstration in Berkeley, California, in 2017, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized “the violent actions of people calling themselves antifa” and said they should be arrested.

During the recent protests over states’ pandemic stay-at-home orders, a completely different type of disruptive group hit the streets to sow their own revolution. They are ultra-conservatives, including a growing organization with the unlikely name “Boogaloo.” This group seems to be a collaboration of white supremacists, former and current military members and overly aggressive gun-owners who rage against “politically correct” ideology. They condemn government policies and police departments thought to be too liberal. They organize protests via private Facebook accounts. Many of their members dress in camouflage adorned with Hawaiian shirts. According to a recent study of internet misinformation and hate speech, the goal of these militants is another civil war to establish an all-white society.

But sadistic police officers and domestic revolutionaries are not the only enemy the nation faces.

Sen. Marco Rubio, acting chairman of the Intelligence Committee, recently tweeted, “At least 3 foreign adversaries” are “actively stoking & promoting violence & confrontation from multiple angles.”

In other words, internet trolls in three countries (thought to be Russia, China and Iran) are flooding cyberspace with propaganda designed to stoke further flames of discontent in the United States. They want the world’s superpower brought to its knees. Why? Because they see an unstable America as a chance to advance themselves on the world stage.

National security adviser Robert O’Brien told ABC News foreign countries, specifically China, are trying to exploit America’s racial tensions and “taking some sort of pleasure” in seeing scenes of turmoil on U.S. streets.

I say, let’s stop giving them the satisfaction.

Look, there are fewer of (SET ITAL)them(END ITAL) than there are of (SET ITAL)us.(END ITAL) Why are we allowing domestic dissidents and cyber terrorists based overseas to dominate our public conversation and jeopardize the safety of so many? The vast majority of law-abiding Americans simply want to work hard, raise their families, save a little money for retirement and live a peaceful life.

We outnumber the bad actors. Let’s recognize their sinister manipulations and shun their destructive messages. While they push for another American civil war, we can push back by rejecting their hateful propaganda.

Rockland County resident Diane Dimond is a journalist, author, and a regular contributing correspondent for the Investigation Discovery channel. To find out more about Dimond, visit her website at www.dianedimond.com