The Leftist Reaction to an Accident? Blame Republicans

[scott]

This story shows how anyone should view an event that is immediately blamed on a popular politician.

Someone drove a truck through people lined up for a gay pride parade yesterday afternoon and unfortunately hit a few people and one of them died. That is terrible. The local news was all over it saying it was a hate crime, the mayor of the Florida town called it a domestic terrorist attack and claimed it was an attack on Debbie Wasserman-Shultz since the truck almost hit her car.

#DeathSantis trended on Twitter again (and still, btw) and a LOT of people are saying this happened because of a law Fl. Gov. Ron Desantis passed making it legal to drive through rioters if one is threatened.

Too bad it was all bullshit except for the unfortunate accident.

Facts that were known to people there that had not been reported until this morning:

1. The driver is gay.
2. The driver had pride flags on his truck.
3. The driver is part of the gay men's choir, the group lining up in front of his truck.
4. The driver was drunk.

This was all known but ignored in last night's news and this morning's commentary. Only recently has the truth come out.

Facts won't matter to most of these people though.

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/06/20/while-the-left-trends-crazy-hate-crime-conspiracies-with-deathsantis-about-wilton-manors-pride-parade-accident-facts-debunk-them-in-real-time/

[Celeste Chalfonte]

This story shows how anyone should view an event that is immediately blamed on a popular politician.

Someone drove a truck through people lined up for a gay pride parade yesterday afternoon and unfortunately hit a few people and one of them died. That is terrible. The local news was all over it saying it was a hate crime, the mayor of the Florida town called it a domestic terrorist attack and claimed it was an attack on Debbie Wasserman-Shultz since the truck almost hit her car.

#DeathSantis trended on Twitter again (and still, btw) and a LOT of people are saying this happened because of a law Fl. Gov. Ron Desantis passed making it legal to drive through rioters if one is threatened.

Too bad it was all bullshit except for the unfortunate accident.

Facts that were known to people there that had not been reported until this morning:

1. The driver is gay.
2. The driver had pride flags on his truck.
3. The driver is part of the gay men's choir, the group lining up in front of his truck.
4. The driver was drunk.

This was all known but ignored in last night's news and this morning's commentary. Only recently has the truth come out.

Facts won't matter to most of these people though.

https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2021/0...-in-real-time/

In fairness, the first news report I saw yesterday (Orlando Sun-Sentinel, IIRC) reported the facts enumerated above, except #4, which may not have been known mere hours after the incident. They quoted the director of the GMC saying that the victims and the driver were all "part of our chorus family."

When I read that account, my first thought was that he must have been drunk. The story here is, "Drunk driver kills innocent people trying to have a good time." But isn't that often the story? Too ordinary. What's not even a little relevant here is the nature of the event, the politics of the driver or the victims, and the affectional orientation of anyone involved, including the congresswoman.

I doubt this was the driver's first alcohol-related driving offense. People who think a Constitutional right should be abridged on the off chance that a crazy person will do something evil or stupid with a gun treat it as a major conundrum how to stop things like this from happening. Guess what? If you have a seizure, you automatically lose your privilege to drive for at least 6 months, until a MEDICAL DOCTOR determines you're not at risk of having another. How many times can you get busted for DUI before they take your license, even temporarily? I guarantee it's more than once. Maybe if doctors had to report chronic drunkenness as they do seizures, we wouldn't see stories like this one so often.

[Novaheart]

Driver with bad aim misses target.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

Driver with bad aim misses target.

How do we know he missed?

I suspect he got shit-faced and drove there to bitch out someone he was mad at over some personal matter, and while driving drunk and screaming at them, veered into the crowd, intentionally or accidentally. Either way, it sounds personal. This was not political. And since he used a truck and not a gun, the "domestic terrorism" narrative should fade quickly. It was a game try, but even the media can't turn an angry drunk into a political statement long-term.

[Newman]

In fairness, the first news report I saw yesterday (Orlando Sun-Sentinel, IIRC) reported the facts enumerated above, except #4, which may not have been known mere hours after the incident. They quoted the director of the GMC saying that the victims and the driver were all "part of our chorus family."

When I read that account, my first thought was that he must have been drunk. The story here is, "Drunk driver kills innocent people trying to have a good time." But isn't that often the story? Too ordinary. What's not even a little relevant here is the nature of the event, the politics of the driver or the victims, and the affectional orientation of anyone involved, including the congresswoman.

I doubt this was the driver's first alcohol-related driving offense. People who think a Constitutional right should be abridged on the off chance that a crazy person will do something evil or stupid with a gun treat it as a major conundrum how to stop things like this from happening. Guess what? If you have a seizure, you automatically lose your privilege to drive for at least 6 months, until a MEDICAL DOCTOR determines you're not at risk of having another. How many times can you get busted for DUI before they take your license, even temporarily? I guarantee it's more than once. Maybe if doctors had to report chronic drunkenness as they do seizures, we wouldn't see stories like this one so often.

I didn't see reference to his being drunk anywhere but here. (And it's not in Scott's twitchy link that I find). And if he was getting ready to perform in the choir, the odds of his being shit-faced drunk are exceedingly slim.*

But the real story is the knee-jerk reaction by some, including the mayor. (And I'll bet Debbie W-S, too.) Most of the raw stuff has been taken down, it appears, but I think it shouldn't be, at least not so quickly.

It's important to know that a person like the mayor, in an elected position of power and responsibility, will recklessly jump to conclusions well ahead of crucial facts. It's important to know that when shaken by a tragedy, Debbie W-S will completely lose her composure and commence to blubbering.

*Let's imagine he showed up shit-faced and was told he could not march or sing with the group. I don't think even that would inspire a murderous assault of this sort, but it's conceivable.

On second thought, no, it's not.

[scott]

In fairness, the first news report I saw yesterday (Orlando Sun-Sentinel, IIRC) reported the facts enumerated above, except #4, which may not have been known mere hours after the incident. They quoted the director of the GMC saying that the victims and the driver were all "part of our chorus family."

When I read that account, my first thought was that he must have been drunk. The story here is, "Drunk driver kills innocent people trying to have a good time." But isn't that often the story? Too ordinary. What's not even a little relevant here is the nature of the event, the politics of the driver or the victims, and the affectional orientation of anyone involved, including the congresswoman.

I doubt this was the driver's first alcohol-related driving offense. People who think a Constitutional right should be abridged on the off chance that a crazy person will do something evil or stupid with a gun treat it as a major conundrum how to stop things like this from happening. Guess what? If you have a seizure, you automatically lose your privilege to drive for at least 6 months, until a MEDICAL DOCTOR determines you're not at risk of having another. How many times can you get busted for DUI before they take your license, even temporarily? I guarantee it's more than once. Maybe if doctors had to report chronic drunkenness as they do seizures, we wouldn't see stories like this one so often.

It's good to see that the facts had made it your way. I was surprised the narrative stayed on the fake part here for so long. Perhaps that was the point?

It's tragic and it sucks, but now there is a renewed effort to blame a politician. That'll stick. I hope Nikki doesn't keep riding that wave.

[scott]

How do we know he missed?

I suspect he got shit-faced and drove there to bitch out someone he was mad at over some personal matter, and while driving drunk and screaming at them, veered into the crowd, intentionally or accidentally. Either way, it sounds personal. This was not political. And since he used a truck and not a gun, the "domestic terrorism" narrative should fade quickly. It was a game try, but even the media can't turn an angry drunk into a political statement long-term.

He was part of the chase party, his vehicle was already in the parade zone so this wasn't someone who showed up.

I don't know why he got into the truck at that specific time but the truck was either going to be part of the parade or it was there if needed - but it was already in line inside the barricaded safety zone.

[scott]

I didn't see reference to his being drunk anywhere but here. (And it's not in Scott's twitchy link that I find). And if he was getting ready to perform in the choir, the odds of his being shit-faced drunk are exceedingly slim.*

But the real story is the knee-jerk reaction by some, including the mayor. (And I'll bet Debbie W-S, too.) Most of the raw stuff has been taken down, it appears, but I think it shouldn't be, at least not so quickly.

It's important to know that a person like the mayor, in an elected position of power and responsibility, will recklessly jump to conclusions well ahead of crucial facts. It's important to know that when shaken by a tragedy, Debbie W-S will completely lose her composure and commence to blubbering.

*Let's imagine he showed up shit-faced and was told he could not march or sing with the group. I don't think even that would inspire a murderous assault of this sort, but it's conceivable.

On second thought, no, it's not.

True.

I was at a resort in Jensen Beach last night and a cop who came from the cancelled parade sat at the bar and asked to change the channel to see the local news. He told me the facts I detailed, and said tomorrow it's going to be a different story.

NY Times has different information, not drunk according to them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/20/u...on-manors.html

[scott]

And now the facts don't matter because it's "plausible."

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[Newman]

And now the facts don't matter because it's "plausible."

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Sort of like the journalists complaining that Trump made them suck as journalists because they didn't like him. (In fact we're seeing more and more confessions of that asinine childishness, re covid, hydroxychloroquine and so on.)

And didn't AOC hide in her office bathroom January 6, shaking in fear of a safety officer as he called out checking on her, so scared was she it was like being in a war! Wasn't that her?

Did she give herself a medal yet?

[80zephyr]

True.

I was at a resort in Jensen Beach last night and a cop who came from the cancelled parade sat at the bar and asked to change the channel to see the local news. He told me the facts I detailed, and said tomorrow it's going to be a different story.

NY Times has different information, not drunk according to them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/20/u...on-manors.html

We had an accident in my area last year where an old guy went around other cars and killed a little girl waiting to get on a stopped school bus. What they found was what I feared, that the guy was too old and incapacitated to drive,
'
Mark

[Newman]

We had an accident in my area last year where an old guy went around other cars and killed a little girl waiting to get on a stopped school bus. What they found was what I feared, that the guy was too old and incapacitated to drive,
'
Mark

Yep. And I think a lot of stores and parking lots have been redesigned to prevent oldsters from plowing into the store if they accidentally floor the car instead of stepping on the brake. No head-in parking at the front door, for example. (The sad irony is, if they think they've stepped on the brake and the car lurches forward, they press the pedal even harder.)

[80zephyr]

Yep. And I think a lot of stores and parking lots have been redesigned to prevent oldsters from plowing into the store if they accidentally floor the car instead of stepping on the brake. No head-in parking at the front door, for example. (The sad irony is, if they think they've stepped on the brake and the car lurches forward, they press the pedal even harder.)

My dad did this very thing, in my driveway. Thank God the car was in park. He quit driving soon thereafter.

Mark

[Celeste Chalfonte]

We had an accident in my area last year where an old guy went around other cars and killed a little girl waiting to get on a stopped school bus. What they found was what I feared, that the guy was too old and incapacitated to drive,
'

Raising HRH in a Florida beach town, I taught her early to walk on the inside of the sidewalk and stay alert for the drunk and the senile, who tend to drive on the sidewalk occasionally. We had one elderly woman who drove into the front of the general store and post office (contract post office in the general store)...TWICE. After the second time, they put a sign on the plywood covering the window (temporarily) that said, "Florida's only drive-thru post office."

I know it's hard for people to admit they're not fit to drive. It can also be damned inconvenient, if you don't have a support system to provide transportation. But it's the responsible thing to do. My Mom quit driving long before her eye doctor told her to. She knew she wasn't seeing well enough, although her brain was sharp as a tack. Nova, HRH and I made sure she got where she needed to go. She gave me her van to move back to CA with, and Nova chauffeured her until her final illness. This was a fiercely independent woman, but also no fool. She had no patience with her contemporaries who continued to drive long past their sell-by date.

[Gramps]

A local family who owned a well known eating place in S County had a problem with the matriarch because she wouldn't give up her license.
They had connections so they got a colonel in the highway patrol show up in dress uniform and ask her for her license.
She meekly complied.