There was a BLM protest in Washington, DC yesterday. The size of the group wasn’t very large at first but eventually grew to around 100+ people.

Protesters has gathered at Columbia heights in dc #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests #KenoshaUprising pic.twitter.com/37Me0jQThP

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 24, 2020

More protesters have gathered crowed is growing much bigger over 100 now in Columbia hights #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests pic.twitter.com/Bn5LfsyoyC

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 24, 2020

The group started marching and chanting through the streets around 4:30 pm:

Protesters have begun to march #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests pic.twitter.com/3FKbGWeKRr

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 24, 2020

Say his name JacobBlake #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests pic.twitter.com/rNXcoV2yze

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 24, 2020

Like a lot of places, restaurants in DC are trying to survive by moving their dining outside on the street. There were people out having dinner when the protest marched past and apparently some of them were raising their fists in support and some were not. And that’s when the peaceful protest began to turn into a mob.

This woman decided to berate a man who did not show his support for the protest, calling him a white supremacist. Notice there’s a guy at the next table who just sits there with his fist raised while this is happening. Does he support berating other people having dinner?

Protesters says people who don’t raise there fist is a white supremact #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake#KenoshaProtests #KenoshaUprising pic.twitter.com/UBGfJmb1aV

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020

An hour later the crowd is still marching and chanting “We keep us safe” which is intended as a reminder that this group believes in a world without police. It’s easy to feel safe when your part of a large group of like-minded people. I wonder how many of these people would call the police if someone broke into their home though.

Trump lies people die as protesters chant and cheer #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake #KenoshaProtests pic.twitter.com/b3Ky4VGz6S

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020

A few minutes later the crowd has once again mobbed someone who refused to raise their fist in support of BLM. They are chanting “white silence is violence” which pretty much sums up their identity politics view of the world, i.e. people aren’t individuals just representatives of a race. I see 2 or 3 people screaming in this woman’s face while another 20 stand around with their fists raised.

White silence is violence protesters chant #dcprotest #dcprotests #blmprotest #ACAB #blm #Blacklivesmatter #JacobBlake #KenoshaProtests pic.twitter.com/W8DaT7Li9k

— RawsMedia (@rawsmedia) August 25, 2020

This is a pretty good metaphor for what is happening around the whole country to both individuals and businesses. The question being asked is a trap. You can think, for instance, that Ahmaud Arbery was murdered and still not support things being done in the name of BLM including vandalism, arson and violence against police in cities around the country.

Even putting aside the riots, BLM is a political movement with policy goals such as defunding/disbanding police. Most Americans do not support those goals. So demanding allegiance from people in this way is intentionally dishonest.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in DC. Earlier this month there was a similar scene when marchers with a bullhorn confronted a bunch of people eating dinner.

Tonight, the They/Them Collective, a self-described "anarchist abolitionist" group held another march in DC.

In Dupont, they spoke in front of people dining outside, and asked them to raise their fists to "declare your loyalty" to black lives.

Most of the people did so. pic.twitter.com/8w4WQ97EJa

— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 9, 2020

If it were me, the answer would be that I don’t take direction from strangers with a bullhorn or random people shouting in my face. But standing up to the mob takes courage and clearly not everyone has that.

Update: My friend Jeryl Bier sums it up.

So "White silence is violence" but burning things down and looting is not violence as long as no one gets killed, right? https://t.co/lied5aFs1B

— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) August 25, 2020

Another take from James Lindsay:

#StruggleSession https://t.co/JYyCdtURY4

— James Lindsay, increasingly relevant (@ConceptualJames) August 25, 2020

And Bari Weiss:

This is vile and un-American. https://t.co/TQIoOpuIa2

— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) August 25, 2020

Update 2: Here’s another angle on the scene with the woman in pink being yelled at. Her name is Lauren Victor.

1) In a scene that played out several times Monday, a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights confronted White diners outside D.C. restaurants,  chanting “White silence is violence!” and demanding White diners show their solidarity. #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/fJbPM76vb0

— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) August 25, 2020

3) Modiano, who had been yelling at Victor and moments later identified himself as a citizen journalist who writes for @Deadspin, told Victor he couldn’t understand why she was the only diner in the area who wouldn’t comply. “What was in you, you couldn’t do this?”

— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) August 25, 2020

5) “In the moment, it didn’t feel right,” Victor said, adding that she also could understand their anger. “I wasn’t actually frightened. I didn’t think they’d do anything to me,” she said. “I’m very much with them. I’ve been marching with them for weeks and weeks and weeks."

— Fredrick Kunkle WaPo (@KunkleFredrick) August 25, 2020

She’s exactly right about being coerced to show support. It’s a shame she was the only person brave enough not to give in to the mob.

Update 3: I missed this one earlier. Even Chris Hayes and Joan Walsh think this looks bad.

imho this is not a good tactic https://t.co/ZE1tys75SD

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 25, 2020

It’s almost entirely white! But there were a number of reporters there reporting on it, and the protesters themselves said they were protesting for racial justice.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 25, 2020

Oh I don’t disagree but I’ve seen some people speculating it’s some kind of set up of false flag and…it’s not.

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 25, 2020

Before the left decides the problem here is white people it’s worth noting that way up above there’s another clip of a young black woman doing this same thing on the same night to someone else. In fact there are two clips if you include the older clip above of the man with the bullhorn. The problem here is not white people it’s BLM street demagoguery of which this is just one example.

Robby Soave from Reason points out how familiar this scene looks:

The Evergreen College mindset has left the campus. https://t.co/mOTGPdUf6l

— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) August 25, 2020

Compare it to this. It’s very nearly the same thing. Surround the target and demand compliance.