James Mattis' Statement
- Lucian@going2paris.net
- Jun 4, 2020
- 3 min read
Charlottesville July 14, 2025 Jim Ryan is gone. As of July 12th, UVa has an interim president. I expect the Board of Visitors named her...
Charlottesville July 13, 2025 I thought this was a useful discussion. When we face uncertainty and ambiguity, we can’t freeze. We need...
There is a six-minute interview with AG Barr in which he corroborates the Park Police and the Secret Service decision to clear Lafayette Park the afternoon of the third day to provide a defensive buffer for the White House. In the first two nights of the riots, 115 Secret Service and Park Police were injured, several dozen taken to the hospital, because they were fighting the rioters in too close a proximity. The clearing of Lafayette Park had nothing to do with the President's actions -- he just utilized the clearing to bring attention to the damage to the church and to make a statement that this kind of action would not be tolerated.
I will simply state my view - the Bible photo-op was ill-advised and using force to disperse the crowd to enable the photo-op was unjustified - the entire incident was sordid. I don't know James Mattis personally but, as the son of a career Marine Corps officer, I have great respect for General Mattis' career and accomplishments. I am aligned with the general's perspective on the use of military force in domestic situations.
On the specific point of Monday evening, I question the timing of the photo shoot. Would not it have been better to do the shoot early in the morning when there was less chance of comforting the protectors. Or better yet, don’t do the photo shoot. That’s like jumping in the middle of a dog fight to retrieve something you dropped. Please understand, I am against the violence, the looting and the defacing of property.. (I’m also against it when a sports team wins a title and their fans riot in the streets.). But I stand with those who have been oppressed and who are calling for changes. We can’t let the violence blind us to the underlying issue. Let’s capture …
Couple points for equal time:
(1) While some of the protesters in Lafayette Park and D.C. were peaceful, many were not: 51 U.S. park Service police were injured, scores of Secret Service personnel as well; The Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, and countless walls and other property were vandalized and defaced, as well as historic buildings facing Lafayette Park; cashes of bricks and bottles, bats and other weapons were uncovered through surveillance activities.
(2) While some people may subscribe to Mattis' Unity theme, many do not -- they seek to divide people along race and class lines, foment chaos, and instigate situations to prompt over-reactions by law enforcement officers. How do you subdue insurrectionists using violence if not by using releva…