Uncritical Mass
Pro-Hamas cyclists bike through neighborhoods with Jewish residents, “vigil” at Bill Schupp Park
Around a dozen cyclists, mostly lower middle-class liberal activists, biked from Archer Park to Bill Schupp Park in McAllen Sunday evening. Heading north on Main Street, the uncritical mass (middle-class hipsters, like these, grace themselves with importance by describing their disruptive-to-traffic cycling-in-multiples as a “critical mass”) cut through neighborhoods with many Jewish residents and businesses, recalling images of Skokie Illinois in 1977 when American Nazi Party members attempted to hold a rally in the thriving Jewish community. Food Not Bombs RGV’s route-choice was (as such groups also love saying in their unctuous tones of voice) “intentional.”
The uncritical mass came at a time when identical pro-Hamas rallies are springing up around the world in similarly provocative ways, in major cities and capitals, and as antisemitic attacks skyrocket everywhere, alongside such manifestations. Thuggish mobs, which shouldn’t be called “rallies” or “protests” anymore, are attacking Jews in the U.S., England, France and elsewhere, in attempts to replicate the Oct. 7 pogrom.
Most vulgarly, a “million-man march” is set to occur in London on Remembrance Day, Nov 11. For Brits, this is their Memorial Day. Traditionally a gleeful and festive holiday, the English remember their dead from both world wars. Well, pro-Hamas sympathizers in London thought this would be a great time to hold a “rally.”
Amazingly, London police have stated that they cannot properly crowd-control the mob. Even more amazing yet, Islamist Mayor Sadiq Khan has refused to request assistance from the military, which is required for them to mobilize in this circumstance. There are calls by some, mostly from middle-class liberal and conservative commentators, as well as some politicians, to ban the protests.
This would be a mistake because banning a protest gives the organizers a talking-point, and you don’t hear what the enemies of civilization are saying. The appropriate response to these provocations is a counter-mobilization. I expect, in agreement with Douglas Murray, that the English people will come out to oppose this, as they should.
In Skokie, scores and masses of not just Jewish but non-Jewish residents came out to rally against the Nazis. They made it clear that if the Nazis rallied in their town, they would be massively outnumbered, and it would be they who the police may not be able to handle. After gaining the okay to rally from the U.S. Supreme Court, who did not even hear opening arguments, the Nazis ended up changing the location of their rally to Chicago, where police were willing to guarantee their protection.
As Socialist Workers Party leader Farrell Dobbs taught us in a pamphlet on the topic of counter-mobilization, police will always side with the fascists, but never protect us.
This has been the case in McAllen as well. Two Sundays ago, Oct 29, goons patrolled Archer Park for anti-Hamas attendees. They harassed me, followed me everywhere I went during the riot rehearsal, and even followed me to my vehicle. McAllen police was nowhere to be found. They did not even patrol the area, although they did place police towers nearby. Police recording equipment would also be placed at Bill Schupp Park Nov 5, but again, no police presence was visible this past Sunday night either.
As the few cyclists prepared to head north, assembling on the east lane of Main St. at Archer Park, flanked by Palestinian flag-laden vehicles designated to guide and protect the uncritical mass, I chanted slogans I’d prepared beforehand: No more human shields! Release the hostages! Tell Hamas to surrender! Surrender to the IDF! This led to the media stations present, Ch. 4 and Telemundo, to interview me.
At Bill Schupp Park, as night drew early on daylight savings day, vehicles packed the small community parking lot designated for the park. Over a hundred descended to one area, near the middle. Joggers and families who had no idea the “vigil” was going to take place looked terrified at the masses of masked and draped people descending onto the park. After an hour of boring speeches, all of which centered around the demand to “defund” Israel, which in practice means destroying the Jewish state, they orgiastically chanted, “From the river to the sea…” a well-known genocidal chant.
I kept my distance, standing at an intersection of multiple trails, so people could read my placard and see my Israeli placard. During my 45 minutes holding post, several individuals and families walked by, smiled at me, and gave me thumbs up. But attendees gave me disturbed grimaces. One young woman said, “Fuck you, bitch!” after reading my placard saying, “No More Human Shields”. Two attendees played good cop and “invited” me to join the “vigil”, but I wanted nothing to do with it. It did not honor the Israeli dead, perhaps because they don’t recognize Israelis as civilians.
The bad cops eventually came around, after the “vigil” began to disperse. Two thugs who looked like they had criminal records and were actively involved in organized criminal activity walked up to me in an intimidating manner and stared me down. I had to tell them to back off as I reached for my weapon. And they did.
My Jewish friend, who attended the riot rehearsal and approached the “vigil” to listen and observe, was harassed and followed by masked goons who later waited for him near his vehicle. Again, no McAllen police within sight, a notable sign that we’re truly dealing with an incipient fascist movement here in the RGV. These are its beginnings.
The “vigil” co-hosted with Red Star Tx (a front group for FNBs RGV which is itself a front group for Hamas), was nothing more than an excuse to bike-ride with Palestinian flags through Jewish neighborhoods, as well as a show of force. They intended to intimidate and scare park goers and nearby residents. They just wanted to chant “from the river to the sea” in Jewish neighborhoods, as well as call for the destruction of Israel and spread Hamas propaganda. This was the sole aim.
One clearly mentally ill woman in her 40s approached me and began rambling about how she is a Palestinian Christian, and how her family were “the first Jews to convert to Christianity.” She described the founding of the state of Israel as the consequence of “Jews being crybabies and whining about the Holocaust.”
As the somewhat friendly couple from earlier who’d invited me to join them approached me the first time, the hysterical woman said, “This Jew here is saying that I’m not Jewish!”, as she had ludicrously begun saying that Palestinians are also semitic peoples — a favorite talking point of those who obfuscate the topic of Jew hatred.
Having been able to — sort of — maintain her mask of sanity for about two minutes, she literally skipped as she walked away, twirling in the air, while shouting at the top of her lungs, “Free Palestine!” What she really meant was, “Free Palestine of Jews!”
To those who perished a month ago today, not a second goes by in which we don’t think of you, not even in our dreams.
jonathansalinasmusic@gmail.com