Soup Drive Shooting

It started with this....a muster.

Which gave rise to this....a soup drive.

....which wasn't really a soup drive though they did have soup and they did give food to homeless people.

And it ended with a guy getting shot and killed.

It was an avoidable tragedy.

And despite the artwork showing flying soup cans, I actually only saw one get airborne. There could have been more, but I didn't see them fly nor did I see evidence that they did.

I have to point out that the "Denver Communists" by organizing this are most definitely trolling the right wing guys here. That's pretty obvious by the artwork.

The police did a much better job at this one than they did on July 19 (see: "Party at the Greek" post). The sides were kept apart and the police let you into the Patriot Muster if you were heading that way or if you looked like you live in Douglas County. The counter protesters mostly kept outside. If you looked like a counter protester, police would have prevented you from entering the muster. No matter who you were, the patriot muster guys would have let you in. They were welcoming and seeking to explain their perspective.

It wasn't until it was actually over when the shooting happened. It was really a regrettable thing. The event was over, these were a few last remaining hotheads barking at each other after the event. Maybe they were disappointed there was no showdown. I was standing right where it happened and left to walk over to the patriot parking area to see if there was anything interesting because it was ending.

Key Takeaway:

The most important thing to realize is that there is a mindset within the left wing protest movement that is adamant that they will not allow racist groups or ideology to normalize their voice on the street. That's why there are always counter protesters to the Klan or other groups when they march. That's what happened in Charlottesville. This is a long standing and well-rooted position and we are seeing it again today.

What is new is the very public presence of right-wing groups walking the streets in counter protest the left. And while most of the people who consider themselves part of these groups will deny they are racist, the public actions of some of the groups frequently make them look pretty racist (e.g. - Charlottesville). So, if you're a member, and not a racist, to the left you appear to be okay associating with racists. That might be more opinion than fact, so keep that in mind (and I'll be open to the possibility there are militia members who will not tolerate racism). That is how the left wing side sees this issue.

There's plenty of news reports out there about this event. Or this clip from Cut the Plastic:

The guy who was shot died on the scene and the security guard who shot him has been charged with killing him. Outcome TBD.