“Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.”
-John F. Kennedy
By: Mark Glennon*
Many older Chicagoans still take pride that their votes were critical in JFK’s thin margin of victory for the presidency in 1960. Sadly, his words about the tiger have been forgotten. That’s no accident as the city struggles for its life.
It’s not just the most obvious application of JFK’s warning that makes it so timely today, which is the folly of trying to placate a mob by actions like Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s removal of the Columbus statue from Chicago’s Grant Park.
It’s the context in which JFK said it that is more important. His warning was about the risk of embracing Marxism.
That same Marxism, including all the most vile elements of Marxism – violent revolution, antisemitism and authoritarian suppression of dissent – has capitalized on the biggest social movement of the day, Black Lives Matter. Marxism is the ideological frame of the BLM organization at the center of the movement.
Yes, Black Lives Matter is also just a phrase intended only to represent a call for racial justice. But an outstanding, recent column in Newsweek is the latest to explain the why that use of the phrase is so dangerously misguided, contributing to the flood of contributions going to the BLM organization:
[BLM] is perceived to be about one cause while fiercely committed to another. Having achieved confounding levels of deception by generating a moniker that is undoubtedly true, Black Lives Matter is now at the top of the cultural food chain, uninhibited by moral and political constraints…. Its self-appointed defenders in the media, universities, corporations and entertainment industry genuinely believe that ending police brutality and building a racially just and equitable society is all it seeks. But take a deep dive into BLM’s website, and the organization’s true objectives are plain for all to see.
For those still unconvinced that BLM is indeed a violent, Marxist organization, read the rest of that article, which goes far beyond what BLM says in its own website and includes BLM’s long history with antisemitism. The tiger will never be calmed because its goal is not what is commonly said — eliminating systemic racism. BLM’s goal is eliminating the system. All of it.
BLM Chicago has regularly affirmed the same violent radicalism, though it’s never mentioned in the Illinois press. We’ve documented some of it before, but there’s much more.
Read the words of BLM Chicago founder Aislinn Pulley:
Chicago, a Democratic stronghold, should correct any illusion that the Democratic Party, as one half of the bi-party ruling system, will produce any significant livable alternatives for Black people. In fact, the opposite is true…. “[W]e must end policing as we know it, which necessitates the upending of capitalism.”
She goes on to mention Fred Hampton sympathetically, who BLM Chicago routinely refers to as “Chairman,” his title when he led the Black Panthers. BLM Chicago recently retweeted Hampton’s words, “we not gon fight capitalism with black capitalism, we gon fight it with socialism… we’re going to fight their reactions when all us people get together and have an international proletariat revolution!”
“When did these institutions–the army, the police, this country — become something worth keeping?” asked BLM Chicago on Twitter.
If you are still among the deceived and hoping BLM will turn its attention to, let’s say, black-on-black murders in Chicago, BLM Chicago already answered directly:
“Shut the fuck up with this right wing bullshit.”
Lightfoot should be blamed not only for trying to ride the tiger’s back but for feeding it for so long, and she is hardly alone. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling federal law enforcement agents “storm troopers” is only the latest to incite racial division. The list of the guilty in politics, schools and the national press is too long to document.
Meanwhile, this weekend, major league baseball started its season by going all-in on Black Lives Matter.
That’s like making an 0 and 40 pitcher your starter which, roughly, is Marxism’s record running nations. Every one ended in oppression and poverty. Baseball, too, has foolishly fed the tiger.
As for Lightfoot’s move to calm the tiger by removing the Columbus statue, it won’t work — not for Lightfoot or any officeholder who thinks the tiger can be sated. The tiger has already turned even on its biggest apologists – Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Minneapolis Mayor Frey and New York’s Bill De Blasio.
Chicago was financially doomed even before the pandemic and the riots. Now, mobs routinely roam its streets, even downtown. Some are peaceful and some are not. Some are just large groups of teens intent on violence. The police are at a loss for how to stop any of them or the routine of black-on-black murders. Its government has lost control of the city and it’s difficult to imagine any scenario for turning Chicago around.
And the tiger is still hungry.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
Read more about the violence in Chicago and BLM:
- Dear Black Lives Matter Supporters, Chicago’s Latest Riot is on You
- Mayor Lightfoot doesn’t get it. A broke Chicago can’t ‘eliminate inequalities’ or ‘expand opportunities.’
- UPDATED: Public Forums and the First Amendment: Can Streets be Painted with Black Lives Matter Messaging?
- On This Independence Day, Commit Never to Kneel Before the Looming Tyranny
- Where’s the Omelet? Black Lives Matter Chicago Answers George Orwell’s Question
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
Contain the residents of the liberal cities and let them burn it all to the ground. Then let them starve.
CPS Agreed To Pay School Police Officers’ Full Salary And Pensions — Up To $150,000 Per YearNew data shows what CPS’ contract with police calls for: a full year’s salary and benefits for 10 months of work.
Apparently the tiger’s taken a road trip to Milwaukee where an aggravated Hispanic deliberately ran down and killed a white guy riding a Harley just because he was white and riding a Harley. The greater shock is that the prosecuting attorney is considering tacking a hate crime charge onto the basics. Unheard of since the designation of “hate” 99% of the time applies only when a black is the victim of a white perpetrated crime. Ridiculously strange times we’re living through.
The LA County Board of Supervisors announced a budget with cuts and layoffs. Is that really Sheila Kuehl, union friend and social activist, admitting that cuts are necessary? I never thought the day would come when she would have to deal with fiscal realities.
https://www.dailynews.com/2020/06/29/la-county-looking-at-significant-cuts-due-to-coronavirus-strain/
How can we turn these events toward constructive outcomes?
The mob may accomplish some unintended consequences (such as corrupt-union busting).
Perhaps The Mob can be manipulated to disrupt The Chicago Political Industry?
The trick will be to thwart those who are now manipulating The Mob from seizing that power for a new regime which is even more sociopathic, predatory, and violent than the current Political Industry regime.
The democrat party is nothing more than a violent hate group.
While I respect Nancy Pelosi for her political cunning, not her view points etc., I don’t think she is smart enough to realize she’s in a similar boat. The young progressives like AOC slap her back and tape a bullseye on it while she’s blissfully unaware.
I neglected to add in the mayoral description the most important quality of these elected worthies. They’re diverse. They’re of both sexes. They’re homo and heterosexual. They’re black and white. What unites them is their cluelessness in discharging their respective responsibilities. How’s diversity working out for us?
If the reporting on this urban turmoil had any depth, which it does not, we’d learn that mayors of the affected cities – Chicago, Atlanta, Portland, Minneapolis, and Seattle – are all graduates of what used to be called “good schools”. That’s Harvard, Columbia, the University of Chicago, etc. with at least four having J.D.s. Ignorance of the law can hardly be their excuse. Their high school guidance counselors probably fawned over all of these superior beings as they trundled off to wider horizons. Apparently their schooling was a waste of time and money because not one action, or inaction,… Read more »
“Marxism is the ideological frame of the BLM organization at the center of the movement.”
The linked video is a clip from the July 22, 2015 interview of Patrisse Cullors (one of three BLM co-founders) by Jared Ball of The Real News Network (TRNN).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCghDx5qN4s&t=5m57s
It’s too bad this is the only source of real news in the city,county and state. Thanks
I totally agree it’s disgusting
Second City Cop and CWB Chicago are good sources too. Of course, Wirepoints is great. ?
Wonderful article and right on the mark! I do not understand how people do not see what their true agenda is. Are they blind? Don’t they read or research topics? I pray that the silent majority comes out in droves in November! God bless our police!
True that
Since the phrase “Black Lives Matter” [BLM] is not copyrighted or trademarked, it’s time to junk their self-description and street scrawls to proclaim what they really mean, “Black Deaths Matter”. Without black deaths done by whites, an extremely small percentage of total black deaths, there’d be no fodder for this crowd, many of whom have probably studied at the Midwest Academy. HeyJackass.com reveals that almost 78% of BLACK fatalities in Chicagoland are committed by BLACKS. If Black Deaths really mattered, blacks themselves would evangelize among their numbers to shrink that percentage to the infinitesimal, darn near 0, zero. Probably many… Read more »
Blacks (not all) have been murdering Blacks, way before 1492. ?
Nigeria and South Africa have police canings, street justice and necklacing. It’s time to try those tactics here. ?
Humans have been killing humans since we started walking upright. Your argument holds no water unless you want to add some substance to it.
Also I believe we are better than Nigeria or South Africa so that we wouldn’t need to resort to such uncivilized punitive measures.
We are discussing Blacks here. My view has water, have a drink. ?
The US isn’t better than South Africa and Nigeria, so we must resort to those effective punishments, which also with well in Singapore and Malaysia. ?
I think the point is that uncivilized tribal behavior is increasing so that less civilized measures may be needed to restore our society to its former “better” level.
Might you be the same Karl with a K that seeks to root out trolls on Klonsky? Glad to see you here if that’s the case. Fred won’t publish most of my observations. (Forgive me if I have stooped to the level of stereotyping those Karls whose first names start with K.)
Fred Klonsky doesn’t allow posts.
Did anyone ever collect the data on how long before the socialistic countries collapse? East Germany lasted 40 years. Illinois and Chicago seem determined to accomplish that too in the near future. I wonder what could be the final factor that pushes them over the edge?
I don’t know which countr,ies count. Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Russia (probably not), Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary ???? ?
We in IL deserve the leaders we elect and we are getting it good and hard. I can only imagine how badly this State must become before the citizens vote for adults.
In exchange for the right to fail, or achieve limitless success, our social compact only asks one sacrifice: assimilate. Accept the Constitution and the Bill of Rights – accept the rule of law – accept the American Dream – and stand steadfast against those who do not. Well, we got a bit sideways when those who decided to devote their future to the public realized this “compact” could be could be twisted. Twisted to conflate equality of opportunity with equality of outcome. Twisted by those perceptive enough to conceal unequal outcomes in the cloak of victim-hood and discrimination. As with… Read more »
You nailed it. What great commenters we have here.
“the right to fail” is certainly in action as we bail out failed businesses on a regular basis nowadays.
The government privatizes the profits, but subsidizes the losses. We the taxpayers have been getting raped for decades to greed and haven’t done shit to stop it.
Every current politician should be jailed and we should start over with a new group who actually represent the will of the people and not the few wealthy.
Isn’t jailing an “uncivilized punitive measure?” While I agree with your emotion I think you should recognize that politicians have a level of immunity that probably makes incarceration or even a fine) a remedy that isn’t available to us, the victims. I’d add to that the fact that the the great damage they do often doesn’t become manifest until they have left office and often have left the state. Taxpayers are left with the clumsy remedy of bankruptcy which the entrenched politicians in Springfield will block. We are governed by the Code of Madigan which provides “If a politician shall… Read more »
If it’s not clear, I agree with a lot of what you say.
Economically Illinois and Chicago will be the first to go all Marxist. Total redistribution and confiscation of wealth. Free rent for everyone, all loans forgiven on the backs of lenders, all value absorbed by the state. And Boing, McDonald’s, Navistar and the rest of Chicago’s clueless corporations will lead the way. Money will be obsolete, all money will be paperless so that the gov can track every cent exchanged.
Know the outcome and thereby see how all “little steps” pushed by Jabba and Leadfoot drive this path. I wonder if some October Surprise is in the works as additional catalyst…
If John and Robert Kennedy were never murdered (or recovered) and Edward never cheated, we could have had many years of Kennedy presidencies as follows:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
(1961-1965 & 1965-1969) ,
Robert Francis Kennedy
(1969-1973 & 1973-1977) &
Edward Moore Kennedy
(1977-1981 & 1981-1985)
That would have been awesome!
??
Edward Kennedy’s chance for Presidency ended with Chappaquiddick.
I said if he never cheated, which includes if he wasn’t involved with Mary Jo. ?
What is this baby boomer obsession with the Kennedy’s? I’ve never figured it out. The guy became president on charm alone. A family of philanderers, addicts and BS artists.
JFK also was the first to allow federal employees to unionize, leading to an enormous constituency that has single-handedly bankrupted every level of government across America, employing people who routinely feel enough job security to care nothing of the people they serve.
If there was ever a false idol, it’s JFK.
Unionization isn’t always bad. If it weren’t for unions, we’d still be working $1 a hour. ☹️
Some Kennedys have done great things, which are documented online. ?
I am a big supporter of the right to assemble, a la private unions. I fully understand that the strength of capitalism (and ultimate survival) is dependent on both the capital and labor inputs having relative balance in the price negotiated for transactions between worker and ownership. However, I don’t believe that the same applies to public unions. As we have seen all over, public unions dominate the negotiations well beyond what is good for the public interest. Illinois is a prime example of the disaster that results from this. Finally, I disagree with your characterization that we’d be working… Read more »
The unions led the way for higher wages, way before competition and globalism, so it’s not hyperbole. ?
Today’s unions protect a lot of lazy people, including teachers and post office. ?
Horse Schitt. You may even be making more money.
Right now the only unions left are greedy government unions and they are stealing your lunch money. Unions have done to hurt the poor honest working taxpayer and his family than anyone else. There are no opportunities left in Illinois for the Young worker so they are leaving the state in droves.
Illinois “Land of Slavery”.
Gee, the second and third sentences in your first paragraph bring another person of national prominence in the next Presidential election to mind and not even a Democrat. He has “issues” of his own. Care to guess who that might be?
Sure, but Trump is not revered like JFK is. JFK was fawned over by the media, and given a pass for almost all of his negatives.
And, I have never voiced any opinion on Trump. It’s an equivalency I’ve not made.
It would have been interesting to see in JFK times if there was Twitter,Facebook,Snapchat,and the instant social media via our modern electronic devices on how news media and society in general would say about him or anyone else. I have always said when we switched from analog to digital that was the beginning of the downfall of mankind as we knew it. With a press of 0’s and 1’s in the right order chaos could result in an instant. We are on information overload on steroids and getting worse.
100%!
Respectfully disagree on that, but that’s a long story for another day.
Relative to this article, JFK is an example of a leader who despised communism as an oppressive form of government. I haven’t come across any fact-based revelation or reinterpretation of this. While the cold war was long and his presidency short, he served at the height of the cold war.
His Inaugural Address is the anthem of the America I believe in.
Agree!
Agree!!
Any and every ruler is a false idol. None are divine, all are humans. ☹️
Hard-hitting truth. A couple thoughts – I believe Leadfoot is pro-insurrection, NO intent to placate anything. This is how her vision of the NWO is supposed to come in. Perhaps the laughable part is she probably believes she will retain some power in this new “system” — not a chance, she’s a Tool and will be fed to the Tiger before the next hair appointment. As for corporations like Walmart and institutions like NFL and MLB, I’ve given up any notion of any independent thinking or action on their part. They report up the chain to the globalists and medical… Read more »
I miss the days of local banks, pharmacies and stores. ☹️
Locals died or were merged into big corporations, which feed into globalism. Yuck! ☹️
The best part about the local banks, drug stores and corner stores was everyone knew you. If you were a kid and screwed up your parents fou d out very quickly.
Sad but true.