You may have heard they had a referendum over in Catalonia recently about leaving Spain. The central government was, um, somewhat opposed to allowing anyone to vote. In spite of that, lots of people turned out and almost all of them voted to get out. The cops gave some citizens a wood shampoo. And folks in the US talk about police brutality.
I posted this at the other cafe also.
Scary.
I did, though, see tweets maintaining that in some places the ‘separatists’ were singing communist anthems & had hammer & sickle flags. And other tweets stating that this ‘majority’ was being played by a minority of agitators who have no intention of creating a democracy if the separation is realized. It is hard to know what the truth is anymore.
But yes, the Spanish government was incomprehensibly stupid in telling their police to use force like this.
For what it’s worth, the Socialist Party is against the separation, as is the EU. The enemy of my enemy…
In the reports I saw, they were singing the Catalan anthem, which in not in Spanish btw.
In the Spanish Civil War, the most militant fighters in Catalonia against Franco were the Communists, who were supported by Stalin. Franco’s Phalangist forces were backed by Hitler. Ever since Franco put down the Republican forces in Catalonia, some people there have identified Communism with the independence movement. In “Homage to Catalonia”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homage_to_Catalonia
he describes, often humorously, the chaotic situation, which was ruthlessly exploited by the Stalinist forces.
It may be that the identification of supporters of independence with Communism is based in this history rather than a desire to create a Stalinist society after secession.
I have not decided who I support here. Is this a relatively civilized Singapore breaking from uncivilized Malaysia? Or is it something else?
But I do like the prospect of a good civil war in western Europe knocking the Europeans off their high moral horse.
If Texas ever pulls plug I don’t think it is going to go down like this.
No, the people will have guns in that case.
The reign(rein) in Spain mainly falls on the plain (folks).
Is Franco still dead?
It is sad to see people not getting along.
At first I thought these were pictures of the caf having a civil discussion.
The whippings will continue till morale gets better!!!
What is the name of this movement? Spandex?
Spandex. You crack me up.
I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed of that one, DocLor. It was just their for the taking.
Full body armor for the Polizi, including on top of their feet. Texans would indeed take a dim view of that.
Circa 2010, there was a tea party rally in southern Illinois. It consisted of a number of happy families. Potentially confronting them was a group of police in riot gear. It was ridiculous.
Was this the first time the Illinois Police confronted happy families, Richard? It must have been scary for them. ;-)
As I noted at the other place, President Trump should announce that he supports Catalan independence. But to make up for the loss of 8 million Catalans and boost Spain’s position in the EU, President Trump will airlift to Spain 12 million of our Latin American illegal aliens.
They can fill up all the Spanish ghost towns.
Presumably, things will be much easier for them in Spain than in the US due to the lack of language barrier and the superiority of European governance.
If the Europeans or the American left deny how beneficial this would be for Spain and the illegals, they would have to admit to the lies they’ve told us for decades.
Does anyone know what the history is? Why is there a want/need to be independent?
When is independence good and when is it insurrection?
Extensive discussion of the specific history, related history, insurrection, and independence:
https://ricochet.com/460412/this-doesnt-look-good/