When Rioters Turn Upon Their Own: See Jeff Bezos' Guillotine by John Horvat II

When Rioters Turn Upon Their Own: See Jeff Bezos’ Guillotine

By John Horvat II

 

The most terrifying time during revolutions is when revolutionaries turn upon their own. It is a sign that the movement is radicalizing, creating insecurity in which no one feels safe. Even the most faithful servants of liberal causes suddenly find themselves targeted, despite having conceded, facilitated and supported those who work to overthrow the establishment.  They do everything, and yet it seems everything is not enough.

Such considerations come to mind when hearing about how protesters showed up near the Washington D.C. home of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, owner of the very liberal Washington Post. All his sympathy for leftist causes, including Black Lives Matter, seems to be of no avail.  However, this protest differed from the norm. In addition to signs, there was a model guillotine.

 

Protesters Using French Revolutionary Imagery

The message was clear. The target was not only Bezos but all who are part of the official establishment. The multi-billionaire serves as a representative figure for all those who have wealth and need to be eliminated.  A sign before the guillotine said, “Support our poor communities. Not our wealthy men.”

This is not the first time that protesters bring symbols and techniques that come from the bloody French Revolution. Militants at the ill-fated CHAZ/CHOP experiment in Seattle also referred to the guillotine. One activist credited the name change to CHOP as a reference to the chopping off of capitalist heads.

Americans need to take these radical symbols seriously. This is not just street theater but indicates a desire to implement a dark and tragic agenda. The lessons of history reveal just how wrong it is to write off those who use symbols. In the early stages of the French Revolution, no one thought it would reach the degree of slaughter that it did.

Death by Machine

The guillotine is especially significant because it recalls how the revolutionaries ruthlessly eliminated their enemies.

The device was developed by the French physician, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, as an instrument of decapitation for all enemies during the French Revolution. Before the Revolution, beheading was reserved only for those of noble birth. However, the French National Assembly in 1789 passed a law requiring that all death sentences be done by “means of a machine.” In this way, all could be executed equally.

Throughout the Revolution, its countless victims included the nobles, priests and any other enemies of the Revolution regardless of class. The French King and Queen fell to its blade. Such was their hatred that revolutionaries even guillotined statues.  During the phase of the Terror, lukewarm Girondins revolutionaries went to the guillotine for insufficient enthusiasm for the cause. The death by guillotine of Robespierre, a radical Jacobin, marked the end of the Terror phase of the Revolution.

Symbol of Death and Terror

Thus, the symbolism of the guillotine as an instrument of death and terror should make Americans shudder. It should raise questions about the intentions of the rioters that are terrorizing America. The guillotine at the protest of Jeff Bezos sends a message that the revolutionaries openly put everything on the table.

Such a radical display of intention should lead to calls from officials to condemn the protesters and their symbols of violence. Any protest organization should issue statements disassociating themselves from the guillotine-carrying activists. Bishops and clergy should denounce the symbol as inconsistent with the teachings of Christ.

However, like their counterparts during the French Revolution, they will remain silent about the guillotine promoters. They will follow the politics of concession to evil. The incident will be rationalized as an occasion to show “understanding” and sympathy to the poor “oppressed” rioters who are only reacting to the “injustice” of their condition. They will not take seriously the threat contained in the falling blade.

The appearance of Jeff Bezos’ guillotine unmasks the revolutionaries behind the present riots. No one should have any illusions as to their intentions of the radical left. These are not only riots. They are not civil rights demonstrations. This is a revolution that has the established order as its target. It should be denounced as such.

However, what should terrify people most about the incident is the targeting of liberals who support liberal causes. If even these are under attack, then nobody is safe in the coming days.