The Seattle Bike Cop Labor Day Confrontation
This is a relatively small story that’s pretty much died down this afternoon, but it’s nevertheless a really interesting example of narrative divergence.
You may have seen one of these videos floating around this morning:
There were soon two different stories.
From the left:
And from the right:
Here’s the breakdown of the narrative evolution:
The left is emphasizing that this group had not been aggressive—the police essentially assaulted peaceful protestors. The fact that the police guild apparently played a country song during this is really interesting for the narrative. It gives an Americanized Flight of the Valkyries image of a right-wing, redneck, fascistic invasion.
The right, on the other hand, is emphasizing that the riots have been going on for 100 days, and earlier that day they had apparently been engaging in criminal and threatening behavior. The fact that Molotov cocktails were recovered from this encounter is obviously a keystone of this story.
And of course, we see the usual rioter/protestor & Antifa/BLM dichotomy between either side.
Here’s a few articles that covered this (you can really tell a whole story in a title, can’t you?)
As Seattle passes 100 days of protest, 22 arrested at anti-police union march -Seattle Times
Police Rush Protesters Outside SPOG HQ While Blasting Country Music, 22 Arrested - The Stranger
22 Arrested in Labor Day Seattle Protest, Hurl Molotov Cocktails at Police: ‘All My Heroes Kill Cops’ - Breitbart
22 arrested in Seattle protests against racial injustice - Seattle PI
And here’s the report from the SPD blotter.
That’s all for now!