You can complain about my writing not being civil when you stop the outright (apparently intentional) lying about what I have said. I posted a statement made by the mayor. I have an interpretation of it which results in an opinion. The PBS affiliate had an interpretation of it. The other commenter had an interpretation and opinion of it. You have an interpretation and opinion of it.

Just because people don’t agree with you doesn’t mean they are lying. Just because someone is critical of a mayor that you believe is beyond criticism doesn’t mean that the mayor can’t be criticized.

You are an absolute riot. Do you actually live in this reality? Perhaps a couple of parallel worlds have their wires crossed with the nexus being this HN thread.

To summarize:
I never dunked on that mayor. I literally quoted the mayor’s exact statement. I linked directly to that statement on her government website. Obviously if you and the other commenter have exact opposite interpretations of what she said, the most accurate thing I could say is that the statement was inarticulate because it illicit opposite meanings based on the reader.

My horse is still very alive, it just walked away from your ridiculous spin. You definitely didn’t convince me I was wrong or should even give it another thought, you only further convinced me that I am right about the minimization and spin that people will put on the topic.

BTW a few comments above this one the other commenter mentioned that the mayor was “wrong”. So even they aren’t buying your spin of her comments, and they are apparently aligned with you in every other way.

Well you specifically asked for evidence of violence in Chicago and you received it. Now you try to minimize it and deflect—just like I said you would. So predictable.

The propaganda around this topic is definitely a two sided coin. Thanks for demonstrating it for all to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dF9mAhcjPs

Throwing rocks isn’t violent? Since when?

If what you say is true you should have no problem supporting 24/7 webcams streaming direct to the internet pointing right at the areas in question. Then you can provide all the proof you need to discount the government narrative and prove yours.

I look forward to seeing those streams. Good luck!

Nothing for me to concede. You are arguing against the Mayor’s words and meaning, not mine. I am taking them at face value within the context of the entire statement.

> The "abuse of the right to protest" has nothing to do with violence from protesters, which is a detail that you've conjured up yourself.

It’s kind of telling how you chose this phrase to suggest that I have “conjured” up apparent violence. Context counts. Prior to that “abuse” sentence, she said this:

“There were 15 arrests, and 10 of those were around the age of my own daughter. As a mother and a mayor, I am mad.”

Then it’s the next one after the abuse statement makes the difference and alludes to violence:

“Too many are raising their fists rather than their voices, creating chaos at the expense of the people who call Broadview home”. (The emphasis is mine)

That provides further context. From my perspective on the outside looking in, she appears to be suggesting that things are escalating and she appears to be placing some of that blame on the protesters.

Maybe her statement was inarticulate. Maybe it was total BS. Maybe she is playing to both sides. Maybe it reflects reality. Whatever the case may be its what is out in the news now and on its face, it doesn’t feel like things are as peaceful as the mayor would prefer them to be. Good for her trying to de-escalate.

Frankly, I am just happy it’s not happening in my community.

> Thompson is wrong, and saying anything to try and make things go away, which is extremely disappointing, but there's still no evidence of the protestors being violent. Nearly all charges against all protestors have been dropped in court, and the extent of "violent" charges are one count of "assault of an officer" because a geriatric air force vet allowed his arm to brush an agent.

This is “spin” to minimize impact, just like I said. You are providing propaganda here.

> Look, i asked you a simple question. "Is there evidence that parts of Portland are being burned to the ground, as the administration claims." The answer is very obviously no.

I never made that claim, not sure why you want to keep going back to that. As I stated clearly above, I regarded those claims as an exaggeration, and even sarcastically referred to it in my comment. You choosing to apply this to me is just another example of trying to obfuscate the point of my original comment.

> I'm glad you've decided both are equally dishonest and similarly motivated.

I definitely stand by that. Yes, I think the government is being dishonest and think that has been quite obvious in here with two commenters I have interacted with—You just provided spin like I said you would (but at least you acknowledged what the Mayor actually said, points for that). You have tried to obfuscated my point, attributed opinions to me, and suggested I have said things I haven’t said. That’s dishonest. Another commenter outright lied and claimed the mayor never said what she said, despite the quote. I literally had to post the Mayor’s freaking statement on the city’s website to counter that BS they were spewing.

Congrats. You are doing exactly what I said above. I provided a link to a news story from a local PBS affiliate, pulled a direct quote from that very story which it attributed to the mayor and you either didn’t read the source story I posted, or want to claim it is inaccurate because of some special proximity knowledge you have. So be it. However, since you want to call the source into question, here is the exact statement from the Broadview mayor on the Broadview government site. That is the full statement that the story quoted—The quote I posted that you claimed was never said because it was never mentioned in Facebook posts (Wow). The PBS affiliate story was accurate, the quote was accurate to the Mayor’s statement, and frankly, you were wrong. Perhaps you should “Please be more careful”, right?

From the Broadview Statement:

“There are too many protesters abusing their right to protest. Too many are raising their fists rather than their voices, creating chaos at the expense of the people who call Broadview home.”

https://broadview-il.gov/reference/press-releases/press-rele...

Feel free to dispute this all you want, feel free to diminish what it says, but know that you are doing exactly what I said…propagandizing from the other side of the coin.