Street Protests Are Counter-productive

Protest Generation————————-

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

Summer is winding down and President Donald Trump continues to tweet his way through his presidency while his generals and other staffers spend valuable time trying to explain what the president really meant to say. Congress is returning from a lengthy recess which they did not deserve, having accomplished nothing in the way of significant legislation. Threats to security and other crises abound, among them, threats of a nuclear attack by North Korea’s unpredictable dictator.

 

Meanwhile violent protests shatter the domestic peace, particularly in liberal enclaves like, for example, Boston and Berkeley where self-branded anti-fascists known as the “Antifas” searched for suspected Trump supporters to beat up along with those suspected of being neo-Nazis. In Boston, supposedly peaceful protestors reportedly threw rocks and bottles of urine at police. In Berkeley, a scheduled pro-Trump rally was cancelled for safety reasons but the Antifas showed up anyway and staged a violent rumble. Does anyone seriously think that these thugs, who wear black hoods and masks to conceal their identities, who refuse to talk to the media and who physically attack those they even suspect of being supporters of the president of the United States, are any better than, say, the KKK or the relative handful of neo-Nazi wackos at large in America?

 

At a time when Americans desperately need to come together to face serious international and domestic threats and challenges, we seem to be drifting further apart. Millenials, say behavioral scientists, are characterized by, among other things, the search for a cause. The cause in fashion today is racial injustice, present and past. But youthful exuberance, unseasoned by mature judgment and actual real-world experience, often leads to excess behavior, refusal to listen to  or even tolerate voices of reason or moderation, and contempt for authority. This is manifest in campus and urban protests around the country that too-often turn violent. And too-often it is condoned and encouraged by authorities standing by passively lest they be accused of over-reacting.

 

Left-leaning liberals, in spite of what may be the purest of intentions, must bear a large share of the blame for much of this by condoning and participating in protest marches and rallies which they know or should know by now will attract violent and angry people who will act out their rage. Mob behavior quickly results. Particularly disturbing is the presence of children at some of these events, brought by parents who want them to “experience history” or “associate with a cause that fights injustice” at an early age. Too often, the cause they associate with is one that instills a contempt for authority and a belief that police are agents of those authorities and hence the enemy. This prepares them particularly well, incidentally, for a college career as a campus activist. Their parents often rationalize the violent protests by telling them that this is how democracy works. But this is not how democracy works. This is how anarchy works. This is what passes for democracy in banana republics.

 

Baby boomers have reared a generation largely populated by protesters who refuse even to listen to anyone they disagree with. They are too-often imbued with an inflated sense of their own importance and righteousness. If they are displeased with the result of an election, they feel empowered to dispute it by any means. At the risk of repeating myself, I regarded both presidential candidates in the 2016 election as unqualified for the office by virtue of inexperience and/or character defects. That they were the only choices available to the voters was in my view a depressing commentary on the American electorate today. I voted for neither.

 

But Donald Trump was elected fairly and he is the president of all of us, whether you or I like it or not.  All Americans need to accept that fact. Let’s show some respect for the office and for the process. Former president Barack Obama graciously did. In a letter to his successor, he wished him success and promised his support. Efforts to derail the Trump presidency or to delegitimize his election victory are harming the country and only widening the gap that divides us. For those who so desperately need a cause to demonstrate for, divert that energy to something actually useful like working to end drug addiction or homelessness or aiding the Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas.

September 17, 2017

Violent Demonstrations Are Wrong

All Violence Should Be Condemned————————–

                A commentary 

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

As I have often said, I’m not a fan of street protests, protest marches and demonstrations. Yes, I know that freedom of expression includes the right of peaceful public assembly and even the right to act like a fool in public, shouting some inane chant, but I believe that there are more effective and intelligent ways to advocate for a cause. Also, peaceful demonstrations too often turn into violent confrontations, in spite of the best intentions on the part of the organizers because they sometimes heighten emotions to a degree that people do or say things they ordinarily wouldn’t say or do. Protest demonstrations also attract counter-protestors and the shouting and name-calling quickly follow.

 

To provide for the safety of demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, by-standers and public and private property, heavy police presence is often required at considerable expense, usually borne by the taxpayers. Law enforcement assets are diverted from other duties, sometimes to the detriment of public safety and sometimes the police become casualties themselves. In the Charlottesville riots, two policemen were killed when their helicopter crashed while monitoring the disorder. Large gatherings block traffic, cause street and business closures and inconvenience thousands. Passersby often feel intimidated by the crowds which too often turn into mobs resulting in a loss of sympathy for the protestors’ cause.

 

The white nationalist rally in Charlottesville over the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was organized by a bunch of racist thugs from around the nation. Their Friday night march had all the trappings of a KKK rally including torches and Nazi symbols. It, predictably, quickly turned violent when counter-protestors arrived. Jason Kessler, an organizer of the rally was booed and menaced by an angry crowd and then punched when he tried to address the rally. Fights ensued between protestors and counter-protestors and the area began to resemble a war zone according to reporters. There was, in fact, violence perpetrated by both sides but you probably wouldn’t know that from the mainstream media accounts alone, although a New York Times reporter did describe the chaos as a mutual hate-fest.

 

President Donald Trump issued a statement condemning the violence and the egregious display of hatred and bigotry on many sides. He repeated the words “many sides” for emphasis. The mainstream media exploded and even some Republicans joined in because the president failed to single out the white supremacists adding that many of them voted for Trump. The next day, the White House issued a statement specifically condemning the white supremacists for the violence and for the death and injuries caused when one of their crazies drove his car into a group of counter-protestors. Mr. Trump followed that up with remarks the following day, saying that of course he condemns white supremacists and other hate groups.

 

But that apparently wasn’t enough to mollify all the liberals or soothe the outrage among the mainstream journalists, determined to keep milking the story. As a former Trump campaign advisor was quoted as saying, “if Donald Trump had called out every single white supremacist by name it would not be enough”. So it is with identity politics in America where the race card is always quick to be played and victimhood is encouraged as a tactic. In such an environment, one cannot even say, for instance, that “all lives matter” because that would be racist, or racial appropriation or whatever.

 

There is no excuse for the hateful actions of the white supremacists in Charlottesville or anywhere else and all hate groups are despicable. But let’s acknowledge that not all hate groups are white and racism is not exclusively a white practice. In Charlottesville there was violence on both sides and violence is always wrong.

 

Finally, removing statues of Confederate leaders understandably evokes strong emotions among southerners. It’s not an excuse for violence but it certainly is a catalyst for it. Charlottesville is the home of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, our third president and a slaveholder, as were many of the nation’s founders. If we are going to remove statues of Generals Lee and Stonewall Jackson, shall we also remove monuments to Jefferson and to George Washington the father of our country? While at it, perhaps we should rename Washington, DC and the state of Washington. Heck, let’s just purge the Civil War entirely from the history books.

 

Or we could focus on the many things that unite us, not those in the past that divided us, and acknowledge that the history of our great nation, while certainly not perfect, is well worth preserving intact, warts and all.

September 10. 2017

               

Safety at Sea

Safety in the Crowded Seaways—————

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

In commenting on past collisions at sea, it has often been noted that they are extremely rare. Unfortunately for the U.S. Navy, that has not been the case this year. So far there have been four, plus a grounding, and the year isn’t over yet. The last two collisions, involving guided missile destroyers (DDGs) vs. commercial vessels, have been deadly, with over a dozen sailors lost.

 

The two most recent collisions and the grounding of a guided missile cruiser have deprived the forward-deployed U.S. Seventh Fleet of three valuable Aegis-configured anti-ballistic missile defense ships at a most inopportune time with tensions between the U.S. and North Korea high and China challenging our freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. The Chinese media are referring to our warships as reckless and hazards to navigation.

 

A nimble, fast, well-equipped and heavily-manned ship like a DDG should be able to keep out of the way of a lumbering container ship or tanker, no matter what the commercial vessel does or fails to do under the international rules to prevent collisions at sea which dictate which ship is to maintain course and speed and which is to give way. DDGs can usually power out of close encounters, if necessary. At least, that’s what the taxpayers tend to expect of these very expensive ships and they understandably are demanding to know what is going on here. If the Navy can’t post a better safety record and do a better job of protecting its sailors and ships from collisions, something has to change and very soon.

 

Do not doubt for an instant that senior levels of the Navy are acutely aware of the urgency of this and are looking hard at how we train our commanding officers (COs) and officers of the deck (OODs, the officers in charge of the bridge watch and the CO’s representatives in his absence from the bridge). That there will be changes is a given. Meanwhile, the three-star Seventh Fleet commander has been relieved. The COs of the ships and other officers also have been, or will soon be. Others will likely follow. There is absolute accountability in the seagoing navy and the buck stops not just with the CO but sometimes with his superiors.

 

Navy ships typically have half a dozen or more watch standers on the bridge including an OOD qualified by the CO and a conning officer. They are backed up by other teams, including a combat information center (CIC) with radars, computer assisted automatic radar plotting aids (ARPA), automatic identification (AIS) systems and other contact tracking and communications equipment. They can track dozens of contacts, determine their courses and speeds, destinations, closest points of approach and other contact avoidance information. Merchant ships have similar equipment but typically have only two watch standers on the bridge with a mate of the watch in charge representing the master when he is not on the bridge.

 

A major difference is that the civilian mate of the watch and the master are licensed mariners. The navy OOD and CO are not. Navy warships, in addition to being highly complex fighting platforms, are also training platforms. The fact is, navy warships are driven mostly by very junior officers who are, for the most part, still acquiring advanced ship handling and seamanship skills. Licensed mariners, on the other hand are already trained and qualified before they even set foot aboard.

 

Most collisions at sea occur at or near heavily-travelled choke points like the Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, Singapore Strait or other narrow seaways. They have traffic separation schemes like divided highways but the approaches are usually congested with ships approaching from various directions and departing on various courses. Navy ships have excellent equipment to plot and track these contacts but maneuvering decisions essentially come down to one person, the OOD or the CO. This can be extremely challenging, even for highly experience mariners, especially in darkness or low visibility. In this regard, there is simply no substitute for experience and practice which improves judgment and decision-making. Just as in aviation, no amount of sophisticated equipment can compensate for a lack of experience and the practiced judgment that comes from many years on the bridge or in the cockpit.

 

Over the years, the complexity of navy warships has increased dramatically. So have the warfare training requirements, collateral duties, administrative programs, reporting requirements, inspections, exercises, working up for deployment and other responsibilities borne by these junior officers who also have divisions of enlisted crew members to manage and train. Over the years, these demands and the increased complexity of naval warfare in general have consumed the bulk of their time and attention and tended to overshadow the emphasis and attention given, at all levels of the chain of command, to seamanship and ship handling which are now being treated rather like an incidental duties. This has got to change in the interest of safety at sea. All the advanced shipboard technology is useless if we can’t get the ship safely to its destination.

 

How to do this is now an urgent task of higher authority. It will require thinking outside the box and it may require a much more formal certification process or perhaps the creation of a new specialty focused on ship driving, just as aviators are focused on flying.  The Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy, for example, have separate career branches for deck/warfare officers and engineering officers. Ship driving, while not rocket science, is an important and demanding skill requiring intense focus and judgment. It is a very unique skill, clearly not for everyone and most officers will never put in the required practice, study and effort to become highly proficient. It is a waste of effort and resources, in my view, to attempt to train all or even most surface line officers to be OODs, let alone COs.

September 4, 2017

(Captain Kelly teaches ship handling and seamanship at Naval Base San Diego.)