re: #722 Iron Fist

I’ve read and re-read your comment. You aren’t denying that the Black Panthers were there. You aren’t denying they were armed (billy clubs are what I’ve heard). They were damn sure not there simply to liven up the scenery. They were there for intimidation.

A couple of loud, obnoxious guys with billy clubs don’t particularly intimidate me, but I’ve usually got a knife and I am well-trained in using it. If they try and do anything physical against me (or someone I’m with), their life is going to get very interesting for the next few seconds. That’s me. It is just the way I’m wired.

Most of the people in this country aren’t wired that way. A lot of people carry knives (at least around here), but few of them are very trained in their use. That doesn’t mean that they don’t pose a danger, should they wish to do so, but rather a comentary on what sor of danger that they would constitute should they do so. The guy with the club has the advantage because his weapon has the longer “arc of the weapon”. “Arc of the weapon” simply means the arc that you would cover with the weapon fully extended moving left to right (or vice versa).

Which is to say that the Panthers were there for intimidation, and it sounds like they accomplished their goal. And that is, IIRC, illegal. The police should have removed them. Forcefully, if necessary.

The Black Panthers were intimidating the poll watchers.