Do you really believe that Abbott would have made this decision if the president of the United States wasn’t on record saying he will contest the result of this election if he loses, told a white supremacist group during the first presidential debate to stand down and stand by, and asked his supporters during the same debate to show up to polling places on election day ready to be watchdogs for illegal activity? Come on now. A measure like this is not normal, and Abbott isn’t doing it because of George Floyd and BLM. He’s doing it because Trump has set the stage for rioting and fighting after the election with his words and actions.
black on white violence is my issue. Nobody seems to care that black violent attacks on whites is wildly out of proportion even without adjusting for population size. It’s swept under the rug like it’s just a fact of life. Why is this not a presidential debate topic? Why am I told here of my moral reprehensibility for caring about what happens to my kinsman? You sure do know a lot about incel culture dude. What’s up? Whatever.
No, you're exactly right. The table is set for protests, potentially for rioting, looting, vandalism and police brutality, and maybe possibly arson and street-fights between militia-types and antifa-types. We've seen the potential over the summer in the BLM protests. Post-election protests and counterprotests won't be BLM in theme but could have the same elements of chaos that we saw during the summer. We didn't have as much chaos as they did in some other states, but it isn't crazy for Abbott to expect that there could be protests, looting, vandalism, arson, and fighting after just seeing that happen across the country. Even if his reaction is unreasonable or in some way unjust, it seems clear to me that it is protest-control that he's aiming for, not voter intimidation as was suggested in the OP. I hope and fully expect that the National Guard will not crack down on peaceful protest. I hope all we see is peaceful protest. But the thing I want least is for the Proud Boys to think that the State won't provide security so they have to step up and cosplay as their own law enforcement. A National Guardsman with a rifle isn't nearly as scary a prospect as a 17 year old with a rifle.
Maybe, I'm missing something, but if there are legit numerous protests over election, they will only be due to a significant mishandling of the voting/ballot-counting and unfair usurpation of power. Presence of national guard would only incite more antagonism and potential violence in such a case... Pre-emptive escalation is your solution to the tensions at hand? BLM protests usually start with a video showing abuse of power. Can you explain why specifically you expect protests? And what makes Texas a prime location for said protests. Are there national guard election-specific anti-protest measures in other states that you know of?
How about if the national Guardsman are condoning that 17 year with a rifle and offering him water and such. Let's not act like the National guard are gonna be "protecting" everyone equally and not targeting specific "types" and this is not saying all of the guard are racist or malicious but like you they can a little to on edge. I think you are being naive about the national guard and projecting to much on what might happen.
I don't expect protests. I see a possibility for protests. Given how Trump has been leading people to believe that there is fraud in this election, there is bound to be one group or other that ends up feeling like there's a cheat after election day. Either liberals incredulous that Trump won (538 is giving him a 10% chance right now) or outraged that he lost but won't accept it, or conservatives believing against all logic that the election was somehow stolen from him. Whether any of that results in protests probably depends on what happens on election day. As for why Texas - Texas seems like one of the less likely places, honestly. I see Washington is also prepping for what might happen. I don't know about other states.
Random members of the same racial group may be closer related than grandparent to grandchild. http://www.humanbiologicaldiversity...pulation and Environment 24, no. 2 (2002).pdf
