by Jack
A modest, but enthusiastic crowd of anti-police protesters gather on the sidewalk next to the City Council Chambers in downtown Chico. There were probably 60% girls between 15 and 25 with a slightly older mix of males and females. In other words mostly thrill seekers. The typical protester chants were heard and at one point everyone took a knee, a symbolic gesture that has been spreading from one protest group to another.
The crowd marched once around Plaza Park then back to their original spot for more cliché’ slogans, leader: Whatta we want? Crowd: Justice! Leader: When do we want it? Crowd: Now!” Boring… Probably only 5 or 6 black people were in attendance, maybe not even that. I got the feeling tonight was a dress rehearsal… the big event is scheduled for the weekend.
Signs carried by the protesters tonight were exactly what you might expect, “F— the cops”, 
was a popular one, they even wore tee shirts with that bit of wisdom on it. One young girl carries a sign calling for the police to be disbanded. That was brilliant. I wanted to quiz her about how her idea, but didn’t get the chance. Too bad, because I had my facts, but I doubt she did. For instance, 2-3 questionable or unjustifiable in-custody deaths per year for the last decade, does not an epidemic make.
I can see how this crowd size could start growing and perhaps by Friday they could be a problem. I notice a number of downtown businesses had their plate glass windows boarded with sheets of particle board like you might see before a hurricane. (see Tres Hombres on right)
For instance, 2-3 questionable or unjustifiable in-custody deaths per year for the last decade, does not an epidemic make.
The cool thing about made-up statistics is that they can never hurt you, nor challenge your deeply-held beliefs in any way. But I am almost certain you know that there are far more questionable in-custody deaths per year than this. So why pretend otherwise?