From Whitney Davis, a Seattle Local and Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) volunteer who went live throughout the CHAZ zone this weekend. Here are her comments and links to her FB Live videos.
I'm utterly shocked how completely incorrect the media has been about the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (#CHAZ). Or at least I'm guessing that's where people are getting this misinformation.
I've had a good handful of people check in on me to make sure I'm safe (Thank you🙏). It's seriously laughable how blown out of proportion this is. They're just having a daily block party with concerts and movie screenings at night.
THERE WAS NO VIOLENCE, NO RIOTING, AND NO LOOTING. The protests in Capitol Hill are different from those in downtown Seattle and Bellevue. I know Seattle is all the same to everyone else. But it seems like the outside agitators left a few weeks ago.
THE POLICE LEFT ON THEIR OWN. They packed up, moved out, and boarded up. I still don't know why or if they're coming back or relocating. And as far as I know, the station is still intact and empty.
IT WAS NOT AN ARMED ANTIFA MILITIA TAKEOVER. 😂 I canNOT believe this is going around. This is what really blows my mind. The police left voluntarily. Most of the protesters are extremely progressive and don't even believe in owning guns. I've only seen a pic of 2 guys carrying for protection and good for them. I support US citizens' #2A rights.
The autonomous zone grew out of a no-cop co-op and I do see the local businesses voluntarily supporting the cause because, guys, we're in Seattle and in the most progressive neighborhood of Seattle. There already were rainbow flags and BLM signs in windows everywhere.
EXTORTION CLAIM: There's been one screenshot circulating alleging that the protesters have demanded a business pay a community security and protection fee. There's been no other corroboration of that that I could find. If it is true, it's kind of funny seeing the outrage as if is this doesn't already happen. In the least, security has been more localized but of course, I don't support extortion of any kind, including by the IRS.
RAZ SIMONE: I'm still figuring everything out with this guy. I've seen no evidence that he is some warlord taking over. What I have seen is he and his group stopping destruction of the former police station. I have seen a 50-min video where he stopped a guy from spray painting where he didn't have permission to spray paint. There was a scuffle from physical removal. They de-escalated the situation, talked it out, and hugged it out. No guns, tasers, pepperspray, or tear gas were pulled out. It's amazing how when you're likely to be held accountable for someone's death, you do your best to not take it there. The cops could learn a thing or two. This is also why I support more localized security/police; security BY the people of their neighborhood.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THIS ZONE AND THESE PEOPLE? First of all, if it's not your community, it's none of your damn business. It's sure as hell not Trump's business and if he were to send in troops and tanks into a US neighborhood of ultimately innocent civilians, it would be a wholly unconstitutional and egregious act. It would be a million times worse than what's actually going on.
I've seen proposals to shut off gas, water, and electricity. Sure, the city can do that. Great lesson learned about how much control the state has over our everyday lives. I've seen this proposal with an additional comment of "If they want independence, they can have independence!". So it's funny to see conservatives who love the USA (formed by independence) and love talking about 1776 suddenly being against the idea of independence. 🤔
They're mostly left anarchists, socialists, and communists dependent on the charity of capitalists for food and supplies. Let their experiment play out, however it's going to play out. I don't see this dependency lasting long and I especially don't see it lasting long after everything starts opening up completely and people have to go to work.
And if you take this as me supporting Antifa and socialists/communists, then bless your heart. I'm trying my best to be as objective as possible about what's actually going on. ✌️
Here is the first video where we entered CHAZ from the park side (and it's probably the least interesting of the 4 TBH).
I confirmed that there is a black and indigenous garden.
There were SO many tents where people stayed over night.
I was shocked at the amount of donations all throughout CHAZ. I don't see them running out soon. We'll see how long people care to be charitable toward this.
They were very persistent about wearing a mask. TBH I have only worn a mask when asked to do so. Despite it all, I still tested negative for COVID, which is a little baffling. But I'm not about to go full Karen on people over a mask. So I wear one when asked.
Throughout these videos, you'll see I'm not a very confrontational person. I try to respect other people for the most part, so I'm not pushy in the videos. Don't take it as agreement. I don't see the point in coming in and causing a scene. I wanted to learn. That's it.
It felt like a communist version of PorcFest. Everybody set up services as you wish. But there's a distinct difference between AnCaps and AnComms. I need to collect my thoughts because there's a lot of nuance. There were good things and bad things. There was a lot of contradiction in principle vs reality and I just need to sort out my thoughts. You'll hear more from me tomorrow.
Enjoy!
At first, I legit thought this was an art performance with music and stuff. 😂😂😂
Supposedly, there were speeches going on at this intersection. This man brought a very loud speaker and was playing Amazing Grace and disrupting the speakers. So they attempted to kick him out.
If this is community property, who's to say the speakers have more of a right to the property than this guy? Definitely mob rule.
They tried to remove him peacefully by linking arms, surrounding him, and moving him out. I respect that. However, it didn't work very well.
After I had turned the camera off, they threw one punch at the guy and dragged him away.
So it comes down to:
Who is the rightful owner to say "You're not welcome". That's a long discussion about property rights and the fact that these people didn't even live there before. But for the sake of argument, let's say they do have the right.
Who practiced physical removal better: these guys or the police?
Despite the punch and evidence of the police in the days leading up to the zone, IMO I would say these guys. It was odd and not as efficient as beating the shit out the guy, tasing him, and potentially killing him. But I err on the side of respecting human life.
I'd much prefer an armed society that respects private property to prevent these matters IMO.
This was a "guard" of CHAZ. While Raz Simone does organize some things in CHAZ, there isn't a single leader. People volunteer or appoint themselves to particular roles.
I also spoke with another guard/medic off camera. She was an Army medic and was volunteering her services. She also confirmed no central leader, especially no Antifa leader. You just appoint yourself.
They have medic tents set up by Rancho Bravo and request no video or picture for the safety of the medics. I think they believe there may be some retaliation against them.
There are no armed guards at the border, checking IDs, and no central leader. There's a sort of spontaneous order coming about but within a community owned area.
I found RAZ SIMONE! And what he said wasn't that bad. He mentioned how some cop behavior would be unacceptable if done by a normal citizen. But since they have a badge, they're immune to accountability.
They seemed to gather in a circle to discuss how they can help with security.
He open carries a handgun and as a Second Amendment supporter, I respect his right to do so. Many of us LPers that were out there were carrying as well.
He said he has 2 main priorities:
Preventing damage of the precinct.
He and his group have been protecting the precinct 24/7 since Day 1 of the police leaving. He believes if there is damage or if it's even converted into something productive without the permission of the Mayor that it will flip the narrative of what they're trying to achieve. He's more concerned about police accountability than CHAZ, so it seems.Protecting the people from police or white supremacists who may attack the people there at odd hours. So they're checking police scanners and the perimeter and relaying info on their walkie talkies.
He also confirmed there's no central leader. There are multiple "councils" that are making decisions. That's evidenced by the various lists of demands from CHAZ. He clearly laid out his intentions for he and his particular group.
**VIDEO #5 OF 5: LIVE FROM CHAZ
Everything was going decently well. It felt like a block party/woodstock/communist PorcFest.
Then this happened and just ruined it. This incident is definitely going to go viral.
I missed the very beginning. But there was a group that seemed like the Proud Boys (I don't know that they were) that rolled on through carrying an American flag. I don't know if these men said anything offensive or wore anything else offensive or if people were simply triggered by the American flag. A LARGE crowd surrounded them and moved them out. They followed them out of the zone and I don't even know how far. I was expecting a fight to break out but one didn't.
There was the token pink haired person screeching "FASCISTS ARE NOT WELCOME!" and then there was a lone voice of reason trying to tell people to ignore them so not to divert the narrative. People did not ignore them.
Here's my thing, I don't try to be an asshole just be an asshole or to prove a point. I don't see how that moves us forward. I think conversations are necessary. So I don't agree with intentionally going into an area and trying to trigger people.
On the other hand, this is community property. Again, who is to say who is welcome and who is not. Many of these people are Seattlites but not from these particular blocks. Why is your voice and your ideology more welcome than others? This isn't private property, supposedly.
Also, like I said, I think conversations are necessary. Why form a MOB around this person and not just invite them to the Conversation Cafe? Here is where I see a distinct difference between CHAZ and PorcFest. I entered PorcFest as a full-on statist and everyone was so patient and willing to have a conversation to discuss my concerns about anarchy.
To be fair, I've seen right wingers react aggressively to 9/11 truthers. I've personally been harassed at a college football game for not standing for the National Anthem. (That was odd because I wasn't even trying to make a statement. I just really didn't care. Genuinely. I was a hardcore anarchist thinking this doesn't really pertain to me. I got back from the concession stand in the middle of the national anthem and didn't care to hurry up and put my hand over my heart and sing to a different God. My uncle, who disagrees with me a lot, had to come to my rescue. I'm more respectful now, but that religious devotion is still creepy.). I've only seen libertarians be aggressive assholes online. :P This behavior isn't unique to the left, but I do believe it's more prevalent and more intense in leftist circles.
I do not believe any of the MSM stories about what is happening in this zone.
And i really don't believe what i see written here.
This whole thing seems made up.
I don't know anyone who actually thinks like this writer.
If i took each sentence and plotted it on a left-right / gov.control-no gov. graph, then i would end up with something that looks like a shotgun blast.
Its all over the place.
My main contention is the voices of individuals that are trapped in the zone saying, as soon as they can, they are leaving.
The other issue is that things don't go as well as this in a commune.
A place set up specifically for this kind of thing.
So, i will keep reading stories, and maybe get some truth.
The only thing i know is that the police abandoned the precinct building.
The whole world isn't (and shouldn't) be perfectly mapped into left or right things. That's how the media portrays the world, but it's not realistic.
Not left right... this:
The writer makes statements that are at various positions on this graph. And that is not normal for one person to do.
I mean, I understand, but these are observations with what she's seeing. She's not arguing all sides. It's objectively right there on film.
Who is "trapped" in the zone? It's free to enter and exit. There is about an hours worth of video from yesterday in this post. You can see people coming and going freely.