Reminds me of 1886 The Haymarket Riot |
Reminds me of 1886 The Haymarket Riot
Survival in Tough Times: Take note of those who in 1886 or even today want the power to define fairness for themselves only;
Dr. Bruce Smith ——Bio and Archives--May 1, 2026
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News item: May 4, 1886, Chicago, Illinois. Only one day after a demonstration at the McCormick reaper works had turned deadly with two demonstrators killed, an open air labor rally for the 8-hour day drew a considerable crowd not far away at the Haymarket on West Randolph Street at the intersection with Des Plaines street. Most were employed at the McCormick reaper works.
Police were nearby in case things got out of hand. In the middle of one of the speeches, someone hurled a dynamite bomb into the crowd toward the policemen. The explosion and the melee that followed claimed the lives of seven policemen and four demonstrators. There were no photos taken of the demonstration or the explosion. Eight anarchists were arrested for the crime, and four were hanged for it. One received a prison sentence, two who received the death penalty had their sentences commuted to prison, and one died by suicide before the hanging.
News item: March 8, 2026, New York City. Two teenaged youths approached a demonstration in front of Gracie Mansion, home of New York’s mayor. Demonstrators both anti-Muslim and pro-Muslim were present, hoping to get the mayor’s attention on issues of the day. Two men aged 18 and 19 from Bucks County, PA attempted to detonate bombs at the rally. Neither bomb exploded. The incident was captured on film and the suspects quickly arrested. Charges have been filed in the case and both have pleaded not guilty. Maximum sentence in the case would be life in prison.
The two events make a remarkable parallel from then and now. For the 2026 demonstration there were dozens of phones and cameras recording different areas. When the alleged bomb thrower came up into the shot behind another person who was on camera, the result was the image above. Close your eyes, then open them slowly to look at the photo again. Picture yourself at the Haymarket on that May evening just 140 years ago. Notice the red flag that hangs limp beside the bomb thrower just as there were red flags and black flags at the Haymarket in 1886. It’s an urban setting, with many people feeling anonymous among crowds of strangers. Some are there advocating a cause, some are there to stare and hear the speakers, some just want to get home for the night, and some want to sow chaos and anarchy that will bring a revolution.
The anarchists and revolutionaries fervently believe that their wished-for revolution will give them a victory over the owners and bring the dawn of an ill-defined “social justice.” Their spiritual leader, Karl Marx, dead just three years that day, had written in the revolutionary year of 1848 that they must throw off their chains, that they had a world to win that could be theirs if they would just rise up and violently seize the levers of power.
When I close my eyes I can stand there on the edge of Haymarket Square in Chicago, on the edge of the........