Rantz: Seattle activist says buildings ‘perpetulating’ violence, so destroy them

After vandalizing another Starbucks, one Seattle activist justifies the destruction by claiming buildings are “perpetulating” violence against people. Plus, the company funds the Seattle police and uses slave labor!

It’s the latest loony (and demonstrably false) claim coming from fringe activists terrorizing a city into bending to their will.

And for those keeping track, speech is violence — but so is silence! Now, buildings are violence. With so many buildings in Seattle, I imagine activists always feel under assault. No wonder they always seem so triggered.

Rantz: Defund Seattle police activists are acting like terrorists

‘Perpetulating’ violence

A small group of extremists marched to the site of the new juvenile detention center. Previously, rioters burned down five construction trailers before their attack against police at the East Precinct.

On the way back to Capitol Hill, the criminals demanded people stop filming their actions so they could re-vandalize a Starbucks already boarded up from their previous destruction. The activists tagged the property with anti-police smears, calling cops “pigs.” You know, the standard, lazy, dimwitted insults by kids picked last in gym class.

Before "peaceful" Seattle protesters vandalize property, they demand you stop filming so they can get away with their crimes. Then they rely on friendly councilmembers like @CMTMosqueda to defend their actions and some media outlets to pretend none of this really happens much. pic.twitter.com/SGRjiLscL0

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 4, 2020

When they were done, a friend of mine who was decidedly turned off by the vandalism, recorded the damage. A green-haired activist on a bike approached him with a flyer that justified the criminal behavior. My friend wasn’t interested in a flier, so the activist explained why what they did was OK.

“‘Cause there are a lot of buildings that are perpetulating [sic] a lot of violence against a lot people, and we’re actually smashing people, right?” the activist explained seriously.

Not following me on Twitter is violence. Follow @JasonRantz

My friend, having a college degree and more than a basic understanding of sound logic and reason, rejected the justification. He told them the baristas who work at Starbucks, who now won’t have a shift to come back to after the constant damage to the building, probably aren’t down with the man’s justifications. Apparently, my friend was wrong to assume.

“I know some of them and they’re happy about it!” the activist claimed. “You might not, but a lot of people see how many people Starbucks hurts, right, by funding SPD, by using prison labor, which is slave labor.”

A "peaceful" Seattle protester explains why it's okay to destroy Starbucks and other businesses: "Cuz there are a lot of buildings that are perpetulating* a lot of violence against a lot people, and we're actually smashing people, right?"

*this isn't a word. pic.twitter.com/dPVxyCDbpj

— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 4, 2020

Completely false claims debunked

Starbucks doesn’t “fund the SPD,” but they did donate to the Seattle Police Foundation in 2019.

“In 2019, we provided funding to support the SPD with Implicit Bias training and their 2019 Banquet gala,” a spokesperson told the Daily Mail. “We previously had a partner [employee] on the [SPD] board who is no longer with Starbucks and as of today we have no one representing Starbucks on the Seattle Police Foundation Board.”

This is hardly funding the SPD.

And no, Starbucks doesn’t use “prison labor” in their operations. The activist likely bases the false information on a viral meme that made the claim. It says: “Through a loophole in the 13th amendment, slavery has survived via mandatory unpaid prison labor as ‘punishment for crime.’ These are just a few of the big companies exploiting prison labor.” It lists Starbucks.

Shocking: The meme isn’t true. Indeed, the meme has been flagged by Facebook for being false.

Politifact debunked the meme in detail. They wrote: “Starbucks said it does not use prison or forced labor of any kind and has a zero-tolerance policy on the use of prison, child or forced labor by suppliers. The policy also applies to contractors and subcontractors, the company said.”

In fairness, it seems unreasonable to think a dude claiming buildings are “perpetulating” violence against people has much of a knowledge bank beyond a bumper sticker or a Facebook and Instagram meme.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter and Instagram or like me on Facebook. 

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