Do people seem different than they were before the pandemic? Surlier, darker, more erratic? More unhinged? For instance, as nutty as Kanye has always been, loudly praising Hitler is a step too far even for him. When Alex Jones is the sanest man in a room, you really have to ask what the hell is happening.

As much as I want to sink into holiday coziness with some Bing Crosby and high-protein egg nog, there are some disturbing things happening, that might be portentous for 2023. And I’ll warn you in advance that you may want to skip the last story because it’s absolutely sickening, but I also think it’s one parents need to be aware of.

Christmas parade canceled due to threats

A story from my neck of the woods (and home of my alma mater, Western Kentucky University): the annual Christmas parade had to be rescheduled following threats of protests and violence against protestors that ties back to the lynching of Emmett Till.

The Emmett Till story is pretty infamous at this point, but I’ll recap in case you’re not familiar. In 1955, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant—a white woman in Mississippi—accused 14-year-old Emmett Till—a black teenager from Chicago—of flirting with her. Her husband and his half-brother kidnapped and murdered Till and were later acquitted.

To make a very long story short: she’s largely been in hiding ever since. A 1955 warrant for her arrest was recently unearthed, but a grand jury refused to indict her. However, now it’s been discovered that Carolyn Bryant—now Carolyn Bryant Donham—is living in Bowling Green. What I’ve heard through the grapevine is that she’s 88, in hospice, and living in her son’s apartment.

The protestors, who planned to show up armed, intended to protest at the apartment on Shive Lane demanding her arrest. Shive Lane is just across from Bowling Green’s main shopping area.

Authorities reported an unspecified threat to shoot the protestors and anyone helping them, which is why the parade was canceled.

The good news, such as it is, is that protests took place all over Bowling Green without any major incidents. There was one arrest for an outstanding warrant.

That said, I’m avoiding Bowling Green for now.

North Carolina blackout

Now on to a much more disturbing story out of North Carolina. This weekend, over 40,000 were left without power after multiple substations were sabotaged in Moore County, North Carolina. And the more we learn, the stranger the story gets.

Intel Point Alert @IntelPointAlert

DEVELOPING: Mass blackout after substations ‘sabotaged’ in Moore County, North Carolina #Moore l #NC Police confirm several substations have failed as a result of individuals shooting equipment throughout the county. 38,000+ residents remain without power at this time.

Emily Rainey, a former Army officer who resigned after appearing at the January 6th happening, indicated that she knew why the attack happened: to stop a (adults only) drag show. The police questioned her, but it’s unclear if she had any actual info or if she was merely attributing the blackout to divine providence.

charlotteclymer@mastodon.social @cmclymer

Emily Rainey, a former Army officer who resigned after the Army launched an investigation into her participation in the Jan. 6th attack, posted this about the power outage.

That angle seems to have been ruled out. Per The Pilot: “Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said investigators have found no evidence or reason to believe that the Saturday evening attack was tied to a controversial drag show in downtown Southern Pines. The power went out during the Downtown Divas show at the Sunrise Theater about an hour into the show.”

This much we do know: multiple substations were shot up in short order, indicating that this was a planned and organized attack. There were multiple reports of looting of gun stores and a Walmart during the blackout, but those rumors. Was the looting merely people taking advantage of the situation or was this planned?

Sunday night, a state of emergency was declared, along with a curfew. Many residents may not have power until Thursday.

This is the sort of attack that preppers have feared for years, and this demonstrates the fragility of our all-too-important electrical grid. Unfortunately, just as what happens with mass shootings, we need to be alert to the possibility of copycat attacks, because this sort of attack would be easy to replicate.

I’ll warn you, you may want to skip the last story if you have a sensitive constitution because it’s absolutely sickening.

Young girl murdered by a FedEx driver

As parents, my wife and I pride ourselves on not being overprotective “helicopter parents.” We try to give our kids room to roam and make their own mistakes. But then you read stories like this one and it makes you really question that.

Seven-year-old Athena Strand went missing last Wednesday in Paradise, Texas. Her body was found Friday after an extensive manhunt. The man who confessed to her murder was 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner, a FedEx driver.

There are a lot of package deliveries this time of year, and shipping companies are forced to bring on extra help to handle the load, and maybe some aren’t as vetted as well as they should be.

I don’t have great advice here, other than staying a bit more vigilant over the holidays while your neighborhood has more strangers than usual.

I have a one-year-old little girl and I don’t know what I’d do if someone hurt her. I’m reminded of the case of Marianne Bachmeier, a German woman who smuggled a gun into court and shot and killed her daughter’s murderer. She later served three years of a six-year sentence for manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. Frankly, I think she should have been given a medal and maybe a fine for a noise violation.

BEAThoven @paraNEWnormal

Marianne Bachmeier Salah, tp saya mendukung tindakan ini

I’ll reiterate what I said back during our Thanksgiving post: While we remain watchful of electrical saboteurs and murderous FexEx drivers, we should also do what we can to spread cheer, help the less fortunate, and drive back the darkness. Let’s try to find joy where we can and not let our awareness be our anathema.

Unprepared

Christmas Chaos