There aren’t that many daring “street activist” conservatives in Philadelphia who’ve adopted an in-your-face style that’s decidedly leftist in its energy. So when 22-year old Frank Scales of South Philadelphia came on the scene and made it his mission to observe and attempt to interview left-wing protesters at city demonstrations, my hope was that there was a legion of other 22-year-olds behind him.
Scales’s video confrontations with Larry Krasner — often short reels with Krasner dressed in a goofy bicycle helmet — are by now well known. Just as are his interactions with woke activists who police their own demonstrations in order to keep people like Scales out, barring all chances of dialogue.
Philadelphia, as many have already said, seems to be in a race to become the east coast version of Minneapolis. It may even outdo that city at some point.
I’ve never met Scales, and I don’t know whether I would find him a “nice” person if that ever happened, but I certainly like what he does. Of course, Scales’s street interviews really aren’t that at all unless he catches Krasner by surprise. Krasner at least engages with him, but the lefties parading their latest grievance near City Hall, the folks who think ICE should be abolished and that all the illegals in the country should be granted instant citizenship, have taken a community vow not to speak with the “enemy.”
Have you noticed that lefty activists are like this the world over? Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, New York: they all turn their backs on right wing/conservative journalists and commentators if approached, but if one free spirit among them does manage to speak, that person is quickly taken to task by a protester monitor who reminds them they are not to talk to the enemy.
In video after video, we see Scales being refused conversations as he goes from one person to the next. His running commentary saves the day, however, yet we still have to ask: Is Scales involved in a useless endeavor like poor Sisyphus in Greek mythology?
I don’t think so. For far too long these lefty protesters have laid claim to the streets of Philadelphia. They think Philly is “theirs.”
As an illustration of how bad things are, I should rephrase: in Philly you’re likely to find a woke activist anywhere, even in church.
So, yes, I met a guy at church, a quiet, polite, intelligent guy who told me he was one of the participants in the I-95 Floyd protests where police were forced to use tear gas because the protesters were blocking the highway. With a perfectly straight face, he told me he believed that what he was doing then was in tune with Christianity and the Gospel message, despite the fact that these were the same rioters who blew up ATM machines in Fishtown and Port Richmond and burned a building near the McDonald’s restaurant in Center City to the ground, causing the permanent closure of the only McDonald’s in Center City.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
The left thinks they have Philly in the palm of their hand, but when they see somebody like Scales — as old as many of them are and dressed like them too — they freak out. Same Philly accent, same knit hat, same in-your-face-bravery, same dedication and fervor. The left in Philly is used to conservatives being like Thacher Longstreth: a man with white hair in a suit who tends to only engage in board rooms.
They also believe any opinion contrary to what they believe should be labeled hate. (This attitude is documented in Peter Fritzsche’s book, ‘Hitler’s First Hundred Days,’ about the Nazi rise to power because of their unrelenting militancy. As Hitler told the Daily Mail, “I want no softies in my movement. I want fanatics.”)
Let’s not forget 22-year-old Paulina Reyes, with her dark hair and horn-rimmed glasses. She’s a film and communications major at Community College of Philadelphia, and she fits the liberal female stereotype to a T. Hired by WHYY as an intern, she winds up writing a few pieces for Billy Penn.
WHYY’s internship program advertises itself as “an enriching internship program for individuals fervent about public media, storytelling and community engagement.”
One day Reyes sees Frank Scales on a bus and she takes that “community engagement’ thing to the max. She attempts to grab his phone and then pepper sprays him in the face while screaming leftist slogans: Racist! Fascist! Is this a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown? No, this is what leftist politics can do to a young girl who was probably sweet and charming not so long ago, but somehow the left morphed her into a shipwreck of sorts.
Although Reyes was arrested for the assault, a GoFundMe campaign was set up in her honor. Labeled “Stop Hate; Help Paulina Stay Safe and Stable,” the campaign goes on to explain:
“Paulina was harassed in public by a far-right agitator known as Frank Scales who is affiliated with a group called ‘Surge Philly.’”
Yet in every video of that bus encounter it is plainly evident that it is Paulina who seeks out Scales, as Scales attempts to shield himself from her assaults. Of course, being a man, Scales had to control himself; unleashing masculine dominance in the physical sphere would not have helped his cause.
Postscript: Things are heating up in Philly.
Last week I came across a Facebook post from a certain bar in the city, condemning ICE and calling for its abolition. I posted my opposition with a few colorful memes from my photo gallery, all in support of ICE. This is something a zillion people do on a daily basis when it comes to debates about ICE. Now, I’ve always liked this bar. I’ve read a few poems there at sponsored gatherings, and I’ve interviewed the owner for a number of publications over the years. He has always been a fine gentleman.
A day after my post I received a phone voicemail message from the bar telling me the staff no longer wishes to serve me, and that I should not have posted such “hate.”
Hate? I love the hamburgers there, yet I confess the pub’s interior has always made me think of Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned in the Tower of London.
But “hate” in this day and age course is anything they – the left – doesn’t agree with. As Hitler said, “I want fanatics.”
