Jeffrey Rasley's Blog - Posts Tagged "pandemic"
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Anarchist, Republican... Assassin, a political novel, is inspired by the protests and unrest that spread across the US following the killing of George Floyd. The protagonist, Mr. Blair, is in federal custody explaining to his ACLU attorney why he committed the crime which has landed him in prison. His attorney learns that Mr. Blair is a 70 year-old retired, businessman, and Republican, who was an anarchist revolutionary for five years during his late teens and early twenties. The crime Mr. Blair is charged with committing is not revealed until near the end of the book. So that his attorney will fully understand why he committed the crime, Mr. Blair tells her his life story.
Mr. Blair was radicalized by the demonstration, which turned into a riot, at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. He joined an organization dedicated to revolutionary anarchism. The organization’s primary strategy was to turn peaceful demonstrations against the Viet Nam War and for civil rights into violent clashes with cops. Blair was a true believer in the cause and was trained by the organization to engage in combat with police and bait demonstrators into fighting police, vandalizing property, and looting.
Blair began to lose faith in the organization when he was assigned to instigate racist protesters to attack innocent by-standers during the Boston schools desegregation protests in 1974. He left the organization under threat of retribution against his parents, if he ever ratted out members of the organization. Blair complied by never revealing to anyone, including his wife and two children, his involvement with the organization.
He went to college, graduated with a degree in business, joined the company owned by his fraternity brother’s father, and married the boss’s daughter. Blair rose quickly within the business, joined prestigious local clubs in Indianapolis, and established himself as a stalwart member of the social elite of the city. After thirty-five years of loving and companionable marriage, Blair’s wife died of cancer at age fifty-seven.
Blair descended into a deep depression after his wife’s death, but he climbed out of it and felt rejuvenated by joining Jeb Bush’s campaign for President in 2016. He was furious when the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump, because Blair thinks Trump is unfit to be President. Trump’s narcissistic and offensive behavior in office confirms Blair’s opinion of the 45th President. Blair is plagued by cycles of rage and depression as he witnesses Trump’s daily lies and childishness on television.
Blair is alone in his mansion during the corona virus lock-down. Trump’s daily television briefings infuriate Blair. He blames Trump for incompetently handling the pandemic. When the demonstrations and riots began after the May 25, 2020 killing of George Floyd, Blair experiences PTSD symptoms. Seeing images on television just like the riots he participated in from 1968 through 1974 drives him over the brink into madness. In a psychotic state Blair attempts, but fails, to assassinate President Trump. He is arrested and charged with attempting to murder the President.
The government engages in an elaborate conspiracy to cover up the attempted assassination. Media coverage of a prominent Republican driven mad by the President’s deplorable behavior is considered a threat to Trump’s reelection. What happens to Blair in prison is the denouement to his personal journey and the conspiracy to cover up the embarrassing attempted assassination.
Anarchist, Republican... Assassin, a political novel, is inspired by the protests and unrest that spread across the US following the killing of George Floyd. The protagonist, Mr. Blair, is in federal custody explaining to his ACLU attorney why he committed the crime which has landed him in prison. His attorney learns that Mr. Blair is a 70 year-old retired, businessman, and Republican, who was an anarchist revolutionary for five years during his late teens and early twenties. The crime Mr. Blair is charged with committing is not revealed until near the end of the book. So that his attorney will fully understand why he committed the crime, Mr. Blair tells her his life story.
Mr. Blair was radicalized by the demonstration, which turned into a riot, at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. He joined an organization dedicated to revolutionary anarchism. The organization’s primary strategy was to turn peaceful demonstrations against the Viet Nam War and for civil rights into violent clashes with cops. Blair was a true believer in the cause and was trained by the organization to engage in combat with police and bait demonstrators into fighting police, vandalizing property, and looting.
Blair began to lose faith in the organization when he was assigned to instigate racist protesters to attack innocent by-standers during the Boston schools desegregation protests in 1974. He left the organization under threat of retribution against his parents, if he ever ratted out members of the organization. Blair complied by never revealing to anyone, including his wife and two children, his involvement with the organization.
He went to college, graduated with a degree in business, joined the company owned by his fraternity brother’s father, and married the boss’s daughter. Blair rose quickly within the business, joined prestigious local clubs in Indianapolis, and established himself as a stalwart member of the social elite of the city. After thirty-five years of loving and companionable marriage, Blair’s wife died of cancer at age fifty-seven.
Blair descended into a deep depression after his wife’s death, but he climbed out of it and felt rejuvenated by joining Jeb Bush’s campaign for President in 2016. He was furious when the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump, because Blair thinks Trump is unfit to be President. Trump’s narcissistic and offensive behavior in office confirms Blair’s opinion of the 45th President. Blair is plagued by cycles of rage and depression as he witnesses Trump’s daily lies and childishness on television.
Blair is alone in his mansion during the corona virus lock-down. Trump’s daily television briefings infuriate Blair. He blames Trump for incompetently handling the pandemic. When the demonstrations and riots began after the May 25, 2020 killing of George Floyd, Blair experiences PTSD symptoms. Seeing images on television just like the riots he participated in from 1968 through 1974 drives him over the brink into madness. In a psychotic state Blair attempts, but fails, to assassinate President Trump. He is arrested and charged with attempting to murder the President.
The government engages in an elaborate conspiracy to cover up the attempted assassination. Media coverage of a prominent Republican driven mad by the President’s deplorable behavior is considered a threat to Trump’s reelection. What happens to Blair in prison is the denouement to his personal journey and the conspiracy to cover up the embarrassing attempted assassination.
Anarchist, Republican... Assassin
If you are interested in learning whether "outside agitators" intentionally turn peaceful protests violent, read the first chapter of Anarchist, Republican... Assassin". It describes how anarchists are trained to disrupt peaceful demonstrations and the techniques used to bait police into over-reacting. It provides historical information dating back to the "police riot" at the 1968 Democratic Convention and to recent riots following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
I saw it close up in D.C. in 1970 and NOLA in 71. One of the anarchists, who was tasked with trying to turn demonstrations in NOLA into riots, described their tactics to me. He told me he was traveling around the country trying to turn civil rights and antiwar protests into violent confrontations with cops. That was one of the "inspirations" for the book.
I saw it close up in D.C. in 1970 and NOLA in 71. One of the anarchists, who was tasked with trying to turn demonstrations in NOLA into riots, described their tactics to me. He told me he was traveling around the country trying to turn civil rights and antiwar protests into violent confrontations with cops. That was one of the "inspirations" for the book.
Contemporary Historical Fictions
A poignant story of love and idealism spanning the social upheaval of the 1960s and the 2020 Pandemic
https://www.amazon.com/Anarchist-Repu...
https://www.amazon.com/Anarchist-Repu...
