There’s been thousands of miles of destruction all across the west coast. And as agitated and polarized as we are, political narratives have emerged—the wildfire being a fresh setting for a well known story.
Backgrounded by a year of riots, protest, Molotov cocktails, and destruction plenty, the right-wing story is that Antifa have began setting forest fires. Of course, if you’ve been watching clips of rioters throwing firebombs all summer, that’s not a particular difficult story to believe. In fact, that would make perfect sense. This tweet about sums it up:
The left wing story, on the other hand, is that there are swaths of right-wing QAnon conspiracists terrorizing the community (either out of malice, stupidity, or both).
Part of the story I’m seeing on the left is that the right-wingers are poor whites who buy into this because they’re gullible and/or uneducated. The New York Times’ characterization of one such person shows this frame quite clearly:
“I’m protecting my city,” Troy McNeeley said as he stood in front of the 900-square foot home he shares with his son, his son’s partner and several cats. “If I see people doing crap, I’m going to hurt them.”
Here’s a rough breakdown of these narratives:
It’s not my place to take any normative position with this project, but I think this wildfire disaster is, in reality, a non-partisan tragedy. So you’re so inclined, here’s a link to where you can donate to the relief fund.
Further Reading:
Jeff Acord, Black Lives Matter Supporter, Streamed His Arrest While Filming Washington Fire - Heavy.com
Man charged with arson in connection with Almeda Fire in southern Oregon - ABC News
Arson suspect arrested after allegedly starting multiple fires in Spokane on Monday - KHQ News
That’s all for now!