As the screws turn ever tighter on Donald Trump and his Criminal Enterprise — and as they behave in ways that shock more and more Americans to the point of doing something — an ‘Old World’ Battle Cry will be heard: “Storming the Bastille”.
It’s come to mean ‘The People Seizing Power’. But that’s not really what happened. It did — sort of — just not that simple or uncomplicated. It’s French, ya know?
A good, snack-sized version of the Whole Story is here —
https://bonjourparis.com/history/real-story-sacking-bastille/
So, please, by all means — check my work!
The short version. It’s JULY 14, 1789. France’s economy is in the shitter. King Louis XVI calls for a new Estates General — the country’s ‘brain trust’: in addition to the Monarchy, the CLERGY is repped, THE NOBILITY is repped, landed gentry are repped & ‘the people’ are repped. Except ‘the people’ are unruly. They want things — a little fairness for starters. At the meeting called in Versaille for all these groups to hash out France’s future, the People get ‘uppity’ and get locked out of the Estates General.
The People form their own government. They create their own constitution. The standoff between The Government and those it governs grows icier. And then a ‘shot gets fired’ — we don’t who or why — just that it blew everything up.
When Louis XVI surrounded Paris with his army — a show of force meant to cow the people into submission, The People got angry. But they were afraid too: The King’s Army had guns. The People had nothing. But they knew where the King kept his weapons…
At one cafe, a journalist from the sticks got up on a table and shouted: “Aux armes, Citoyen!‘ (now part of ‘La Marseillaise’) — meaning ‘Let’s get the guns from Les Invalides!’
They did that. With no resistance, the People stole cannons and muskets. But, turned out, the King did not keep his GUNPOWDER with the munitions. Gunpowder, it turned out, was kept AT THE BASTILLE.
And that’s what the mob went to the Bastille looking for. Gun Powder. They also killed the guard outside the walls (after a long stand-off), STORMED THE BASTILLE and found a mere 7 prisoners (all rich guys) and all the gunpowder they needed.
Now — here’s the ironic part. Or, should I say, the more ironic part… Those now ‘weaponized’ weapons became the catalyst for all the extreme violence that followed. The French Revolution was far bloodier than the American Revolution. It was dirtier, nastier, all-in-all more ugly and disconnected from its core values. It was about revenge first, everything else a distant second.
The American People need to capture the spirit of ‘Storming The Bastille’ without getting any of the bullshit into their mouths. It’s do-able.
In our case, the gunpowder we’re seeking is THE TRUTH. I have a feeling that when we find it — put it out for all to see and hear — we like it. A lot.