What I wrote here 5 years ago
I had something else all set, and then this announcement came through ...
Quick note — I heard from several readers who had trouble with the formatting on yesterday’s Big Optimism newsletter. I’m not sure why this is a problem again, but I’m working on it. Thank you for letting me know!
News broke yesterday that in addition to the California National Guard, we’re now sending 700 Marines to Los Angeles as part of the military response to the unrest over immigration arrests.
I felt like maybe I’d heard this story before?
Then I realized: Wait, I actually wrote part of that story here before.
It turns out that literally 5 years ago, almost to the day — when this newsletter had only about 2,000 subscribers (we’re at 155,000 now, after a few big list-cleanings) — I shared the story of a miscommunication between Marines and police during the 1992 Los Angeles riots that could have had deadly consequences.
I’m going to quote a lot of it here almost verbatim:
During the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, President George H.W. Bush sent 4,000 U.S. Marines (plus an Army infantry task force) to back up the local police. This was done at the request of both the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of California.
There’s a story (opens as .pdf, go to page 135) from that time about miscommunication that has a lot of relevance for today — even more than I first realized, in fact.
Two police officers were being trailed by a squad of Marines, when they were called to a domestic dispute. Someone inside the house fired birdshot at the cops, and one of the police officers turned to the Marines, yelling, “Cover me!”
The cop meant: Point your weapons at the house, ready to fire if a threat appears.
But to the Marines, this two-word command apparently meant: Open fire on the house (“covering fire” or “suppressive fire”), to keep everyone's heads down inside.
The Marines did as they’d been trained. They lit the place up, reportedly firing as many as 200 rounds.
Luckily, miraculously, nobody was hurt. But miscommunication like that can easily have tragic results—and often does.
I was writing five years ago in the context of the alphabet soup of law enforcement agencies that were responding to protests and riots in Washington State at the time.
Among them: the Secret Service, U.S. Park Police, Bureau of Prisons, DEA, DHS, ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals, National Guard, active duty troops from the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain divisions, and quite a few others.
Having that many armed people in a tense situation, if they can’t communicate to each other well, just sounds risky. It’s even more dangerous, given that many haven’t been wearing identifiable uniforms with their agencies, names or badge numbers displayed.
The more I’ve thought about miscommunication though, the more it hit me that there’s a much bigger theme here. It’s not just the cops and the military. As Americans in 2020, many of us hear different things, even when we speak the same words.
People’s ideologies now are a big part of their identities. Folks used to joke about “mixed marriages” — a Republican who married a Democrat, for example. That’s really hard to imagine today.
And hard to communicate. People don’t only disagree; they literally can’t understand how the other side could possibly think as they do.
The more things change, right?
I went on to describe another story, briefly, that I’ve also told a lot over the years. It’s the academic theory that President Harry S. Truman accidentally authorized the second atomic bomb on Japan due to a miscommunication.
In short, Truman gave the go-ahead for the first bomb, dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, but the military had told him in writing that it’s next bomb “of tested type” wouldn’t be ready until August 24.
The memo neglected to mention that there was also an “untested” bomb that was ready to go.
So, Truman thought he had a few weeks to make a decision—and only learned of the existence of the second bomb after the military dropped it on Nagasaki on August 9.
We’ll probably never know for sure if this theory is right, but we do know that immediately after hearing about the second atomic bomb, Truman ordered that no more bombs could be dropped without his express authorization.
Anyway, that was me five years ago writing about events that took place in 1992 and 1945. And yet the way I ended the newsletter then does a pretty good job of portraying my feeling now, too:
Frankly, it seems like we’re all in the midst of a sea change. I’m optimistic. But I’m the process, miscommunication, polarization and ideology are a dangerous mix.
I was going to end on a high note, and write that, “of course, maybe the stakes aren’t quite as high now as they were for the Marines in Los Angeles or for Truman and the military.”
But you know what? That’s beginning to feel a bit like wishful thinking.
I promise: Tomorrow’s newsletter will be more fun.
7 other things worth your time
California sued the U.S. government saying the state’s sovereignty was “trampled” by President Donald Trump when he ordered National Guard troops to the immigration protests in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Trump joined in the threats to arrest Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” Newsom said. (AP)
Khaby Lame, an Italian-Senegalese influencer with the most-followed TikTok account in the world, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for immigration violations. He was released eventually on condition of voluntary departure. (USA Today)
Elon Musk’s team at the U.S. DOGE Service and allies in the Trump administration ignored experts worried about potential security breaches when DOGE personnel installed Musk’s Starlink internet service, including a terminal on the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. Officials weren’t able to monitor such connections to stop sensitive information from leaving the complex or hackers from breaking in, according to sources. (The Washington Post)
Warner Bros. Discovery, grappling with declines in its overall business, said Monday it planned to divide the company into two publicly-traded entities, one devoted to streaming and content production and one devoted to traditional television. (Variety)
Best-selling author Frederick Forsyth, known for thriller novels including The Day Of The Jackal, has died at the age of 86, his agent has said. "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," Jonathan Lloyd said in a statement. (BBC)
From fatwas to 'Fortnite': Saudi Arabia's $38-billion play to rule esports. (LA Times)
You’ve Heard of Fine Wine. Now Meet Fine Water: Bottled waters from small, pristine sources are attracting a lot of buzz, with tastings, sommeliers and even water cellars. (New York Times)
Thanks for reading. See you in the comments. (Those ought to be fun today!)
Hi Bill. Thanks for this article (what I wrote 5 years ago). I think we need people taking and sharing a bigger perspective like this about whats happening right now. It's our best chance to have a hope of figuring out ways to tweak/change things that won't actually make them worse...
I was triggered to comment by your promise that tomorrow's email would be "more fun". I got both emails back to back this morning (?) so made a point to go read it before commenting (we lost every game soccer story ;-).
Yes, it was more fun. But if I had to choose,the 5-years-ago miscommunication story is more important. Not as fun, and the soccer story has applicable messages for right now, but knowing more about right now will help us apply the "more fun" communication messages better... And in the big picture, understanding the reality of right now needs to be the priority. Again, to help us be able to take steps to make things better in the big picture.
Sorry if this sounds kinda preachy. I want it to sound heart-felt...
I am frightened by the implications of what's happening in California.
I'm in Canada.
What's happening in California matters. For everyone.
Miscommunication begins with the media and left wing politicians telling America that this is another peaceful protest. Meanwhile, cars are being set on fire, police vehicles have had bricks dropped on them from highway overpasses and the cops themselves are being assaulted. When gaslighting stops miscommunication will take a huge hit. For now though, I'm all for the military presence where leadership fails to protect its people from violence.