Fascists chanting “go back to your safe space!” as they stand behind a line of cops in riot gear is something else.
— Cat Síth (@HeadphoneSpace) August 5, 2018
Good pictures from the Oregonian here: https://t.co/78GDwGTdtv
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) August 5, 2018
I couldn’t figure out why the “Proud Flesh Bois” and their “Patriot Prey-er” buddies picked last weekend for their cosplay riot, until I found this Daily Beast article by Corey Pein:
Hundreds of armed supporters of President Donald Trump, led by a fringe Republican congressional candidate, marched on Saturday, leaving blood from scattered street fights in their wake.
Ostensibly a campaign event for long-shot U.S. Senate hopeful Joey Gibson, members of his group Patriot Prayer urged the president to lock up his political opponents, including Hillary Clinton, and promised violent retribution for anyone who threatened their right to “free speech” or armed self-defense. Groups of Trump supporters swarmed through the streets, singling out people of color to fight, some of whom appeared to belong to small vigilante squads of local anti-fascists, as well as others who appeared to be mere passersby. Police announced four arrests, but gave no estimate of injuries.
Extremist group watchdogs such as the Southern Poverty Law Center warned ahead of the event that it could turn into “another Charlottesville.” It did not, but only in the sense that no one was killed. Such warnings, prompted by Gibson’s provocations, put all eyes on the rally…
His supporters flocked from around the West Coast and the country, a contingent of Proud Boys, “Three Percenter” militia members, Trump-supporting bikers, fundamentalist Christians, and college Republicans. Gibson had insinuated that his supporters would bring guns into the city and many apparently did, although to comply with local ordinances, the weapons stayed stowed in backpacks…
you gotta admire the dedication it takes for the proud boys to show up completely outnumbered and get their asses kicked every time they crossed the street and then try to spin it as a win because the cops shot a tear gas grenade at a counter-protester’s head
— frank furtschool (@kulturalmarx) August 5, 2018
Per the local Oregonian, today:
A traumatic brain injury. Third-degree chemical burns. Open wounds.
At least three people who gathered to protest a rally by right-wing group Patriot Prayer were hospitalized Saturday because of injuries sustained from crowd-control munitions fired by Portland police, according to activists, counter-protest organizers and a media report.
The city’s police chief, Danielle Outlaw, on Monday offered her most passionate defense yet of officer tactics used to keep the rival poetical factions apart.
Police succeeded in preventing violent clashes between armed demonstrators that many had feared, she said…
“It was going to be a very rowdy, physically violent ruckus and it was not that because of the actions that the officers took,” Outlaw said…
Protests again convulse Portland, Ore., as groups on the right and left face off https://t.co/AtUV7b76sL
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) August 5, 2018
Just realized what a crappy screenshot I got before. Here's a better still of when Infowars' Owen Shroyer threw a Nazi salute and stuck his tongue out as counter demonstrators directed their "Nazis go home" chant at him. pic.twitter.com/OIhwbUfuYG
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 6, 2018
Other observation: For lack of a better word, I'd say it looked like some of these cops were having fun. Observe this sequence where after police found their opportunity to fire a paint ball type round at antifa, they grinned at eachother. pic.twitter.com/Hbyz8lVQXp
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) August 5, 2018
November can’t come soon enough. A blue wave won’t “crush” this septic seepage, but it will discourage the bandwagoners who just show up ‘for the lulz’ and enpower the sane people to start dismantling the far-right authoritarian elements of the current maladministration, nationally and locally.
It used to be easy to tell right wing from antifa at these events. One side favored faux military and supremacist chic, the other looked like Ninja wannabes. Now they're starting to resemble the police and each other.
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) August 5, 2018
Fortunately, RW and Antifa carry a lot of flags and banners. pic.twitter.com/pw3yYZkzXw
— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) August 5, 2018
debbie
Who exactly is the septic seepage? It seems the cops are contenders for that award.
Mnemosyne
I still don’t understand why the Portland cops allow alleged “protesters” to carry weapons like shields and spears. I mean, other than actually wanting a riot to start. What is the public rationale for that, and could local residents get the laws changed to ban shields and spears and helmets at protests?
Anne Laurie
@debbie:
The violent authoritarians, who at this point seem to be a joint endeavor of the fascists and the cops.
Beautifulplumage
Gibson is running WA state for senator…lives in Vancouver WA, just over the bridge from Portland. Asshole was too lazy to hold his “rally” in the state he lives.
Omnes Omnibus
Just saying….
Beautifulplumage
*running in WA*
Anne Laurie
@Beautifulplumage: Not much national media in Vancouver WA, and if he tried to bus in followers, half of them would end up in custody at the Canadian border. Besides, Portland has its own notorious history as a “proud” refuge for violent white men… which also helps explain the problem with Portland cops.
The Other Bob
I still dont understand why I am supposed to oppose anyone who kicks some Nazi’s ass. Didnt we used to call similar guys the “greatest generation”?
Beautifulplumage
@Anne Laurie: I’ll just assume you’re mixing up Vancouvers. No Canadian borders between WA version and Oregon. : )
Mnemosyne
@The Other Bob:
Well, until the McCarthy Era, when some of them started being called “prematurely anti-fascist.” ?
Omnes Omnibus
@The Other Bob: Who says you should?
Mike J
@Beautifulplumage:
They tried to set up parking in a Fred Meyer parking lot and then bus people in. Freddy had a dozen tow trucks lined up and ready to impound cars so they had to go elsewhere.
Martin
See Don, that wasn’t so hard.
Amir Khalid
Hmm.
Does Chief Outlaw (now there’s an ironic name) offer an explanation for her officers’ reported partiality toward the right-wing marchers?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: Not unless the Canadians took sovereignty of the Columbia River.
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
There once was a Klan from Nantucket….
Poetical factions–good people rhyming on both sides.
Martin
@Amir Khalid: Better cosplay?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: On time visiting Fresno, there were signs saying “Lawless for Sheriff”.
rikyrah
Oliver Willis (@owillis) Tweeted:
Race relations are in trouble in America because a majority of us elected a black president and about 30% of you have proceeded to have a public meltdown over it now in it’s 10th year. If you could grow the fuck up and acknowledge the humanity of non-white people it’d be nice. https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1025983085945520128?s=17
craigie
@Beautifulplumage:
I assumed this was a joke, as in, his supporters are so dumb, they would try to go to the wrong Vancouver.
Amir Khalid
By the way, why are there Vancouvers in both Washington state and British Columbia? Are they something like the Kansas Cities in Kansas and Missouri?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: No, Vancouver, B.C. is in the southern part of British Columbia; Vancouver, WA is at the southern border of the state. Let’s just say Vancouver got around alot.
BruceFromOhio
And so it begins.
Jay
@Amir Khalid:
Captain Vancouver, a British Explorer
BruceFromOhio
@rikyrah: This. Shit rates clicks.
maya
@Amir Khalid:
Joey Gibson and friends had a permit for the march to the waterfront. That may have been part of the reason. Reverse the situation and you’d expect the cops to keep the protesters out of reach.
Amir Khalid
@maya:
The cops wound up siding with the violent people. Somehow, that just seems wrong.
Doug R
@Anne Laurie:
Little known fact-Oregon’s method for dealing with the slave/free state dilemma was to prohibit blacks from living in the state. The first laws were passed in 1845, they weren’t rescinded until 1922: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/07/when-portland-banned-blacks-oregons-shameful-history-as-an-all-white-state/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5a6efc1eca16
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
From my online conversations with them, I get the sense that they don’t give a fuck about elections because they don’t really value the democratic process, just power.
The Dangerman
@maya:
I’m for freedom of assembly and free speech and all, but, maybe, if these people want to play Nazi, maybe it’s best we let them play with themselves.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Martin:
I imagine getting a death threat live on C-Span probably has had something to do with this
Amir Khalid
“From Hell’s mouth, I stick my tongue out at thee! I flip thee the bird!” Sad.
Это курам на смех
A popular nickname here in Portland for our more conservative neighbor Vancouver is “Vantucky.”
It’s a great place for tax dodgers. They pay no state income tax and do most of their shopping here because we have no sales tax.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@The Dangerman:
No, they need to be continually challenged by large numbers of counter-protesters. The key is to not attack them physically, no matter how satisfying it would be or how deserving they are of such. It would play right into their hands. They want to be attacked so they can play victim.
Villago Delenda Est
The organizers of the fascists arranged for a bus to take their thugs from a Fred Meyer parking lot to Portland. The catch is, the thugs parked in Freddy’s Parking lot. The parking lot is for customers only. Freddy’s arranged for the cars of the thugs to be towed away to a $1000 impound lot.
(Insert Nelson Ha-ha here)
OT: The damn nym/email fill is broken again.
Doug R
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Also, the capital of British Columbia, Victoria is on Vancouver Island. Vancouver, BC is on the Mainland. Vancouver WA is on the opposite shore of the Columbia river from Portland, OR.
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Vancouver,+WA,+USA/@47.4269251,-123.7131235,7z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5495af63c85914f9:0x8456d5112c91e3f3!8m2!3d45.6355146!4d-122.55783
Beautifulplumage
@Mike J: I heard about that. Any idea where they ended up leaving their vehicles*?
(I imagine some have cosplay transportation, and heaven forbid we call them mere cars)
OT: been sailing on the lake much in this nice weather?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@The Other Bob:
Antifa is certainly the lesser of the two evils.
Villago Delenda Est
@Doug R: The eternal shame of Oregon.
The Dangerman
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Which is why one has to go to extremes to prevent it. My extreme is stay home, point at them on the TV, and laugh at them..
Doug R
@Beautifulplumage: Looks like they moved their cars to a place called Marine Park: https://www.columbian.com/news/2018/aug/04/patriot-prayer-vancouver-meeting-point-moved-hundreds-head-to-portland/
trollhattan
@Amir Khalid:
One Vancouver looks like this. The other does not.
Vancouver B.C. is the prettiest major West Coast city by a long shot.
Amir Khalid
On a different topic:
Browsing my favourite online market, I saw a Chinese-made copy of the famous double-necked Gibson EDS-1275 guitar used by Jimmy Page, on sale for an amazing RM999 (about US250). But I wasn’t tempted, I promise — well, not really.
No One of Consequence
I begin to consider, fleetingly toying with the thought that a good satirist / political Hopkido master could structure an argument for a Bloodless Civil War. We can’t and shouldn’t cede any of the military, nuclear reactors/power/fuel, but they can have all the pistols, blunderbusses, long-guns, ninja swords, small arms they can wet-dream about. Everything else provided by the United States Federal Government, well that gets cut off. Their disability checks, their internet, they have to maintain their own roads, their own military, all that.
They can all be Trump Supporters, of any stripe. (They can work it out amongst themselves about the Trump supporters of anyone less than toilet-paper-pale, and their role in their Brave New Society.)
I’d be inclined to help them move. Suggest they would really like the south, and it is their Ancestral Home of Heritage not Hate — and then let Climate Change do the rest.
And if they get collectively too uppity down there, we can do a Sherman’s March to the Salty Waters re-enactment?
If it wasn’t such sacrilege to consider, if it weren’t for Lincoln and the others who saw the necessity of maintaining the Union, if it weren’t for the service of our military, if it weren’t for all that; the level of hate and vitriol astounds me. Sickens me. I want them all to live together, to continue inbreeding and fostering, festering hate. And I want to give them the means of their own violent self-destruction: guns enough to choke on. Build a wall around the whole thing and just be ready to piss-pound them flat if they get out of their box.
I wonder if my ancestors who fought in the original Civil War thought that way about their enemies. I would hazard to guess that even then they didn’t view their fellow countrymen with such disdain and hatred.
‘Tis a silly dream, but it seems more reasonable to consider by the passing day.
Peace to everyone, and Courage to make it through to the other side of all this, and hug your doggos,
– NOoC
Doug R
The Pacific Northwest was “explored” by British and Spanish. Which helps to explain the preponderance of British and Spanish place names with a few indigenous names thrown in. For example Tacoma is the native word for the volcano the British named Ranier which is fed by subduction in the Juan De Fuca plate. Mt St Helens and Mt Hood near Portland are in the same volcanic chain.
Mike J
@Beautifulplumage:
Went to Seafair Friday, and tomorrow night is race night.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Is there a GAS group in KL?
Beautifulplumage
@Amir Khalid: When we like a name we really like a name! Portland Oregon across the continent from Portland Maine. South of Seattle is Des Moines, not to be confused with that place in Iowa. My birth town is Verona, not the one in Italy. And, the original settler landing for Seattle. was named New York Alki. Alki = “by and by” in the local language.
Doug R
@Doug R: Mt Rainier. Edit window is being weird, doesn’t overlay.
Heywood J.
Danielle Outlaw? So this is a Pynchon novel after all.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Doug R:
In fact, the Cascades extend all the way to Lassen Peak in northern California.
Mike G
The city’s police chief, Danielle Outlaw
You can’t make this shit up.
Portland cops continue their reputation as lawless over-violent assholes with a curious sympathy for right-wing criminals.
Doug R
@Beautifulplumage:
I heard the original settlers chose Alki beach which at first glance seems nice. After a cold windy winter, the indigenous showed them a nicer spot right where downtown Seattle is now.
Anne Laurie
@Beautifulplumage:
You think the average rent-a-bus company knows from Vancouver, WA?
And if they did, why would anyone want to go there, when Vancouver Canada is such a well-known tourist magnet?
maya
@The Dangerman: I quite agree. These idiots are given too much air with these confrontations. Ignore them and they have none. As it was when they got to the waterfront park destination they really didn’t have much to say. The whole march didn’t last that long. Without the protesters it would’ve been over even quicker.
Beautifulplumage
@Anne Laurie: OK ya got me on both of those! ?
Wapiti
@Amir Khalid: Also, Vancouver, WA is at the site of Fort Vancouver, the Hudson Bay Company’s outpost on the Columbia River when what would become Washington State was still a contested territory between Britain and the U.S. The border wasn’t settled until 1846.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Anne Laurie:
If they’re local they would.
It’s not like they’re right next to each other, there’s about a 250 mile distance between the two. I’ve never been to Vancouver, WA except maybe to stop for gas; I’ve never been to Vancouver, B.C. except to drop the gf and her roommate for a flight to KL.
Beautifulplumage
@Doug R: HA HA HA! Thank you. I love the part where 150 people wait on 3 busses, 2 of which “seat” 12 each (short busses?). How nice they had to cram in with their cosplay gear and all…in the heat… buwahaha
Dan B
@trollhattan: Seattlite here and I agree about the beauty of the place, on a nice day but they’ve got the weather that Seattle gets accused of…well Seattle does have dark endless drizzle. Seattle is also gorgeous on a nice day and the skyline will soon rival San Francisco and Vancouver, Canada. Crazy growth here. More tall cranes than anywhere else in the USA: 60 in Seattle and 20 across the lake in Bellevue. Next year the ugly waterfront elevated freeway will be gone, just like Portland and San Francisco did years ago and Vancouver never allowed.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: “Short Buses” seems appropriate for these folk.
Beautifulplumage
@Doug R: Yes. They had a miserable 1st winter. Now Alki beach is the gem of west Seattle & the site of a big free concert this weekend. The record lable Subpop is throwing a party for their 30th anniversary. These are the folks who brought you Nirvana, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees, Slater-Kinney, and so much more. Grunge came from miserable winters, in a way. ?
Amir Khalid
@Beautifulplumage:
And Athens, Georgia, And Paris, Texas. And Ottawa, Kansas. And Arlington, Virginia/Texas. And Liverpool, New York. And Frankfort, Kentucky. And so on …
Amir Khalid
@Beautifulplumage:
So they had two 12-seater buses and one 126-seater. I don’t think that’s so strange. //
Beautifulplumage
@Amir Khalid: Right! You can say the European colonizers weren’t very creative…or just so frugal they recycled place names.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Big Bus.
Beautifulplumage
@Dan B: I’ve lived here since the skyline was the Smitb tower, the Space Needle, and “the box the Space Needle came in” (the 1st 50 story tower).
Wow has it changed!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: Those “Welcome to…” signs ain’t cheep.
Beautifulplumage
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Right? And don’t get me started on replacing the stationary.
(now I feel old cuz the youngs will think I didn’t finish that sentence)
Mel
@Amir Khalid: I wonder if she had her faithful flunkies Captain Brigand and Officer Highwayman on site? Based upon the behavior, it seems likely…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: I’ve got a picture from the new Space Needle(1962, my parents went to the World’s Fair).
Amir Khalid
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
If there is, I plan to stay far far away from it.
Beautifulplumage
@Beautifulplumage: Smith Tower
grumble grumble
*and it should have been label earlier*
Beautifulplumage
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Awesome photo! My parents came out to visit family and go to the fair in 1962. They moved us out here that October.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: Thanks, my parents moved to CA in 1959 and I came along in 1960. My grandmother and my aunt still lived up there, so we visited often.
Amir Khalid
Science has proven it: the referees do have it in for my sportsball team.
dc
Why do they allow arms of any kind, masks, helmets, etc. at protests? If they didn’t a lot of the violence would not happen.
Beautifulplumage
@?BillinGlendaleCA: WTF did I just watch?
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@dc:
Freedom of expression for the masks and helmets perhaps? The weapons like the clubs disguised as “flag poles” and the shields shouldn’t be allowed.
James E Powell
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
First time I heard of Seattle was an article about the Space Needle in my Weekly Reader. Second time was Here Come the Brides.
Mel
@Beautifulplumage: I’m with you. My (very intelligent) teenaged neighbor was complaining to her Mom about how outdated she thinks her iPhone is.
Her Mom jokingly said, “Maybe I’ll get you one of those new rotary phones.” The three adults in the room laughed.
Teen paused, looked totally puzzled and mildly alarmed, and said, “I haven’t seen one of those. Does it have some weird round screen? I don’t think a round screen would be very useable. Seriously, Mom, PLEASE don’t get some junk-y, weird gamer thing; we just need to trade in for a new iPhone!”
My takeaway:
1. She’s paying attention to her root words in her Latin class, and
2. We adults are old as dirt.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Beautifulplumage: LMAO, that was the intro to “The Big Bus”, a film spoof of disaster films from 1976.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Was that the first time the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack was used in a comedic fashion/parody? Didn’t take very long. Less than a decade since 2001 came out in 1968. Must have been surreal in 1976 since A Space Odyssey was so recent.
Villago Delenda Est
@Doug R: To locals it’s just “The Mountain”.
HumboldtBlue
@Amir Khalid:
Saw that.
Origuy
I remember hearing about “The Big Bus”, but I’ve never seen it. That was a hell of a cast!
Dan B
@Beautifulplumage: Same here. 1972. I moved from Chicago. Seattle was so sleepy, plus the Boeing bust. Rush hour traffic was a joke. It moved at 60. The gay bars paid off the police. Downtown was dead at night and Crab Louie and Crepe Suzette was the most upscale thing on any restaurant menu.
Sister Golden Bear
@trollhattan: San Francisco begs to differ.
Dan B
@Dan B: A friend went to the University of Washington ’72- ’74. Relatives in New York sent canned food.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Villago Delenda Est: As much as I’ve been in Seattle(including living there for 3 years), I have only two pictures of “The Mountain” and they’re shitty pics. One of my greatest regrets is not taking my OM-1 with me when I went to grad school at the U.
Dan B
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Quite the photo. I doubt you could locate most of the buildings in the photo from a current picture. I’ll work on a current photo from a different angle. (cheaper than the Needle)
Duane
@Amir Khalid: How many internets have you won. Your succinct insights should get you in the HOF, wherever it is.
Dan B
@?BillinGlendaleCA: A shame you didn’t get good photos of Rainier. The Glacier Peak Wilderness and North Cascades are another, especially when I view your Milky Way pics. The sky to the east of the Cascade Crest is extremely dark. I saw a meteor that was a trail of glitter about 30 or 40 degrees (10 – 15 second traverse) against the Milky Way.
Dan B
@Dan B: Oh, we were camped at 7000 feet next to Glacier Peak, one of the least known volcanoes in the range.
Beautifulplumage
@Mel: ?
Try telling them “half past three” when they ask the time.
Party lines were a recent topic at work.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Dan B: The kid took a photo from the Needle last year, but it was early September and the air quality(due to the wildfires) made her feel at home. I could make out a few buildings that were in her pic and the one from 1962.
@Dan B: It looks pretty dark over there, but with light domes to the south. The Milky Way is in the southern skies in the northern hemisphere. Now if Amir could get away from the bright lights, he’d have a great view.
Anne Laurie
@dc:
At the “protest” proper, AFAICT, the police were confiscating flag & sign poles, on the grounds they could be used as weapons. And they announced early & often, when it came to actual weapon-y weapons, that it was an only-with-a-state-license-concealed-carry state and that knives were also verboten. Trying to forbid people to wear helmets / face masks, or to carry ‘shields’, runs into First Amendment restrictions very very quickly.
But it was, officially, “outside” the protest (rally) that things got out of hand. The police could & did keep people from getting up in each others’ faces at the permitted rally site, but when the Proud Prey-ers were marching to & from that site (throwing Nazi salutes, etc.), there were skirmishes. And while the Portland LEOs didn’t exactly cover themselves with glory, the Chief is not wrong that it could have gone much worse if they hadn’t been there.
prostratedragon
I’m reminded of this, which I just dropped at the end of “Things I Did Not Know:”
A key early “American pioneer” in the Washington side of the Oregon Country was a black man named George Washington Bush, still remembered in the city of Tumwater, WA.
Matt
@maya:
Pull the other one, it’s got bells on.
Where's my hammer
3 year time lapse video of Seattle from the space needle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2MTiUGvqyE
Bobby Thomson
@Amir Khalid:
They’re the same group, just getting paid for attending.
Bobby Thomson
FYWP won’t let me edit my comment, but wanted to add that the Nazis don’t pick these venues randomly. Any place they choose can be presumed to have a fascist police force known to be friendly to their cause.
The Midnight Lurker
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: THIS is what I keep posting about, but keep getting smacked down for – these people are DAMN UNLIKELY to accept election results in November. EXPECT LOTS OF TROUBLE IN NOVEMBER!
The Midnight Lurker
@Bobby Thomson: You are right, sir. These groups target communities where they have a reasonable expectation that at least some of the police force will be sympathtic to their goals. I sometimes wonder if they are not more organized that we are.
sherparick
@Anne Laurie: It appears at the very core of American policing culture, a culture that goes back to 19th century and slave patrols and fugitive slave pursuit, is a defense of property and white supremacy. These cops see right wing thugs as brothers in arms in that defense, while the left protesters are troublemakers preventing the reestablishment of the old order.
H.E.Wolf
@prostratedragon:
Yes! He is one of the notable black residents commemorated in Seattle’s Northwest African American Museum. NWAAM has an excellent permanent local-history collection, 2 galleries for special exhibitions, and a small library. Free parking; accessible via mass transit. Like many other Seattle museums, NWAAM charges no admission on the first Thursday of each month.
H.E.Wolf
@Это курам на смех:
Interestingly, the number of Democratic volunteers in Clark County this year is HUGE. I think there may be a chance to flip the 3rd Congressional District to blue. Don’t tell the RNC.
scott (the other one)
@Amir Khalid: You probably know this, but there are reviews online of those Chinese knockoffs, and the results vary widely: some are basically unplayable and some are staggeringly good–for $100 or so you can often get a guitar as good as, say, a MIM Strat or Tele costing five or six times that.