How to Make a Bully Cry: Arrest Them

For the first time maybe ever, Bakersfield, California last week featured prominently in news stories in both the Times of India   and the Jerusalem Post.  

All thanks to Riddhi Patel and Mayor Karen Goh.

At last week’s city council meeting, Patel – a local pro-Hamas activist who is/was part of the insufferable local non-profit woke do goodery eco-system – went rather overboard.

Patel and other pro-Palestinian protestors have spent the last few

weeks/months disrupting council meetings (and, for some reason, mall shopping) and demanding Bakersfield pass a resolution calling for a cease fire in Gaza.

Unlike many other California cities, Bakersfield demurred on taking up such a resolution, either because the council did not support the idea or because the city’s leaders properly realized passing a cease fire resolution is literally pointless and didn’t want to waste the time.

But, seemingly because of the previous disruptions, the council decided to discuss a resolution beefing up security measures at city buildings and meetings, measures that could include the use of metal detectors and/or hand wands.

This “oppression” infuriated Patel, who works/worked for the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment based in Delano, a near parody – if it weren’t real – of a progressive social justice group. But Patel’s bio has recently disappeared from the CRPE website so her employment status is not certain.

What is certain is what the CPRE  thinks about, among other things, “environmental justice:”

“Environmental justice advocacy is traditionally undertaken on a local scale with advocates working alongside residents to defeat an environmental threat, while not directly addressing the systemic causes of environmental injustices. CRPE is flipping this model to scale-up grassroots organizing and advocacy to challenge the power systems that lead to inequalities in the first place.”

And this is the world Patel lives in and, as an empowered progressive who is on the right side of history, she was having none of the city’s inaction on Gaza.

Patel called the council horrible people, motherfuckers, oppressors, that Jesus would kill themselves, etc. before she went too far, saying that elected officials will “backstab you, they’ll let you die, and for that reason – you guys want to criminalize us with metal detectors – we’ll see you at your house. We’ll murder you.”

Note – as a former local elected official I was called names in meetings, followed home by mystery vehicles after meetings, etc.  But threatened with murder? Never – that only happened when I was a reporter in Louisiana.

The mayor had had enough, had the deputies escort Patel out and then she was charged with 18 counts of threatening elected officials and making threats with intent to terrorize.

When Patel showed up in court for her arraignment, her attitude had, um changed.

She sobbed, she turned her face away from cameras and the audience in court – the fiery justice warrior from the city council meeting was nowhere to be found. 

What she was in court was a bully who got her comeuppance, a holier-than-thou, progressive, woke protected (due to her politics, sex, and nationality) person who was finally confronted with her nonsense.

The entire incident should be – to use a progressive term – used as a teachable moment, that if you simply stand up to the culture bullies they will crumble and Goh’s example should be followed by everyone.

Don’t let the woke use “shut up” -ist or-phobe words. Make them justify their projects and plans, ignore their demands to be coddled, and pretend you forgot what the word “pronoun” means years ago.

Even her United Liberation Front group ran for the hills from Patel.  Here’s an Instagram post from about a month ago:

This is what they posted last week, “unequivocally” condemning the threatening of public officials:

Patel remains in jail, pending a hearing tomorrow. Her bail was set at $1 million.

If she can make that bail, she can definitely afford a flight to Gaza.  She can get there for as little as $600 bucks, but it does mean going through Israel so that could be a problem.

UPDATE: 4/16/2024

The Globe was contacted by the The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, asking if we would include their statement:

The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE) became aware of an incident involving our former employee, Riddhi Patel, at the Bakersfield City Council meeting on April 10, 2024.

We unequivocally condemn any threats of violence or unethical behavior. CRPE has been committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and respect in all our work and interactions for the past 35 years.

As a result of this incident, we made the decision to terminate Riddhi Patel. We recognize this is a difficult situation, and we are dedicated to handling it with the utmost care and sensitivity.

Going forward, CRPE will continue to focus on our mission of advancing environmental justice and civil rights in the communities we serve. We remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering a culture of non-violence, inclusivity, and respect.