The temper of the multitude is fickle. ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
Though we’ll be specifically discussing Elgin, Illinois, that microcosmic reality readily applies to any major U.S. city where a progressive mob mentality exists. And that pretty much adds up to all of them.
But before we continue, I want to be clear that we’ll be talking about progressives and not liberals, classic liberals like myself, or libertarians. Progressives are simply the flipside of the diehard Trump supporter coin. They’re a similarly large cult who fervently believe their fluid brand of stilted morality is the only one that matters.
Here’s how that mob mentality works.
They lie in wait on social media ready to pounce on anything they perceive to be an attack on their fragile “woke” ideology. And when those provocations inevitably occur – something as simple as a misused pronoun – just like Canada geese, the first one starts honking to alert the “flock” to the “danger,” and without making any effort to determine the nature of the “threat,” the rest start honking in unison as they proceed to swarm the perceived “offender.”
When they turn out to be dead wrong, about 90 percent of the time, like cockroaches caught by the kitchen light, they scurry back to the dark corners where they do their best to ignore all the damage they left in their wake by pretending the whole thing never happened.
The worst example of this Elgin mob mindset took place a couple of years ago when the usual suspects went berserk over a Vietnam veteran flying the Confederate flag. This man clearly hadn’t come back for from that war intact, but that didn’t begin to deter the progressive Facebook horde from threatening to descend upon his domicile as judge, jury, and executioner.
The Facebook rhetoric became so abhorrent that I warned Ana Lalley violence would likely ensue if that group followed through on their threats. I further explained that I’d be happy to file a complaint against the principals involved for inciting mob action if it got to that point.
I should’ve known they’d never follow through on any of it, because when it’s time to put their individual necks on the line, progressives are cowardice personified. They require the relative safety and anonymity of the online throng to wreak their insidious brand of havoc.
Though it’s not as egregious an example of their antics, since progressives never learn from their mistakes, they recently struck again, but now they want you to forget all about it. So, it’s a good thing I’m here to remind you.
After they completely screwed up the pre-retirement selling their business process, the former owners of the Arabica Café turned to social media to claim that Andrew Cuming was the kind of evil landlord who was forcing them to close their business. And making absolutely no effort to verify their claim, led by Elgin city councilman Carol Rauschenberger, the progressive horde descended upon the hapless Cuming like a pack of hungry hyenas on a wounded wildebeest.
They whipped themselves into the kind of self-righteous bloodlust that was responsible for so many Southern lynchings, never considering the possibility that no landlord would dismiss a reasonable rent-paying tenant running a successful downtown business.
The social media rhetoric rapidly rose to the level of the absurd with people threatening Cuming at all levels, including boycotts of his other properties and whatever new business came into the Arabica location. One progressive nitwit went as far as declaring “This would’ve never happened if Corey Dixon was mayor!”
Right! Because all mayors have the power to dictate to whom landlords must and must not rent their properties. Oh! And if Corey Dixon were mayor, he’d already be taking bribes like the five grand campaign “contribution” he took from Baldemar Lopez. The former Elgin councilman doesn’t lay out that kind of cash without a specific quid pro quo in mind.
The progressive jackals got so bad that Cuming had to go on WRMN radio to explain what really happened:
- In 2021 the Arabica owners told him they would not be renewing their lease because they were selling their business and retiring.
- They confirmed those plans in 2022, informing Cuming they would not renew their lease unless they could find a buyer, adding they were “hanging up their aprons to retire to the Las Vegas sunshine.”
- Cuming took them at their word (Why wouldn’t he?), and when they couldn’t find a buyer, he found a new tenant for the space in February.
- Then Arabica sent him a lease extension in late March.
When Cuming told them it was too late because he’d rented the space, the owners disingenuously posted the following on social media:
To set the record straight this is not our choice. Our landlord has informed us that he is not interested in renewing or extending the lease and that the lease will terminate on June 1st. At this point, we have not found a suitable downtown relocation site.
That boldfaced lie is all it took to whip the progressive mob into a sanctimonious frenzy laying waste to anyone or anything in their path like a swarm of hungry locusts.

When the truth eventually came out, did Rauschenberger and her ilk hold the Arabica owners accountable for their downright duplicity? Of course not! Instead of shaming them for their role in inciting a witch hunt, they acted as if the whole thing never happened and swooned over the café and its owners as the business closed as a result of their own stupidity.
Apparently, being a progressive means never having to say your sorry.
This type of scenario is what makes councilman Rauschenberger so dangerous. She comes across as this kind-hearted white haired old lady, but then she has no problem unleashing the progressive rabble whenever it suits her political purposes.
While this scenario was certainly unpleasant for Mr. Cuming and anyone who knew the truth, given Niccolò’s proclamation, the ADHD addled mob swiftly moved on to the next unfortunate target who stumbled into their sights.
Put more simply, the damage was minimal here, but it’s important to understand this dynamic because that isn’t always the case. Next week we’ll discuss how rabid progressives went so far with their pro-transgender bullying and drag show stupidity that they’ve set the LBGTQ movement back at least 50 years.
And that’s a truly terrifying prospect.
I was told you are an evil person, Jeff. And maybe you are, I don’t know you. But I do enjoy your writing. No where else can I find what is really going on in Elgin/Kane county!
Paul,
By “evil” they mean “The investigative journalist who won’t let them get away with their typical bullshit.”
And thank you for the compliments, because this endeavor is quite a bit of work. If you feel so inclined, there’s a donate button at the top right of The First Ward homepage.
Jeff