I just watched a poignant documentary on faith and courage set against the backdrop of last summer's BLM protests for social justice. It made me wonder how many people would have done what Nini's Deli had done. Could you stand by your principals even if it meant losing everything?
I don't know how brave I would be in that situation. Do you? Ironically, attitudes have changed since last summer, yet the hero of the documentary – Juan Riesco has maintained his stance. Despite all that Juan suffered, I think in some ways he's better off because of it.
Juan Riesco grew Nini's Deli from its humble origins to #1 in Chicago on Yelp before the Black Lives Matter movement cancelled it in early June 2020. His parents, immigrants from Cuba and Mexico, started the small business. Juan took the reigns during a transitional period in his life, in which he converted to Christianity, after living as a homosexual in San Francisco.
After the death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement promoted posting a black square on social media to show solidarity with the cause. When Juan failed to take this step, hundreds of people went online to accuse him of racism. Juan gently responded to each individual by explaining that he was a Christian and could not endorse the anti-Christian beliefs of the Black Lives Matter organization, but that he did believe black people, as well as all people, mattered to God. The next day hundreds of protesters showed up to protest Nini's Deli. Juan preached the gospel to them. The next day thousands of people showed up. Juan received thousands of death threats and had to flee the city in the middle of the night to escape. Juan lost his corporate contracts and Nini's Deli closed.
Even as he lost his business and experienced betrayal by friends, Juan's faith in Christ and resolve grew. Juan considers the story of Nini's to be a victory story as many have come to Christ and been inspired by his courage.
Paint the Wall Black: The Story of Nini's Deli
- To Support Last Stand Studios: http://www.laststandstudios.org
- To Support Juan Riesco: JuanFromNinis@gmail.com
One Year Later…
A lot has transpired since the events showcased in the "Paint the Wall Black" documentary. Much of it brought to my attention by USA Today. Let me share a few quotes from a recent article.
ONE: The police are now trusted more than Black Lives Matter.
Americans' trust in the Black Lives Matter movement has fallen and their faith in local law enforcement has risen since protests demanding social justice swept the nation last year, according to an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll.
…
Among Black respondents, trust in Black Lives Matter has fallen by 12 points and trust in local police has risen by 14 points. Among white respondents, trust in Black Lives Matter has fallen by 8 points and trust in local police has risen by 12 points.
TWO: People are not so sure George Floyd was murdered.
Last June, 60% in a USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll described Floyd's death as murder; that percentage has now dropped by double digits to 36%. Uncertainty has grown about how to characterize the incident, caught on video, when Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck and ignored his protests that he couldn't breathe. Last year, 4% said they didn't know how to describe it; that number has climbed to 17%.
THREE: Despite uncertainty, both blacks and whites want Chauvin convicted.
That said, Americans who have heard at least something about Chauvin's trial say 4 to 1, or 60%-15%, that they hope Chauvin is convicted. That included 54% of white Americans and 76% of Black Americans.
It will be interesting (Is that the right word?) to see how the Derek Chauvin trial is resolved. If the punishment is too lenient, opportunists will leverage the situation for political points, news ratings, riots and looting (aka "peaceful protests"). If Chauvin is charged too harshly, it will be all the more difficult to recruit more police officers in the future and those already on the force will hesitate to their job. That being said, even as the jurors are being selected, I foresee a guilty plea. What will likely happen (pardon my cynicism) is that jurors will arrive with guilty pleas on their mind and any jurors with an open mind will fear personal attacks should they impede a guilty verdict. No matter who wins in the end, there will be a lot of losses for us all.
'The Purge' by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us
Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.
For the last few months, NOQ Report has appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.
It wasn't just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from "woke" Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. One of our YouTube accounts was banned and another has been suspended. Facebook "fact-checks" everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss "taboo" topics.
The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can't say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancelation, but we'd rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media's lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they've convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.
The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an "anti-vaxxer" in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects. These questions are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting cancelled.
There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $5300 per month in order to maintain operations.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We've strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn't seem necessary. Now, we're struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.
During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we'd like to be completely free from them. That doesn't mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.
We're heading in the right direction and we believe we're ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only "get in on the action" but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
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