In 2016-2017, there were seventeen violent political protests in the United States, excluding the murders of policemen and the attempted assassination attempt on members of Congress. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_incidents_of_civil_unrest_in_the_United_States#2010.E2.80.932019)
Now we face the recent street fighting between extremist political groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, which has raised all sorts of questions. Are we headed into a civil war? What are the limits to free speech? Are “Nazis” allowed to gather and protest? Is America a racist hellhole? Should we strip away the monuments and place-names from our past? If so, where does that cleansing of history end?
Now we face the recent street fighting between extremist political groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, which has raised all sorts of questions. Are we headed into a civil war? What are the limits to free speech? Are “Nazis” allowed to gather and protest? Is America a racist hellhole? Should we strip away the monuments and place-names from our past? If so, where does that cleansing of history end?
Missing from the debate are these question: Why are we Americans allowing radical fringe groups to drive our politics? How does the media promote division among Americans? And who is behind these riots and violent protests?
Let’s look at the last question. Jason Kessler, who claims to be a member of the extreme right and who organized the Charlottesville event that he called Unite The Right, was until November of 2016—the month of the presidential election—a supporter of President Obama and of Occupy Wall Street. (Google “Jason Kessler Occupy.” Even the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center acknowledges Kessler’s ties to the Democrats.) What if Kessler just stung the rest of us by creating the conditions for a riot? What if Kessler helped bring together extremist groups from both the left and the right? Are we being played by a conman?
And what about the protesters? Who are these people, again from both sides, who can travel hundreds and even thousands of miles to these protests? Where do they work? Do they work? If not, who is giving them money to traipse about the country? How about Kessler? Where is his money coming from? Shouldn’t the media investigate him? Follow the money: it’s the oldest lesson in journalism.
Ah, our once-trusted media. If you don’t see the mainstream media these days as intentionally divisive, you are blind. Television and newspapers give voice to nut cakes of all types, often making them appear as if they are speaking for vast numbers of Americans. Most of the organizations to which these people belong are bogus, a handful of people claiming to represent various ethnic groups. They scream down speakers, beat up their opponents, loot stores, kill and injure police officers. We watch the violence on the tube and decide the country is coming apart.
Pause for a minute. Consider your life and the people you love, the friends and acquaintances you know. With some of them you may disagree politically, but that doesn’t mean you want to take a baseball bat to their heads. (OK, Uncle Charlie may be an exception.) Look at your friends and family, and try to imagine them swinging golf clubs at those they hate or throwing bricks at the police. (Again, Uncle Charlie may be the exception.)
My point here is that ideologues breaking heads are beneath contempt. They deserve no respect whatsoever, yet these are the morons steering debate in this country.
And why, exactly, are we allowing these knuckle-draggers of whatever persuasion to drive our political dialogue? Why do we put up with their “causes?” Why, when the vast majority of Americans go about their daily lives working, raising families, and struggling with all sorts of personal difficulties, do we have to take seriously the arguments—composed of raised fists, vile language, and weapons—of a handful of bozos?
Answer: we don’t.
The media reports these stories because radical protesters and riots help sell news.
But we don’t have to view events as reported by the media as normal or as indicative of the American spirit.
Let’s look at a few of the causes supposedly behind these protests.
Race. Hey, it’s 2017. If you’re still judging people by the levels of melanin in their skin, then you’re a racist. I don’t care what color you are: You’re a racist. As for me, I don’t give a damn whether you’re black, red, brown, white, purple, blue, or green. Who you are is what counts. You are not a “race.” You’re not a color. You’re a person.
Institutionalized racism. Really? Where? Show me some institutionalized racism. I’ll be surprised because, as most people know, it’s against the law.
According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, the NBA in 2015 was composed of 74.4 percent black players, 23.3 percent white players, 1.8 percent Latino players, and 0.2 percent Asian players. Is that institutionalized racism? Of course not. That imbalance represents something very American. It’s called competition. Regardless of color, the best players make the teams.
Google is making the news these days as it tries to add more women, blacks, and Hispanics to its tech staff. So tell me: Is that a drive for “equality” or is it racist and sexist? If you want to keep at the top of the game, like an NBA team, wouldn’t you hire the most qualified players? Why base your hires on skin pigmentation rather than skill and intelligence?
Trump. Some of you are ardent supporters of President Trump. Others hate the president’s guts. I got that. The First Amendment gives us the right to support President Trump or to protest his policies. It does not give anyone the right to kick in store windows, burn cars, or beat your opponent to a pulp. Those who take such actions—again, I don’t care which lunatic fringe you claim as your home—are despicable.
College campuses. We read much about “snowflakes,” “safe spaces,” “trigger warnings,” and other such nonsense. Once again, however, a tiny minority in some of these colleges is driving the agenda. They wail and moan about injustice, shout down speakers, and demand the firing of faculty members who disagree with them. Often, the administrators, who are supposed to be grown-ups, fold and give way to the demands. But this picture is false, again created by a handful of people and the media. The truth is, most college students don’t qualify as snowflakes. Most of them don’t need safe spaces. Most want an education. They want a job when they graduate.
Free speech. Shouting down speakers or driving them from a podium is fascistic. Do it, and you need to buy yourself a Brown Shirt. (If you fail to understand this reference, Google “Brown Shirt Fascism.”)
Murdering history. So once you start tearing down statues, censoring history books, and changing the names of buildings and schools, where do you stop? ( See http://www.jeffminick.com/learning-as-i-go/domnatio-memoriae-the-condemnation-of-memory).
Enough.
Let’s stand up for free speech. Let’s debate the issues. Let’s change our opponents’ hearts and minds rather than their physiognomy.
And most of all, let’s start telling the fringe groups to go to hell.
Let’s look at the last question. Jason Kessler, who claims to be a member of the extreme right and who organized the Charlottesville event that he called Unite The Right, was until November of 2016—the month of the presidential election—a supporter of President Obama and of Occupy Wall Street. (Google “Jason Kessler Occupy.” Even the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center acknowledges Kessler’s ties to the Democrats.) What if Kessler just stung the rest of us by creating the conditions for a riot? What if Kessler helped bring together extremist groups from both the left and the right? Are we being played by a conman?
And what about the protesters? Who are these people, again from both sides, who can travel hundreds and even thousands of miles to these protests? Where do they work? Do they work? If not, who is giving them money to traipse about the country? How about Kessler? Where is his money coming from? Shouldn’t the media investigate him? Follow the money: it’s the oldest lesson in journalism.
Ah, our once-trusted media. If you don’t see the mainstream media these days as intentionally divisive, you are blind. Television and newspapers give voice to nut cakes of all types, often making them appear as if they are speaking for vast numbers of Americans. Most of the organizations to which these people belong are bogus, a handful of people claiming to represent various ethnic groups. They scream down speakers, beat up their opponents, loot stores, kill and injure police officers. We watch the violence on the tube and decide the country is coming apart.
Pause for a minute. Consider your life and the people you love, the friends and acquaintances you know. With some of them you may disagree politically, but that doesn’t mean you want to take a baseball bat to their heads. (OK, Uncle Charlie may be an exception.) Look at your friends and family, and try to imagine them swinging golf clubs at those they hate or throwing bricks at the police. (Again, Uncle Charlie may be the exception.)
My point here is that ideologues breaking heads are beneath contempt. They deserve no respect whatsoever, yet these are the morons steering debate in this country.
And why, exactly, are we allowing these knuckle-draggers of whatever persuasion to drive our political dialogue? Why do we put up with their “causes?” Why, when the vast majority of Americans go about their daily lives working, raising families, and struggling with all sorts of personal difficulties, do we have to take seriously the arguments—composed of raised fists, vile language, and weapons—of a handful of bozos?
Answer: we don’t.
The media reports these stories because radical protesters and riots help sell news.
But we don’t have to view events as reported by the media as normal or as indicative of the American spirit.
Let’s look at a few of the causes supposedly behind these protests.
Race. Hey, it’s 2017. If you’re still judging people by the levels of melanin in their skin, then you’re a racist. I don’t care what color you are: You’re a racist. As for me, I don’t give a damn whether you’re black, red, brown, white, purple, blue, or green. Who you are is what counts. You are not a “race.” You’re not a color. You’re a person.
Institutionalized racism. Really? Where? Show me some institutionalized racism. I’ll be surprised because, as most people know, it’s against the law.
According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, the NBA in 2015 was composed of 74.4 percent black players, 23.3 percent white players, 1.8 percent Latino players, and 0.2 percent Asian players. Is that institutionalized racism? Of course not. That imbalance represents something very American. It’s called competition. Regardless of color, the best players make the teams.
Google is making the news these days as it tries to add more women, blacks, and Hispanics to its tech staff. So tell me: Is that a drive for “equality” or is it racist and sexist? If you want to keep at the top of the game, like an NBA team, wouldn’t you hire the most qualified players? Why base your hires on skin pigmentation rather than skill and intelligence?
Trump. Some of you are ardent supporters of President Trump. Others hate the president’s guts. I got that. The First Amendment gives us the right to support President Trump or to protest his policies. It does not give anyone the right to kick in store windows, burn cars, or beat your opponent to a pulp. Those who take such actions—again, I don’t care which lunatic fringe you claim as your home—are despicable.
College campuses. We read much about “snowflakes,” “safe spaces,” “trigger warnings,” and other such nonsense. Once again, however, a tiny minority in some of these colleges is driving the agenda. They wail and moan about injustice, shout down speakers, and demand the firing of faculty members who disagree with them. Often, the administrators, who are supposed to be grown-ups, fold and give way to the demands. But this picture is false, again created by a handful of people and the media. The truth is, most college students don’t qualify as snowflakes. Most of them don’t need safe spaces. Most want an education. They want a job when they graduate.
Free speech. Shouting down speakers or driving them from a podium is fascistic. Do it, and you need to buy yourself a Brown Shirt. (If you fail to understand this reference, Google “Brown Shirt Fascism.”)
Murdering history. So once you start tearing down statues, censoring history books, and changing the names of buildings and schools, where do you stop? ( See http://www.jeffminick.com/learning-as-i-go/domnatio-memoriae-the-condemnation-of-memory).
Enough.
Let’s stand up for free speech. Let’s debate the issues. Let’s change our opponents’ hearts and minds rather than their physiognomy.
And most of all, let’s start telling the fringe groups to go to hell.