Recent Political Violence in America

[Arkle]

[GandALF]

Ok, I'll make it clear for you Arkle: Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the leader the Soviet Union during WWII. He was thoroughly anti-fascist. He was also a totalitarian despot in his own right and killed millions of people. So being anti-fascist doesn't automatically make one good and righteous.

So many Stalinists claimed the "antifa" label and went to the rally with the intent to recreate the Eastern Front. Now they're not equivalent like the President says and they weren't the majority of the counter-protest, but they are proof that not everyone under the "antifa" banner is benevolent.

[LittleRaven]

So, the political realignment of the country continues at break-neck speed as President Trump, in a truly jaw-dropping press conference, says there were some 'very fine people' on both sides of the Charlottesville clash this weekend.

Mr Trump said there were some "very fine" people on both sides of the protests over the weekend, in which neo-Nazis clashed with anti-racism demonstrators leaving one woman dead and several injured.

Mr Trump claimed the "alt-left" bears some responsibility for the violence and refused to condemn the "alt-right" activists.

I wonder what was going through his aides heads when he veered off the rails into this rant. I imagine it was similar to what goes through the heads of skydivers when they realize that neither parachute is going to deploy correctly and all they can do is watch the ground get steadily closer.

It's difficult to overstate just how terrible this is for the Republican Party. For decades, Republicans have walked the razor fine line between courting the votes of those who sympathize with white nationalism while stridently maintaining that they reject institutionalized racism. Trump's latest statement is going to make that balance all but impossible. Every Republican leader is suddenly going to have to choose between explicitly rejecting Trump's statement and thereby risk the support of the alt-Right voters, or letting it slide, and tacitly admitting that the Republican party has become the national vehicle for the white nationalist movement. I remember telling one of my friends before the election that if Trump won, it would be bad for the Democrats, but it would be catastrophic for the Republicans. Now, like most statements I made about the 2016 election, that statement was wrong, but only the part about Democrats. Jesus.

[Arkle]

Ok, I'll make it clear for you Arkle: Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the leader the Soviet Union during WWII. He was thoroughly anti-fascist. He was also a totalitarian despot in his own right and killed millions of people. So being anti-fascist doesn't automatically make one good and righteous.

So many Stalinists claimed the "antifa" label and went to the rally with the intent to recreate the Eastern Front. Now they're not equivalent like the President says and they weren't the majority of the counter-protest, but they are proof that not everyone under the "antifa" banner is benevolent.

Maybe not, but they're still better than fascists. If you were a decent human being you'd grasp that prety basic fact.

All fascists are horrible people.
Water is wet.
Men landed on the moon.
The spped of light is faster than the speed of sound.

Facts.

[LittleRaven]

Arrests have begun in connection with the people who illegally tore down a statue in Durham, NC.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the toppling of a Confederate statue during a protest in Durham, North Carolina, authorities said.

Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews said officers were executing search warrants and reviewed video shot at the scene.

Takiya Fatima Thompson, 22, was charged with two felonies -- participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 and inciting others to riot -- and two misdemeanors -- disorderly conduct by injury to a statue and damage to property -- the sheriff's office said. She was held on $10,000 bond.

Two men, Dante Emmanuel Strobino, 35, and Ngoc Loan Tran, 24, were arrested Wednesday on the same allegations, the sheriff's office said. Additional arrests are expected.

This is as it should be, and special props to Takiya Thompson, who has admitted her guilt and surrendered peacefully to authorities. Contrary to what Arkle suggested yesterday, civil disobedience is not about breaking the law and suffering no penalty. Quite the opposite, in fact - accepting the penalty in order to draw attention to the injustice is at the very heart of civil disobedience. Takiya has embraced her role, and will be judged appropriately, and the cause to which she is committed will benefit from her actions. Well done all around.

[Arkle]

Meanwhile, no arrests have been made in the brutal beating of a Black man at the hands of pole wieleding White Supremacists RIGHT NEXT TO A POLICE STATION!

Gee, wonder why. -_-

Anyway, the people who tore that statue down are heroes. I hope to see more images of racist murdering slavers' monuments getting fucked up in the future.

[Rocketboy1313]

Ok, I'll make it clear for you Arkle: Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the leader the Soviet Union during WWII. He was thoroughly anti-fascist. He was also a totalitarian despot in his own right and killed millions of people. So being anti-fascist doesn't automatically make one good and righteous.

For an example of antifa violence you had to go back to Stalin?

Oh my god, Stalin is going to be the new Godwin's Law marker now that literal Nazis are part of the discourse.

[LittleRaven]

For an example of antifa violence you had to go back to Stalin?

Hardly. Heck, you don't have to go back even 6 months.

When Mr. Murray moved to another room to deliver his talk, protesters pulled fire alarms in the hallway. When he was done and left the building, several masked protesters, who may have come from off campus, began pushing and shoving Mr. Murray and his faculty interviewer, Allison Stanger, who suffered a concussion after someone grabbed her hair and twisted her neck.

After the two got into a car, protesters rocked it back and forth and jumped on the hood.

I want to be clear - there's no real equivalence between Antifa and the Alt-Right. Antifa is a largely reactionary group without much in the way of organization or long term goals, and while some Antifa elements have occasionally gotten out of hand, they have never done anything resembling what happened in Charlottesville.

But nor are they composed entirely of angels. There are plenty of people who are looking for any excuse to punch a Nazi, and some of them aren't all that careful about researching who does and doesn't belong in that category. Charles Murray is many things, but he is not a fascist, and what happened at Middlebury was an embarrassment for the reactionary left.

[GandALF]

Maybe not, but they're still better than fascists. If you were a decent human being you'd grasp that prety basic fact.

I didn't say they were worse or even equivalent to the fascists, I'd just rather side with Churchill and Roosevelt than Stalin or Hitler. Although I'll take your word on me not being a decent human being, gotta respect my elders and all.

[Antiboyscout]

"Liberals get the bullet too" - Berkeley riot graffiti

https://mobile.twitter.com/charlottekos ... 88/photo/1