Recent Political Violence in America

[LittleRaven]

It shouldn't be a crime to punch Nazis, because that is far, far, FAR less than what they want to do to us.

And here's where you go off the deep end. Of course it's a crime to punch Nazis. (at least, assuming they aren't actively trying to punch you at the time.) It's also a crime to punch pedophiles, wife-beaters, hell man, it's even illegal to punch lawyers. And yes, it should be. The state must hold a monopoly on violence, period. Otherwise, the whole system comes crashing down.

And trust me, nobody wants the system to come down more than the Nazis.

[Antiboyscout]

Dead cops in Austin, a kidnapped and tortured mentally handicapped white man, a long string of attempted Trump assassinations, and a shootout in a baseball field. All just self defense and nothing to be accountable for. I see.

[LittleRaven]

Dead cops in Austin, a kidnapped and tortured mentally handicapped white man, a long string of attempted Trump assassinations, and a shootout in a baseball field. All just self defense and nothing to be accountable for. I see.

Dallas. I think you mean Dallas. My adopted home has many issues, but mass cop shootings are not yet among them.

[Antiboyscout]

sorry you are correct.

[Arkle]

I wish people wouldn't quote other people who I have blocked, but sadly, wish is all I can do. But since I can see the garbage that Antibasichumandecency posted, allow me to address his nonsense.

The Dallas shooter? Not a member of BLM. (https://www.theodysseyonline.com/dallas ... d-with-blm)

The tortured disabled man? Nothing to do with BLM. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the ... cdb0fbbdf1)

The shooter at that baseball game? Like almost all mass shooters, a cishet man with a history of domestic violence. And as I've brought up before, the domestic violence angle is the most important aspect of all these mass shooting that too few people are willing to talk about because they'd rather blame politics or mental illness. (https://thinkprogress.org/mass-shooting ... b6de46b00/)

[LittleRaven]

I'm going to do something I'm normally loathe to do, and that's to post a Townhall link. Consider this your trigger warning. (for anyone who doesn't know, Townhall is a very, VERY conservative paper that has a history of being...careless...with regards to accuracy)

The reason I'm breaking my long-standing taboo is because it's not every day you get to watch one of the major political parties of the most powerful country in the world split itself right down the middle on the issue of whether or not they should be defending actual Nazis. The article is question is written by Mona Charen, a long-time and very conservative columnist, who is flabbergasted at what's she's seeing.

That said, in the era of Donald Trump, I stand slack-jawed as some on the right live down to the worst calumnies conjured from the left's febrile imagination. That the entire Republican Party has not risen up, en masse, to renounce Donald Trump's comments about Charlottesville is a disgrace. Nancy Pelosi's response to the attack on Steve Scalise showed far more decency than did Trump's to Charlottesville. She denounced the would-be assassin and proclaimed that Republicans and Democrats were members of one American family.

...

The Republican Party under Donald Trump has regressed from the party of Lincoln to the party of Lee (who, as a historical matter, is actually a skeleton in the Democrats' closet). Hanging racism around Republican necks is the fulfillment of the dearest wish of the left, and unless powerfully rebutted by however many decent Republicans still exist, will discredit the party for years to come.

This column appeared in many places, including National Review. But the reason I'm posting the Townhall link is the comments. I know, I know....you never look at the comments, but it's downright stunning in this case. Mona is being absolutely flayed alive for daring to suggest that Republicans might not want to throw their lot in with Nazis.

I've been following politics since the mid 90s, and in that time (and for a good 15 years before that) the country has marched steadily to the right politically, even as the left enjoyed significant cultural victories. I've come to expect more of the same. But I did not expect to see the day when a Republican president would refuse to denounce crowds of men carrying torches screaming about Jews, and I'm even more shocked at how many in his party, both in office and among the rank and file, appear to be ok with this.

[Antiboyscout]

I've been following politics since the mid 90s, and in that time (and for a good 15 years before that) the country has marched steadily to the right politically, even as the left enjoyed significant cultural victories. I've come to expect more of the same. But I did not expect to see the day when a Republican president would refuse to denounce crowds of men carrying torches screaming about Jews, and I'm even more shocked at how many in his party, both in office and among the rank and file, appear to be ok with this.

He denounced the violence, what more do you want. It seems that only problem is that he said "on many sides" and did not denounce only the Alt Right and ignore the violence on the extreme left. I say the Alt Right and not Nazi because the media also had a field day when Trump suggested that not all the people on the Alt Right were Nazi's, or that any of them had any valid concerns. Remember all violence on the left is just in self defense.

[Antiboyscout]

Not a member of BLM.

Who cares if they were members of BLM or not. They were inspired and motivated by the current political climate and taking points on the Left. White people are the root of all evil? Better kidnap a white man and get your revenge. All cops are racist and love to shoot black people? Better grab a rifle and take out those white cops before they get you.

I also noticed that you ignored the multitude of attempted Trump assassinations. Are those a little less justifiable? Did you notice all the politicians and celebrities endlessly making comments about how someone needs to "take care of" Trump?

As for your "domestic violence" theory. Did the Dallas shooter have a history of domestic violence, or does the theory only apply if they happen to be white?

[LittleRaven]

He denounced the violence, what more do you want.

It's not about what I want - I'm fairly certain Trump wasn't talking to me. But lots of folks like Mona Charen, who have been loyal Republican foot soldiers for decades, are feeling mighty let down right now.

Contra Donald Trump, the Hitler Youth wannabes who paraded through Charlottesville last Friday night are not sincere Republicans falsely accused of being Nazis. They are the real thing. It should have been the most basic act of American civic hygiene to condemn and anathematize them. (Some Republicans did.) But since it seems we must state the obvious: The "Unite the Right" organizers, including alt-right leaders Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, advertised their demonstration with Nazi-style imagery, carried torches reminiscent of Nuremberg and Klan rallies, and chanted "Blood and soil" and "The Jews will not replace us." The next day, they clashed with counter-protesters and one of them committed a savage act of ISIS-style terrorism, crashing his car into a crowd. He murdered one person and wounded 19 others, five critically.

Yet Trump's Monday condemnation, if you can call it that, was tardy, stilted and almost immediately withdrawn by his fiery Tuesday press conference. True to his pattern of peddling "alternative facts," Trump insisted that "not all of those people were supremacists by any stretch ... you take a look ... the night before, they were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee." I've taken a look. How does "the Jews will not replace us" convey benevolence? Sorry, but people of goodwill who oppose removing the statue of Lee were not in attendance last weekend. Any honorable opponent of iconoclasm would have been repelled by the fascist flags, the slogans, the military gear and the murderous violence.

Columnists like Mona have spent their entire careers defending the Republican party against charges that it represents the worst aspects of American's racist past. They would dearly love some backup from their President on that issue right now.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I've been following politics since the mid 90s, and in that time (and for a good 15 years before that) the country has marched steadily to the right politically, even as the left enjoyed significant cultural victories. I've come to expect more of the same. But I did not expect to see the day when a Republican president would refuse to denounce crowds of men carrying torches screaming about Jews, and I'm even more shocked at how many in his party, both in office and among the rank and file, appear to be ok with this.

He denounced the violence, what more do you want. It seems that only problem is that he said "on many sides" and did not denounce only the Alt Right and ignore the violence on the extreme left. I say the Alt Right and not Nazi because the media also had a field day when Trump suggested that not all the people on the Alt Right were Nazi's, or that any of them had any valid concerns. Remember all violence on the left is just in self defense.

he...he said there were problems "on both sides" and good people "on both sides" at an EVENT consisting of Nazis with torches, and people opposing the Nazis.

This was not both sides as in "both major parties in America have issues", this was both sides as in "The bunch of white guys waving torches, flinging fire at people, chanting Jew's Will Not Replace Us and Hail Trump" vs "some peaceful protesters and some guys in bandanas who are defending the peaceful protesters because the police just decided to let it go forward."

The Alt Right ARE Nazis, and I am struggling to think of how much more objective evidence you would need to finally concede that point.
Furthermore, whatever you think of the alt right movement at large, I can guarentee that EVERY SINGLE ONE of those torch-waving "Blood and soil" creeps at Charlotesville WAS a white supremacist/white nationalist and a domestic terrorist. Every. Damn. One.

So that's why it is so upsetting to see the leader of this country, who has no problem tearing somebody a new asshole for not carrying his handbag brand or threatening to jail his political opponents, give a waffling, half-hearted "oh well bad things happened we all have problems" speech on this. The EASIEST thing to do in politics is to just say "Nazis are bad."