Ok, so because a small minority of Muslims engage in terrorism I'm supposed to condemn the entire religion, but when a small minority of white supremacists engage in terrorism I'm supposed to make excuses for them and not condemn the entire movement. Why the double standard? Why do white supremacists get a pass while Islamic fundamentalists don't?
This does actually provide an interesting rebuttal to the "Trump has a Jewish daughter, he can't be racist." Audrey's story clearly establishes that white supremacists are willing to overlook Jewishness in women they want to fuck.
Well now she's only Jewish by conversion. I would say by association but last I heard Kushner was disowned by his own tribe. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/jared-kushner-family-trump-holocaust-225210
Who knows, but it has to come and it has to be forceful. Fascism had a similar parallel in the US in the late 1920s and 1930s, especially. Prominent business men, like Charles Lindbergh, touted its appear because of the sluggish pace of democracies. Fascism has always been on the fringe and under the surface in the US, and rears its head every so often. The dangerous part is, the stage is set for a major resurgence. In the 30s, they were in the process of recovering from a the Great Depression. The recovery wasn't over night, and in some parts of the country took nearly a decade. Also was an irrational fear of communism and socialism taking hold and strangling society. Lastly, there was nation that was further down the path and well into fascism that was revered instead of feared in some circles because of its strong-man power structure. Does any of that sound familiar to anyone? This is why its so fundamentally dangerous to play politics with these marches, on both sides. That type of action and rhetoric needs to be socially crushed and admonished in all its forms, whether its ANTIFA or neo-Nazis, or whatever they may be. We should all see it as unacceptable, not "well these guys are just a bunch of idiots, bot those guys on the other side, they're the real danger." Thats the kind of thinking that allows fascism to take hold right in front of you. Combine that with the major distractions of pop culture and social media, its a real recipe for disaster. In the 30s we had Roosevelt. As for the 21st century, there is no one on the horizon (at least not yet).
The problem is that every time there is a Muslim attack in the US, or anywhere in the world for that matter, the immediate response is #NotAllMuslims and people clamoring to let thousands more into the country. So far I haven't seen anyone give that assshole in VA a pass or start a movement that we need to import more Nazis into the country because only a few of them are actually violent and most of them are hard working people.
Probably because Islam is a religion that encompasses far more than extremism and violent infitadas and Nazism exclusively encompasses Nazism.
Okay, but thats a different point than the one you were making. Since I brought the comparison to Islam into it, I'll attempt to clarify it. The point wasnt to equivocate Islam with Nazi Germany. The point was that extremism and fascism need to be recognized and summarily banished every time it rears its head, no matter what shape or color it appears in. Weighting them down with the usual politicking is counter-productive and can strengthen those elements. Theres not much difference between Hillary Clinton bending over backwards to excuse the shooting of a gay nightclub in Atlanta as matter of gun control and Donald Trump making a paint-by-numbers statement about the alt-right radicals storming a college campus.
I'm curious if what we're seeing is the spotlight on fringe elements that were previously excluded until they crossed a line, which summarily earned them ridicule. I'm thinking about the Walter Cronkite years, but the civil rights leaders used the media masterfully against these folks to elicit widespread disgust. Now, we're actually given the ability to interpret their entire perspective, which for some of us is a lesson in how to corrupt critical thinking, but for some of us, it raises valid points. Now, the spotlight seems to give their ideas, values and philosophy equal airtime as their opponents, which seems...ill-advised. Also, the administration seems...lethargic and unmotivated to denounce their beliefs. Trump's history when it comes to racism/sexism isn't a good look, either. The main lesson I interpreted from this is you shouldn't wish violence upon those with different beliefs than you, which is so simplistic and obvious it feels like we've slid backwards as a society. I come from the deep South and I certainly understand the macho impulses that lean towards violence, but there SHOULD be a counter-balancing voice that says, "These are your countrymen, they make the same sacrifices you do, and we're all in this together." I think that voice lacks a villain or lofty goal, a la Reagan & Rambo vs. the Russians. Trump (and his base) certainly aren't the pacifist type, and I think of the crowds I've seen at gun shows fantasizing about righteous violence. At a certain point, the act of salivating for righteous violence degrades into seeking violence that can be justified by an ever-shrinking circle of people (a la Dylann Roof), and the cognitive acrobatics required to shrink that circle (not hardcore believers, part of the conspiracy, or just plain ol nigger-lovers) can be strengthened in today's social media bubbles. I also think of Alex Jones' segment on John Oliver...Jones comes off as a preacher (reminded me of Sam Kinison, actually), but some of what he was saying sounds so fucking appealing: "Be honorable!" "Trample the snakes!" Keep in mind he's appealing to people that identify with Rambo, with Captain America, with King Arthur...they genuinely believe God, history and the US have assigned them a seat at the top of the food chain. It's so much more powerful to appeal to a sense of righteous crusading than to face the ugly economic realities, and that gets scary fast. Finally, I think about the things that combine diverse groups of people, challenges their world view and makes them value one another. The experiences on a battle field or factory floor can be used to bring men together, see past skin color and achieve something greater. Those lessons seem to be lost and those experiences seem fewer, diminished and less admirable. I also wonder...qui bono?
Between the two of you, I bet it's Kubla that blinks first. If I've learned nothing else about Audrey over the years, the one thing I know is that she'd be willing to fuck for peace.
Bail was denied for the killer driver, which means he sits and rots until trial. Enjoy your new digs. 20 years old and threw his entire spoiled life away for bullshit opinions. No lesson will be learned from this by anybody. I'm amused how the so-called "nationalists" first tried to spin him as a liberal, now they're trying to spin it as if he was being attacked and it was self defence. It's a shame the video evidence says otherwise.
Guys, it's going to be ok! Trump finally denounced Nazis. We can move on to a new national nightmare.
He's just pissed that it cut into his vacation. It's only a State Of Emergency, give the guy a break. He already condemned the violence days ago, whoever did it.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...s-topple-confederate-statue-in-north-carolina Honestly surprised it took this long. Statues aren't exactly engineering's most stable structures to begin with; the amount of equipment you need to take them down is absolutely minimal.