Where did the left go?
08.31.2004I just saw this web video of counter-protesters in New York attacked by anti-Bush protesters. Why some people feel that they have a right to protest the president, but other people don't have the right to protest them is beyond me. Freedom of speech? Tolerance for dissenting views? And here I thought hate wasn't a family value. I'm so tired of so-called liberals reducing themselves to violence & fascist tactics to silence opponents.
Free speech needs to be protected. And that means free speech for the left & the right. I highly respect groups like the ACLU that are able to see this, even defending groups as brutally offensive as the KKK. If you think of yourself as "progressive" or "liberal" and attack those whose policy preferences are different than yours, then you're a hypocrite. Plain & simple. And you've no part in my vision of what a "liberal" should be.
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NOTE: I'm well aware that the violent "leftists" are a small minority of the movement, protest or otherwise. But I'd like to see their fellow protesters be more vocal about their absolute opposition to attacking people w/ dissenting views. And while it doesn't qualify as "violence" I think shouting people down is a poor way to promote a political viewpoint.
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ADDENDUM: For contrast, check out this encouraging link.
Posted by Miguel at 05:31 PM
Comments
I would rather ask, where are they going?
Extremists give a bad name to both sides.
Posted by: MB at September 1, 2004 07:18 AM
I love the video title, "When Anarchists Attack". I always love how organized anarchists are, and when I bring that up to them, they wonder why I think its funny that they are well organized.
Posted by: sam at September 1, 2004 02:07 PM
Actually, anarachists can be rather organized & it's not really a contradiction. Punk anarchists usually aren't, but groups like anarcho-syndicalists are quite organized. They're not opposed to organization, but to the state. On a deeper philosophical level, I still find that as a contradiction, but in practical levels, organized anarchists aren't a contradiction.
Posted by: Miguel at September 1, 2004 03:23 PM
Let me get this straight:
1) You are shocked by the idiocy and stupidity of a small section of the human populace
2) You make -- even though you thoughtfully put in a disingenious disclaimer -- a sweeping generalization about "some liberals" without even knowing the true motive, circumstance, or political affiliation of the attackers. Thus spake NeoConstra.
3) You remonstrate the "good protestors" for not putting more pressure on the other protestors to be less violent, when (as you should know by now) such large hodge-podge gatherings of protestors are nothing more than a gelatinous mass of malcontents with no passing relationship or regard for other sub-cells.
Slow news day?
Posted by: Ralphus Lorenus at September 3, 2004 09:27 PM
Ralphus:
1) Yes, I'm offended by a small minority of malcontents.
2) I am indeed offended by "some" and not "all" liberals. And to me, the motivations don't matter. Unless the ends justify the means? I don't believe they do.
3) I do think the "good protesters" or the left in general have a responsibility to distance themselves from the crazies. I think Bush should publicly disavow the swiftboat ads. And I think Kerry should publicy disavow the equally agressive ads from groups like Act Up that try to equate Bush w/ Hitler. Tit for tat.
Slow news day? I'm not a news organization. So I don't find myself responsible to give priority to things you might find more important. I write here, on my personal blog about things that interest me. As a socially conscious, liberal-minded person who favors free speech, individual choice & liberty, and democratic equality I believe the American Left needs to take a stronger stance against these kinds of marginal groups in order to be taken seriously by policy makers & voters.
Posted by: Miguel at September 3, 2004 10:12 PM