Democrats Have Become What They Say They Despise
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Earlier this week, Candace Owens, a young black conservative, was shouted out of a restaurant by a white crowd screaming obscenities and racial epithets at her and her dining companion, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk (who is white). The police had to be called, and the mob shouted obnoxious slurs at the officers as well. Owens tweeted: “To be clear: ANTIFA, an all-white fascist organization, just grew violent and attacked an all-black and Hispanic police force.
“Because I, a BLACK woman, was eating breakfast.
“Is this the civil rights era all over again?”
It is. And many Democrats are on the wrong side.
It would be easy to dismiss that statement as hyperbole if this were not the latest in a distressingly long line of examples of the left abandoning principles in pursuit of the bogeymen they themselves have created.
Also within the past week, The New York Times announced that it had hired tech writer Sarah Jeong to join its editorial board. Jeong has a long history of nasty and racist tweets directed against white people. She claimed that she was merely responding to trolls who had lobbed racial insults at her. But Jeong also tweeted insults against men in general, as well as police , and this went on for more than a year. Video has now emerged of Jeong spewing her ignorance and hatred during a speech at Harvard Law School.
The Times stands behind Jeong. Some applaud this as long-overdue courage in the face of torch-and-pitchfork crowds. Perhaps. But Jeong’s conduct isn’t merely bigoted; it is also immature and unprofessional and, in the case of her University of Virginia rape-hoax tweets , completely counterfactual. The Columbia School of Journalism issued a scathing report slamming Rolling Stone’s article about the alleged gang rape at UVA, and Rolling Stone lost one defamation case (and settled a second) as a result of it. This is who The Times hires, at a time when the press complains about diminishing credibility?
And then there’s the double standard . From the “free speech for me but not for thee” file, Alex Jones and his company InfoWars have been banned from most major social media platforms, including YouTube , Pinterest, Apple , Spotify , Facebook , LinkedIn and MailChimp . (Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is taking flak for not having banned Jones. Yet.)
Yes, Jones is a buffoon and a conspiracy theorist, and these are all private companies. But claims that it’s OK to expunge his views because he’s “extreme” don’t fly. Button-down conservative writer Dennis Prager’s educational and inoffensive PragerU videos have routinely been censored on YouTube (including, ironically, Wall Street Journal writer Kim Strassel’s video on censorship ). Republican congressional candidate (and Cambodian immigrant) Elizabeth Heng saw her campaign commercial (referencing her parents’ survival of the Khmer Rouge genocide) taken down by Facebook. Serious scholars like Charles Murray, Heather MacDonald and Christina Hoff Sommers have been assaulted on or banned from college campuses. Conservatives have seen private and government attacks on their free speech and free exercise rights. And when they attempt to defend those rights, no less than Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan characterizes these efforts as “ weaponizing the First Amendment .”
The left used to defend individual rights against government oppression and bigoted mobs. Now we see the IRS use its powers against conservative nonprofits . Pre-dawn “ John Doe” police raids are conducted against conservative politicians and their supporters. Our federal law enforcement agencies are populated by people whose “progressive” political bias taints their judgment -- if not their actual conduct. Masked armies of leftist “antifa” vigilantes attack and injure people, and destroy property.
And the liberal press yawns. No big deal as long as it’s happening to people we don’t like.
It’s bad enough to lie about political opponents. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid infamously lied about former Gov. Mitt Romney not paying his taxes and bragged that Romney lost the 2012 presidential election as a result. When asked if there was a line he wouldn’t cross in political warfare, Reid said, “ I don’t know what that line would be .”
That view seems to be mainstream now, and -- alarmingly -- “warfare” is no longer just a metaphor. There’s an old saying: When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And when half the people in the country are considered threats to democracy and human existence -- as the left now views everyone who disagrees with it politically -- then every tool (not just a hammer -- and sickle) is on the table: screaming in people’s faces, social media witch hunts, deprivation of fundamental rights and even violence.
To their credit, many Democrats and other liberals and progressives see the ugly irony and have spoken out against the violence, harassment and abandonment of traditional Democratic values. But it’s an open question whether those saner, sober voices will carry the day. (And apparently, there is even doubt among Democrats, part of what is fueling the #WalkAway movement.)
The violence has been limited -- and overwhelmingly on one side. But there are plenty of people -- and I am one of them -- sounding the warning: It will not stay like this indefinitely.
Tags
Who is online
61 visitors
“Yes, Jones is a buffoon and a conspiracy theorist, and these are all private companies. But claims that it’s OK to expunge his views because he’s “extreme” don’t fly. Button-down conservative writer Dennis Prager’s educational and inoffensive PragerU videos have routinely been censored on YouTube (including, ironically, Wall Street Journal writer Kim Strassel’s video on censorship). Republican congressional candidate (and Cambodian immigrant) Elizabeth Heng saw her campaign commercial (referencing her parents’ survival of the Khmer Rouge genocide) taken down by Facebook. Serious scholars like Charles Murray, Heather MacDonald and Christina Hoff Sommers have been assaulted on or banned fromcollege campuses. Conservatives have seen private and government attacks on their free speech and free exercise rights. And when they attempt to defend those rights, no less than Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan characterizes these efforts as “weaponizing the First Amendment.”
The left used to defend individual rights against government oppression and bigoted mobs. Now we see the IRS use its powers against conservative nonprofits. Pre-dawn “John Doe” police raids are conducted against conservative politicians and their supporters. Our federal law enforcement agencies are populated by people whose “progressive” political biastaints their judgment -- if not their actual conduct. Masked armies of leftist “antifa” vigilantes attack and injure people, and destroy property.
And the liberal press yawns. No big deal as long as it’s happening to people we don’t like.”
And yet, the two videos put on line by Ms Owens and Mr. Kirk showed at least three white Philadelphia police officers converging on the restaurant,
with many "brown" officers, NONE of whom were attacked in any way shape or form as evidenced by the videos that Owen's and Kirk's own videographer supplied.
A: there is no proof other than Ms Owens own words that anyone inside or outside the restaurant were "officially" ANTIFA or just more white liberal Temple students behaving badly.
B: anyone with two good eyes would have to wonder about how 'color blind' Ms. Owens is, as the tall white shirted police officer in the bike helmet is repeatedly shown managing the comings and goings from the restaurant during the protest kerfuffle...while Mr Kirk is asked by the "colored" detective if he wants to press charges for getting wet.
One can only assume that Ms.Owens is either willfully color blind
or has surrendered her credibility for a few more minutes of being live on Fox News, Fox & friends, et al.. ( she was interviewed the same day and appeared live the next morning )
No attack on any police which were a typical mixture of ethnicities and gender for Philadelphia.
More "Fake News".
Additionally, Owens herself has stated that she, Kirk, the cameraman and another man with the goatee and beret, finished their meal and were in the act of leaving before anyone in the restaurant said a word to them
and the only recording is of their friend acting badly before Kirk apologizes and tells the remaining patrons to enjoy their 'capitalist breakfasts'.
then Owens asks if the camera is on before they exit.......
WtF?
they weren't attacked in the restaurant or prevented from eating.
More "Fake News".
Their own film belies that, unless you count all of the verbal nonsense that no one was arrested for.
To the left it’s not really an assault unless one of their victims is physically harmed.
Doesn't that work both ways, I seem to remember even trump made sure his people would have legal representation if it was needed.
Why? What did he expect ? His followers to be sued for slander or defamation of character ? Word assault. lol
Doubtful !
I also remember some right wing radicals not long ago going after abortion drs and clinics frequently !
So, I'd say violence is a problem on both far reaching radical nutbag sides.
I stated that he declined to press charges, good for him.
Do you think his shirt suffered permanent damage from getting wet?
Worse has happened to me at Grateful Dead and other rock concerts. I declined to press charges also.
Sometimes, it's the right thing to do, and the cheaper route; Judges just hate nuisance charges.
I think there's ample proof that being a snowflake is not part of a political ideology.
There's plenty of thin skin and feigned outrage to go around.........
... or to any parent.
Great to know that we can again call our political opposition snowflakes. Let’s not forget that it’s a term designated toward liberals who need safe spaces to avoid being exposed to opposing points of view.
like seeds where the author flags every opposing comment? those kind of safe spaces?
No, it may have started out that way but now it's been used to insult the whiners on all sides of all arguments regardless of safe spaces or environments.
Deleted sweeping generalization
Some of them suffer two heavy psychic burdens, they are both fundamentalist Christians and right wing extremists. ( Deleted ) sweeping generalizartion
If they were only African born atheists, their life would be so much better in the US.
Deleted emojis No value
Typical progressive blame the victim for the sins of the perp.
Followed by typical regressive projection.
deleted
Lol, ask the mods at Newstalkers which side the 'snowflakes' are on.
Why are you moderating a seed you commented on? Aren’t there enough of you all to avoid that yet? Nice gutting of a thread.
Their side?
Removed for context
( deleted )
OMG! A meal interrupted, a wet shirt, angry tweets, a Nazi with a bloody nose, what has become of the left! Oh the humanity! /s
So, you'd be cool with that if you were out and I dumped water on you for no reason?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Yeah, watch watch happens if a protesters (who would be called a mob if they could be credibly attached to a right wing movement) hurl racist abuse at a minority eating dinner or at the wife of a Democratic congressman.
Suddenly, the same people who so blase about racist attacks towards "wrong thinking" minorities are calling it a hate crime and the world would stop as the MSM focuses obsessively on it.
Exactly.
the sad truth
It is, isn’t it. White progressive racism knows no bounds when people of any of their expected coalition actually disagree with them.
Only Democrats are allowed to berate, attack, and assault black people.
Yep, "Uncle Tom" is the ultimate insult, and if you leave the faith there are severe consequences.
It’s sad but true. I wouldn’t denigrate anyone based on their race. There’s no place for that in today’s America.