It's been a crazy week and i've engaged in many heated discussions about the events of Charlottesville. I have to admit that i've been greatly conflicted about my anti-racist feelings and my support of free speech. I flirted dangerously close in many discussions to promoting the shutdown of speech for white supremacist groups. I saw them as threats, conveyers of hate speech and given their history which has resulted in millions of deaths I was ok with suppressing their speech and shutting down their causes by whatever means necessary. But, I've had a change of heart.
I think we can be smarter than that and not empower these assholes to strip us of our freedoms. It is a slippery slope once you start suppressing speech. We have legal censorship in a variety of areas which i'm fine with, but shutting down groups from holding rallies, having websites and protesting is only going to lead to bad things. Note that I in no way support any provocation of violence or destruction resulting from rallies or protests. If that happens then shut them down immediately and make arrests.
I would promote fighting these douchebags by ignoring them and minimizing them in a SMART way. Don't lower yourself to fight with them and fuel their cause. Take away their statues and flags that empower them in public forums and show them that our communities outright reject their hateful views. Or construct monuments and statues of civil rights leaders next to the confederate statues and tell the story about how we prevailed and fought agains their hate, and WE WON. Ignore their rallies and don't give them the exposure or attention that they crave. Speak louder and stronger for equality.
I still think that the Presidents comments that minimized the ugliness of the Nazi's and White Supremacists were wildly inappropriate. He tried to spread the blame to the left for the anti-protests and it deluded his message of condemnation that should have been crystal clear in opposition of the hate groups. He should have spread the message in a better way to fight against it. I don't want to relitigate Trumps actions in this OP but I did want to share my change of opinion and open up a discussion about productive ways to move forward that combats the hate and preserves our right of free speech.
^^^ The American Taliban alive and well. Mind your own area and leave others alone with their own historical monuments. If the people in those areas desire to remove those monuments or not use their flags let them do it and if in public areas they can do it by vote. If not you are no better than a Taliban, Nazi or Islamist asshole yourself.
I never said anything different than that... you should slow down before you jump on the judgements. Taliban? Give me a break
These are not all your words?
"Take away their statues and flags that empower them in public forums and show them that our communities outright reject their hateful views."
Yes those are my words, so what?? I'm not talking about destroying statues in an anarchist way. We have a legal and legitimate way of doing it through petitions and public forums and city council meetings. Get loud and get active and rally support and either put those statues in a museum or melt them down or build counter statues. Its a better method to fight against the Nazis and KKK than throwing piss at them.
Those statutes and flags belong to the people and their communities. If you don't live there and are not a member of that community what is it to you? You are sounding more and more like a fascist who wants to force government upon states.
The confederate generals and soldiers took arms AGAINST our country. They were not fighters for our country. It was Treason and an act of rebellion to succeed from the union. It was centered around the issue of slavery which they did not want to give up. These were not heros... They were racist traitors.
Actually the confederates were tired of being raped through taxes.
European and New England capitalists and investors controlled the north's shipping on the Great Lakes but had no railway system to transport their goods en masse overland other than mule trains and river barges. Northern states wanted the wealth of the south. Then something happened in Washington that Southern states referred to as the "Tariff of Abominations." It was "a protective tariff passed by the Congress of the United States on May 19, 1828, designed to protect industry in the northern United States. Enacted during the presidency of John Quincy Adams, it was labeled the Tariff of Abominations by its southern detractors because of the effects it had on the antebellum Southern economy. It set a 62% tax on 92% of all imported goods." Fort Sumter was a tariff collection facility. The overland railroad did not commence until the 1860's with the Central Pacific Railroad, The Northern Industrialists wanted a war to use as an excuse to get the South's resources for pennies on the dollar. They began a campaign about 1830 that would influence the common people of the North and create enmity that would allow them to go to war against the South. These Northern Industrialists brought up a morality claim against the South alleging the evils of slavery. The Northern Hypocrites conveniently neglected to publicize the fact that 5 New England States ( Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York ) were primarily responsible for the importation of most of the slaves from Africa to America. These states had both private and state owned fleets of ships. Essentially, Abraham Lincoln as President wanted a war with the south but wanted to blame the south for firing the first shot. I guess it could be said he pissed on the original constitution governing a constitutional republic of independent states and he got his war. BY the way, it is claimed Robert E. Lee, a West Point Graduate was Lincoln's first choice as General for Lincoln's Union. Lee declined the south was destroyed beyond reconstruction and here we are today. I can understand why Lee's so-called descendants might conceivably want the statues down. He brought death and destruction down on his own people. But let's not forget it was Lincoln who refused to meet with a southern delegation to workout a peaceful solution before the war. And that is precisely what led to the south seceding from the Union. Slavery is a BS claim that had absolutely nothing to do with starting the Civil War.
