The Left are the New Puritans

[Clementine]

It's very bizarre and ironic. In the 1960s, the campus of Berkeley became known as "The Birthplace of Free Speech" as various anti-war and civil libertarian speakers converged there to protest against "The Establishment." Today, we have violent student protests on the same campus against Milo Yiannopoulos because of his unorthodox speech which challenges the social justice warrior message. Across the country, at NYU, students violently protest and shut down a scheduled speech from Gavin McInnes on the same basic premise.

Leftists took to the airwaves to defend their protests claiming that "some speech is just TOO extreme to be allowed!" Seriously.... that IS their literal argument. Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activists can march in the streets calling for death to police officers and that's alright. Today, some wackadoodle pro-abortion professor called for "raping pro-life women" on campus and that's okay as well. Those examples of "free speech" aren't met with any consternation from the left and I can imagine if anyone on the right threatened to silence their voices, the left would collectively begin to give birth to cattle while standing on their ears.

Let's understand something here and now... Speech that isn't offensive or inflammatory doesn't need protecting. The very purpose and reason for freedom of speech is to protect speech that may be unpopular. We don't require protection for speech that isn't offensive or objectionable to anyone. Unless a speaker is specifically inciting violent acts (which an argument can be made is the case with the two examples I cited from the left) then it is clearly protected free speech.

But this whole thing goes way further than free speech. In every aspect coming from the left, there is this authoritarian tone which simply doesn't allow dissent in any form. From Climate Change to Nationalized Health Care... From Gay Marriage to Abortion... we're told "the debate is over!" Anyone who dares to speak out against these things is attacked, even physically, and it is repeatedly being justified. Black conservatives are called horrible awful names for standing on conservative principles. Women are castigated and eviscerated for not towing the leftist line on so-called "women's rights" or just basically having a different opinion.

It's crazy as hell that the Left in America have become the New Puritans. They want to dictate what we think, what we can say, what is acceptable and what is not. Any deviation is met with violent reaction and must be silenced. It's akin to a cult-like religion and these people are radical fanatics who are becoming bolder by the day.

Maybe it is just because you don't have any friends that actually are on the left, but coming from somebody that leans left and does have a decent amount of left-leaning friends...a lot of your generalizations are just simply untrue. I'd say that less than 10% of people I've encountered agrees with the radical leftists (and keep in mind that I volunteered for a Democratic campaign this last election season, so I was knee deep in leftists) that you highlight. Most people I've met agree that absurdities like gender identity, BLM, SJWs, and neo-feminists are dangers to all of us. In fact, I think I've only met two individuals that agreed with those ideals in person.

Just like not all Trump supporters are white nationalists even though white nationalists support Trump...not all of the left are SJWs just because SJWs support leftist ideals.

While you might not know many who support the radicalized mobs, it's clear that Berkeley and many of the leftist leaders support them. Obama has praised BLM despite the calls for dead cops. The Obama administration also refused to go after the Black Panthers even though they were clearly in violation of the law when they intimidated, even threatened, people at polling places.

Colleges support speech as long as it's liberal talking points. The safe spaces do not exist for conservatives to run to in the event someone is wearing a t-shirt with a liberal slogan or for those who freak out when people praise Pelosi. Speech that opposes liberalism is treated as hate speech. While students who burn flags and carry signs bashing conservatives get treated with respect, one person wrote Trump's name in chalk on a sidewalk and it was deemed hate speech and investigated. This shows that the radical views thrive in our institutions and are echoed by political leaders.

Sharpton is nothing but a radical race baiter but he was the most frequent visitor at the White House. No question that the establishment Dems and the media embrace these radicals.

 

[Boss]

While you might not know many who support the radicalized mobs, it's clear that Berkeley and many of the leftist leaders support them. Obama has praised BLM despite the calls for dead cops. The Obama administration also refused to go after the Black Panthers even though they were clearly in violation of the law when they intimidated, even threatened, people at polling places.

Colleges support speech as long as it's liberal talking points. The safe spaces do not exist for conservatives to run to in the event someone is wearing a t-shirt with a liberal slogan or for those who freak out when people praise Pelosi. Speech that opposes liberalism is treated as hate speech. While students who burn flags and carry signs bashing conservatives get treated with respect, one person wrote Trump's name in chalk on a sidewalk and it was deemed hate speech and investigated. This shows that the radical views thrive in our institutions and are echoed by political leaders.

Sharpton is nothing but a radical race baiter but he was the most frequent visitor at the White House. No question that the establishment Dems and the media embrace these radicals.

This is a Saul Alinsky tactic the left uses all the time. They support these radical movements as well as the violence and resistance until they are specifically called out, then they deny any association with it. Look at Obama and Jeremiah Wright or Bill Ayers.

 

[Boss]

This is great...

Fits in well with the thread OP and he even mentions my thread title!

 

[Mac1958]

There are still plenty of decent liberals out there. But the hardcore Left is in control, and it has become what it used to loathe.

That may not last forever, we'll see.
.

 

[Boss]

There are still plenty of decent liberals out there. But the hardcore Left is in control, and it has become what it used to loathe.

That may not last forever, we'll see.
.

Paul Watson makes a really good point on this... You cannot be both the dominant culture AND the counter-culture. The liberals have become the dominant culture. They control the media, academia and entertainment. They've become the new Establishment... the dominant culture.