Taq writes:
Omnivorous writes:
Also, the American left has been without a violent fringe element for years.
One could argue that the violent BLM protests could be placed on the doorstep of US liberals. I don't think it is as simple as that, but I think it should still be something that US liberals acknowledge and strive to reduce.
Hi Taq. I had to think about that.
It wasn't Black Leftists Matter.
I don't see why a mass protest movement by a racial minority subject to being shot (unarmed) or choked to death by a cop is a liberal responsibility. As I recall, until recently, violence at political protests, including during the BLM protests, was condemned on all sides. Conservatives pressed liberals to condemn the movement itself, using their refusal to paint them as pro-violence and anti-police. Now, of course, since 1/6/2020, the GOP supports violent protest and considers the Capitol police and the FBI to be thugs. And as Percy suggests above, the police response to BLM protests was sometimes excessive and provocative.
Perhaps one could argue that liberals should not encourage the belief that racist policing is wrong and that the wronged have the right to protest. That seems contrary to both the truth and the Constitution.
The stronger argument is that it is conservatives who bear a moral burden for championing quasi-military policing and blocking reforms that would address the institutionalized racism. The heavily armed police presence for the D.C. BLM protests vs the late, weak response to the 1/6 insurrectionists is instructive. As more than one pundit noted, a thousand angry black men smashing their way into the Capitol would have been shot.
As a counterpoint, the close election between Gore and Bush in 2000 had way more potential of being the product of a rigged election, but there weren't any Democrats participating in a violent protest at the US Capitol, or anywhere.
It's fascinating to recall that 1/6 got a rehearsal in November 2000 with the Brooks Brothers Riot, when busloads of GOP operatives stormed (yes, including violence) the Miami-Dade County recount and succeeded in stopping it; thus there was time for Bush to win a SCOTUS stay of the recount, on the grounds it might cause him irreparable harm, and later SCOTUS could rule there was no time for a recount.
That cast has reassembled. Be afraid.
Edited by Omnivorous, : Thanks, Tanypteryx!
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.
-Terence
™ Version 4.2
