Bootstrap wrote:Hmmm, can we avoid a race to the bottom, and just drop personal attacks?
So no more cushy life comments? Come on. You have to admit it was somewhat funny. My wife tells me I had a cushy life too. Compared to hers, I did.
Bootstrap wrote:Clearly, violence is wrong on both sides. We don't want Antifa defending us by violence. We don't need competing militias on the streets, that's a recipe for disaster.
Yep, and is exactly what happened.
Bootstrap wrote:But one group is threatening people who are not white, calling them "genetic refuse", using tiki torches, swastikas, confederate flags, KKK symbolism, guns, paramilitary uniforms, etc. to scare people. Using the threat of violence to scare people.
And that sickness is hidden behind the cloud of violence used against them. This was MLK's goal that actually worked. He allowed the other side's violence and injustice to show.
Bootstrap wrote:They are not threatening all whites or Republicans or preaching hatred against people of a specific race, they are specifically targeting extremists who pose a threat.
They are targeting those who they perceive as a threat. This same group has shut down several speakers they disagreed with. This is totalitarianism. This fascism that they claim to stand against.
Bootstrap wrote:But they aren't threatening the general public, they aren't preaching racial hatred, they are not using Nazi and KKK symbolism to scare people. Those are ways they are not equivalent.
Rioting and destroying public property is threatening the general public. They are making death threats to those they disagree with. I see it as just as wrong. The Neo-Nazis are doing the exact same, just targeting different people. Antifa is not all truistic. Many are anarchist and communists that are just trying to bring as much disruption into our system as they can. Read Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. It is their playbook.
The Rules
"Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood.
"Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.
"Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.
"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
"A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
"A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news.
"Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.
"The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
"The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition." It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.
"If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.
"The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem.
"Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.
Bootstrap wrote:So we should oppose both groups.
My exact point and also the President's point. Seems you agree with him. You must be a white supremacisty thing. Do you feel yourself being drawn to the dark side? Soon you will add #MAGG to your signature. Then I will have to flip and take the other side! See what you make me do?