Violence is not reasoned discourse

Let me be clear up front. I don’t agree with a lot of what Milo Yiannopoulos says. I don’t agree with most of how he says it. The same is true of Gavin McInnes, who I think of as a sort of Milo lite. I believe both of them use their First Amendment freedoms to deliberately provoke those who disagree with them. That, of course, is one of the things the amendment protects – the right to say things to which others object, including things they find not simply rude but vile or repugnant.

As I noted yesterday, objectionable ideas are countered with better ideas. People get to hear both and make up their own minds about which they prefer. Declaring or deciding you will keep others from speaking, and likewise keep other people from hearing, ideas you find objectionable is not consistent with a free society. It is simply another way of suppressing ideas you dislike.

As examples:

This is not countering bad ideas with better ideas (for a more complete description, click here). Neither is this, nor this. These things are being done by people who choose act like fascists, all in the name of resisting fascism. Worse than their arguably poor grasp of exactly what constitutes fascism and the difference between conservatives or libertarians and fascism, is this: their behavior, as arguably true fascists, is virtually identical to that of other predators. Both antifa and various Black Bloc groups usually exhibit the behavior of predators. To wit, they look for those who look like easy victims, while usually avoiding those who might actually constitute a real threat.

By and large, in spite of their frequent insistences to the contrary, they are not bravely taking a firm stand against fascism. Disagree? There’s a reason they don’t attack groups of armed military personnel, the people who represent the very government they label as fascist. There’s a reason they don’t stage their “events” at gun ranges that are typically frequented by those who reflect the ideas they like to call fascist. That reason? They are cowards.*

Being cowards doesn’t mean they are not a threat. Over time, like similar movements from the past, they will likely become increasingly aggressive in their actions. This should be a concern to a lot of people, for a simple reason. At some point, if society does not restrain them, one or more groups of these predators will elect to attack the wrong person or groups. When they do, one or more of these criminals will likely die. Society will not benefit from such a potentially precipitating event. 

I truly do not care if you like Donald Trump. I have some very real concerns about what seem likely to be some of his policies, myself. I do, however, care a great deal about the potential for widespread violence these people and their actions represent. There’s not much that would truly suck as much as Americans killing Americans. The extent to which it occurs currently is more than bad enough. What they could spark off is nightmarish.

Allow me to suggest, if you feel inclined to protest Donald Trump and his policies, that you take steps to avoid allowing your group or movement to become associated with groups like Black Bloc and others. If you and others in your movement do not, many Americans will associate that movement with those who are simply looking to hijack a movement for their own violent ends.

While I doubt I have any readers who are antifa/Black Bloc/Disrupt J20 members, I suppose it’s possible I do. If you happen to be such a person, if you are truly as committed as you claim to be to burning down the “fascist system,” stop talking about it and do something, you little twit. The rest of us are quite willing to slap you down.

*NOTE: Not all of them are cowards. They are, however, predators who want nothing to do with those they view as being equally or more dangerous than they.