I can't read anymore of this stuff. It's just too depressing. My own brother just told me off on Facebook, blaming all of this crap squarely on "the right", and called my disagreement absurd.
He had posted something blaming what happened at Charlottesville squarely on Trump, because of some cherry picked words Trump has spoken since he first ran for POTUS. I responded with:
Yeah, Trump has a mouth, and he ought to filter it more; and God knows he tweets too much. But how do you account for Antifa violence during Obama's presidency, before Trump got elected? This is not ALL Trump's fault. There is a sickness in the soul of any movement which believes that the answer to free speech which is found to be objectionable, is to show up with axe handles and Molotov cocktails, and to initiate violence against the speakers. How is that any different from when the Chicago PD rioted against anti-war protestors during the DNC in 1968......or Bull Connors and his fascist cops terrorizing MLK's freedom marchers? Initiating violence because you don't like the speech is fascism, no matter what light you cast it in, or behind which ideology you seek to shield it. Trump has the capability to be an [expletive matching buttocks to head wear] at times, but I honestly find this blaming all the violence on him alone to be disingenuous. Under the 1st Amendment, people have a right to be wrong. NOWHERE in the Constitution does it say that you or I have a right to beat their [bad word] for being wrong. Antifa was preaching violence before Trump. The white supremacists at C'ville are nothing new either. What HAS changed is the willingness of local authorities to intercede to stop violence. Instead, they order police to give them room to riot (Baltimore), or they pull the police out (C'ville). The world is going to manure, and it is politicians on BOTH sides who are fast-tracking it by refusing to govern.
My brother's response:
Sorry, no, you don't get to make this claim unchallenged. The constant threat of violence from the right goes way back before Obama, not only to the KKK murdering people for being black or a civil rights worker, but more recently look at this crap rhetoric coming from Wayne la Pierre and the perpetuation of private militias in order to "restore the republic" or those same "soldiers" who show up at peaceful marches in camo holding weapons. Sorry, the extremists on the right "weaponized" the thing, and people on the left will not have it anymore. It's scary, but we're tired of being intimidated by [expletive] thugs who happen to own weapons. So, we're going to be arming ourselves. No one wants a civil war, but I'll be ready if it comes. And I won't allow the sacrifices our fathers made to stop fascism in Europe to be wasted by fascist thugs here. We can agree that the authorities could do a better job of governing. But it starts at the top, and we know who's there. The idea that "both sides" share responsibility in some equal measure is absolutely the most absurd thing you've ever claimed.
PS: I know you're going to respond (you never don't), but I think you've said what you needed to as have I. Don't take my non-response as consent.
In CW1, brother fought against brother. What appears to be developing now is CW2, and nothing has changed. I'm really saddened by this.
I'm just going to keep buying ammo, food, and medical supplies.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
― G. Michael Hopf, "Those Who Remain"
#TINVOWOOT