Saturday, February 04, 2017
The violent left
Progressives and the rest of the left seem hell bent on civil war. I haven't time at present to write a substantive post on this, but there's plenty of very good analysis available. Here's a sampling of pieces I think particularly worthwhile.
Robert Ringer (author of Winning Through Intimidation and Looking Out for Number One, two books which had important impacts on my thinking) believes escalating violence from the left is a virtual certainty. He considers various outcomes, including the collapse of the Democrat Party and civil war. Ringer's analysis is thoughtful and worth reading.
The editors of National Review call the recent riots in California "Berkeley's Shame" and correctly identify this as terrorism. A piece by NR's David French also deserves attention, "If We Can't Unite Against Rioting, We Can't Unite at All." French refutes the claim that it was just a few outsiders who rioted, showing that the student mob facilitated the violence and protected the violent. He also quotes the mayor of Berkeley and governor of California, both of whom refuse to condemn the violence. A man was beaten into unconsciousness and left in a pool of blood by leftists armed with shovels, other people assaulted, and banks and shops burned... politicians who tolerate this are enemies of freedom and ought to be removed from office.
Liberty Hangout, a libertarian (largely anarcho-capitalist) site, has two very good pieces, "It's Time to Admit that Leftists Can't be Reasoned With." "If you want to spread the message of liberty, there are millions of conservatives in this country who say they love capitalism, property rights, self-defense, and the Constitution. Their principles are nearly identical to ours, and just need to be taken to their rational conclusions. ... There is no pact to be made with those that shut down dialogue. There is no discussion to be had with those that have violent outbursts in the streets because a man who holds different opinions from them is speaking inside a college building..."
The second Liberty Hangout piece is more chilling: "The Radical Left Declares War on America. When Do We Start Taking it Seriously?" I think it is correct, and the author is exactly right when he observes "[t]he police must be unleashed upon those who violate private property norms, and restrictions on self-defense must be prohibited."
What to do about all this? Jack Kerwick of Townhall recommends that if one gets trapped and attacked by leftist rioters, the proper response is violent self defense. I think there's good chance that violence will spread, not only on college campuses like NYU and Berkeley, but also worksites such as pipeline construction sites. Americans should not tolerate this and should be ready for it.
But Unforeseen Contingencies suggests that Jeff Sessions be confirmed as Attorney General posthaste and immediately begin investigating and prosecuting perpetrators. The investigations must go much deeper than the street thugs involved in the rioting, and cover those who organize and fund civil disturbances. Yes, George, this means you!
Robert Ringer (author of Winning Through Intimidation and Looking Out for Number One, two books which had important impacts on my thinking) believes escalating violence from the left is a virtual certainty. He considers various outcomes, including the collapse of the Democrat Party and civil war. Ringer's analysis is thoughtful and worth reading.
The editors of National Review call the recent riots in California "Berkeley's Shame" and correctly identify this as terrorism. A piece by NR's David French also deserves attention, "If We Can't Unite Against Rioting, We Can't Unite at All." French refutes the claim that it was just a few outsiders who rioted, showing that the student mob facilitated the violence and protected the violent. He also quotes the mayor of Berkeley and governor of California, both of whom refuse to condemn the violence. A man was beaten into unconsciousness and left in a pool of blood by leftists armed with shovels, other people assaulted, and banks and shops burned... politicians who tolerate this are enemies of freedom and ought to be removed from office.
Liberty Hangout, a libertarian (largely anarcho-capitalist) site, has two very good pieces, "It's Time to Admit that Leftists Can't be Reasoned With." "If you want to spread the message of liberty, there are millions of conservatives in this country who say they love capitalism, property rights, self-defense, and the Constitution. Their principles are nearly identical to ours, and just need to be taken to their rational conclusions. ... There is no pact to be made with those that shut down dialogue. There is no discussion to be had with those that have violent outbursts in the streets because a man who holds different opinions from them is speaking inside a college building..."
The second Liberty Hangout piece is more chilling: "The Radical Left Declares War on America. When Do We Start Taking it Seriously?" I think it is correct, and the author is exactly right when he observes "[t]he police must be unleashed upon those who violate private property norms, and restrictions on self-defense must be prohibited."
What to do about all this? Jack Kerwick of Townhall recommends that if one gets trapped and attacked by leftist rioters, the proper response is violent self defense. I think there's good chance that violence will spread, not only on college campuses like NYU and Berkeley, but also worksites such as pipeline construction sites. Americans should not tolerate this and should be ready for it.
But Unforeseen Contingencies suggests that Jeff Sessions be confirmed as Attorney General posthaste and immediately begin investigating and prosecuting perpetrators. The investigations must go much deeper than the street thugs involved in the rioting, and cover those who organize and fund civil disturbances. Yes, George, this means you!
