In the last couple of days, I’ve seen a lot of politicians and pundits say that we need to tackle the issue of violent white supremacism.
Yes, we should.
White supremacism is an evil ideology. I am not going to defend it in any way. I condemn it with every fiber of my being.
That doesn’t mean that I am not allowed to worry about the government going after white supremacism. Remember that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
There are two big problems I see in a war on white supremacism, and both of them relate to collateral damage.
One: Myopia
The Federal Government is very good at getting myopia. Focusing intently on one issue to the negligence of others.
Back in the 90’s the big fear was militias. This was the post-Oklahoma city bombing era. When 60 Minutes ran a special, it was on groups like the Michigan Militia and what they represented.
It was during this time that radical Islam sprang up. The first World Trade Center bombing and the USS Cole bombing took place while the government was busy addressing the threat of militias.
Then 9/11 happened, and the Federal Government refocused on radical Islamic terrorism. Following 9/11 there was the Fort Hood shooting, several attacks on military recruiting stations, the Boston Marathon bombing.
All the while, violent white supremacism is metastasizing on the internet.
Now some high profile shootings happen and we are going to focus on white supremacism. That needs to be dealt with but at the expense of what?
The Synagogue shootings and El Paso were carried out by white supremacists. Dayton was not. Neither was the Tacoma ICE attack.
Look at how much coverage the media did for Antifa. Is a big push to counter white supremacism going to result in ignoring violent Left-wing extremism.
This is not whataboutism. I want to stop all forms of violence. I am concerned that because of popular sentiment, that will not happen.
Two: Bad Faith
This is the part that really worries me. The Left argues in bad faith. Months ago, I wrote a post about Ted Cruz condemning an actual Nazi running for office in Chicago. Rather than people on the Left saying “thank you for condemning that” the response was “all GOP are Nazis and you should step down too.”
Then there was the Covington Catholic School media circus, in which we were told by that the MAGA hat was the new Klan hood or Swastika. This has become the defense for every time a Trump supporter gets beat up, that the MAGA hat is tantamount to a Klan hood or Nazi uniform.
The radical Left has decided that all Republicans are white supremacists. Ben Shapiro addressed this on Twitter just the other day.
So, we now have two separate NYT columnists arguing that all conservatives are basically violent white supremacists, but slightly more subtle. Let me put this gently: f*** yourselves. pic.twitter.com/aqJjZjfPra
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 5, 2019
Your conflation of all conservatives with white supremacist monsters who despise actual conservative principles — you know, like the universal, non-racially-based applicability of the principles of Western civilization — is cynical, deliberate, and disgusting.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 5, 2019
Here is a former Obama staffer explaining how all Fox News viewers are the same as the El Paso shooter.
If you work for Fox News, advertise on Fox News, or support Fox News in any way, you are enabling the spread of White Nationalism in America and probably making a pretty penny doing so. https://t.co/v5pTrNIlDz
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 5, 2019
If the Federal Government goes after violent white supremacism, what stops this from being hijacked by the Left as a weapon against every Republican in this country.
Clearly, there are people who see these tragedies as just an opportunity to go after their political opponents. The anti-gun crowd is notorious for this. They never explain how their new law would have stopped the last shooter, but they push the new law anyway.
We need to deal with this threat, I am in no way suggesting that we do nothing.
I am just concerned that what will happen is that such action will become an anti-Republican which hunt that turns a blind eye to other forms of violence, allowing them to grow.
I wish I didn’t have these concerns, but I no longer have any faith in our system that people want to solve problems and instead just want to use every opportunity to dig at opponents.
I agree with your concerns. The left is desperate. Every issue they would normally blame conservatives for is cranked up to 11 before the election. And how convenient – no one is talking about Russia, or Mueller, or socialism right now. Its all about how conservatives are white supremacists and racists, and mass murderers.
I expect things will get worse around election time, and political violence to spike after DJT gets re-elected. Its going to be a bumpy ride. The question then will be will the left settle down and just prepare for 2024. I’m thinking no. How far are they going to push? A luke-warm civil war with unrest and violence in major cities? I hope not.
“I am just concerned that what will happen is that such action will become an anti-Republican which hunt that turns a blind eye to other forms of violence, allowing them to grow.”
We’re already there. Democrats for a while have been tacitly approving of violence and hatred against Republicans. It’s becoming more overt as we approach the next election. Even Creepy Uncle Joe Biden suggested that a “physical revolution” will be necessary to deal with Republicans. I’m serious, look it up.
I don’t buy that “white supremacy” is the existential threat to Western Society screeching Democrats have made it out to be or something that’s even all that prevalent in America. How many actual KKK members are there left in America at this point? A few thousand?
Trump is certainly not one. I’ve never heard him say one thing that is racist, or one thing that disparages a different ethnicity. The only explanation is that the Democrats/Communists/Liberals are fucking insane and desperate and unstable.
There’s like 30 klansman left. The name is bigger than their membership in either case.
Remember, to Dems white supremacy is that whites are a majority. They’re the party of the minority (and illegals by ext), therefore any large numbers of whites *must* be supremacy in action.
They’re a dishonest lot that talk outta their asses. Ignore their logic cuz there is none, but watch their actions closely.
BTW — Chicago has had three mass shootings this year. The press ignores them because they’re black people shooting black people, and leftists Just Don’t Care.
HP: According to the Left, the fact that Trump has not said anything racist or disparaging of other ethnic groups is proof of his racism and bigotry.
If he had, it’d be because he’s a racist. That he hasn’t, is because he’s a racist. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
You can’t win with these cretins. All you can do is liberally apply Alisky Rule #5.
Bah. “White supremacism” is a smaller portion of the US population than it was 40+ years ago. Remember, there was a church shooter who bitched he couldn’t find enough violent racists to hang out with.
The latest shooters are just misfit nutjobs who bought into all the “your future is hopeless” dreck.
I no longer have any faith in our system that people want to solve problems and instead just want to use every opportunity to dig at opponents.
A whole lotta truth, right there. Problems are a cash cow, a fundraising opportunity, a call to action, a crisis that they would be foolish to let go to waste. If problems were solved, there’d be no outrage and no motivation for their supporters.
With no problems, there’d be contentment, and We the People would get to see what life is like without Big Government breathing down our necks trying to “solve” everything.
The Powers That Be, on both the Left AND the Right, cannot allow that. They have a vested interest in ensuring that problems — real problems affecting real people — never get fixed.
And so we see a lot of legislative and policy solutions in search of problems, and a lot of problems resulting in a lot of legislation and policy that promises much but won’t fix a damn thing.
And the pols get a lot of fundraising opportunities for their re-election campaigns.