Harris doesn’t have to be a bad person to be wrong on this in a harmful way, and to be too stubborn and arrogant to realize this. As for the comparison to Trump, it is indeed hyperbole. Hyperbole is another tactic that can be used for good or evil (I think it’s used for meh here). I don’t think it’s cheap, though.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to say mean things to them,” huh?
More and more this sounds like Cancel Culture Alarmists want to shut down conversation. Now, if we keep on criticizing bigots, we’ll get fascism. This is how you get fascism, people! Do you want fascism?
Give me a break.
I have yet more trust in Harris’s capacity to change his mind than I have in a thousand anonymous woke-sters on twitter who would, if they could, be calling his employer about his views.
Like Trump and his enablers are trying today.
Trump is also trying to spread this nonsense, and you should stop being an unwitting ally in these efforts. It’s nonsense.
I don’t know anything about Sundar, but I still hope Pinker will realize his errors and stop providing unwitting rhetorical aid and comfort to Trump and co, and he’d be welcome on the fight against fascism.
I hope Harris will prove me wrong, but I doubt it. His ego is too strong, ISTM.
Go look at what the right are saying. They are claiming the new fascists will come from the left because the left won’t tolerate dissent and wants to punish people for thought crimes. And it’s easy to them to point to examples - and attitudes like iiandyiiii’s - to convince people it’s true.
Sundar is the author of the article YWTF posted.
Is Pinker welcome in the fight whether or not he changes his ‘problematic’ views?
That’s what they can’t see. The canceling goes both ways. If progressives react to everything as though it needs to be killed with fire, they will eventually exceed their limit of allowable outrages. They will then be canceled. This will have consequences for all of us who support liberal policies, not just those who are rage tweeting.
He’s already welcome. But right now, he’s aiding the fascists, and he should stop doing that.
Something similar, a couple weeks ago some BLM protesters gathered at a local college parking lot and then decided to march thru a nearby neighborhood. There were only about 30-40 of them but they carried signs, chanted, and used bullhorns. They were mostly on public sidewalks but sometimes in the streets. They were not targeting anyone in particular, only waning to have their voices heard. Well problem was this was 9:30 pm and the residents didnt like them walking and demonstrating in their nice, quiet neighborhood and especially out in front of their homes so cops were called. Things got heated, and 4 people were arrested.
Well now residents are mad because they are being called racists and complain about harassment of strange cars going up and down there streets and some have been doxxed .
The fascists and enablers are already trying to do this. I remain unconvinced that by advocating for the harsh criticism of bigotry and ignorance that I’m somehow making those fascists more likely to do this.
I’m starting to get a “stop hitting yourself” vibe from this line of argument.
Please be specific - what have I posted that indicates this? I can’t fix myself if I don’t know, very specifically, what I’ve done wrong.
The very fact that they can live in a nice, quiet neighborhood in which they can call the cops to stop a civil rights demonstration is part and parcel of the racist society we live in. They should have not called the cops and for once supported their fellow humans.
Are you actually looking, though? Or are you like most people: predominately staying confined to your bubble of like-minded commentators?
Multiple times in this thread you’ve used “I’m not convinced” as a response.
The very fact that you’re throwing “fascists” around when I’m talking about regular everyday people is kind of illustrating my point for me.
I’ve looked at the cites. Most of them were meh at worst, IMO. But what, specifically, have I said that you disagree with? It feels like some views are being attributed to me that I haven stated.
Is it not apparent that “not calling the cops” when a mob appears in your neighborhood during a time of great civil unrest is not the logical thing to do, especially if you have a sleepy family?
To an earlier point, that attitude simply drives away natural allies. Those are the people the left needs to convince but asshattery will prevent it.
I don’t know the particulars behind this situation but I will say this.
It increasingly looks like BLM has been hijacked by people more interested in being nuisances than agents of positive political change. I see little evidence most of the protestors truly have social justice in mind. It is difficult for me to say this as a black woman, but BLM protestors are not whom I’d want associated with me if cops did me wrong. The movement needs actual leadership.
For example, you dismissed a cite provided by @YWTF in post #273 with a ‘meh’. Now, you may disagree with her views but the cite is certainly not, ‘meh’. Perhaps your ‘large ego’ is getting in the way of you ‘fixing yourself’.
This, for a start:
Its not exactly a paean to free speech. And how about this:
(My bold.) What exactly is supposed to happen to people who can’t be reasoned out of their views?
Plus there was that whole “grind the bigots into dust” thing from an earlier thread. You seem to have a very ‘us vs them’ view of the world and precious little sympathy for anyone you consider a ‘them’.