Which is it? Do you want to occupy the public space to express your dissent and invoke your absolute right to speak? Or do you want to beat on anyone who then exists in that same space and invokes their absolute right to document it? https://t.co/YNzX74Mpk5
— David Simon (@AoDespair) April 25, 2024
“Which is it? Do you want to occupy the public space to express your dissent and invoke your absolute right to speak? Or do you want to beat on anyone who then exists in that same space and invokes their absolute right to document it?”
– a tweet from David Simon referring to a video posted by Logan Schiciano with the accompanying text “Unfortunately some protesters at Northwestern’s newly-formed encampment weren’t too thrilled with us reporting” in which a masked protester assaults the person filming them.
Remember the “Occupy” movement? The Occupy Paradox is this: “Upon what basis can an Occupy protest ask someone to leave?”
… because “This is private property” or any other version of “You have no right to be here” are open to some fairly obvious ripostes.
“We were here first” – “Er, not quite first. The actual owners of the space were there before you.”
“We are the 99%” – “We’re poorer than you, you middle class ****-ers”
“We represent the 99%” – “Who voted for you, then?”
“We are the official accredited Occupiers” – “We refuse to be defined by your oppressive structures, and hereby declare ourselves to be Occupying this Occupation!”
I think that the problem might be that you are dealing with idiots. If these people had anything about them they would be doing something useful.
It’s cosplay, just like those Che Guevara posters were back when I was at uni in the 90s. If you question them about why they are there (or why they hung ‘that’ poster) all you will get back is an incoherent word salad, a world view that is full of contradiction, or if you are really lucky, some violence!
Is this about Gaza? So, they are occupying a place annd using violence over Israel occupying a place and using violence.
– A much simpler and more suitable response:
1) film him assaulting you
2) rip his mask off (accidentally in self-defence, of course) so the camera captures his face
3) call the police and report him.
Essential message? “Hey scumbag, I’M exercising MY rights TOO; and actions have consequences. Enjoy your six-months-hard…”
I’d love to see those scumbags get punched out in response.
Thugs who will amount to nothing in their (hopefully very brief) lives.
Surely the point of ‘Occupy’ is visibility? Shouldn’t they want people to see them? Is this the first invisible protest march?
The irony is that you and your government are basically subsidizing these characters to tear down your society. Not that anyone asked you about that, but there you go: It is what is happening.
Civilizational suicide. I don’t think there’s really a good parallel anywhere in history; for most of humanity’s existence, there was never the surplus available for this sort of thing to happen; you had to work too hard just to stay alive.
The other interesting feature is how your leaders are allowing a failed civilization (Islam) to colonize and parasitize your formerly fairly successful little civilizational enterprise, on the theory that the frothing primitives are somehow more “authentic”, and thus more deserving.
My take on the whole thing is that our elites are in dire need of culling. As in, since the fish rots from the head, remove said head and let someone else try administering things for a bit. I can’t see how it could be possible that the average fishmonger sourced from Billingsgate would do a worse job than your current set of Oxbridge-indoctrinated dolts.
You can film them assaulting you, and call the police, but you’ll likely find yourself arrested, for causing a fight.
Cops are attuned to acute problems – assaults and such – that can cause injuries and death.
They tend to shy away from enforcing chronic issues – such as an encampment on public grounds – because such issues aren’t actively disturbing the public peace.
That’s why they escort the Jewish counter-protester away from the main protest – it stops immediate harm. But it ignores the other side’s illegal acts – because those illegal acts aren’t causing immediate bloodshed.
Once a judge issues an order for the police to clean up a camp, THEN they’ll wade in and enforce that order – but that’s what it takes to involve them in the problem.
Were I a cop, I’m not sure that I would have a different outlook.
Kirk,
History will record that western civilization was deliberately destroyed by its own governments. This largely because western citizens made two mistakes. They thought that, in spite of ideological differences, their politicians were patriots, and also that the politicians needed their votes. Wrong on both counts. Net zero and mass immigration show that western governments couldn’t care less about the nations they govern or the opinions of voters.
Roué le Jour said:
I agree. As Lenin put it, “What Is to Be Done?”
Well, for one thing, you make them care. The electorates of Western nations have been too trusting, too complacent. They need to act, to bring accountability to their political elites. Alternatively, they need to put the fear of God and/or the mob into them… I think the Dutch approach to that would work a treat. One or two barbecued legislators on the grounds of the ornate legislatural palaces they’ve built for themselves, and I think they might get a clue. Much like the Ceaucescus did.
From what I can see most of this campus activism going on right now is largely an intra-left kerfuffle. While I have no illusions about the student radicals, I would be inclined to let the left/centrists tear each other apart over this. They might just both lose.
There is no contradiction – the thugs represent “Social Justice”, they Occupy and they crush dissent. They will also steal anything they want, which is, after all, the basic definition of “Social Justice”.
There is a lack of basic understanding of what the left believe, an assumption that they must have nice beliefs (they do not) or good motives (they do not), and that there must be some contradiction between their beliefs and their conduct – there is no contradiction.
The facemasks are the final touch – when men cover their faces they announce to the world that they intend to engage in criminal “Social Justice” conduct, they are bandits.
Bandits are not guilty of some logical contradiction – they are guilty of crimes, plundering.
Wake up people.
Yes – the Western governments (and the elite Corporations – who are NOT capitalist in any classical sense) who support endless mass immigration (which is about Public Services and Benefits – it is “Cloward and Piven” on an international scale) and “Net Zero” share the basic assumptions of the thugs in the face masks.
The elite “public servants” and “Woke” Corporate Managers may wear expensive suits – but they were taught the same basic doctrines at university as these thugs – they are also “Social Justice” bandits pushing the “Woke” agenda.
Kirk – as a soldier you know that if you call upon people to fight back you have an obligation to come up with a plan that offers a reasonable chance of victory.
Otherwise trying to oppose rigged elections leads to people rotting away (and being abused) in prisons – or sharing the fate of Ashley Babbitt (Air Force veteran and small business owner – shot dead).
@Paul Marks
Kirk – as a soldier you know that if you call upon people to fight back you have an obligation to come up with a plan that offers a reasonable chance of victory.
That’s right. It is also an obligation to determine IF you can win, or if the opposition is too powerful, and if you can’t find the best resolution you can to rescue as much as you can. (Re, Ukraine.) In the west we are WAY past the point where the battle for decency and normality can be won, which is why we need to find a suitable settlement without unrealistic expectations. Anyone who thinks that a Trump win will fix everything is deluding themselves. Better than Biden, but it won’t stop us circling the drain.
Otherwise trying to oppose rigged elections leads to people rotting away (and being abused) in prisons – or sharing the fate of Ashley Babbitt (Air Force veteran and small business owner – shot dead).
Indeed, and Ms. Babbitt’s case is a perfect illustration. The idea that busting into the Capitol building was going to solve anything is nuts. All it is going to do is make things worse. Ms. Babbitt’s death was a tragic consequence of political hubris. Of course the guy who shot her massively over reacted and should certainly be in jail. But who is surprised he isn’t? Not me.
Fraser Orr – I agree with a lot of what you say in your comment, but not with “we need to find a suitable settlement without unrealistic expectations”.
There can be no “suitable settlement” with either the Critical Theory “Woke” Marxist agenda (“Trans Kids” and all that) or with the Henri Saint-Simon, Klaus Schwab Corporate State “Stakeholder Capitalism” (which is NOT capitalism at all) agenda.
They will not settle for anything other than our total destruction – they are evil.