So I woke up this morning with a migraine. I am out for the day. I feel better but I am exhausted. I also found that another confrontation happened. I am sadly not surprised. Saddened. Depressed. But not surprised. I have seen many posts about calling them by the right name, not alt-right, Nazis. Terrorists. And so on. I have also seen statements where the left is told to continue calling the alt-right Nazis because no one will believe the hyperbole. I am waiting for the right backlash which blames the violence on the left because you know how protestors are (it probably is already out there). Libtards, like myself, are finally showing the world just how hateful we are. The alt-right didn't create our hate but they are unmasking it for the world to see.
The truth is that I am angry and I have been angry a very long time. For the record, I embody all of the stereotypes that conservatives use to attack the left. I have benefited from entitlement programs. Entitlement programs that are really earned benefits. Our money in the form of taxes pays for those programs. You may not be using them now but the idea is that they will be there for you in your time of need--unemployment, food stamps and so on. Consider it a paying to forward program.
I have benefitted from student loans. Without those loans I would not have gotten my degrees. I would not be teaching others how to write, or helping students appreciate literature. I am giving back to the community while struggling to pay back my loans. I work two jobs to stay afloat and in the 12 years I have been paying my loans, the amount owed has grown from around $120,000 to over $300,000. I am a part of the student loan bubble. I am one of those people who want a Jubilee that wipes everyone's slate clean because I will never be able to pay it off unless my situation changes in a spectacular way. If I get those loans forgiven, the "price" I will pay is a tax bill on the forgiven amount since it is treated like income even though I will not see a penny of it. But all of this is why I am lazy and want something for nothing. It is obviously not a case of indentured servitude so that a few can prosper. mother of the bride or groom dresses with jackets
I have no right to be angry, they say, because I brought this on myself. Never mind that the system is rigged. It is a Catch-22. If you do not have a degree it is a lot harder to find a decent job and succeed even a little. Yes, there are examples of people without degrees doing well, but there should be a statement in a small print next to their picture that says "results not typical." But if you go to school and get a degree, you have a good chance of being in debt your whole life.
Another viewpoint identifies me and others as "lazy" because Americans no longer take risks. Yeah, because there is no reason to be risk adverse given our recent history.
I am wrong to be angry when there is blatant injustice in the world. I should not be outraged that people are dying in the streets. That I am wrong when I question the validity of the practice of killing citizens because one party reports that they feared for their life and that it shows that I hate Law Enforcement because I question their authority. I have had it explained to me that I appear to be racist against whites when I make posts in support of Black Lives Matter, that I need to be more open minded and consider the point of view of white Americans.
My anger often makes it hard for me to respond. I explain that racism is oppression plus prejudice. The argument about reverse racism is a straw man argument. In our society, people of color cannot be racist because they lack the power base to oppress the group that they are prejudiced against. A lot of people talk about how the Black Agenda or the Gay Agenda is taken over and oppressing straight white folks. If this were really the case, then why is our own government not reflecting this fact? Even taking the Obama years into account, our government was and is controlled by white men.
I grew up in an abusive household and it taught me to not trust authority, especially those who are supposedly doing things with your best interest in mind. Living in St. Louis near the intersection of Delmar and Union taught me powerful lessons about race, racism, and oppression. I also learned some powerful lessons about racism from one family member in particular who would complain about how he couldn't got a job because a n***** took it, all the while leaving out details like he lacked the credentials needed and never filled out an application. My own experiences with sexism and being told that I only got the job because I was a woman added to the lessons I have learned. It also made me less empathetic to those who claim they have suffered from reverse racism or lost a position due to Affirmative Action.
I am angry at the injustice. I have embraced the slur Social Justice Warrior. I want a better society. The cost though is that Racism cannot be tolerated. Sexism cannot be tolerated. Classism cannot be tolerated. Homophobia, Transphobia and everything else cannot be tolerated.
I believe in free speech but we need to rethink the concept. I have heard people say that someone's right to throw a punch ends at another persons nose. We need to think about hate speech, especially f2f public hate speech in the same way.
The protestors in Charlottesville had every right to march. Those who disagree have a right to counter protest. They did not have a right to show up armed for a confrontation in my opinion. They came for a fight and nothing else. Supporters can rationalize it all they want but the footage shows it all. We cannot tolerate such behavior under the guise of protecting free speech and we as a society cannot be surprised that the Left responds in kind when attacked. We need to stop blaming the victims. The ones at fault had torches last night and guns and homemade shields today.
And evidently the head shit disturber left the scene when things got violent. Obviously, his job was done.