Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Mostly Peaceful Protests

For the record, Nazi Germany was mostly peaceful, as was the Soviet Union. Even when our Civil War was raging, and 600,000 of us died, most of the country was peaceful. Even those who were in service and/or near the fronts had long periods where there were no cannons firing at the moment. Lots of nervous waiting. Combat deployment itself can be mostly peaceful - though admittedly in the sense of "no active shooting" rather than any sense of restfulness. Much of medieval warfare was sieges, or moving from one place to another, or setting up camp. Mostly peaceful. Yet the small amounts of "not peaceful" mattered greatly then, and matter greatly now.

The excuse of "mostly peaceful protests" is rather empty. If decent people should have refused to show up at Charlottesville because they knew there was a fair chance someone would turn violent, and to attend would give them cover and legitimacy, then how do we justify showing up in Seattle? Maybe we can.  But then we have to extend that in both directions.  We feel very, very different about protests we agree with, don't we? As in my previous post about conscience, it just feels different, and we just know it's right.

8 comments:

  1. When a felon's not engaged in his employment
    Or maturing his felonious little plans
    His capacity for innocent enjoyment
    Is just as great as any honest man's

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  2. I was reading the news out of Atlanta about two shootings at “mostly peaceful” protests last weekend. “Shots also rang out at another mostly peaceful protest...”

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  3. By the way, and relevant to the subject and James’ comment, see also these two:

    https://youtu.be/0N6YgivIqjI

    https://youtu.be/34NAz_TG2J0

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  4. Great Links! I think that first one would be appropriate up on your site.

    I think that is Al Lewis - Grandpa Munster - in the first row of the second video.

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  5. Yes, you’re correct! That is indeed.

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  6. That show, by the way, had a wonderful critique of modern art; and a great episode in which bank robbers set up a restaurant as a cover to mine into a neighboring vault, but end up making so much as restaurant owners they go straight. It was a wonderful show.

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