11th February 2017, 10:56 AM
I've seen this making the rounds, and the discussion tends to boil down to a statement that if someone says something deplorable enough, or is in enough of a position of power, it's okay to physically assault them. Alternatively, I have no right to condemn such an action because I'm not in the maligned group.
I get the sentiment, I really do. Part of me even agrees with it. However, another part of me doesn't think this is a good standard. Where's the cutoff point? How deplorable does a view have to be? How much confidence do you need to have that the person actually said something deplorable and isn't just a social idiot? How do you know you aren't going to kill the person by mistake? Would THAT be acceptable? Would shooting that guy be acceptable? Would kidnapping him and torturing him be acceptable? (A recent news story suggests at least a few people though it would be okay to kidnap and torture a Trump supporter.) Lastly, is that really the world we even want to live in? Yes, his views are unacceptable, but what if someone's unacceptable view is actually correct, but most people don't know it yet?
When these people start rounding up minorities, then "by any means necessary" can be on the table for consideration. For now, well, I don't want my face at risk because I said something some redneck thought was deplorable, so I can't condone it here. I'm frankly surprised just how quickly casual violence became acceptable to progressives.
Remember when our side would NEVER do anything like that, and such a violent response was just a sign of how backwards and violent Trump supporters were?
I get the sentiment, I really do. Part of me even agrees with it. However, another part of me doesn't think this is a good standard. Where's the cutoff point? How deplorable does a view have to be? How much confidence do you need to have that the person actually said something deplorable and isn't just a social idiot? How do you know you aren't going to kill the person by mistake? Would THAT be acceptable? Would shooting that guy be acceptable? Would kidnapping him and torturing him be acceptable? (A recent news story suggests at least a few people though it would be okay to kidnap and torture a Trump supporter.) Lastly, is that really the world we even want to live in? Yes, his views are unacceptable, but what if someone's unacceptable view is actually correct, but most people don't know it yet?
When these people start rounding up minorities, then "by any means necessary" can be on the table for consideration. For now, well, I don't want my face at risk because I said something some redneck thought was deplorable, so I can't condone it here. I'm frankly surprised just how quickly casual violence became acceptable to progressives.
Remember when our side would NEVER do anything like that, and such a violent response was just a sign of how backwards and violent Trump supporters were?
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)