This is why I cringe when someone calls me "leftist"
KP's sister described me by saying to her friend, "She's leftist, like us." But I'm not a leftist!
I don't think I'm liberal, really. In my mind, liberals are just as wacky as conservatives. Just for different reasons.
Take this article for example. A Molotov cocktail? Do those people not see the irony? Protesting violence and war with violent and war-like actions? Back when we went into Iraq, I remember having trouble getting to work because the protestors shut down the entire Market Street in San Francisco. The bus I was on couldn't cross over, so I had to walk to the train station. It was not that big of a deal, just a little annoying. I guess it's a price I'm willing to pay for speech.
But in that protest, there was no violence. There was little, if any, property damage. There were just craploads of people sitting in the middle of the intersections. I was OK with that, even if I did disagree with the message.
But Molotov cocktails? Are they serious? Conservatives do it to, with the whole abortion-clinic bombing thing. Again, irony. I recognize that, in both examples, it's a "small element bent on violence and destruction," (quoted from the article). But these extremists are no better than the object of their protests.
I'm not sure what my point is except that when someone calls me liberal, I think of it as an accusation that I support this kind of behavior.
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Go Irish, Beat Volunteers!
I don't think I'm liberal, really. In my mind, liberals are just as wacky as conservatives. Just for different reasons.
Take this article for example. A Molotov cocktail? Do those people not see the irony? Protesting violence and war with violent and war-like actions? Back when we went into Iraq, I remember having trouble getting to work because the protestors shut down the entire Market Street in San Francisco. The bus I was on couldn't cross over, so I had to walk to the train station. It was not that big of a deal, just a little annoying. I guess it's a price I'm willing to pay for speech.
But in that protest, there was no violence. There was little, if any, property damage. There were just craploads of people sitting in the middle of the intersections. I was OK with that, even if I did disagree with the message.
But Molotov cocktails? Are they serious? Conservatives do it to, with the whole abortion-clinic bombing thing. Again, irony. I recognize that, in both examples, it's a "small element bent on violence and destruction," (quoted from the article). But these extremists are no better than the object of their protests.
I'm not sure what my point is except that when someone calls me liberal, I think of it as an accusation that I support this kind of behavior.
---
Go Irish, Beat Volunteers!
posted by nugatory | 11:48 AM
2 Comments:
Part of it could be how you think of liberals. I don't really think of either as bad, though I tend to identify more with liberals than conservatives. I think what you have a problem with is extremists, not liberals or conservatives. At least, that's what I have a problem with. I consider myself liberal, but I would certainly never consider throwing a Molotov cocktail at anyone. And I doubt most liberals would, either.
Yes, you are right about the extremism. I pretty much conceded as much.
But in my mind, on the political thought spectrum at least, the liberal is far more left of center than the democrat. A conservative, however, is somewhat of a mirror image of the democrat. Perhaps it's because there aren't a lot of media outlets referring to conservatives with that (linguistically) snarled tone.
I guess I buy into it.
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