Depressing Stuff from My Mom's Facebook

[_EAllusion]

The thing is, those comparing Obama to Hitler are not using war crimes to make their case. They just think they were both Socialists.

Depends on the person. I already pointed out that inappropriate comparisons of Obama to Hitler abound in mainstream Republican discourse in way that shares no equivalent with Bush and the left. There's more Glenn Beck than sober analysis going on.

[_Maksutov]

Indeed. And it's not unique to the right. During the time of Dubya there were sites (I think one called Buzzflash) that had videos of Cheney and Bush and the Swastika, all kinds of over the top stuff. Social media is a "hot" medium and the echo chambers build the crazy quickly and easily.

I don't think that is a fair comparison. This is not a privately owned website operated by a few, it is a publicly accessible forum for millions of Right Wingers from all over the world to participate. And comparing Cheney and Bush to Hitler is far more apt than gloating about the prospects of mowing down people of color in the streets. "Making America great again," no doubt.

My point is that broadcasting rhetorical memes illustrated is kind of cheap. I do it all the time, because it's easy. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it can imply things that aren't intended, like a black or white analysis of a situation. If there's no follow up and calm exploration of perspectives, it's basically just another ideological Facebook fart.

[_EAllusion]

My point is that broadcasting rhetorical memes illustrated is kind of cheap. I do it all the time, because it's easy. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it can imply things that aren't intended, like a black or white analysis of a situation. If there's no follow up and calm exploration of perspectives, it's basically just another ideological Facebook fart.

My view is the exact opposite. While it is easy to share dumb political memes and comment on them, the people who do it are disproportionately passionate about their views. So if you simply look at that, you get a skewed sample. These are the people who are more adamant and clear about what they think even if what they think is really ignorant, offensive, or both.

[_Jersey Girl]

KG: This is why I feel I can say Republican party is basically a party of racists and bigots. I mean, you'd think there'd be an occasional voice of reason, right? Wrong. They're all in support of murdering black people with their cars.

Yeah, so stereotyping thousands of people is a smart thing to do, not at all.

I am a registered Republican.
I consider myself fairly conservative, depends on the issue at hand.
We own guns and some of us are NRA members.
Half the people on our family tree are black.
Half the people on our family tree are not black.
All lives matter.

I think that the stuff that your mother is posting is ignorant crap and not a little dangerous in terms of stirring the political pot amongst her "friends", I mean crackpots.

Does that help?

p.s. I vote for whoever the hell I want. Just so you know.

[_Dr. Shades]

Hi Kevin,

In that video, why were the protesters in the street, and were they attempting to damage the cars or harm the drivers therein as the video's header claimed?

[_Jersey Girl]

Oh and Kevin,

If I viewed those types of posts on Facebook, I'd take a shot at reporting them as hate speech. Because they are. And, hate speech is screwed up.

[_EAllusion]

Hi Kevin,

In that video, why were the protesters in the street, and were they attempting to damage the cars or harm the drivers therein as the video's header claimed?

No, that's not clear from the videos. It's not even clear if they were protesters in some cases. But you aren't allowed to run people over in those circumstances anyway. You can't commit attempted murder or vehicular assault/manslaughter if people are blocking the road you want to drive on or are lightly damaging your car. You're supposed to back off and let law enforcement deal with whatever laws they may be breaking.

I've been able to track down two of the instances shown in this video. In one case, a driver plowed directly into a group of protesters gathering over the Darren Wilson case. After the person tried to run a few people over - and did so in one case - a mob formed around the car and began pounding on it. The person in the car then drove off. That person was later not charged, despite blatantly committing a crime on tape. That's almost certainly because the protesters were protesting the corrupt practices of those who are responsible for bringing such charges.

In the other case, which was the most mild of the ones shown, BLM protesters formed a human chain over an interstate. The driver the slowly drove through the chain until people had to relent. Their car was punched while driving through. That driver was charged with felony assault. One of the people who hit the car was also charged.

On a related note, here's a news story about a police officer encouraging people to run over BLM protesters and justify it as self-defense:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... protesters

[_EAllusion]

I'd further add the idea of, "Why can't I attempt to kill or seriously injury people who are mildly inconveniencing my right away?" is the thought of a sociopath.

[_Maksutov]

Oh and Kevin,

If I viewed those types of posts on Facebook, I'd take a shot at reporting them as hate speech. Because they are. And, hate speech is f****d up.

Yep. Whether it comes from right or left, black, white or other.

[_Kevin Graham]

Hi Kevin,

In that video, why were the protesters in the street, and were they attempting to damage the cars or harm the drivers therein as the video's header claimed?

No, I didn't see anyone in the streets trying to harm anyone. They were protesting I think maybe black lives matter after someone was killed.