A New Jersey Star-Ledger letter by Arnold
Reisman Nutley, published on 9/16/17, concluded:
If the Jews had taken up arms against Adolf Hitler, President
Donald Trump would have criticized the violence on both sides.
Nutley equates the Antifa faction with the
Jewish victims of the German Nazi state. But Trump’s wishy-washy response to
the white racists aside, he was right. At least two reporters witnessed acts of violence perpetrated by the
Antifa-inspired Leftist protestors. As Reason reported:
But for those of us already calling out the violent bigots
flaunting Nazi imagery, it's not whataboutism to point out that an alleged alternative
isn't actually an alternative at all—it's just another version of the same
thing. As New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg tweeted from Charlottesville, "The hard left seemed as hate-filled
as alt-right. I saw club-wielding 'antifa' beating white nationalists being led
out of the park." She later, understandably, changed
"hate-filled" to "violent," since actions are clearer and
more important than motivations. And CNN's Jake Tapper commented that "At least two journalists in Charlottesville were
assaulted by people protesting the Klan/Nazi/alt-right rally."
“Antifa” stands for anti-fascist. As Reason
pointed out, we’re not dealing with fascism and victims of fascism. Both the
Leftist Antifa and the alt-Right are two sides of the same thuggish coin.
Following is my unpublished rebuttal letter to the Star-Ledger:
A recent letter (Criticism goes both ways,
9/16,17) asserted, “If the Jews had taken up arms against Adolf Hitler,
President Donald Trump would have criticized the violence on both sides.”
Trump was referring to the so-called “alt-left,”
also known as “Antifa.” Antifa, which masquerades as “anti-fascist,” considers
violence a legitimate “defense” against peaceful expression of ideas it
disagrees with. From the perspective of supporters of free speech, a bedrock
value of a free and open liberal society, Antifa—whose tactics are widely
condemned, including by political liberals like Nancy Pelosi and the
Star-Ledger editorial board—can legitimately be considered a kindred spirit of
the neo-Nazi alt-right.
One may criticize Trump’s “whataboutism”
reaction to the alt-right violence in Charlottesville, with reasonable
justification. But to equate—even implicitly—German Jews with Antifa is a moral
abomination. An armed resistance by German Jews against their Nazi oppressors
would have been morally justified. Antifa’s violent brand of “free speech” is
not.
I’ve put together a group of press articles that
I think clarifies what we are dealing with and the alternative:
- Punching Free Speech: Anti-free speech
radicals are doing violence to American values-- Peter Roff
- Choose Sides? You Bet. But Antifa and Fascism Are
the Same Side: Advocates of liberal society are a side in
themselves, and the left- and right-wing thugs battling in the streets are
rival siblings from an illiberal family.--J.D. Tuccille
- Unapproved Thought Is Violence--William
L. Gensert
Whereas the word “violence” has always meant actions that include
actual physical violence, progressives have transmogrified “unapproved thought”
from a mere difference of opinion into an integral component of the definition
of violence.
Therefore, the violence of unapproved thought can now be met with
actual violence because actual violence is not really violence if it is
committed against someone with the wrong ideas and the gall to speak those
ideas aloud.
- Left-wing thuggery is a gift to Donald Trump--Nj
Star-Ledger Editorial Board
- Yes, the Alt-Left Exists and It's Terrifying:
For those self-identified liberals who may have been seduced by this
belief system, by its propaganda, and are fuming at this piece, thank you
for reading.--Keri Smith
- Pelosi condemns ‘violent actions’ of antifa
protesters--David Weigel
Related Reading:
Socialists and Fascists Have Always Been Kissing Cousins--Bradley J. Birzer for The American Conservative
1 comment:
I see no reasonable justification for criticizing Trump's whataboutism here, except as an expression of free speech. Trump merely equated the antifa with the alt-right, perfectly appropriate and needed, and it defends rational thought and rational action, which badly needs defending today. Such defense, of severe action against the antifa right along side the alt-right, simultaneously, by anybody, but preferably by the cops, is badly needed.
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