Protestors Are Assholes

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

Let me be more specific. I'm complaining about the fact that you mindlessly agree with each other on matters of opinion.

I think you've said it better than I could. I hate to use the term hivemind, but I think it's appropriate. Rather than examining and being critical of the arguments presented by people who think as we do, enough of us are taking solace in the fact that our predispositions are aligned.

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

The fact that people are agreeing on this should underscore its import, if anything.

It underscores that people who identify as Discordian are probably largely left-wing radicals, and that ideology is stronger than reason. I'm not saying that's a bad thing necessarily, but it's obviously a challenge if you identify as a Discordian and do not consider yourself part of the left or the right.

[Salty]

Let me be more specific. I'm complaining about the fact that you mindlessly agree with each other on matters of opinion.

I think you've said it better than I could. I hate to use the term hivemind, but I think it's appropriate. Rather than examining and being critical of the arguments presented by people who think as we do, enough of us are taking solace in the fact that our predispositions are aligned.

1. Yeah, you and PDS will probably get along REAL well.

2. Hivemind makes me start to think you all about the BINGO game and you're just playing along.

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

The behavior in 2008 and 2012 was not ok because what they were protesting did not merit the behavior

Thank you for returning to the actual discussion I was attempting to have!

So - I'm assuming that you identify as left/Democrat/liberal. The people who currently identify as right/Republican/conservative are saying the exact same thing about the most recent wave of protests. They honestly believe that the 2016 protestors are unjustified.

I believe that they're all unjustified. Sort of.

As I said before, protestors play an important role. Maybe I should go so far as to say that they play an extremely important role, but that doesn't change the fact that it takes a bunch of assholes to fill that role.

When I say that "protestors are assholes", I'm not only saying that "liberal protestors are assholes". I hope that's clear. What I'm saying is that we either rationalize or demonize their behavior depending on which side we're on and which side is doing it.

People are mistaking this for a false-equivalency argument. Obviously people on the left are going to think that the beliefs of the right are invalid, and people on the right are going to think that the beliefs of the left are invalid. My argument says nothing about the validity of beliefs. It doesn't need to.

The fact of the matter is that left and right exist. The fact that the right now has majority in every major branch of government should make that obvious. You might think that they don't have valid beliefs, but they're clearly a force to be reckoned with.

Nobody is going to reckon with that force by being blind to the fact that most of the people who support them are basically reasonable. If you approach reasonable people with an unreasonable attitude, they're going to tell you to fuck-off.

Is any of this making sense? Does anyone understand where I'm going with it?

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

Let me be more specific. I'm complaining about the fact that you mindlessly agree with each other on matters of opinion.

I think you've said it better than I could. I hate to use the term hivemind, but I think it's appropriate. Rather than examining and being critical of the arguments presented by people who think as we do, enough of us are taking solace in the fact that our predispositions are aligned.

1. Yeah, you and PDS will probably get along REAL well.

2. Hivemind makes me start to think you all about the BINGO game and you're just playing along.

Welcome to my ignore list, friend.

[Salty]

Let me be more specific. I'm complaining about the fact that you mindlessly agree with each other on matters of opinion.

I think you've said it better than I could. I hate to use the term hivemind, but I think it's appropriate. Rather than examining and being critical of the arguments presented by people who think as we do, enough of us are taking solace in the fact that our predispositions are aligned.

1. Yeah, you and PDS will probably get along REAL well.

2. Hivemind makes me start to think you all about the BINGO game and you're just playing along.

Welcome to my ignore list, friend.

A single tear rolls down my cheek.

[Pergamos]

The behavior in 2008 and 2012 was not ok because what they were protesting did not merit the behavior

Thank you for returning to the actual discussion I was attempting to have!

So - I'm assuming that you identify as left/Democrat/liberal. The people who currently identify as right/Republican/conservative are saying the exact same thing about the most recent wave of protests. They honestly believe that the 2016 protestors are unjustified.

I believe that they're all unjustified. Sort of.

As I said before, protestors play an important role. Maybe I should go so far as to say that they play an extremely important role, but that doesn't change the fact that it takes a bunch of assholes to fill that role.

When I say that "protestors are assholes", I'm not only saying that "liberal protestors are assholes". I hope that's clear. What I'm saying is that we either rationalize or demonize their behavior depending on which side we're on and which side is doing it.

People are mistaking this for a false-equivalency argument. Obviously people on the left are going to think that the beliefs of the right are invalid, and people on the right are going to think that the beliefs of the left are invalid. My argument says nothing about the validity of beliefs. It doesn't need to.

The fact of the matter is that left and right exist. The fact that the right now has majority in every major branch of government should make that obvious. You might think that they don't have valid beliefs, but they're clearly a force to be reckoned with.

Nobody is going to reckon with that force by being blind to the fact that most of the people who support them are basically reasonable. If you approach reasonable people with an unreasonable attitude, they're going to tell you to fuck-off.

Is any of this making sense? Does anyone understand where I'm going with it?

Obstructing traffic because a black man is president makes you an asshole.  Obstructing traffic because a white supremacist is does not.  Get the point yet?  It's not just about the actions, it's about the reasons for the actions.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

OP reminds me of something.

https://extranewsfeed.com/opinion-im-not-a-bigot-i-just-don-t-care-about-minorities-d570f855c9b8#.8e2jkpc3v

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

Obstructing traffic because a black man is president makes you an asshole.  Obstructing traffic because a white supremacist is does not.  Get the point yet?  It's not just about the actions, it's about the reasons for the actions.

Thank you for helping to prove my point, but this has nothing to do with the legitimacy of one side vs the legitimacy of the other. Did I do a poor job of explaining that?

[Junkenstein]

You're doing a poor job of being a human fucking being in general.

The monkey is strong in this one.

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

You're doing a poor job of being a human fucking being in general.

The monkey is strong in this one.

Aaaaaaand welcome to my ignore list. You earned it after all.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You're doing a poor job of being a human fucking being in general.

The monkey is strong in this one.

Aaaaaaand welcome to my ignore list. You earned it after all.

You're gonna go far, kid.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

hate to use the term hivemind, but I think it's appropriate.

*gets the checklist out*

[Junkenstein]

You're doing a poor job of being a human fucking being in general.

The monkey is strong in this one.

Aaaaaaand welcome to my ignore list. You earned it after all.

I join Vivat, weeping softly in the corner over my loss.

My life has been ripped of meaning. All my accomplishments now count for naught. I am left with a hollow ache that can never be fixed.

And you're still an asshole.

[Junkenstein]

ASSHOLE