accidentally posted this in world news before bcs i forgot about the no internal US news rule by accident
Congressman Adam Smith says ‘totalitarian’ protesters are ‘trying to silence anyone who dares to disagree with them’
Protesters calling for Israel to cease fire in its war with Hamas who have disrupted US public events and infrastructure are practicing “leftwing fascism” or “leftwing totalitarianism”, a senior US House Democrat said, adding that such protesters are “challenging representative democracy” and should be arrested.
“Intimidation is the tactic,” said Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democrat on the House armed services committee. “Intimidation and an effort to silence opposition … I don’t know if there’s such a thing as leftwing fascism. If you want to just call it leftwing totalitarianism, then that’s what it is. It is a direct challenge to representative democracy now.”
Congressman Adam Smith says ‘totalitarian’ protesters are ‘trying to silence anyone who dares to disagree with them’
Says the man wanting to lock people up.
“Intimidation is the tactic,”[…] “Intimidation and an effort to silence opposition”
Is this man so comically evil he’s trying to be the Spanish Inquisition?
Does he plan on locking up Chuck Schumer too?
I was outraged by the headline, but he said protestors should be arrested in the context of protesting outside of someone’s home. While I don’t think I agree with that, I can at least understand why he would feel that constitutes intimidation.
Yeah his whole tirade is ludicrous and he sounds like an absolute asshat, but someone reportedly vandalized his home, and that’s crossing a very big line. He should shut the hell up about whatever he thinks “leftwing fascism” is, and they should stop vandalizing people’s homes.
I dunno, I’m with ya but also if you see protesters, who regular citizens with no special power, as totalitarian tyrants wanting to silence you while also demanding they be arrested with your very real closeness to the power that could that then fuckin’ maybe your house should get vandalized. I’d draw the line at hurting an actual person and then urging people away from vandalism since they might hurt someone by accident but stillllll…
A politician who fails to represent the public will is not owed peace of mind. They work for us, he can do his damned job for a few minutes.
Does he mean the Jews doing a Seder in front of Chuck Schumer’s house?
protestors should be arrested in the context of protesting outside of someone’s home
Being a public elected figure typically means dealing with constituents, even when you don’t want to. That’s the nature of the job.
If you don’t want folks on the sidewalk waving signs that call you a murderer, maybe stop advancing policies that kill tens of thousands of people.
I don’t think congressman Smith’s kids should have to come home from school to see “baby killer” written in red paint on their garage door. Other than that, I already said I don’t agree protesting outside of a public figure’s house should result in an arrest.
It’s possible to understand why someone holds a position they do while disagreeing with it. It’s pretty foundational for a healthy democracy.
I don’t think anyone should come home to find their houses obliterated by an airstrike or a sniper waiting to shoot them through the head.
Smith does, as he continues to finance the extermination and eradication of Palestinians in Gaza.
If his kids are confronted with their father’s complicity in war crimes, they need to talk to him about it and pull him away from this atrocious policy.
I wouldn’t want to see “Baby Killer” signs outside my house either, but if my parents were killing babies I certainly would want to know.
Maybe his kids should be aware of their father’s support for genocide.
Not saying this is you necessarily, but I find it curious that so many people are much more concerned about non-violent acts of property destruction during protests of genocide, than the actual genocide itself.
Call me crazy, but I’m more concerned for the kids in Palestine being needlessly slaughtered because their school was (intentionally) bombed by the IDF, or because they threw rocks at soldiers, than the kids of a US congressman having to face the ugly truth about their father.
Apparently that’s a controversial take.
I’m much more concerned with the genocide than property damage, but I also don’t think the solution to the problem is more traumatized kids. I don’t know how old they are but if they’re young enough they’re absolutely unequipped to understand the issue or to put pressure on their father. This is a tough one because I feel like I’m getting too far in the “think of the children” lane which is typically just used to shut down dissent. I will say that the obvious solution for congressman Smith is to stop enabling Israel’s actions and leave it at that.
Aren’t there harassment laws that should already cover this? Protesting outside of a business should be fine. But protesting outside of living areas feels like targeted harassment.
I disagree. That’s like going after journalists/reporters because the huddled outside a senators house because he/she caught in a scandal. Because it’s a group, you could argue that’s intimidation too except that they’re asking questions in the public interest. Protesters whether you agree with them or not believe they’re acting in the public interest too and are trying to change things for the better.
Maybe outside the living area of regular citizens, but if you’re a public servant, then you answer to the public.
If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the fire.
It was apparently before the college campus protests. I wonder what he thinks about those.
Totalitarian… protesters?
You get a buzzword, you get a buzzword, everyone gets a buzzword!!!
The ANTIFA are culturally appropriating the Jewish space lasers! Antisemitism!
Fun fact. The organization of holocaust survivors, bund of anti fascists in Germany, whose members are mainly Jewish holocaust survivors and their descendants has been targeted by the German government for being “far left extremism.” Because actual holocaust survivors are clearly suspicious for demanding antifascism.
I’ve heard that its also including bank account freezes for them as well in some cases, utterly ridiculous behavior by the German government.
Yes they froze the bank account of the Jewish voice for peace in Germany, demanding a full members list including addresses to “identify” the organization. It is a registered organization and as such it is legally represented by its board. Demanding a full member list has no legal reason, but of course the German government loves to make lists of Jews it doesn’t like.
Antiwar Tankies
This is the most incoherent thing I’ve ever seen…
By speaking out, these “totalitarian” protesters are silencing everyone else and challenging representative democracy? And to stop them from silencing others, they must be arrested to prevent them from speaking?
Dude, this couldn’t have sounded good in your fucking head…
It’s called doublespeak.
A guy called Orwell wrote a book about Modern Totalitarianism that includes this (prety good book, recommended read).
It was supposed to be a work of fiction but apparently a lot of politicians are using it as a roadmap.
This is beyond double speak. It doesn’t even need to make sense anymore. As in, like, they don’t even need to form a complete, coherent sentence anymore.
They don’t need to. They’ve had far more success with the big lie than anyone ever expected, I believe.
double speak and double think didn’t need to make sense. The key to them is accepting directly contradicting statements as equally true as long as the party puts them out. The total ignorance to contradiction is the key.
Right, but in 1984, there was at least a syntax to it that made sense. Double plus ungood makes sense because “ungood” means “bad” and “double plus” means “extra”, etc. There was a logic to it.
He wrote the book under the pseudonym Orwell, but the guy’s name is Blair.
And youre gonna tell me Mark Twain was also a pseudonym?
Which means if you are making a comment stylised as speaking about a random bloke, then it fits the theme to use the real name.
Strange … I don’t remember storming a capital building trying to subvert our democratic process…
All I suggested is that not everyone in Gaza is Hamas. That 6 year old girls are way to young to understand what a Nazi even is.
And that Israel’s tactics for a hostage situation is deplorable. Considering they used more Bombs in a week then the USA dropped in Afghanistan in a year.
Wish we had an anti-genocide party in this country.
We have anti-genocide parties. The problem is not enough Americans are willing to vote for them or organize for them as alternatives to the Democrat and Republican parties. Plus the coffers for the Democrats and Republicans are filled by corporations, so it’s grassroots funding vs multi-billion dollar industry donations and super PACs.
There is one
A viable one?
Yeah. They’re called NullPointerException: Killing Process
What makes one viable?
viable /vī′ə-bəl/
adjective
Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable:
synonym: possible.
Right, theyre capable of being elected if people vote for them. Same as any party.
Oh fantastic! So they are capable of getting enough votes to overcome the two party duopoly created by our first past the post voting system? Wow, that’s amazing! Why have I never heard of them?!
candidates dont take votes, voters give votes. any candidate is capable of receiving enough votes to win, it’s up to voters to decide. If you want to get rid of that first past the post voting system, well guess what. That same anti-genocide party also supports ranked choice voting! So if you’re anti-genocide and dont like first past the post voting, why would you decide on the total opposite of that?
What party though?
Green party
Been really unimpressed with them the last several cycles, from my perspective they’re not really ‘viable’ in terms of can we get these people elected to office but you’re entitled to support who you like of course.
I hope one day voters realize they decide who gets elected
Republicans are complicit as well
Yes
What an absolute dickbag. He even complains about silent protests that are 100% peaceful. Maybe if your stance is so weak that silent protestors are enough to derail your plans, you should rethink your stance. He even downplays children being killed.
Also, if we are talking about silencing opposite points of views, how many pro-Israel people in the US have been kicked out of school, arrested, vilified in the mainstream press, or fired from their jobs?
Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
And it’s not about pro-israel VS. Pro-palestine. The issue is much more nuanced. You people realize a terrorist organization is the representative government of Palestine, right? They chant “death to america” and their founding charter calls for the eradication of all jews. They still have, and are probably still torturing and raping hostages. You’re cheering for the scum of the earth.
Both sides have done shitty things, but things will never get better as long as Hamas controls the territory. They have no interest in peace.
What is the ratio of Hamas members getting killed to civilians getting killed? That is the problem people have.
You’re cheering for the scum of the earth.
You are such a fucking ignorant dipshit if you really think people are cheering Hamas. Either you are an unbelievably stupid fucking moron if you actually think that, or you are an evil piece of shit who is lying to defend what you think is justified genocide. Nobody is cheering Hamas. Even the people of Gaza, who haven’t voted for Hamas as their representative government in 17 years because they aren’t allowed to, aren’t cheering Hamas. Nobody is cheering anything, honestly. People are outraged at the number of civilians killed and the US’s continued support of a government that is perpetrating the mass killing of civilians. Hamas killed 1200 people in a horrific, evil, awful, unspeakable act in October. Israel has so far killed 33,000 Palestinians in response. Of that, 13,000 were children. People aren’t cheering Hamas, they are outraged that Israel has killed 13,000 children in response to 780 civilians being killed. Israel has killed more journalists, health, and aid workers (803) in Gaza than all civilians killed by Hamas.
Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
People have been kicked out of school and fired from jobs at learning institutions for speaking out against Israel’s actions. So yeah, Zionists have disrupted learning institutions.
Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians to achieve political change.
Terrorists are people that use the tactic of terrorism.
Israel specifically has been targeting the civilian population to try and get them to turn against Hamas.
Israel is a terrorist government.
Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
[…]
Hani Na’eem School of Agriculture, Abu Tammam’s Basic School, Hayel Abdel Hameed School, Mahdeya el Shawa School, Subhi Abu Karsh School, The Shujayea Martyrs School, Beit Dajan School, Ali Bin Abi Talib School, Shujayea Basic School, Abbas Secondary School, Jamal Abd el Nasser School, Moaz Bin Jabal School, Mahatet Miyah el Karamah School, Caesarea School, Sukina Bin Hussein School, Khawla Bint el Azur School, Rudolph Filter School, Ibn Zaidun School, El Bareej School, Fathi el Balawi School, Maari School for Girls, Maari School for Boys, Ibn el Nafis School, Absan New School, Ghassan Kanafani School for Girls, Ghassan Kanafani School for Boys.Were those 13,000 children Hamas?
🇵🇸
Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
More than 350 Schools in Gaza have been fully destroyed or severely damaged. The 7 universities of Gaza have been destroyed. 26 Hospitals have been destroyed, leaving no hospital standing to be a place for teaching new doctors.
And that is not talking about the thousands of students, teachers, professors, doctors and other education personnel that was killed.
If we look outside of Gaza, we see Zionists demanding legitimate protests to be shut down, protesting students to be denied access to education, among other places in Germany and the US. In Germany the state of Berlin has imposed a new law that demands universities to throw students out, if they are accused of “antisemitism” regardless of there being a criminal conviction or comparable level of proof.
They turned all of the schools in Palestine to rubble, so… yes?
Pretty standard perspective for a politician that has been in office since the 90s.
When you really haven’t felt accountability for decades, it probably feels intimidating. He might have to, you know, represent these opinions from his constituents somehow.
“You’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists”
Friendly Reminder:
Neoliberals are conservatives. Always have been. The D next to the name does not change that.
We do not currently have a viable left-wing party. We have a conservative party and a more conservative party.
We have two parties, conservative and fascist.
We used to have a centrist and far right party. And before that, for a brief time, we had a liberal and a Conservative party.
One party makes outrageous and unreasonable demands that only move to the right, and the other party is happy to negotiate with those demands, and so the country moves further and further to the right.
We’re told the only way to stop this is to keep doing what we’ve already been doing.
From an outside perspective you have a an economic far right party with gay rights and systemic racism and genocidal imperialism as well as a fascist party w.o. gay rights
My country is lead by a conservative but very left wing party and trust me, it’s really bad. Like really.
Conservative or left wing? They are complete opposites.
Also beware rightists/conservatives claiming to be leftist while practicing rightism (i.e. consolidation of power, authority, and wealth).
This is where I would put them.Well, you can have conservative left wingers (communism). I was referring to the political compass: https://www.politicalcompass.org/analysis2?ec=4.75&soc=-2.26
Basically they are extremely left wing in terms of the economy introducing a bunch of social reforms, pensions 13 times a year, etc. but they present very conservative views on the topics like homosexuality, freedom of art, etc.
Oh, look it’s that right wing propaganda meme, again. Not a big fan of reading, I take it?
I don’t know what’s right wing propaganda on the political compass. The squares are equally big.
Rotate the compass 45° clockwise, name the new vertical axis to state economy vs private economy, and name the new horizontal axis to left and right. At the far left(green) you have total destruction of hierarchy and flattening of power inequality, while at the far right(blue) you have absolute hierarchy and centralized power.
State centralized economies(red) lead to increased hierarchy by empowering government officials to become powerful lords. Privatized economies(purple/yellow) lead to increased hierarchy by empowering capitalists to become powerful lords. Trying to reach either the top or bottom tip of the diamond leads you the right tip.
Horseshoe theory kind of applies to Marxist-Leninists like its pro-capitalists creators imagined, but they didn’t realize that they were the other end of the horseshoe. This is because both capitalism and the state are the dangers. The problem with both stems from allowing the unrestricted accumulation of power.
Government officials use political capital, while capitalists use economic capital. They can feed off of each other, with the rich helping politicians and the politicians helping the rich. My preferred solution to both is to redistribute capital from the rich directly to the poor, growing the middle class by putting a ceiling and floor on the rich and the poor.
It’s fundamentally wrong, and it is wrong on purpose.
Leftism IS egalitarian. It is fundamentally anti-authoritarian. It is concerned with ensuring that power (and wealth, which is inextricably linked with power) are equally distributed. Anarchism and Direct Democracy are forms of “extreme” leftism.
Rightism IS authoritarian. It is fundamentally anti-egalitarian. It is concerned with consolidation of power and wealth. Monarchism and Dictatorship are forms of “extreme” rightism.
Economic policies are completely beside the point.
A dictator who nationalizes things is still right wing, and has merely brought those things under his own personal control. “Benevolent” Rightism is still rightism.
A leftist society that votes to nationalize things is still leftist because they have achieved a quorum and share the control equally.
Rightism needs to muddy language and understanding to achieve enough support to seize power. “I am a leftist” some will say as they seize power for themselves and entrench themselves like a monarch or ruling class. They are rightists and they know what they are doing.
“Look at those authoritarian leftists” others may say, as they point to extreme-right power structures who may or may not call themselves “leftist.”
Social and economic policies are often thought about as left/right on their own, as some may be seen as advancing either egalitarian goals or authoritarian goals, but left-seeming policies under a rightist regime is merely self-serving for those in power and easily changed without the consent of the populace… and therefore not leftist at all. Likewise, even a leftist society could enact policies that could be anti-egalitarian, though such policies would put that society at ever-increasing risk of drifting right as power is gradually stolen from the people.
TL;DR;
The political spectrum is entirely about power and who wields it. Specific policies are utterly tangential since they are nothing but tools wielded by who is in power… an entrenched, consolidated entity… or the people themselves. The political compass twists this into knots in attempt to bolster “both-sidesism” and distract anyone exposed from the true and simple nature of rightism: hoarding power. When the people understand and can talk clearly and unambiguously about these topics, the entrenched powers stand to lose their privileged, predatory advantages… and they will fight against that with everything they have.
I can’t wait to vote him out of office. He has done little for the state and district, and clearly doesn’t give a shit.
I like how he said intimidation is the tactic they’re using (while calling them fascists) and in the same breath says the protesters should be arrested. He’s literally complaining about fascism while supporting it himself.
Twas ever thus, with fascism
Arresting people who break the law is not fascism. Do you not think it should be illegal to totally disrupt government assemblies and college campuses? Or do you only think it’s ok when you agree with it? What if all these protests were anti-abortion protests, would you still be OK with them setting up shanty towns on campuses and disrupting classes?
Lefties are getting as bad as Republicans with diluting language.
Legality and morality are not the same thing.
🤡
Oh look… the (so-called) “moderates” and “centrists” peddling the exact narratives their fascist cousins want them to peddle.
I guess it’s true what they say - fascism can only sprout once liberals have loosened the ground for it.
People like this democrats and republican should not be allowed in government
Problem is that the people who really should be in government are the ones who don’t want to be in government.
I dont remember if it was Socrates or Plato but one of them said that should be a requirement as a leader.
Off topic i love your user name.
These tools use the novel 1984 as a self help book.
Man I sure do love being forced to be in the same party with this guy and not having a bowl of punch to stick my dick in.
Ooh, sounds like some asshole just found out he’s going to be replaced in November.
“the ranking Democrat on the House armed services committee”
Oh you mean the guy who almost certainly is being paid by the military industrial complex to keep arms sales going as much as humanly possible? That tracks.
Get fucked Smith. Hope your “totalitarian” base votes you the fuck out.
