The 45th Making America Violent

[zetreque]

Alt-right rally draws protests in Portland, Oregon
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/alt-rally-draws-protests-portland-oregon-170605081719281.html

Forget saving us from "terrorism", Trump brings out worse violence within Americans. I don't recall ever seeing so many hate crimes in the news. To me it seems like the USA is ready for another civil war. The scary thing is that the military would back the minority side.

Officers fired stun grenades and rubber bullets and later said they had confiscated weapons from a group of protesters.

Around 100 people were detained, with police saying that at least 14 were placed under arrest. Journalists were among those detained.

On May 26, Jeremy Christian allegedly killed two men and injured a third on a train when they tried to stop his racial harassment of two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab.

A third man who intervened was badly hurt and hospitalised.

Christian, 35, had been filmed at Gibson's April 29 rally loudly using anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic slurs and performing Nazi-like salutes.

More than 1,000 people descended on the northwestern US city of Portland on Sunday for an "alt-right" rally and a large counter-protest, just nine days after two men were stabbed to death on a train.

According to Cox, there is a need to "reckon with the fact that these racist attitudes lead to racist words, and these racist words lead to violence".

[zetreque]

This disgusting US president is ruining my daily life. I'm personally getting really tired of it invading my life, my friends, my family, where I live, my hobbies, and what I do for a living. If he runs again, that might be when the civil war breaks out. From all the stuff I hear from individuals I can't believe there isn't even more violence happening right now.

I even spent some time this past weekend visiting friends that have lived the past ten years at a military base and they are dumbfounded by the ignorance.

[BadgerJelly]

I even spent some time this past weekend visiting friends that have lived the past ten years at a military base and they are dumbfounded by the ignorance.

Care to elaborate?

[Braininvat]

While I agree with the toxic atmosphere that Trump seems to promote in his voter base, and the divisiveness in general, I have to wonder if the thread is more editorial than news. Maybe more of a Lounge thread, so we can all let our hair down and be as vitriolic as we want?

[Serpent]

Is it still too soon to be hysterical?

[zetreque]

I revived this thread because last night in my small town where I am usually isolated from the rest of the world just down the street from me a man with a swastika tattooed on his forehead stabbed someone at one of the local pubs. This is just my subjective observation but things really are becoming more violent and affecting my daily life.

About a week ago I was forced into talking to a neighbor of where my dad lived who fits a stereotypical republican attitude. I was forced to talk to him because he was complaining and hassling me about a vehicle that was legally parked and I hadn't had time to move since my dad passed away recently. Ironically he claimed to like my dad so what's the problem? When talking to him I mentioned that I had been busy graduating college so that's one reason I hadn't moved the vehicle yet. When he found out what degree I got in science he blatantly made fun of it and talked it down touting trump BS. If I didn't need to keep peace with this man for the sake of my situation and his position of power being on the condo board I may turn violence myself. I'm tired of this ignorance that is coming out in full pride and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Even if I wasn't seeing this violence in the news (while I have to put forth effort to ignore the news these days) based on what I am seeing around me I would assume that people are being more violent because of people feeling they can come out and disrespect others with their ignorance. While the ignorant also feel entitled now to exhibit violence over others.

[zetreque]

I even spent some time this past weekend visiting friends that have lived the past ten years at a military base and they are dumbfounded by the ignorance.

Care to elaborate?

No on the location, but one would think that a military town would support the president but they are scared and just as shocked as a lot of people. My friend is looking into moving out of fear of living in a military target but is limited because she is on a tiny fixed social security income.

[Braininvat]

If your late Dad's vehicle is legally parked, then why would the neighbor have a problem? I thought Repuglicans were big on "law and order." His disrespect for your college degree suggests he is a full-fledged ignoramus/@shhole and likely to remain one until he dies. Which may be fairly soon, if he prefers to receive healthcare from those uncorrupted by college learning. Heh.

[zetreque]

If your late Dad's vehicle is legally parked, then why would the neighbor have a problem? I thought Repuglicans were big on "law and order." His disrespect for your college degree suggests he is a full-fledged ignoramus/@shhole and likely to remain one until he dies. Which may be fairly soon, if he prefers to receive healthcare from those uncorrupted by college learning. Heh.

Correct assessment. Why do people do stupid things? Because they are ignoramus... control freaks.

[zetreque]

NRA posts new ad that basically calls for civil war against the left.
The who? One hell of a stereotype. The NRA doesn't have a clue, they just want to sell weapons.



https://www.facebook.com/NRA/videos/1605896562755373/?autoplay_reason=all_page_organic_allowed&video_container_type=0&video_creator_product_type=2&app_id=119211728144504&live_video_guests=0

[Serpent]

It's funny that they should declare war - and that's nothing short of! - on an entity that can't find its ass with both hands - never mind its identity. What left? Or even: what's left? Whom are they really attacking? How is the average idjit who buys into this shit supposed to identify his designated target? Instinct? Personal preference? The smell of old smouldering resentment?

This civil war is going to be a lot messier than the last one, because there are no clear borders or identifiable uniforms.
Meanwhile, all the 'reasonable' people are still sitting back, saying, Oh well, no need to get your knickers in a twist, maybe the stacked supreme court won't wipe out all of the amendments, and maybe the national guard won't carry out all their orders and maybe the next election will change something.

[zetreque]

Watching this ad makes me feel like I am living in North Korea (or my idea of what it would be like in NK anyway).
This ad is insanity. They created some mythical enemy to fight. Conspiracy theory wackoville. It's a conspiracy theory without any clear idea of what or who is involved. Even the labels are vague. Whoever buys into this is really living in a dark ignorant corner of the world. The sad thing is, a lot of the people who buy into this have been really hurt and are being manipulated into hating and feeling more hurt. These people (NRA and extreme right) are using peoples frustration and anger against them to take advantage of them even more. Taking their money and rising to power through manipulating the already hurt and angry.

[Watson]

"THE TRUTH" is, whatever those with money to spend on it, want it to be. "THE TRUTH" is for sale. It is more important now, in the face of social message manipulation, that every single person question these messages. Is it THE truth? Or is it manipulation of the public.
That's why an ad like that, from the nra is so frustrating. You know and I know people are going to take it as true react without thinking about it. People are sheep.

[Serpent]

Nothing scarier in this world than an injured ram with a machine gun.

The cause of all your troubles, past, present and future is "They". Go, get them!

[zetreque]

Nothing scarier in this world than an injured ram with a machine gun.

The cause of all your troubles, past, present and future is "They". Go, get them!

Easier to lay blame than to take responsibility or go out and learn or understand the system and all factors involved that make it much more complicated than simply blaming someone or something.

[Serpent]

Easier to lay blame than to take responsibility or go out and learn or understand the system and all factors involved that make it much more complicated than simply blaming someone or something.

Well, sure. But I have a much bigger problem with this kind of attack:
"They" remain unnamed, unidentified, inclusive; wide open, both to the individual grudge-holder's interpretation, and to any future finger-pointing by the propagandist.
There is no designated antagonist that, once defeated, "we" can bring to terms. Like GW Bush's wars, it's indefinitely protractable: as new opposition arises, any new "they" join the nebulous, faceless, nameless enemy of 'the people' - "them".
Can you see the potential for chaos?

[zetreque]

Yes of course. There is no "They." "They" are pissed off ordinary people from all walks of life that are scared and fighting for their lives (in some cases literally) in a country where we have this insanity leadership. So I guess I'm one of "them." People can try to change the topic all they want to Obama, Hillary, Bush, and lay blame on all that but it's not the point and it's not even relevant since the election. If those politicians were as bad as what we have now, there would be the same problems of pissed off and scared people out there. This NRA BS is dementia. We are wasting our time in this country getting sucked into the dementia of the minority 45 supporters out there that obviously can't see the world past the tip of their noses. Have been so brainwashed by the media and now hypocritically accusing the media. It's insanity. They are making up these invisible enemies instead of realizing we are all just a group of people living in the same society trying to have a life for ourselves. "They" are people that are your next door neighbors. People you ask for a lift to the store when you car breaks down, or you give a lift to the store when their car breaks down. "They" are our family, our friends, until some ignorant troll comes along and turns them into the enemy by labeling them as something different.

This other hypocritical thing in this ad is they are declaring war on Hollywood. Well where do you think Trump got his fame from? He is just more Hollywood entertainment. A lot of people voted for him just because they thought he was a good businessman from his stupid Hollywood TV show. So apparently "They" is every actor and actress in Hollywood. So the NRA must really be living in a dark hole and denounces all TV. The insanity never ends with this garbage government officials that's are in place and the demented people supporting them.

[Serpent]

There is no "They." "They" are pissed off ordinary people from all walks of life that are scared and fighting for their lives

No, I believe it's far, far more dangerous. In the terms and even more disturbingly, the images, of that video, the disgruntled audience is "Us" or "We-the-people"; the law-abiding citizenry, who just want to "let the police do their work"; who have been worked up into a state of paranoia and fear ... partly by the same kind of entertainments and video games with a high testosterone and adrenaline content that are used to turn normal boys into brutal soldiers.
The "they" that pretty spokesgirl is pointing "us" and "our fist" at are media, protesters, actors, comedians, college professors, writers, news reporters - anyone who speaks out, who could possibly give "us" a clue to what's wrong and how it might be fixed without bloodshed. The objective is to prevent any communication among the the groups of people that are hurting now and will be hurt a lot more as this administration has its way with the economy and the law. The objective is to stifle any voices of reason.

I suspect the evil clown is going to be the least of your problems before very long. Smarter and saner - and far more sinister - forces are at work behind the curtain.
(Don't mind me; I've lived through interesting times.)

[zetreque]

The clown is the head of the evil forces because it's the goal of the anarchists that want to just cause chaos to get someone like that at the head to distract everyone from the really bad stuff going on and cause a media circus. I think he is a huge portion of our problems. This is like a dream come true for the sickos that want the world to break. They don't care who is president so long as the president is causing mass disruption. The ones you are talking about that are far more sinister are the ones that are going to take advantage of mass disruption. They thrive on it. Then you have other groups of corporate powers that are reaping benefits from all this. It's not an organized sinister plot but just a bunch of those with different agendas that are pushing for chaos and loving and benefiting from it.

[Serpent]

I hope you're right about the FoE being unorganized. That way lies a glimmer of hope.

[zetreque]

Sad this is the state of the country we live in still.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/one-dead-as-car-strikes-crowds-amid-protests-of-white-nationalist-gathering-in-charlottesville-two-police-die-in-helicopter-crash/2017/08/13/3590b3ce-8021-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html

White nationalists were met by counterprotesters in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, leading Gov. Terry McAuliffe to declare a state emergency. A car plowed into crowds, killing one person and injuring 19 others.

Two dead in helicopter crash observing the protests.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/12/us/charlottesville-helicopter-crash/index.html