Is Free Speech Under Attack in this Country?

[nsacpi]

Maybe this one should have led the news cycle:

“When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Mattis wrote. “Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens — much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis wrote in a statement published by the Atlantic.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership," he continued. “We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

For those of you inclined to think that the events of June 1 were nothing unusual, i'm bumping General Mattis' thoughts on the matter

[nsacpi]

For more on what Mattis had to say about the extraordinary events of June 1. And they were extraordinary, the efforts of some here to diminish how extraordinary they were notwithstanding.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...zation/612640/

[nsacpi]

And the words of Admiral Mike Mullen:

It sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent.

Whatever Trump's goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...spaces/612553/

Mullen and Mattis seemed to have recognized the extraordinary gravity of what happened on June 1. We are lucky to have such men speak up about it. Too bad it didn't happen in this thread, which it looks to me is NOT so much concerned about our rights as scoring trivial debating points. Sorry to have to say so.

[sturg33]

Can we get another tick tock meltdown from you

[sturg33]

Ah yes another person fired for having the wrong opinion. In media too. And college too!

Only one opinion can be shared in the leftist utopia

[nsacpi]

In the hours leading up to the violence Monday, protesters faced off with members of an armed group that calls itself the New Mexico Civil Guard and counterprotesters toting “All lives matter” signs. Several members of the armed group told The Washington Post they were worried that tearing down the statue would beget widespread destruction of property.

The members said they did not know the alleged shooter or the victim and cast themselves as attempting to prevent violence from erupting at a tense scene. But state officials denounced their presence, which they said was meant to intimidate protesters.

“The heavily armed individuals who flaunted themselves at the protest, calling themselves a ‘civil guard,’ were there for one reason: To menace protesters, to present an unsanctioned show of unregulated force,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said in a statement.

[nsacpi]

In Omak, Wash., a city of fewer than 5,000 located in the foothills of the Okanogan Highlands, plans for a peaceful demonstration began in a private chat on Facebook Messenger.

But public threats poured in when Sinai Espinoza, a 19-year-old student at a local community college, joined other young women in promoting their Peaceful March for George Floyd. The violent messages on social media included a vow that “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” echoing President Trump’s rhetoric on Twitter. Another characterized the upcoming gathering as “free target practice.”

When the march unfolded earlier this month, bringing more than 400 people to a park opposite the public library, an armed militia stood guard — at ground level but also atop nearby roofs, as if ready to act as snipers.

“Honestly, it was terrifying,” Espinoza said. “They claimed they were there to protect the city from outsiders, but it felt more like preparation to kill.”

let's be clear about what happened in Omak, Washington...an armed white racist militia tried to intimidate a peaceful group from exercising its rights

[nsacpi]

Three and a half hours south of Albuquerque, in Deming, N.M., 16-year-old Izabella Collings was recently moved to create a Black Lives Matter page for her state. When she used it to share news about an upcoming protest, she said, she received threats telling her she would get shot if she didn’t comport herself properly.

Undeterred, she turned off comments on her post and went ahead with the demonstration, which brought two men toting firearms to the town’s courthouse park.

let's also be clear what happened in Deming, NM...armed racists tried to intimidate people from exercising their rights

[nsacpi]

In Enterprise, Ore., in the northeastern corner of the state, 18-year-old Gianna Espinoza said the presence of as many as 70 armed men dissuaded some people from joining a recent protest. As a result, another action is unlikely.

same thing in Enterprise, Oregon

[nsacpi]

“In urban areas, you’re part of a huge crowd,” Espinoza said. “But here, everyone knows everyone. And it could be your neighbor who looks you in the eye and shoots you.”
Of the more than 60 actions that have unfolded in rural Oregon, virtually all of them have encountered backlash from armed groups, whether in the form of intimidation on social media or actual boots on the ground, said Emma Ronai-Durning of the Rural Organizing Project, a nonprofit organization based in Cottage Grove, Ore.

what we're seeing is WIDESPREAD action by armed racist groups to suppress and intimidate people from exercising their constitutional rights

[sturg33]

Any of these folks harming anybody?

Or harming property?

Bc I can show you several examples of your team doing exactly that

[nsacpi]

Any of these folks harming anybody?

Or harming property?

Bc I can show you several examples of your team doing exactly that

they are threatening them and creating an environment where they fear exercising their constitutional rights...people exercising their constitutional rights should be able to proceed without threats and the menacing presence of armed militias

there is also the not-so-small point of the racist ideologies of many of these militias

[sturg33]

The militias are a constitutional right.

[nsacpi]

The militias are a constitutional right.

it appears that they are using their rights to try to intimidate others from exercising their rights...and in many cases working to further white supremacist ideologies

yes free speech is being attacked in this country...by armed militias, many with white supremacist ideologies...and by very poorly chosen one who in his capacity as commander-in-chief called in the military to clear out peaceful protesters

[sturg33]

it appears that they are using their rights to try to intimidate others from exercising their rights...and in many cases working to further white supremacist ideologies

yes free speech is being attacked in this country...by white supremacist groups...and by very poorly chosen one who in his capacity as commander-in-chief called in the military to clear out peaceful protesters

And that's it, right?

Nobody else has issue with speech in this country.

Just white racists

It always boils down to EVERYONES A RACIST

[nsacpi]

And that's it, right?

Nobody else has issue with speech in this country.

Just white racists

It always boils down to EVERYONES A RACIST

this thread has plenty of room for discussion of all attacks on free speech

but the attacks by armed white supremacist militias and very poorly chosen one using the military strike me as especially repugnant and alarming

[nsacpi]

Any of these folks harming anybody?

Or harming property?

i'm sorry that you don't see the harm being done to our rights

[sturg33]

Is your suggestion that people shouldnt be allowed to protest protesters?

Feels like this is another one of your tik rock meltdowns.

[nsacpi]

Is your suggestion that people shouldnt be allowed to protest protesters?

Feels like this is another one of your tik rock meltdowns.

Not at all. This can be done without threatening and intimidating other protesters. White supremacists have the same rights as everyone else.

[goldfly]

Hmm, a certain someone is silent about a president saying protesters will be met with violence if they use their constitutional right to protest

Color me shocked