Dissent shouldn't be silenced - that's what the Left does, and we are not them. Ultimately we either BELIEVE in our First Amendment right to speak our mind, or we do not. And if we DO profess to believe in it, then we must defend that right to do so jealously - even if it is not what we agree with.
We have been listening to the Left's crap for years, under their First Amendment protection. We disagree with it, but we understand it is their right. They, on the other hand, try to silence us and deny us our right to speak things that they disagree with. It's what they do.
Ergo, I say F*** 'em.
Ultimately, most of the people I've met out here - a good majority of them - I would trust beside me in a fighting hole. At the end of the day we're on the same side.
"Racist" is an overused word, and I won't buy that product.
If Bundy were to pull out a Klan hood and robe like that Esteemed Democrat Senator Robert Byrd...
...or, if he suddenly decides that he was an ardent admirer of the racist Nazis - like that Esteemed Democrat Joe Kennedy back in his day....
...or if he decides that he supports racist Nazi Gun Control laws SO much that he writes them into law - like that Esteemed Democrat Senator Thomas Dodd did in GCA 1968...
...well, THEN I'll call him a racist.
Of course I agree. It would be pretty boring here otherwise.
That is exactly why its helpful (to me, at least) to put certain comments in context by understanding where the commentator is coming from.
I'm far more inclined to listen to an alternative POV from someone who's opinions I've learned to respect.
I don’t think Bundy has animus toward racial groups. In fact, he clearly thinks that illegals are very positive and deserve a legal place in our society. (I disagree with that opinion.)
However, his words on the videos that I saw were measured, in a humble, concerned tone, and were part of an effort to describe how he saw an overbearing government injuring people.
Sadly, he’s not read into the politically correct way to talk about race. (Best advice: never discuss it at all anywhere near a recording device of any kind.) He’s probably been a full-time rancher, and given his location in the middle of noplace, I’d say he doesn’t see much TV at all.
The images of “cotton picking slaves”, however, is not going to be forgiven by the media.
His issues, though, of range rights, water rights, overbearing government, etc., have nothing to do with his lack of media finesse. Those are real.
We STILL should oppose SWAT teams at BLM and Education Deptmts, and government ownership of half the west, and corrupt connected politicians using “public lands” to enrich themselves and their cronies.
That’s the bottom line for me.