Tuesday, June 02, 2020

America's Tiananmen square

(Thanks to Jitt Teng for helping restore this post!)

I notice some people are comparing the riots to Tiananmen square. I suppose the idea is Trump's administration, the military, and the police are akin to the communist Chinese government, while the "protesters" are akin to the democracy-loving Chinese people. I guess George Floyd is Tank Man.

1. The Chinese people couldn't and didn't fight back against their government. Rather, the communists government massacred the people. Men, women, and yes even children were murdered. They were gunned down. Tanks rolled over them. Tiananmen square literally ran with blood. The entire area was aggressively "cleansed" by an army group that was notoriously vicious. It was called upon by the CCP leaders precisely because the army group was known to be so vicious.

2. By contrast, protesters are allowed to protest. The Trump administration hasn't silenced their voice. If anyone wants to see silence, then consider how China has ended Hong Kong's democracy just days ago. And consider what's still happening in Hong Kong:

Trump hasn't unilaterally sent in the US military. And the US military certainly hasn't massacred anyone.

3. No doubt police brutality is a legitimate concern. It should be dealt with. But how is "protesting" by rioting helping deal with police brutality? The rioters are behaving anything but peacefully. They're looting stores, burning down buildings, and violently attacking innocents. They're shooting police officers (e.g. here, here).

4. I don't know if rioters in general have any sort of ideology. (However, I think organized groups like Antifa do have an ideology.) At the very least, rioters aren't respecting democracy. In fact, I suspect many if not most rioters are ignorant about our system of government. That's quite unlike the student-led protests at Tiananmen square. Many of these students were well-versed in the intellectual history of democracy. Many of them could argue for democracy, but how many rioters have ever read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, even some of the Federalist papers?

5. If anything, the rioters seem to want anarchy. Evidently they want to live out Alan Moore's twisted vision in V for Vendetta and Watchmen.

6. Some intellectuals are defending the riots. However, as George Orwell said: "Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them".

The Navy SEAL that killed Osama bin Laden may have a truer perspective when he calls the protesters "terrorists".

7. It looks like the left is actively supporting and perhaps inciting rioters like Antifa (e.g. here, here). If so, I presume the short-term goal is to bring down Trump. To make his administration seem impotent to do anything.

Yet leftist politicians like Biden may be playing with fire. If they start a revolution, the revolution may not necessarily end with them in charge (e.g. here, here). Consider whether Bernie bros ever wanted Biden. Even Robespierre the guillotiner was guillotined.

3 comments:

  1. It is so disgusting particularly on social media. It is turning into anti Christian hatred. Someone posts that we need to pray and the vitriol to that comment is reaching the heights of Nero's Rome and the soviet union.

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  2. I liked the tweet by the KY Political Science professor quoted in the article linked below. The hypocrisy is really unbelievable. Can you even imagine what the media coverage would be if this were occurring all over the country led by truck driving, MAGA hat wearing, church going rednecks and good ol' boys who decided to loot, riot, pillage, and maim because they were fed up with the COVID-19 lockdowns?
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/politics/george-floyd-unrest-big-city-mayors-coronavirus-lockdowns.amp

    Apparently the mayor of Minneapolis sent out the police...to pass out free face coverings to the rioters and looters to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Talk about mixed up priorities!

    And Hawk I think you're definitely right that there's a politcal element to it, just like pretty much everything. That also explains why the media don't breathlessly report how the current batch of riots and protests aren't practicing social distancing and mask-shaming them for not wearing face coverings like they were doing to average folks going to the beach or to the store, or *gasp* going to the capitol to peacefully protest the suspension of their constitutional rights and the destruction of their economic lives caused by the lockdown.

    The media has totally pivoted because it sympathizes with the leftist agitators behind *these protests and riots* unlike the average working folks behind *the reopen the economy* protests. Again, just in your face hypocrisy. It's almost cartoonishly stupid.

    And yeah, like everything else it's all Trump's fault, obviously.

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  3. Thanks, guys! That's all helpful and informative!

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