If you listen to the rantings of the radical right in the US, Muslims are a bloodthirsty lot. Their religion is built upon the edifice of violence. Each and every Muslim has the potential to become a terrorist or suicide bomber. They want to take over the world and stomp Christianity into the ground.
Yet, for all their blather, what has been happening in Egypt these past two weeks has been the opposite. The Egyptian citizenry have demanded their independence from dictatorship through PEACEFUL and NONVIOLENT protest. These so-called bloodthirsty killers have, by and large, shunned violence, even in the face of violence being used against them.
What I find most remarkable is that if we had a similar sort of uprising here and it was led by the Tea Party, I can almost guarantee there would be violence and bloodshed. Second Amendment advocates would show up at the big DC rallies toting all sorts of firearms and itchy trigger fingers. Far too many of the protesters would be looking for a fight and, if one didn't materialize, they would create one themselves.
The Egyptians stuck to the principle of nonviolence and today they claimed their first substantive victory as Dictator Mubarak resigned.
Yet, for all their blather, what has been happening in Egypt these past two weeks has been the opposite. The Egyptian citizenry have demanded their independence from dictatorship through PEACEFUL and NONVIOLENT protest. These so-called bloodthirsty killers have, by and large, shunned violence, even in the face of violence being used against them.
What I find most remarkable is that if we had a similar sort of uprising here and it was led by the Tea Party, I can almost guarantee there would be violence and bloodshed. Second Amendment advocates would show up at the big DC rallies toting all sorts of firearms and itchy trigger fingers. Far too many of the protesters would be looking for a fight and, if one didn't materialize, they would create one themselves.
The Egyptians stuck to the principle of nonviolence and today they claimed their first substantive victory as Dictator Mubarak resigned.
Let's face it, even left wing protesters get violent sometimes. The WTO riots spring to mind. Americans are just violent, left and right, when it comes to walking the walk, anyways.
ReplyDeleteWait a second. The vast majority of the protesters at WTO WERE nonviolent. The chief threat and use of violence came from the police against the peaceful folks.
ReplyDeleteNow, there is no question that some anarchists were violent, but it was a small number. I'm not sure where anarchists fit on the left-right political spectrum. Some are very left-wing and some are very right-wing.
I'll assume you know more about it than me, so I'll retract the bit about the WTO.
ReplyDeleteBut the point remains. It's not a right/left thing. IN fact, that duality is the problem, and I wish we'd all stop putting everything in terms of that.