3 ms·

Sigh. "Virtue signaling" has become yet another formerly-useful concept now drained of all meaning because everyone uses it to mean "thing I don't like" (ironic

Sigh. "Virtue signaling" has become yet another formerly-useful concept now drained of all meaning because everyone uses it to mean "thing I don't like" (ironically, usually because they're virtue signaling). Listen up: people, including CEOs, actually can have their own opinions on things. They can decide "hey, I don't want to support this guy who refuses to condemn neo-Nazis". That is hardly an unthinkable prospect.

Consultant32452 9y ago
A neo-Nazi killed someone and Trump's first response was to condemn all hate and violence. Was that some sort of secrete white supremacist code that meant hate and violence from neo-Nazis is totes cool? Is that seriously your narrative?
- orclev 9y ago
  The problem is that his first reaction was to basically say both sides were equally wrong. In this context the two sides where A) neo-nazis and white supremacists, and B) counter protestors who were there to oppose the neo-nazis and white supremacists. This was not a BLM rally, this was an alt-right rally. There might have been some BLM members there, there might even have been some antifa there, but the majority of the crowd that was there was a reaction to the alt-right and in opposition to them, not acting as a member of some other group. By saying both sides were equally to blame he was saying that opposing neo-nazis and white supremacists was wrong. Additionally by not calling out the neo-nazis and white supremacists, and instead merely talking about violence, he's tacitly providing support for them, he's saying that it's only the violent act that was wrong, not the racists or fascists.
  - Consultant32452 9y ago
    I'll reiterate myself because it apparently wasn't clear the first time. I agree with your stance. The appropriate thing to do would have been to explicitly call out the group whose violence escalated the highest. But to pretend this is the first of this type of incident is a lie. And to pretend that other groups that lean left have not had politically motivated violence and murder recently is also a lie. I welcome you and the media to the side of wanting to explicitly call out the groups with the bad actors. If you and the media had an equal and opposite response when BLM killed cops and called for the POTUS to explicitly call out BLM, I'd have nothing to say here.
    - HeroOfAges 9y ago
      This is the second time in this discussion that you've referred to Black Lives Matter as an organization that kills or has directed the killing of law enforcement officers. Can you present documented proof?
      - Consultant32452 9y ago
        Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks murdered a Kentucky State Trooper http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/suspect-trooper-death-black-lives-matter-backer-article-1.2360320 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/suspect-trooper-dea... Tyrone Harris Jr. fired shots at an unmarked police car, then died in a shootout with the police. He didn't manage to actually kill anyone though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_unrest#Tyrone_Harris_Jr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_unrest#Tyrone_Harris_.... Jeffrey Williams shot two police officers in relation to BLM protests and demonstrations in Ferguson. Naturally BLM disavowed him. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/williams-ferguson-protest_n_6881590.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/williams-ferguson-p... Micah Johnson killed 5 officers and wounded several others http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437694/black-lives-matter-hypocrisy-cheering-violence http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437694/black-lives-mat... There's a few others, but it's hard to find reliable sources because the mainstream media has, as I explicitly called them out for, avoided associating these acts of violence with their group identities.
    - orclev 9y ago
      And once again you ignore the elephant in the room. The neo-nazis and white supremacists irrespective of any violent acts are wrong and should be vehemently and regularly denounced as unamerican detestable organizations. BLM has a good mission and purpose. Yes there may be some individuals in the organization that have reacted in inappropriate and violent ways, but the organization as a whole is a positive thing. By not denouncing the neo-nazis and white supremacists in general, and specifically in this case where they resorted to violence, Trump is tacitly approving of them, which shows he is wholly inappropriate to be the president of the United States.
      - 9y ago

Consultant32452 9y ago

A neo-Nazi killed someone and Trump's first response was to condemn all hate and violence. Was that some sort of secrete white supremacist code that meant hate and violence from neo-Nazis is totes cool? Is that seriously your narrative?

orclev 9y ago
The problem is that his first reaction was to basically say both sides were equally wrong. In this context the two sides where A) neo-nazis and white supremacists, and B) counter protestors who were there to oppose the neo-nazis and white supremacists. This was not a BLM rally, this was an alt-right rally. There might have been some BLM members there, there might even have been some antifa there, but the majority of the crowd that was there was a reaction to the alt-right and in opposition to them, not acting as a member of some other group. By saying both sides were equally to blame he was saying that opposing neo-nazis and white supremacists was wrong. Additionally by not calling out the neo-nazis and white supremacists, and instead merely talking about violence, he's tacitly providing support for them, he's saying that it's only the violent act that was wrong, not the racists or fascists.
- Consultant32452 9y ago
  I'll reiterate myself because it apparently wasn't clear the first time. I agree with your stance. The appropriate thing to do would have been to explicitly call out the group whose violence escalated the highest. But to pretend this is the first of this type of incident is a lie. And to pretend that other groups that lean left have not had politically motivated violence and murder recently is also a lie. I welcome you and the media to the side of wanting to explicitly call out the groups with the bad actors. If you and the media had an equal and opposite response when BLM killed cops and called for the POTUS to explicitly call out BLM, I'd have nothing to say here.
  - HeroOfAges 9y ago
    This is the second time in this discussion that you've referred to Black Lives Matter as an organization that kills or has directed the killing of law enforcement officers. Can you present documented proof?
    - Consultant32452 9y ago
      Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks murdered a Kentucky State Trooper http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/suspect-trooper-death-black-lives-matter-backer-article-1.2360320 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/suspect-trooper-dea... Tyrone Harris Jr. fired shots at an unmarked police car, then died in a shootout with the police. He didn't manage to actually kill anyone though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_unrest#Tyrone_Harris_Jr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferguson_unrest#Tyrone_Harris_.... Jeffrey Williams shot two police officers in relation to BLM protests and demonstrations in Ferguson. Naturally BLM disavowed him. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/williams-ferguson-protest_n_6881590.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/16/williams-ferguson-p... Micah Johnson killed 5 officers and wounded several others http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437694/black-lives-matter-hypocrisy-cheering-violence http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437694/black-lives-mat... There's a few others, but it's hard to find reliable sources because the mainstream media has, as I explicitly called them out for, avoided associating these acts of violence with their group identities.
  - orclev 9y ago
    And once again you ignore the elephant in the room. The neo-nazis and white supremacists irrespective of any violent acts are wrong and should be vehemently and regularly denounced as unamerican detestable organizations. BLM has a good mission and purpose. Yes there may be some individuals in the organization that have reacted in inappropriate and violent ways, but the organization as a whole is a positive thing. By not denouncing the neo-nazis and white supremacists in general, and specifically in this case where they resorted to violence, Trump is tacitly approving of them, which shows he is wholly inappropriate to be the president of the United States.
    - 9y ago