All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[The no face guy]

When was the last "liberal" terrorist attack in the USA compared to a conservative one ?

Liberal - (I'm not sure if this is socialist Black Lives Matter or right wing black nationalism) Dallas shootings 2016
Conservative - (More like White Nationalism/Supremacy) El paso shooting 2019

[Gray Lensman]

80s or 90s? How about the 1960s? I mean, we've already covered how much he resembles Red Grant, the villain in From Russia With Love.

I keep thinking of Rev. Stryker from the X-Men comic God Loves, Man Kills. About to propose legislation to outlaw mutants forever, and considering how Singer leaned heavily into them being a gay metaphor in his films, an entirely appropriate thought. Pence really does come across as a milquetoast version of a religious comic book villain.

[Gray Lensman]

Liberal - (I'm not sure if this is socialist Black Lives Matter or right wing black nationalism) Dallas shootings 2016
Conservative - (More like White Nationalism/Supremacy) El paso shooting 2019

The Dallas shooter's online history showed interest in the New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, Black Riders Liberation Army, and the African American Defense League. 3 of those are listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center and it looks like they are a mix of far right and far left groups. It was reported shortly after the shooting that the Dallas shooter was part of a black offshoot of the SovCit movement but I'm not really seeing much in my searches about that anymore unless the previously mentioned groups are where that comes from, but I consider black separatists and sovcits to be two different things.

One group they can't find any links to concerning the Dallas shooter is Black Lives Matter.

[skyvolt2000]

WOW did not know this....


https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavi...texas/2359702/

Dallas libraries may be allowed to reopen under the governor’s rules, but it may require additional workers to enforce social distancing. The city is facing a sudden $25 million shortfall in the current year’s budget because of plummeting sales tax revenue from so many closed businesses. The city may only be able to afford curbside library service if libraries reopen.

“One of the challenges that we're dealing with is, I don't think anyone foresaw the order that the governor made yesterday,” committee chairman, Councilman Casey Thomas said.

His special focus on the committee is helping people who have lost jobs because of the pandemic. He mentioned two websites where available jobs are posted.

Restaurants may have trouble reopening with only 25% of their space allowed for customers.

[Tami]

Logic should say that Trump's chance of reelection should be tenuous at best.

Political analysis says that he still has a path to being reelected.

I still think that anyone who votes for Trump is suicidal.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Logic should say that Trump's chance of reelection should be tenuous at best.

Political analysis says that he still has a path to being reelected.

I still think that anyone who votes for Trump is suicidal.

What is scary is people bringing up that the economic crisis after this will be a hard one. And given how terrible Trump handled this...I predict more of a bad mess if Trump is re-elected. All while his group sing praises.


(CBR Mods ...why is that word blanked out ? I had to change it)

[Tendrin]

Ugh. This is getting ridiculous.

It’s time for a journalist to really just get down to the bottom of this and lay out all the facts. Reade’s accusations get fishier by the day and I don’t like it.

There's also a story floated by Counterpunch from 2008 that says Biden assaulted a woman in the 70s... in a senate hallway... a week after his wife's death...

...before he was, you know, sworn in as a Senator.

But, y'know. Counterpunch.

[Jack Dracula]

Former GOP Senator Jeff Flake: ‘I Will Not Vote for Donald Trump’

The GOP didn't just go off the rails in 2016. Where was Flakes criticism during the Bush and Obama administrations?

[The no face guy]

The Dallas shooter's online history showed interest in the New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, Black Riders Liberation Army, and the African American Defense League. 3 of those are listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center and it looks like they are a mix of far right and far left groups. It was reported shortly after the shooting that the Dallas shooter was part of a black offshoot of the SovCit movement but I'm not really seeing much in my searches about that anymore unless the previously mentioned groups are where that comes from, but I consider black separatists and sovcits to be two different things.

One group they can't find any links to concerning the Dallas shooter is Black Lives Matter.

Probably right, I looked it up and it says the suspect "was upset about Black Lives Matter" and wanted to shoot white cops, which is probably why I recall news networks reporting on BLM. So he most likely was influenced by the movement to a degree without affiliation, but was probably already being ideologically programmed by black nationalist movements if he was visiting Nation of Islam websites.
Likewise the Dallas shooter may not have been affiliated with any white nationalist or xenophobic movements, but if your a white guy who drives miles from home to "target Mexicans" in a shooting spree, than obviously there is some sort xenophobic ideology influencing him.

I consider it an act of terrorism if the suspect has somehow been influenced or ideologically programmed by far right or far left political ideologies. The boy who walked into a South Carolina church and massacred 9 innocent black people wasn't affiliated with any right wing group, but he was definitely influenced by white nationalist dogma on the internet.

While most of us are immune to being sucked into political extremism, emotionally volatile people are not, unfortunately down in your country they have access to guns.

[Tendrin]

While most of us are immune to being sucked into political extremism, emotionally volatile people are not, unfortunately down in your country they have access to guns.

No one is actually immune to becoming an extremist. In fact, its the people who think they're immune that get radicalized fastest.

[Steel Inquisitor]

I consider it an act of terrorism if the suspect has somehow been influenced or ideologically programmed by far right or far left political ideologies. The boy who walked into a South Carolina church and massacred 9 innocent black people wasn't affiliated with any right wing group, but he was definitely influenced by white nationalist dogma on the internet.

IIRC he was heavily influenced by incel or men right's groups, and sites like Reddit or 4Chan.

[The no face guy]

No one is actually immune to becoming an extremist. In fact, its the people who think they're immune that get radicalized fastest.

Well it is true that no one is actually immune from becoming a political extremist, it has been documented in psychology that those who are emotionally volatile are more likely to get indoctrinated than those who have a strong social network, and secure income.

IIRC he was heavily influenced by incel or men right's groups, and sites like Reddit or 4Chan.

You could be right, but I think he was getting indoctrinated primarily by visiting white supremacist and nationalist websites, he was also both in a socially and economically volatile situation. The ideology most likely gave him a feeling of belonging and a purpose and a cause, which ended in deadly consequences, much like the skinhead who drove down a left wing protestor in Charlottetown.

There is something about right wing extremism in particular that seems to motivate people to go out and kill the "enemy" in mass shootings, like some weird protective impulse that has been activated from out primal days, chilling.

[Tendrin]

Well it is true that no one is actually immune from becoming a political extremist, it has been documented in psychology that those who are emotionally volatile are more likely to get indoctrinated than those who have a strong social network, and secure income.

Fair, to an extent. I just caution against saying 'most of us are immune', because it's really not true. All of us are vulnerable. While some are more vulnerable than others, *anyone* can get radicalized in the right circumstances.

[TheManInBlack]

While most of us are immune to being sucked into political extremism

I mean no ill will, really I don't, but this actually made me laugh out loud. NO ONE is immune to political extremism. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's likely the person who thinks they are immune are the most at risk because they are less likely to question their beliefs and what they read because they already 'know' that they're in the right and couldn't possibly be an extremist. I know several outright communists who think their viewpoint is completely normal because they couldn't possibly be extremists and because they surround themselves in echo chambers of like minds (Twitter is a great example for this). Same for a writing buddy of mine who thinks he's perfectly normal and not susceptible to extremism but he's also a huge Trump fan and thinks the media is all lies all the time.

No one is immune. That's why you need to think critically at all times. Propaganda and echo chambers are incredibly powerful forces, and they work because you don't know they're working. By design.

[TheDarman]

I watched the Hillary documentary on Hulu. I have only two things to say:

1) Man, we really [frick]ed up last time.
2) I didn’t expect to cry as much as I did.