#false equivalency

[tomorrowusa]

« The truth is that Donald Trump undermined faith in our elections in his false bid to retain the presidency. He sparked an insurrection intended to overthrow our government and keep himself in power. No president in our history has done worse.

This is not subjective. We all saw it. Plenty of leaders today try to convince the masses we did not see what we saw, but our eyes don’t deceive. (If leaders began a yearslong campaign today to convince us that the Baltimore bridge did not collapse Tuesday morning, would you ever believe them?) Trust your eyes. Trump on Jan. 6 launched the most serious threat to our system of government since the Civil War. You know that. You saw it.

[ ... ]

As for those who equate Trump and Joe Biden, that’s false equivalency. Biden has done nothing remotely close to the egregious, anti-American acts of Trump. We can debate the success and mindset of our current president, as we have about most presidents in our lifetimes, but Biden was never a threat to our democracy. Trump is. He is unique among all American presidents for his efforts to keep power at any cost.

Personally, I find it hard to understand how Americans who take pride in our system of government support Trump. All those soldiers who died in World War II were fighting against the kind of regime Trump wants to create on our soil. How do they not see it? »

— Chris Quinn, editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Exactly. Our ancestors risked their lives to stop the sort of totalitarianism represented by Donald Trump and his mentor Vladimir Putin. The least we can do is risk some minor inconvenience by registering to vote and casting our ballots.

Be a voter | Vote Save America

As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has reminded us, "History shows there are no “one day” dictatorships." And once a dictatorship is installed, people rarely have a chance to get rid of it by simply voting it out. Dictatorships are far easier to prevent than to end.

[news4dzhozhar]

[magdolenelives]

(via)

[michaelfastbender]

Just follow me on Twitter already.

[reasonandempathy]

American Campuses have a Free Speech Problem

Clearly Leftists American universities are strangling free speech, censoring employees, and destroying freedom of expression.

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Wait...it’s almost like the right-wing disinvitations were largely due to campuses not wanting to pay literal exposed fascists (Milo) or the chronically dumb to their campus, whereas the left-wing viewpoints get you harassed, slandered, assaulted, and fired.

Universities being horribly left-wing and actively biased against conservatives is a fucking laughable concept.  It’s literally only a concept because it’s been a right-wing talking point for going on 60 years.

[seriouslycromulent]

Fox host blasts Trump over Jussie Smollett hypocrisy

I’m inclined to agree with Brian’s take on this. We should always hold the individuals accountable for their actions, but you can’t deny a pattern where so many far-right extremists are engaging in hate crimes and those hate crimes have been increasing exponentially for the last 4-5 years. It would be short-sighted and ignorant to not see the link between GOP or conservative politicians’ rhetoric and the type of behavior they’re inciting.

Jussie’s situation was only possible because of that increase in hate crimes. And many of those hate crimes have been perpetuated or planned by the supporters of Trump and other GOP politicians. To ignore that pattern is disingenuous. 

No one is saying don’t hold the individual accountable for their actions, but the MAGA Bomber, the massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue, the rally in Charlottesville, and yes, this new story about the Coast Guard lieutenant have shown a clear link to the mindset of people who follow Trump. And so have a number of other hate crimes that don’t get the national attention they deserve.

Does it mean that all Trump supporters act this way? No. But again, the pattern speaks for itself.

[politics-always-matters]

Today In Both Sides Do It: @Vox

The truly astonishing sums of money that Vox Media has been able to raise (from Wiki) -- In December 2014, Vox Media raised a $46.5 mi...

Notice how the statements, motives, and perspectives attributed to the Left and the Right seem similar. At a glance, it might be tough to see the difference between them. Of course, that’s because volume level and tone don’t equal level of factual accuracy.

As one of the comments says, the difference is one set is using items ranging from ‘probably true’ to ‘incontrovertible’. i.e., “Clinton won the popular vote.” And the other side is using pure, raw lies or things that have already been proven factually wrong. i.e., “Obama wasn’t born here.”

Trying to pretend that truth and lies are equivalent is a splendid way to encourage the latter.

It’s certainly splendid, because it’s worked so well.

And now, because our media absolutely runs on Both Sides, they’re completely defenseless to try and meet the challenges of our current national crises. Because right now, in this moment of history (and for decades now, really), it simply hasn’t been an equivalent problem on both sides.

One side is causing a massive, overwhelming chunk of our issues and disorders; the Right.

If your instinct is to say ‘but surely, reason can be found in the middle, the left must have tons of issues, too,’ then I’ll ask. Where’s the equivalent to Trump on the Left? In power, prominence, carelessness, etc. Where’s the Left Trump? The media isn’t scared because the country is on fire and we’re losing attitude. They’re scared because it’s growing more impossible by the day to even try and pretend Both Sides are even close to the same now.

[dr-archeville]

The false equivalency of Trump blaming "many sides" in Charlottesville

A researcher explains why Trump seriously missed the mark.

After white supremacists held violent rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday and Saturday, President Donald Trump had a chance to denounce the hate and bigotry that led to the current situation during a Saturday bill signing ceremony.  Instead, he blamed “many sides.”

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,” Trump said.

The president’s false equivalency quickly drew a lot of criticism on Twitter.  But Phillip Abita Goff, a researcher who focuses on race and policing issues at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, perhaps said it best in a series of tweets:

1. The deaths from racial violence in the US have not been on many sides. Separation of parents from children have not been on many sides. https://t.co/vDIciGDFX9

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

2. The forced sterilization has not been on many sides. The government-enforced segregation has not been on many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

3. The forced relocation has not been on many sides. The stolen labor has not been on many sides. Media erasure has not been on many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

4. Police-sanctioned lynchings have not been on many sides. Broken treaties and stolen land have not been on many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

5. Immigration enforcement has not been equally applied to many sides. Beauty standards have not represented many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

6. Segregated schools do not advantage many sides. Rape culture does not create vulnerable people from many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

7. Music traditions were not coopted and sold for profit from many sides. The constitution didn't count 3/5ths of a person from many sides.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

8. Justice frequently does not have many sides. When powerful groups harm less powerful groups, there is not a need for mutual apology.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

9. False equivalency is a lie that renders the powerful as victims. And it is a violence to those who are not equal save for that lie.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

10. Poverty and exploitation do not have many sides. People did not die in #Charlottesville on many sides. And justice cannot say otherwise.

— Phillip Atiba Goff (@DrPhilGoff) August 12, 2017

In short, there aren’t multiple morally equivalent sides here.  There’s one side — white supremacists — that has long oppressed all other groups of people.  Their protests aim to ensure that oppression continues, even if it means using violence.  The people counterprotesting, on the other hand, are trying to end that oppression.

So while it’s true that both sides participated in the brawls seen throughout the protests, one side — in a country that supposedly values equality — has the much stronger case by actively working against the hate, bigotry, and violence that the white supremacist side is actively trying to perpetuate.

But Trump won’t acknowledge any of that.  Asked to clarify his remarks, a White House official said, “The President was condemning hatred, bigotry and violence from all sources and all sides.  There was violence between protesters and counter protesters today.”  Trump is deliberately not calling out the white supremacists who led to the unrest in Charlottesville.

There aren’t “many sides” here.  There’s the Alt Right/Neo Nazis/White Supremacists, and there’s everyone else.