tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post2537730802249761194..comments2023-10-30T12:22:17.806-04:00Comments on Liberty Takes Effort: Charlottseville lessons for BostonLiberty Takes Efforthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-40295020203241698212017-08-19T21:36:50.843-04:002017-08-19T21:36:50.843-04:00Always worth the read. Appreciate what you are of...Always worth the read. Appreciate what you are offering, as well as the secondary references.madeleinesophiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15854440002564488670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-49752969631614426572017-08-19T12:39:13.359-04:002017-08-19T12:39:13.359-04:00I greatly appreciate the moral leadership shown by...I greatly appreciate the moral leadership shown by the clergy in Schenectady. I hope we see more of the same in the days and weeks ahead. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04377781886643500425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-41108188487259525422017-08-19T08:04:10.260-04:002017-08-19T08:04:10.260-04:00Thanks for commenting Cara. I read the column in t...Thanks for commenting Cara. I read the column in the Daily Gazette. I think it is sound and consistent with my recommendations. Here is the link should any of my readers wish to read the piece: https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/08/16/to-expose-ignorance-and-intolerance-let-the-haters-speak <br /><br /> Charlottesville is not an indication of an impending return to slavery or the awakening of a neo-Nazi tide within the country that we all should fear. (Scanning news headlines or watching cable TV "news" some might think that. But that is a separate issue.) <br />The Daily Gazette columnist has it right. We have a handful of racist morons in the country (see https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/state-of-white-supremacy-united-states-2015.pdf ) who are best exposed, diminished, and eliminated by the light of day and our precious First Amendment - let them speak.<br /><br />While looking for the column I also came across this one from some clergy. The change we seek will not come from confronting and fighting with neo-Nazis in counter protests. The change we seek will come from individual introspection, peaceful conversation, education, and our example in action. https://dailygazette.com/article/2017/08/17/local-clergy-no-tolerance-for-bigotry-hatredLiberty Takes Efforthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13398225334133635697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8054521671768779399.post-25175595580857192282017-08-18T23:28:34.391-04:002017-08-18T23:28:34.391-04:00Thank you for taking the time to consider the cons...Thank you for taking the time to consider the consequences of tomorrow's proposed gatherings in Boston. <br /><br />The future of race relations in this country are very important to me and some of the most impactful lessons I have learned about the contextual ramifications of race in America took place in the city of Boston.<br /><br />Because of my desire to unequivocally denounce racist sentiments, part of me is tempted to participate in the counter-protests that will undoubtedly unfold in Boston this weekend.<br /><br />That being said, I appreciate the Southern Poverty Law's assertion that, "“interacting with these groups just gives them a platform to spread their message of hate.”<br /><br />Yesterday an editorial was published in the Daily Gazette (which my grandfather reads most week days in the capital region of New York) It's author argued, "To expose ignorance and intolerance, let the haters speak: racist bile exposes perpetrators for what they really are."<br /><br />I find these compelling reasons to sit out this weekend's demonstrations. <br /><br />This does not, however, mean that I plan to be a passive bystander.<br /><br /> In your overview of the power of contemporary white supremacist groups you write, "membership numbers make them near irrelevant and incapable of achieving any political goal in normal processes."<br /><br />Though my political consciousness does not stretch far into the past, it seems to me that normal political processes are being disregarded in unsettling ways at the moment. <br /><br />For this reason (among others) I deem it a moral imperative for every American to examine his conscience tonight. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04377781886643500425noreply@blogger.com