My Road to Damascus
I have spent much of my career as a teacher and education scholar advocating for fair treatment of students from historically marginalized minority groups and have been a staunch defender of constitutional democracy and reasonable pluralism against authoritarians on the far-Right.
Since my time as a graduate student at Clemson University, I have supported efforts to rename Tillman Hall, a campus building named after South Carolina’s most infamous historical purveyor of racial violence and terror.
Likewise, I believe that Confederate monuments and statues in town squares and other highly visible, central, public places can give a reasonable impression of state endorsements of slavery and racial oppression. As such, I think they should be removed through democratic processes.
I was an early supporter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. I was and still am sympathetic to its largely successful efforts to highlight the problem of police brutality in the United States and the fact that African Americans are disproportionately
stopped by police, subjected to police use of force, and represented among victims of police shootings.
I love black people and will always have their back when it comes to the protection of their civil liberties, but my support for BLM has all but evaporated... Because believing that black lives matter and supporting that radical organization are, in fact, very different things.
Political & Philosophical Roots
The cognitive dissonance I have experienced over the past few months between the mainstream Left’s romanticized narrative of peaceful, democratic protests for racial justice/against fascism & white supremacy and the overwhelming amount of video evidence showing anarcho-communist mobs harassing citizens, looting, rioting, setting fires, ignoring lawful police orders, and assaulting people who challenge their criminal behavior has resulted in a “road to Damascus moment” for me.
I have since begun to take a more critical look at Black Lives Matter's origins, guiding philosophy, central claims, and the behavior and policy proposals it has inspired. As it has for others, doing so has undercut my support for BLM. Perhaps more significantly, it has destroyed much of the remaining credibility the American Left had for me.
With help from mainstream voices on the Left, the unobjectionable declaration that “Black Lives Matter” has, in my view, functioned as a rhetorical trojan horse to enable a radical neo-Marxist organization to smuggle unwarranted and extremist views into the heart of American culture and politics.
The organization’s appeals to emotion and effective use of mob intimidation have protected its grossly exaggerated and even counterfactual claims from mainstream critical scrutiny. I have been dismayed by what appears to be an increasing unwillingness of the mainstream American Left to defend liberal, democratic values. I am appalled by Democrats' general refusal to enforce the law and their constant
deflection of blame for the dysfunction that plagues nearly every city under their control.
Conservatives need a vocal, critical Left to point out our ideological blindspots, but the mainstream American Left's general refusal to acknowledge - let alone, adequately confront - the increasingly widespread intolerance and irrationality in their own ranks has eviscerated its credibility with those not already converted to intersectional socialism. Worse still, far-Left authoritarians ironically call themselves "liberals," and the rest of us uncritically accept this nonsense. Why are we such easy marks?
“Peaceful Protesters”
There is a vast expanse between mainstream “progressive” narratives and documented events that have taken place in Portland and other American cities over the past few months. There have, indeed, been heavily scrutinized instances of police use of force and there is significant documentation of officers going too far when confronting demonstrators.
It is important, however, before jumping on the “f$%k da po-leece” bandwagon, to look at what the “peaceful protesters” are actually doing... I'm asking you to use the evidence of your senses to observe their actual behavior for yourself, and to not simply chug the leftwing Kool-Aid.
If American citizens were only watching CNN, reading the New York Times, and listening to Democrats, they would be oblivious to months of communist insurrection
under the euphemistic banners of “anti-fascism” and “Black Lives Matter” in Portland and other far-Left American cities.
Consider the local and national responses to months of rioting in Portland as an illuminating case study. When violent mobs tore down a protective perimeter fence and began setting fires outside a federal courthouse with people inside, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (i.e., federal law enforcement agencies whose purpose is to enforce federal laws) deployed law enforcement officers to Portland to protect federal agents and property.
In response, Oregon Democrat Congressman Ron Wyden said that “Donald Trump sent his jackbooted goons… to attack peaceful protesters.” Democrat Congressman Jim Clyburn went on CNN to slander American law enforcement officers as Nazi
“gestapo.” Equally disingenuous and hyperbolic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
maligned the officers as “unidentified stormtroopers” who were “kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.”
Not to be outdone, Democrat Congressman and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said shortly after these ridiculous comments that the widespread anarchy, rioting, looting, arson, and violence we observe with our own eyes is nothing but a “myth.”
Meanwhile, an Antifa terrorist upped the ante to hurling powerful explosives at the occupied courthouse. One would be hard pressed to find a better example of the psychological "gaslighting” to which those on the Left are otherwise so well attuned. In direct contradiction to the prevailing leftwing narrative, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously announced that the federal government would be sending federal investigators and law enforcement officers to enforce federal laws and protect U.S. citizens in cities overwhelmed by violent crime.
On July 5th, after over 30 consecutive nights of destructive rioting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement on “Portland Civil Unrest” in which it announced a cooperative effort with the DOJ to send “rapid deployment teams” of federal law enforcement officers to prevent further destruction of federal property.
Making DHS intentions perfectly clear, the statement read, “While the Department respects every American’s right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated.” On July 16, the 47th day of rioting, another announcement from the
DHS condemned the daily violence and lawlessness and inadequate response to it from local government officials.
Contrary to Speaker Pelosi’s histrionics, federal law enforcement officers sent to Portland were clearly identified as “POLICE.” The officers’ names weren’t displayed on their uniforms because the communist militants assaulting them and attempting to burn them alive have a long history of “doxing” anyone who opposes them and putting the safety of their families at risk.
Only after accurately declaring an obvious riot an unlawful assembly, did federal law enforcement escalate the use of force... you know, to enforce the law. They arrested rioters and arsonists and used tear gas to clear a non-compliant, violent mob from the perimeter of the federal courthouse they were sworn to protect.
Without a hint of irony, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who witnessed the rioting and arson first hand, tweeted, “Nothing can justify this intervention.” He has since acknowledged what was obviously rioting. While he and other Democrats kept their heads in the sand, teams of well-organized domestic terrorists continued their months-long campaign of destruction, arson, rioting, and assaulting police officers in leftwing cities across the United States.
These and other events over the last few years gradually motivated me to look further into the origins of the militant rhetoric and behavior I observed.
Mass Hysteria and Delusion
Individual police officers sometimes go too far when dealing with non-compliant citizens and should be held accountable for doing so. Ignored by many on the Left, however, is the fact that, the United States is a constitutional democracy. Unlike crackdowns on enemies of the state in totalitarian dictatorships by Nazi Gestapo
and Soviet Cheka, American police enforce the laws produced by citizens' elected representatives in our liberal, democratic, republic!
Communist propaganda aside, our country is not, in any way whatsoever, remotely even close to being the “fascist police state” these deluded nincompoops tell themselves they are “resisting.” The ludicrous notion that these pampered LARPers are fighting systemic oppression in one of the most prosperous and politically liberated countries in human history would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.
Consider the fact that, to defend constitutional democracy, many of our grandfathers flew to Europe, Africa, and the Pacific to kill fascists! Many of our fathers and uncles risked their lives all around the world to contain the communist menace of the 20th century. Why would we now spit in their faces by embracing either one of these liberty-destroying, soul-sucking, totalitarian systems?
To the contrary, American police are overwhelmingly using their constitutionally and democratically sanctioned authority to enforce the general will of a free people - the least of whom are far more "privileged" than the vast majority of people in the rest of the world, both past and present. Our law enforcement officers--most of whom are good people doing an increasingly dangerous and thankless job--are compelled to use force by the unlawful actions of a militant minority.
Far from “peaceful protesters,” with some notable exceptions, demonstrators on the receiving end of police force in America are participating in unlawful activities, resisting arrest, and refusing to follow lawful orders. Because their arguments are un-compelling on their merits, many of these self-righteous, entitled, perpetually-aggrieved, unemployable "activists" seem to believe they are exempt from general civic responsibilities and basic standards of human decency that apply to the rest of us.
Much like their hero, communist revolutionary and unapologetic cop-killer Assata Shakur, many BLM militants and Antifa insurrectionaries seem to believe it is perfectly okay (for them) to assault and slander police officers. These officers, who are overwhelmingly decent public servants exercising their constitutionally-derived authority to enforce laws reflecting the general will of the people, are routinely derided as racist, fascist thugs by people on the far-Left.
Consider, for just a second, the general purpose of a mob—I’m not talking about genuinely oppressed people protesting tyrannical rule. In America in the year 2020, mobs are formed to communicate an implicit threat of force to fellow citizens and rightful constitutional, democratic authorities who might otherwise hold them accountable to the behavioral norms of a civilized society.
In other words, in our particular, present day context, far-Left mobs are formed not to protest illiberal or undemocratic systems but to send the message that, if the militant minority does not get its way, there will be hell to pay.
It is my view that an astounding percentage of people on the Left (not just the far-Left foot soldiers) consider themselves morally and intellectually superior to the American majority and, therefore, above the laws the rest of us consent to and demand to be enforced. Behavior motivated by these narcissistic delusions is neither democratic nor liberal. It is the behavior of an authoritarian, intolerant mob.
The revolutionary vanguard presently fomenting insurrection is a cabal of entitled, self-appointed guardians of the galaxy - an artificial aristocracy whose allies believe they have a special moral right to use violence to suppress the political expression of anyone to their right. That is, they have openly declared war on a huge swath of the country, including a whole helluvalotta American Patriots (like myself) who are clearly neither fascists nor white supremacists.
By blocking public streets and restricting others' movement in public places, even those not directly participating in rioting, looting, destruction of property, or assault are often preventing the police from effectively stopping those who do. Their self-indulgent, mass tantrums - which they believe to be justified by demonstrably false beliefs - make it incredibly difficult for police and other first responders to help people in the neighborhoods that need them the most. They are also showing total disregard for the constitutionally protected, democratic rights of fellow citizens who don’t support their unwarranted cause and unethical behavior.
When people on the Right act like assholes, their behavior is generally framed by those on the Left as obvious proof of deep-seated "hate," an inherently authoritarian personality, and a litany of psychological pathologies (i.e., -isms and -phobias) to which they are uniquely susceptible. When people allied with the Left behave like hateful, deranged authoritarians, however, their ass-holic behavior is presented as "necessary" means justified by honorable ends.
In my judgment, the only way our deeply divided, conflict ridden country can survive much longer is for the mainstream American Left to (1) stop demonizing and attempting to silence their opponents on the Right, (2) acknowledge the obvious fact that we live in a constitutional democracy rather than a fascist police state, and (3) establish clear, consistently enforced limits of tolerance for the most extreme elements in its own ranks.
Only then will people on the Right have reasons to believe we are negotiating on the basis of mutually beneficial terms of cooperation with our political opponents. Only then could the subjective benefits of maintaining our political relationship with the Left conceivably outweigh the increasingly unbearable costs.
By Ben Bindewald
Since my time as a graduate student at Clemson University, I have supported efforts to rename Tillman Hall, a campus building named after South Carolina’s most infamous historical purveyor of racial violence and terror.
Likewise, I believe that Confederate monuments and statues in town squares and other highly visible, central, public places can give a reasonable impression of state endorsements of slavery and racial oppression. As such, I think they should be removed through democratic processes.
I was an early supporter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. I was and still am sympathetic to its largely successful efforts to highlight the problem of police brutality in the United States and the fact that African Americans are disproportionately
stopped by police, subjected to police use of force, and represented among victims of police shootings.
I love black people and will always have their back when it comes to the protection of their civil liberties, but my support for BLM has all but evaporated... Because believing that black lives matter and supporting that radical organization are, in fact, very different things.
Political & Philosophical Roots
The cognitive dissonance I have experienced over the past few months between the mainstream Left’s romanticized narrative of peaceful, democratic protests for racial justice/against fascism & white supremacy and the overwhelming amount of video evidence showing anarcho-communist mobs harassing citizens, looting, rioting, setting fires, ignoring lawful police orders, and assaulting people who challenge their criminal behavior has resulted in a “road to Damascus moment” for me.
I have since begun to take a more critical look at Black Lives Matter's origins, guiding philosophy, central claims, and the behavior and policy proposals it has inspired. As it has for others, doing so has undercut my support for BLM. Perhaps more significantly, it has destroyed much of the remaining credibility the American Left had for me.
With help from mainstream voices on the Left, the unobjectionable declaration that “Black Lives Matter” has, in my view, functioned as a rhetorical trojan horse to enable a radical neo-Marxist organization to smuggle unwarranted and extremist views into the heart of American culture and politics.
The organization’s appeals to emotion and effective use of mob intimidation have protected its grossly exaggerated and even counterfactual claims from mainstream critical scrutiny. I have been dismayed by what appears to be an increasing unwillingness of the mainstream American Left to defend liberal, democratic values. I am appalled by Democrats' general refusal to enforce the law and their constant
deflection of blame for the dysfunction that plagues nearly every city under their control.
Conservatives need a vocal, critical Left to point out our ideological blindspots, but the mainstream American Left's general refusal to acknowledge - let alone, adequately confront - the increasingly widespread intolerance and irrationality in their own ranks has eviscerated its credibility with those not already converted to intersectional socialism. Worse still, far-Left authoritarians ironically call themselves "liberals," and the rest of us uncritically accept this nonsense. Why are we such easy marks?
“Peaceful Protesters”
There is a vast expanse between mainstream “progressive” narratives and documented events that have taken place in Portland and other American cities over the past few months. There have, indeed, been heavily scrutinized instances of police use of force and there is significant documentation of officers going too far when confronting demonstrators.
It is important, however, before jumping on the “f$%k da po-leece” bandwagon, to look at what the “peaceful protesters” are actually doing... I'm asking you to use the evidence of your senses to observe their actual behavior for yourself, and to not simply chug the leftwing Kool-Aid.
If American citizens were only watching CNN, reading the New York Times, and listening to Democrats, they would be oblivious to months of communist insurrection
under the euphemistic banners of “anti-fascism” and “Black Lives Matter” in Portland and other far-Left American cities.
Consider the local and national responses to months of rioting in Portland as an illuminating case study. When violent mobs tore down a protective perimeter fence and began setting fires outside a federal courthouse with people inside, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (i.e., federal law enforcement agencies whose purpose is to enforce federal laws) deployed law enforcement officers to Portland to protect federal agents and property.
In response, Oregon Democrat Congressman Ron Wyden said that “Donald Trump sent his jackbooted goons… to attack peaceful protesters.” Democrat Congressman Jim Clyburn went on CNN to slander American law enforcement officers as Nazi
“gestapo.” Equally disingenuous and hyperbolic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
maligned the officers as “unidentified stormtroopers” who were “kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti.”
Not to be outdone, Democrat Congressman and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said shortly after these ridiculous comments that the widespread anarchy, rioting, looting, arson, and violence we observe with our own eyes is nothing but a “myth.”
Meanwhile, an Antifa terrorist upped the ante to hurling powerful explosives at the occupied courthouse. One would be hard pressed to find a better example of the psychological "gaslighting” to which those on the Left are otherwise so well attuned. In direct contradiction to the prevailing leftwing narrative, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously announced that the federal government would be sending federal investigators and law enforcement officers to enforce federal laws and protect U.S. citizens in cities overwhelmed by violent crime.
On July 5th, after over 30 consecutive nights of destructive rioting, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement on “Portland Civil Unrest” in which it announced a cooperative effort with the DOJ to send “rapid deployment teams” of federal law enforcement officers to prevent further destruction of federal property.
Making DHS intentions perfectly clear, the statement read, “While the Department respects every American’s right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated.” On July 16, the 47th day of rioting, another announcement from the
DHS condemned the daily violence and lawlessness and inadequate response to it from local government officials.
Contrary to Speaker Pelosi’s histrionics, federal law enforcement officers sent to Portland were clearly identified as “POLICE.” The officers’ names weren’t displayed on their uniforms because the communist militants assaulting them and attempting to burn them alive have a long history of “doxing” anyone who opposes them and putting the safety of their families at risk.
Only after accurately declaring an obvious riot an unlawful assembly, did federal law enforcement escalate the use of force... you know, to enforce the law. They arrested rioters and arsonists and used tear gas to clear a non-compliant, violent mob from the perimeter of the federal courthouse they were sworn to protect.
Without a hint of irony, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who witnessed the rioting and arson first hand, tweeted, “Nothing can justify this intervention.” He has since acknowledged what was obviously rioting. While he and other Democrats kept their heads in the sand, teams of well-organized domestic terrorists continued their months-long campaign of destruction, arson, rioting, and assaulting police officers in leftwing cities across the United States.
These and other events over the last few years gradually motivated me to look further into the origins of the militant rhetoric and behavior I observed.
Mass Hysteria and Delusion
Individual police officers sometimes go too far when dealing with non-compliant citizens and should be held accountable for doing so. Ignored by many on the Left, however, is the fact that, the United States is a constitutional democracy. Unlike crackdowns on enemies of the state in totalitarian dictatorships by Nazi Gestapo
and Soviet Cheka, American police enforce the laws produced by citizens' elected representatives in our liberal, democratic, republic!
Communist propaganda aside, our country is not, in any way whatsoever, remotely even close to being the “fascist police state” these deluded nincompoops tell themselves they are “resisting.” The ludicrous notion that these pampered LARPers are fighting systemic oppression in one of the most prosperous and politically liberated countries in human history would be funny if it weren't so dangerous.
Consider the fact that, to defend constitutional democracy, many of our grandfathers flew to Europe, Africa, and the Pacific to kill fascists! Many of our fathers and uncles risked their lives all around the world to contain the communist menace of the 20th century. Why would we now spit in their faces by embracing either one of these liberty-destroying, soul-sucking, totalitarian systems?
To the contrary, American police are overwhelmingly using their constitutionally and democratically sanctioned authority to enforce the general will of a free people - the least of whom are far more "privileged" than the vast majority of people in the rest of the world, both past and present. Our law enforcement officers--most of whom are good people doing an increasingly dangerous and thankless job--are compelled to use force by the unlawful actions of a militant minority.
Far from “peaceful protesters,” with some notable exceptions, demonstrators on the receiving end of police force in America are participating in unlawful activities, resisting arrest, and refusing to follow lawful orders. Because their arguments are un-compelling on their merits, many of these self-righteous, entitled, perpetually-aggrieved, unemployable "activists" seem to believe they are exempt from general civic responsibilities and basic standards of human decency that apply to the rest of us.
Much like their hero, communist revolutionary and unapologetic cop-killer Assata Shakur, many BLM militants and Antifa insurrectionaries seem to believe it is perfectly okay (for them) to assault and slander police officers. These officers, who are overwhelmingly decent public servants exercising their constitutionally-derived authority to enforce laws reflecting the general will of the people, are routinely derided as racist, fascist thugs by people on the far-Left.
Consider, for just a second, the general purpose of a mob—I’m not talking about genuinely oppressed people protesting tyrannical rule. In America in the year 2020, mobs are formed to communicate an implicit threat of force to fellow citizens and rightful constitutional, democratic authorities who might otherwise hold them accountable to the behavioral norms of a civilized society.
In other words, in our particular, present day context, far-Left mobs are formed not to protest illiberal or undemocratic systems but to send the message that, if the militant minority does not get its way, there will be hell to pay.
It is my view that an astounding percentage of people on the Left (not just the far-Left foot soldiers) consider themselves morally and intellectually superior to the American majority and, therefore, above the laws the rest of us consent to and demand to be enforced. Behavior motivated by these narcissistic delusions is neither democratic nor liberal. It is the behavior of an authoritarian, intolerant mob.
The revolutionary vanguard presently fomenting insurrection is a cabal of entitled, self-appointed guardians of the galaxy - an artificial aristocracy whose allies believe they have a special moral right to use violence to suppress the political expression of anyone to their right. That is, they have openly declared war on a huge swath of the country, including a whole helluvalotta American Patriots (like myself) who are clearly neither fascists nor white supremacists.
By blocking public streets and restricting others' movement in public places, even those not directly participating in rioting, looting, destruction of property, or assault are often preventing the police from effectively stopping those who do. Their self-indulgent, mass tantrums - which they believe to be justified by demonstrably false beliefs - make it incredibly difficult for police and other first responders to help people in the neighborhoods that need them the most. They are also showing total disregard for the constitutionally protected, democratic rights of fellow citizens who don’t support their unwarranted cause and unethical behavior.
When people on the Right act like assholes, their behavior is generally framed by those on the Left as obvious proof of deep-seated "hate," an inherently authoritarian personality, and a litany of psychological pathologies (i.e., -isms and -phobias) to which they are uniquely susceptible. When people allied with the Left behave like hateful, deranged authoritarians, however, their ass-holic behavior is presented as "necessary" means justified by honorable ends.
In my judgment, the only way our deeply divided, conflict ridden country can survive much longer is for the mainstream American Left to (1) stop demonizing and attempting to silence their opponents on the Right, (2) acknowledge the obvious fact that we live in a constitutional democracy rather than a fascist police state, and (3) establish clear, consistently enforced limits of tolerance for the most extreme elements in its own ranks.
Only then will people on the Right have reasons to believe we are negotiating on the basis of mutually beneficial terms of cooperation with our political opponents. Only then could the subjective benefits of maintaining our political relationship with the Left conceivably outweigh the increasingly unbearable costs.
By Ben Bindewald