You have it wrong on conservatives. We have a heart. Our heart believes that giving things out for free, letting people run amok and break the law at will with no consequences, is not good for society. We believe in tough love because it creates character. Working and meritocracy brings personal dignity. What Antifa and the Progressives believe is anti-society, violent and repressive. Study Marxism and what it and it's children (intersectionality, colonialist theories, DEI, etc.) havee wrought upon the world.
I never said conservatives have no heart. My undergraduate work is in social justice so I surveyed many CRT courses. Also, for the record I am libertarian and have worked in various conservative organizations promoting conservative values.
I "give out things for free". However, I carefully so do. E.g.: Some people have jobs and need to wait at bus stops. They simply can't afford proper footwear. If it's too wet, too cold, even too hot, it creates problems. I might supply them with a proper pair of footwear. I operate on practically no money, but there are sources for quality, unwanted or low priced material.
I am not an “activist” … I do not shake my fist at others demanding they obey my dictates. I am a community service volunteer … I see a need and roll my sleeves up to directly help. I don’t demand “the government” fix this and fix that. They never can and never will. They cause the problems in the first place. I want the government to get out of the way and let volunteers do the work of helping others. And yes, I am a conservative, a traditional American. There is no better thing to be.
I think activism gets a dirty name. I think activism can include the work you're doing and community organizing in general, especially when you are trying to get the government out of the way. I have infinitely more trust in my fellow American than I do in the government.
Bravo on your article and your "apertura de mente"! Consisting with your messages is Thomas Sowell's discussion, in his "A Conflict of Visions" and other works, of considering not just what "feels right", but what the trade offs are!
Luckily I read “ Free to Choose,” by Uncle Milty senior year in High School, which led to Sowell, Hayek, von Mises etc. They should be required reading for all the potential activists out there.
Thank you! My mom and grandmother were activists too.
Along the same lines as you they said the ends don't justify the means.
And. The person you are protesting against, the people who disagree with you (in my grandmother's case, who literally were trying to kill her and my family) are human too. It is sometimes much harder to keep this in mind but more effective in the long run.
liked seeing 2 of your influential authors…..would appreciate more- authors or their specific writing pieces….I and suspect many folks who truly wish for a better world are on this path of early loving Left , turning Right after CRT/Woke unreason……thx for your story….keep going!!
I think that sounds like an amazing story. It takes a lot of courage to look at your life and see where you need to make a break and a change. (And it's not like you've made a change from what you truly want, but just from the way that you will go about getting it.) It would have been so easy to stay with the crowd, enjoy their company and continue to be with Antifa... and I think it took a lot of courage to go. OK, well, I am on a different path and I can see things in a different way.
I wish you the best. There's not many people that are able to look. outside themselves and that way. Not many people make their journey (And fewer still write about it and expose all their sort of hopes and fears I think your parents sound wonderful). But I hope wherever you are and wherever you go from there that you find the best. and enjoy your beautiful family and animals :)
Well, I think too that it's more about love. that you love people even if they have flaws, you will always love animals. and you'll always love to do what you think is right. I'm glad life's let you turn that corner! Because love is always a more enriching way to be.... It's a better place to be. It's easy to be angry when we're young (But being angry is a tragic need that will never be met The angrier we get, the harder it is to find answers and anger hides so many emotions usually it's sadness, shock, fear loneliness.... . Our language makes it very easy to think of other people as being wrong and I think that's really an important idea to understand about the language that we have. If we think of, for instance, nonviolent communication from Marshall Rosenberg. and we see how well our society teaches us a violent way of thinking and communicating (Our language makes it so that people are good or bad. Something is right or wrong And wherever those sorts catagories abound violence is not far behind Because the judgment has already been made even without talking). So it's not surprising that many people are at a loss at what to do initially when they see something that is not in the way it could be... I hope fun day people learn to communicate in kinder ways, more open ways to really know eachother
Thanks for everything you do! This is a great message for all the idealistic young people heading down the path of radical activism. There are wiser and more effective ways to make a difference, even when it feels like you're herding kittens!
How is beating people up and burning down mostly Minority communities considered "passion"? Antifa are violent, fascist thugs who attack in groups because they're too cowardly to go mano a mano.
Also, illegal aliens aren't "undocumented" - they have documents when they're processed at our open borders. They need their documents when they apply for welfare, etc.
The destruction of Minority-Owned small businesses was strategically done - stripping the Minorities of their assets while opening the door for venture capital vultures to buy the distressed properties and destroy the generational wealth of these families. That's not activism and it wasn't about protesting that a Black thug died from the drugs he pumped into his system - it was about the strategic destruction of innocent lives.
Antifa thugs aren't anti-capitalist - they enjoy the benefits of capitalism while destroying lives - always in groups, too cowardly to go mano a mano. That's their legacy. Not passion but cowardly thugs destroying lives.
I've been an activist/advocate for women and Minorities for decades and I know the difference between real activism and violent, cowardly thuggery. Antifa are cowardly thugs, wannabe Communists.
Yes. But then charges were dropped. Hayden told me the DA told his lawyer that he wasn't going to get involved in a "School yard fight."
This person went on to stab a person in a nearby county and faced charges for attempted murder. He was found guilty of the stabbing but he was not held accountable for the assault of Hayden.
I often wonder if that prosecutor who refused to enforce the law knew that his decision not to prosecute resulted in the near-murder of an innocent person not long after. At least he is behind bars, for now. I don't know how long his sentence is.
You have it wrong on conservatives. We have a heart. Our heart believes that giving things out for free, letting people run amok and break the law at will with no consequences, is not good for society. We believe in tough love because it creates character. Working and meritocracy brings personal dignity. What Antifa and the Progressives believe is anti-society, violent and repressive. Study Marxism and what it and it's children (intersectionality, colonialist theories, DEI, etc.) havee wrought upon the world.
I never said conservatives have no heart. My undergraduate work is in social justice so I surveyed many CRT courses. Also, for the record I am libertarian and have worked in various conservative organizations promoting conservative values.
Thank you for the clarification. And thank you for your article. Peace brother.
I "give out things for free". However, I carefully so do. E.g.: Some people have jobs and need to wait at bus stops. They simply can't afford proper footwear. If it's too wet, too cold, even too hot, it creates problems. I might supply them with a proper pair of footwear. I operate on practically no money, but there are sources for quality, unwanted or low priced material.
I've installed entire small libraries.
I am not an “activist” … I do not shake my fist at others demanding they obey my dictates. I am a community service volunteer … I see a need and roll my sleeves up to directly help. I don’t demand “the government” fix this and fix that. They never can and never will. They cause the problems in the first place. I want the government to get out of the way and let volunteers do the work of helping others. And yes, I am a conservative, a traditional American. There is no better thing to be.
I think activism gets a dirty name. I think activism can include the work you're doing and community organizing in general, especially when you are trying to get the government out of the way. I have infinitely more trust in my fellow American than I do in the government.
What an idiot. Amazing lack of common sense.
"But I was discovering that passion without reason is dangerous."
"But more importantly, you have to think about your actions before you act on them."
"If all you have is passion, then you may act out in a manner that ends up hurting others."
These are revelations? I thought you learned these in elementary school.
Bravo on your article and your "apertura de mente"! Consisting with your messages is Thomas Sowell's discussion, in his "A Conflict of Visions" and other works, of considering not just what "feels right", but what the trade offs are!
What an excellent article ... !!! Bravo ...
Luckily I read “ Free to Choose,” by Uncle Milty senior year in High School, which led to Sowell, Hayek, von Mises etc. They should be required reading for all the potential activists out there.
Thank you! My mom and grandmother were activists too.
Along the same lines as you they said the ends don't justify the means.
And. The person you are protesting against, the people who disagree with you (in my grandmother's case, who literally were trying to kill her and my family) are human too. It is sometimes much harder to keep this in mind but more effective in the long run.
thank you for considering your enemy's humanity
Good.
Your first two lessons amount to: keep your eye on the truth and try to find it.
Your mom saved you from blind passion.
All the best!
liked seeing 2 of your influential authors…..would appreciate more- authors or their specific writing pieces….I and suspect many folks who truly wish for a better world are on this path of early loving Left , turning Right after CRT/Woke unreason……thx for your story….keep going!!
The protesters WANT something bad to happen. they WANT to engage in provication and then say "oh look at us we're oppressed".
They WANT the police to beat them up.
They WANT the national guard called in.
When they create their first martyr, that will spark nationwide protests.
And the right is taking the bait.
I think that sounds like an amazing story. It takes a lot of courage to look at your life and see where you need to make a break and a change. (And it's not like you've made a change from what you truly want, but just from the way that you will go about getting it.) It would have been so easy to stay with the crowd, enjoy their company and continue to be with Antifa... and I think it took a lot of courage to go. OK, well, I am on a different path and I can see things in a different way.
I wish you the best. There's not many people that are able to look. outside themselves and that way. Not many people make their journey (And fewer still write about it and expose all their sort of hopes and fears I think your parents sound wonderful). But I hope wherever you are and wherever you go from there that you find the best. and enjoy your beautiful family and animals :)
"And it's not like you've made a change from what you truly want, but just from the way that you will go about getting it"
You've hit the nail in the head.
I still love animals, I still love people and, I still hate the government.
Well, I think too that it's more about love. that you love people even if they have flaws, you will always love animals. and you'll always love to do what you think is right. I'm glad life's let you turn that corner! Because love is always a more enriching way to be.... It's a better place to be. It's easy to be angry when we're young (But being angry is a tragic need that will never be met The angrier we get, the harder it is to find answers and anger hides so many emotions usually it's sadness, shock, fear loneliness.... . Our language makes it very easy to think of other people as being wrong and I think that's really an important idea to understand about the language that we have. If we think of, for instance, nonviolent communication from Marshall Rosenberg. and we see how well our society teaches us a violent way of thinking and communicating (Our language makes it so that people are good or bad. Something is right or wrong And wherever those sorts catagories abound violence is not far behind Because the judgment has already been made even without talking). So it's not surprising that many people are at a loss at what to do initially when they see something that is not in the way it could be... I hope fun day people learn to communicate in kinder ways, more open ways to really know eachother
That was quite the jump from "My dad taught me to care about others," to joining a group using
"physical violence and intimidation."
Nevertheless, proud of what you have done once you regained your original passion and dropped the violence that actually hurts "others"
Thanks for everything you do! This is a great message for all the idealistic young people heading down the path of radical activism. There are wiser and more effective ways to make a difference, even when it feels like you're herding kittens!
How is beating people up and burning down mostly Minority communities considered "passion"? Antifa are violent, fascist thugs who attack in groups because they're too cowardly to go mano a mano.
Also, illegal aliens aren't "undocumented" - they have documents when they're processed at our open borders. They need their documents when they apply for welfare, etc.
The destruction of Minority-Owned small businesses was strategically done - stripping the Minorities of their assets while opening the door for venture capital vultures to buy the distressed properties and destroy the generational wealth of these families. That's not activism and it wasn't about protesting that a Black thug died from the drugs he pumped into his system - it was about the strategic destruction of innocent lives.
Antifa thugs aren't anti-capitalist - they enjoy the benefits of capitalism while destroying lives - always in groups, too cowardly to go mano a mano. That's their legacy. Not passion but cowardly thugs destroying lives.
I've been an activist/advocate for women and Minorities for decades and I know the difference between real activism and violent, cowardly thuggery. Antifa are cowardly thugs, wannabe Communists.
Interesting perspective. Thank you for sharing, very thoughtful.
Was the person who punched him charged?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/02/27/conservative-activist-was-punched-face-uc-berkeley-response-enraged-right/
Yes. But then charges were dropped. Hayden told me the DA told his lawyer that he wasn't going to get involved in a "School yard fight."
This person went on to stab a person in a nearby county and faced charges for attempted murder. He was found guilty of the stabbing but he was not held accountable for the assault of Hayden.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/09/21/el-cerrito-resident-guilty-in-2020-peninsula-stabbing/
I often wonder if that prosecutor who refused to enforce the law knew that his decision not to prosecute resulted in the near-murder of an innocent person not long after. At least he is behind bars, for now. I don't know how long his sentence is.
Thank you. Antifa is openly violent. Often supporters simply refuse to acknowledge it.
Can he sue the authorities, for refusing to protect him? 4th, 14th Amendments?