General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Thank you to all those who spoke out. [View all]DonCoquixote
(13,615 posts)but admittedly, not because of any virtue. Violence is like chemotherapy; it may be needed if it is a choice between certain death and life, and even then, it has every bit a chance to be as bad as a disease. Every revolution results in a lot of innocent people dead while the glory hounds on all sides congratulate themselves,stirring up more violence that becomes the end, not the means.
I understand there are some that truly believe that the United States, indeed, the world order, must be destroyed utterly before reforms can happen. I am not going to debate that here, but I will quote Voltaire when he said that "I may disagree with what you say, but defend to the death your right to say it." However, when you talk of killing, then you turn me off, because frankly, left wing, right wing, it all becomes a blood fest in the end. There is also the practical matter that as the oceans rise, the heat increases, we will need cooperation to survive, which means we need to make new myths and paradigms rather than the same old war stories.
And while I can see DU supporting speech, I do think they can condemn killing people. Let us call a thing a thing, war is killing people, once you strip all that poetry off it. I understand that civility here on DU has gone down the toilet; but frankly, we need to make some affirmative steps towards civility, and yes, that includes telling certain people in the Gungeon that they do NOT have the right to intimidate people.