Poll : Who is in favor of using violence against the "tea baggers" violence at town hall meetings.

[stuball111]

Poll question: Poll : Who is in favor of using violence against the "tea baggers" violence at town hall meetings.

Just curious, there seems to be some here who wanna meet the RW stupidity with more stupidity. Once and for all, lets get it out there.
(I personally don't condone violence)

Poll result (183 votes)
For using violence	(35 votes, 19%)	Vote
Against it	(119 votes, 65%)	Vote
Use smarter strategy to get the message across	(29 votes, 16%)	Vote

[Clintonista2]

1. I say we take all those tazer-friendly cops

and let them have a go at the tea baggers.

[rcrush]

9. Not too many black people, pregnant women, or teenage girls at tea parties

Or naked people. They arent allowed to tazer anyone else. Oh unless you got a dog. They'll taze the fuck out of your poodle.

[left is right]

33. won't happen tazer-friendly cops

by their very nature agrees with the tea baggers or at least the tea baggers' tactics

[BlooInBloo]

81. Hell - they ARE cops.

[Chulanowa]

2. There's such a thing as self-defense

I'm not going to start the fight, but it some fatass meth addict rushbot comes after me, he's getting a full-on response.

And yes, cue all the insipid fucks who try to preach about "Ghandi" to me. I'm just too lazy to switch my avatar to Osceola, that's all.

[sakabatou]

70. Same here

[Joey Liberal]

77. Same here! nt

[proud patriot]

3. people take their right to health care very personally

I didn't vote in the poll and I refuse to condone violence of
any sort . I'm not going to sit silent either .

[G_j]

4. same

we are way more creative than that

[proud patriot]

11. My dad is doing street theater in Tuscan Az

Think he's writing the script He and his GF were turned away
from a Congress critter's Meeting last night because they were over 40 .

I guess that congress critter is not going to have a Health care
forum because of all the thug stuff happening .

can't say that I blame her .

[G_j]

16. that is wild

profiling the elders!

whatever happened to free speech zones?



really, disruptors should be shown the door.

[proud patriot]

21. Dad and GF are Green party

so they want to come at the Dem from the left .
With all the teabagging nuts around they ended
up defending her . Life is Ironic sometimes .

[stuball111]

6. I like your thinking

[proud patriot]

14. Thanks

[Doctor_J]

68. So pray tell what is your "third way"???

I don't see it

[stuball111]

74. "Using smarter strategy to get the message across"

3rd way

[Doctor_J]

86. Very unspecific

and hence useless.

Sounds really, really thoughtful though.

[deep1]

5. I would not give a damn if they were tasered with thousands of volts

.........if they got out of hand. Stupid cops have no problems tasering pregnant woman, elderly, and the like, why not a bunch of buffoonish, violent Rethugs?

Fuck em

[rcrush]

7. I guess some people really want cops to taze them

I would recommend against it myself.

[armyowalgreens]

8. I would only hit someone if they were attempting to harm me.

And I have counter protested at places where people have gotten in my face and screamed at me. I've had people grab my poster. I've also had people throw DVDs at me.


The important thing is to stay calm. Only use physical tactics if you are attacked and need to defend yourself.


But if a freeper ever attacked me, I would gladly beat the ever loving shit of him.

[Selatius]

10. I don't believe force is the answer except in self-defense/self-preservation

Unless somebody is trying to inflict bodily harm upon you, you shouldn't raise your hand against anyone.

[voc]

12. +1 nt.

[bemildred]

58. +2.

Martin Luther King had it right, and he won. You let it descend into violence, and you lose.

[crickets]

65. +3

[Juche]

13. This is one of the few instances where disorderly conduct laws apply

When I was in college and David Horowitz was giving a speech, a bunch of left wing protesters tried to shout him down. I opposed it when they did it too, and if you can't allow people to listen to a speech and ask questions w/o trying to intimidate them into silence, you should be removed. If you refuse to be removed and still insist on being disorderly, you should be escorted out. I don't care if they are left wingers or right wingers.

[Doctor_J]

69. I don't see a suggestion in your post.

Who should do the removing?

[Juche]

94. Legitimate authority figures

[Caliman73]

15. Against

I think that defending yourself is fine, however, meeting force with force is playing into the hands of the extremists. We can defeat them by standing up to them and letting them know we won't back down from getting health care for all Americans, but we should not sink to attacking them to achieve that goal.

[proud patriot]

22. Thumbsup

Exactly

[lob1]

17. They would love nothing better than for us to use force against them.

The town hall meeting would be stopped, and they would play the victim to the press. And you know the press will favor their position.

[proud patriot]

23. They always do

I like that people are thinking :thinking:
Taking the time to counter all this teabaggin nonsense

smart and successfully .

[Vektor]

18. I can tell you right now if someone laid a hand on me or one of my loved ones...

I'd kick their goddamn knee-caps in. Granted, they'd have to assault first, but I'd readily rise to the occasion, and be glad to have a valid reason to knock some sense into these assholes once and for all.

I'm only against violence if it means me throwing the first punch.

I'll happily throw the second.

[stuball111]

19. I'm impressed..

With all of your response. Almost 3 to 1 against, so far. And yes, if anybody anywhere got pissy and pushy with me, I'd defend myself, but I wouldn't go out and look for it. And definitely don't think guns are an answer like some were posting here earlier.

[Vektor]

27. Absolutely.

I don't go looking for a fight, but I will defend myself if attacked, and voraciously so.

That doesn't mean I'm a violence monger like the right wing haters out there, but I will self-defend for certain.

I'd rather it not have to come to that, but if it did...

[The Doctor.]

78. I'd wager many of those 'for' violence are just trolls.

So far, I haven't seen one DUer advocate for violence except in self-defense.

[proud patriot]

24. !

My husband always has said it this way
"I don't start fights I finish them"
one of the sayings I fell in love with

[Vektor]

28. Exactly.

Nothing at all wrong with self-defending, or standing up for someone who is being attacked. Your hubby sounds like a wise man.

[Gman2]

20. I will stand my ground. I will not allow thugs to dominate.

I will show absolute resolve. Most mortals cringe, in the presence of gravitas. THat, and I KNOW, that I could bang a few knuckleheads together, if it came to that.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

25. The right wingers are SCARED of us !!!!!

I've been trolling some of their sites and they are especially scared of the "Union Thugs" that they seem to hate so much! I think it's funny as hell to see them shaking in their boots! The only problem is, they would love to use guns, even in a fist fight.

[Gman2]

26. The working class can beat the hell outta the investor class, just sayin!

[proud patriot]

32. LOL man that would be an ugly mess

[Edweird]

34. Eh, they SAY that. There are probably a few nutbags that WOULD

actually shoot someone, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority are just talking shit. That's what they do. The handwringers buy into that and encourages more of the same.

We are just as armed as they are, and getting shot sucks ass. Bullets are hot.

[Gman2]

38. DONT KID YOURSELF, if they sniff fear, they will attack, like hyena's!

They that have horded the guns and ammo, are waiting for that long longed for all purpose civil war. They will take care of race, sex, class and of course disobedience. They are the fascist mob, that will usher us to hell, if we waver. Even if some of us die, grusomely, if we flinch, we will live in hell. This is our hour. They will long remember how we dealt with the seeds of another holocaust.

[Gman2]

39. DONT KID YOURSELF, if they sniff fear, they will attack, like hyena's!

They that have horded the guns and ammo, are waiting for that long longed for all purpose civil war. They will take care of race, sex, class and of course disobedience. They are the fascist mob, that will usher us to hell, if we waver. Even if some of us die, grusomely, if we flinch, we will live in hell. This is our hour. They will long remember how we dealt with the seeds of another holocaust.

[Doctor_J]

60. They don't look scared when they're bringing meetings to a halt

We're the ones who are scared to do anything to offend the fascists.

[KingOfLostSouls]

29. These are King George's Tories

they will kill you if they have to. they hate you, they hate me, they hate the president, they hate.

they don't know what they stand for

they

just

HATE

and YOU are their target.


listen to what frank schaeffer has said about these people.


you have to give peace a chance, but after that, be ready to kick some ass.

[Gman2]

30. Luckily, they are also punks. We KNOW what WE stand for.

[Mythsaje]

31. I'm not of the opinion that violence is ALWAYS unwarranted

or unwise. However, in these circumstances, I think any such behavior would backfire because of how quick the corporate media is to defend "conservatives" and attack liberals.

I'd rather just film them being assholes and spread it all over the internet. The more flagrant, the better.

[Edweird]

35. I am in favor of not letting these assholes bully or intimidate us.

I will not waver on my support for single payer, and if they want to get physical about it, then so be it. None of them scare me in the slightest. I am not advocating violence, however, I will not run from confrontation.

Fuck them.

[Echo In Light]

40. Exactly. And realistically, it's fat, middle aged people who, if unarmed, pose little threat

[ThomWV]

41. That is precisely my attitude

If these yahoos think they can continue the disrupt the public discourse without there being an ass-kicking in it for them somewhere are simply nuts. I'd be please to be the one to deliver the message too.

[Stevenmarc]

36. Spark'em up

Look they certainly embraced the issue of torture, now let them get a little taste. If you show them there's a cost for their actions then you'll see how fragile their belief system really is.

[salguine]

37. Possible solution: If you put a big flat screen TV with "Matlock" on it in the lobby,

most of them won't make it into the town hall chamber.

[ThomWV]

43. or "Death Valley Days" featuring Ronald Reagan

[notesdev]

42. Anyone who wants to turn to violence here is a fucking stupid ass

Hey, lets start a fistfight with a bunch of gun lovers... yeah, that'll work out swell.

Do these people want to start a civil war just to watch the country burn?

[PVnRT]

45. Right, let's just let them rampage through us and meekly turn the other cheek

No one here is talking about starting fights, but we have to be ready to end them.

[notesdev]

47. Read 'em again

People are talking about starting fights. Not a good thing in a country where there are 200 million plus privately held firearms.

Those protestors are exercising their right to free speech, the freedom to assemble, and the right to petition for redress of grievances. Let them. It is no different in kind than what we did for years and years.

It is just amazing to me how these cherished rights get thrown out the window at the tip of a hat the moment it's the other side exercising them. If we truly do have those rights, then the opposition has them too - or none of us have them.

[PVnRT]

50. Does that include distruption? Intimidation? Threats?

These people are not "protesting," despite what the news wants people to believe. Their sole purpose is to break up these meetings, end discussion, and terrorize people into publicly support this health plan. Freedom of speech was meant to guarantee that people have the right to make their opinions heard, not shout others down and cow them into silence.

And again, no one in this thread is talking about *starting* fights; only one upthread is hazy about what he means. They are talking about fighting back, not trying to silence people.

[notesdev]

51. That's not protesting?

Hell, what those people are doing is tame compared to what we used to do. I remember turning parts of NYC into effective no-go zones, some shouting at politicians (who by all means deserve to be shouted at, on principle) is nothing.

Let's be honest here. You do not like what they have to say, and therefore you think that free speech, assembly, petition of grievances do not apply to them.

I suggest they be permitted those freedoms so that they are not forced to resort to alternatives. Without those freedoms you will guarantee widespread political violence, something I hope never to see in this country. In this country you can't tell someone they can't talk because you don't like what they say, no matter how ill-informed or stupid what they have to say may be; that's one of the key elements that distinguishes this country from a typical banana republic.

[PVnRT]

52. By all means, continue to be blind

My disagreeing with them has nothing to do with us, but you seem far too committed to banging on that strawman, so there's really no point in continuing here.

[notesdev]

55. It has everything to do with it

Look at this thread... people are calling for tasers!

Did you ever in your life think you'd see Democrats cheering on the police state? Is this what things have come to?

If so, I'd better start laying some bets on a total wipeout of the Democratic Party in 2010. This group is acting EXACTLY like the
Bush crowd. It's "with us or against us" all over again, Democrat style.

Bringing this back to the policy issue - America is not sold on health care reform. Hell, I follow this stuff closely and I have little to know idea what is actually in the proposed bill - and neither do the people who will vote on it. I thought we learned this lesson with the Hillarycare disaster, that if your policy is an outrageous, special-interest corrupted mess and you cannot gain support by persuasion, it is political suicide to try and pass that policy by force.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it! There is something called picking your fights, and this was a particularly lousy one to pick and an absolutely awful way of going about it.

The fight to wage right now, the one that has popular support, is for reform of the FINANCIAL system, not the health care system. Health care reform will take more time, people aren't comfortable with major changes where their vital interests are concerned and if the policy will pass at all it will require years of education before people are prepared to accept it.

[Gman2]

53. The rude, know that by and large, the gentile left, wont want any trouble.

They win, same strategy as always. Dishearten the voters on the left. Make them cringe. Stay home. THEY WIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN< TILL fascism.

[Yupster]

72. I have learned over many years that the most accurate political commentary is

"It depends on whose ox is being gored."

[PVnRT]

44. It may be the only method to hold back the fascist threat they represent

How long before they resort from childish yelling and stamping to all out assault on anyone at these events? The Republicans are getting their very own self-trained group of brownshirt thugs, and we're busy wringing our hands about whether or not it's OK to defend ourselves.

Fuck that. I see any one of these fuckers cast a threatening glance at me or anyone I know, and I'm taking them down. If we aren't willing to fight back, you can kiss your democracy goodbye.

Edited to clarify: like a poster above, I don't believe in seeking trouble either. But we have to accept the fact that if we aren't willing to get our hands dirty, it will only get worse. Based on Robert Paxton's work, we are on step 3 of 5 on the road to fascism, and after this, there is no turning back.

[Maeve]

46. Don't fight the right-wing with wrong--it will not help

Some of these people are hoping for an excuse to riot and play out a RW Helter Skelter--DO NOT give them that!

[NoPasaran]

48. I support the right of people to defend themselves against thugs

[H2O Man]

49. I agree.

Not to start physical altercations, no matter if someone is being rude and obnoxious. But to protect themselves and others from physical violence.

Being prepared for self defense is a good way to reduce the likelihood of violence.

[Gman2]

57. Like the Outlaw Jose Wales, we need two faces. One that is compassionate, and the other

that crushes breaks in integrity. The separation between the two should be immense. the greater the difference, the more they will learn. If they act like a pack of dogs, we must treat them as such. To seek our more compassionate side, should be the clear message. This, and only this, will save us from the coming hillbilly revolution. It will save many lives if that does not occur.

[KillCapitalism]

54. No violence, but I wouldn't mind seeing them go in handcuffs.

The real rabble rousers that shout threats and such should be arrested for disorderly conduct or something along those lines.

[alfredo]

56. Let's not play their violent games. We are better than that. If they use

violence against us, protect yourself, but don't over react. Subdue the attacker, and nothing more. If non violent action is appropriate, that would be the best.

[Doctor_J]

61. OK, but then prepare to give in on health care, and EVERY OTHER ISSUE

that Obama wants to accomplish. Because of they win this round, it will continue to get worse.

[alfredo]

62. If they use violence, we win.

[Paladin]

66. Yeah, In A Perfect World.

In case you haven't noticed, things are less perfect by the day in this country. Wise up.....

[Doctor_J]

67. They used violence to stop the presidential election in 2000

does that feel like a win?

[alfredo]

84. It shows a pattern that we can use against them. They've left a long paper

trail that we can use to expose them. The memos and tweets laid their plans open for all to see.

[Doctor_J]

85. The paper trail has been visible for years.

I don't see anyone doing anything with or about it.

[alfredo]

88. It's up to us to push it.

[Doctor_J]

59. It's probably too late for any response

Many meetings have been/are being cancelled. Health care reform is all but dead. Not because the country doesn't want or need health care reform, but because domestic terrorists outfought us. The terrorists won again, just like they did in 2000 and countless other times over the last 30 years.

We refused to fight back, and once again surrendered, to the detriment of the country and its people.

[ecstatic]

63. When have people on this site ever collectively encouraged violence?

What are you talking about?

[Iggo]

64. A call to violence? Here at DU? Really?

Wow!!!

[stuball111]

80. OP

No, I did not mean it to be a "Call to violence" I saw some posts by DUers that seemed quite radical in their violent overtones, and found it disgusting, so I posted the poll, just to find out how many here were actually for real. Now there were probably some freeper trolls doing the posting, but I see now that most here have common sense , as I expected, and I'm impressed by the numbers against the use of confrontation provoked or otherwise.

[DevonRex]

71. I'm not violent but neither am I naive. I will defend myself and my family

if need be. I will also record any meeting I attend, just so there's no doubt about what takes place.

[Doctor_J]

73. "Defend my self and my family"

this is sort of how things got out of hand in Nazi Germany. You have no doubt heard "first they came for the Jews, but I didn't resist since I am not a Jew...". If you wait until they come for you, it may well be too late.

[liberalhistorian]

75. Are you KIDDING me? That would be very worst thing to do,

for several reasons. Not the least of which is that it would be just plain wrong, and we also don't want to stoop to their level.

[Joey Liberal]

76. I'm against violence, but

How much longer should we be pushed around by these right wing lunatics who are just a bunch of pussies in the first place? Are we supposed avoid town hall meetings just so we wont get bullied by the Limbuagh maniac morons?

[RagAss]

79. Leave the old fucks alone. Remind them that you support mandatory euthanasia !

Starting at age 70. Let them go home and shit themselves to death !

[Unvanguard]

82. There may come a time when the use of violence is appropriate.

But that will be when people start being killed in the streets, not merely when obnoxious mobs act up.

[stuball111]

83. What? no "recs" to this thread?

I thought it would be an innaresting topic....Oh well

[TexasObserver]

90. no

[varelse]

87. Please consider the design of the poll in conjunction with the fact

that the votes are by no means anonymous (DU's admins can see who voted for which option) and the fact that essentially, a "yes" answer on this poll (as worded) is an indication that the respondent supports criminal actions (felonies, in fact).

[TexasObserver]

89. Against it

[L0oniX]

91. I will meet deadly force with deadly force. I won't start the violence but I will defend myself.

[roamer65]

92. Take pictures so we know who to round up for the re-education camps.

[BreweryYardRat]

93. Other: Proportionate response to violence.

Don't start anything, but defend yourself if necessary, and keep it proportionate. As in, don't shoot some RW goon for throwing a punch at you. Punch 'em right back. (If they're substantially more muscular than you, then a gun becomes acceptable self-defense.)