Safetyism

Boy, has it been a while... 

 I've occasionally used Facebook for the purpose I should use this space for... to be not safe. I enjoy my family and friends on Facebook. And I try like the dickens not to post about controversial subjects there. But because some of them do it sometimes, amnd in turn I want them to listen to what I have to say about important issues of our time, and because coming here sometimes feels like I need to make the commitment to “being a blogger” again like I used to do… I forget, to or choose not to use, this space I created for myself to document the things I see and believe are important in the history of my life, our nation, and the world.

 So, on that note… I am back, and I am going to try to come back more often. If you like what I write, let me know… encourage me! Maybe tell a friend… maybe even drop a dime into my PayPal account over there on the right side of the page under my picture… help me retire earlier than my current course, or buy a Harley part I need, or maybe even get to the point I can leave my day job and write full time, which I admit I would thoroughly enjoy if given the chance.

 

Today I learned about a thing called "Safetyism."

Apparently it's practiced at The New York Times. According to the Twitter thread written by a lady named Bari Weiss who writes for The Times , there is a "civil war" happening inside The New York Times between the (mostly young) "wokes" and the (mostly 40+) liberals. She says it is currently raging inside other publications and companies across the country. 

As Ms. Weiss explains, the "Old Guard" lives by a set of principles we can broadly call civil libertarianism. They assumed they shared that worldview with the young people they hired who called themselves liberals and progressives. But it was an incorrect assumption.

The "New Guard" has a different worldview, in which the right of people to feel emotionally and psychologically safe trumps what were previously considered core liberal values, like free speech.

Safetyism.

 

I'm not familiar with Ms. Weiss' career, but she states that she's been mocked by many people over the past few years for writing about the campus culture wars. "They told me it was a sideshow," she explains, "But this was always why it mattered: The people who graduated from those campuses would rise to power inside key institutions and transform them."

She goes on to explain that she is not surprised by what has now exploded into public view. "In a way, it's oddly comforting: I feel less alone and less crazy trying to explain the dynamic to people," she says. "What I am shocked by is the speed. I thought it would take a few years, not a few weeks."

What is really interesting is how she defines it: 

"Here's one way to think about what's at stake: The New York Times motto is "all the news that's fit to print." One group (the Old Guard) emphasizes the word 'all.' The other (the New Guard), the word 'fit.'"

This all came about because of an Op-Ed written by Senator Tom Cotton, published by the Times on June 3, 2020. Cotton wrote about the potential use of The Insurrection Act, which is a legal means by which a President can use the military inside our borders to restore order when civil unrest is beyond the control of local police, or will not be dealt with by local government officials and public safety is at risk.

In his piece, Cotton creates the clear line of delineation with which any reasonable American would agree; "A majority who seek to protest peacefully shouldn’t be confused with bands of miscreants."

He went on to discuss previous uses of The Insurrection Act. For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson called out the military to disperse mobs that prevented school desegregation or threatened innocent lives and property. And more recently, President George H.W. Bush ordered the Army’s Seventh Infantry and 1,500 Marines to protect Los Angeles during race riots in 1992. 

The Times has since apologized for publishing the piece, because the cancel culture just will not have something out there that feels uncomfortable to them. “We’ve examined the piece and the process leading up to its publication. This review made clear that a rushed editorial process led to the publication of an Op-Ed that did not meet our standards,” said the paper’s apology, posted by a Times media reporter.

It is worth noting that The Times has published Opinion pieces in the past by such individuals as Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Maduro, and members of the Taliban, among others, with little or no pushback from its reporters.

I read Cotton's piece. It was completely civil. At no time did he make any statement that led me to believe he wished harm upon any American. 

Of course on Twitter people are making unfounded statements, such as how Cotton suggested "we should use the military to gun down protestors," and how Cotton is "Apolitician inciting racial hatred and state violence against its citizens" and "should not be given a platform like NYT to do so."

Here is the Cotton piece, in case you're interested in reading for yourself.

 

We are at a tipping point in America. Right has become wrong, and truth no longer matters. What feels good is becoming more important that what is, because truth is sometimes scary. And people who cannot deal with truth, or something that offends their personal senses, scream at the top of their lungs until the bad thing is taken away by the adults, who just can't take the childishness of the screaming anymore.

There is no doubt an injustice was done to George Floyd. George Floyd's killing was an act of pure evil.

Sadly, now, because of the mob violence that is taking place in the wake of that killing, injustices have also been done to a number of police officers, including but not limitedto David Dorn. Chief Dorn was shot on Martin Luther King Drive in St. Louis, Missouri, while trying to protect a business owned by a friend. His assassination was broadcast live on Facebook for all the world to see.

Chief Dorn was the father of five, and the grandfather of ten. By all accounts he was an upstanding citizen.

I'll bet celebrities won't be donating thousands or millions of dollars to Chief Dorn's Go Fund Me account, even though Chief Dorn was a Black man just as was George Floyd. I'll bet Al Sharpton won't be running to speak at his funeral. That's if he's given a funeral at all, what with the Chinese Wuhan Virus being such a thing still, unless you're rioting that is... 

Sadly, about a dozen civilians have now also been killed during the mob riots that are being fueled by commentators on CNN and MSNBC, because as Chris Cuomo said, "show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful?"

Mr. Cuomo should check the language of The First Amendment, which is the very same amendment that protects his right to throw rhetorical bombs at Americans and our values on a nightly basis.

Thanks for visiting... I always welcome comments, or come say hi to me on Twitter.