Another Example of Leftist Ugliness and Hypocrisy

Strangely, prior to yesterday, I had not heard of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests.  For the benefit of others who apparently live under metaphorical rocks, "Occupy Wall Street" is a leftist grassroots movement opposing "corporate greed" and "economic inequality."  With the rightist Tea Party movement in the spotlight for the past couple years or so, many people are comparing the two grassroots movements.  While OWS is protesting "corporate greed" and "economic inequality," the Tea Party is protesting government greed and economic inequality.  The reason I put the object of OWS in quotation marks and not the object of the Tea Party is that I believe in the Tea Party's cause, unlike that of OWS.  Corporations have every right to be greedy, so long as they are in compliance with the law.  I do not believe the government has this right, as its purpose is nothing more than to serve its constituents.  And, economic inequality, as I see it, is caused by the redistribution of wealth.

While the fundamental difference between the two movements is the political ideology that motivates them, another key difference is the method of protest.  Tea Party protests, in general, are peaceful and law-abiding (or so I hear).  OWS protests, on the other hand, are not.  Twenty-three OWS protesters were arrested yesterday in New York City for disorderly conduct, only a few days after a much larger arrest (see quotation below).  I can't remember ever hearing of anyone arrested at Tea Party protests, nor can I find any evidence in a quick Google search (I do, however, find links about anti-Tea Party protesters being arrested).  Keep in mind that the Tea Party movement is several years old, compared to the fledgeling OWS movement.  My Google search did result in me finding this fantastic article, however.  Here is an excerpt (emphasis added):  

One aspect of the Occupy Wall Street and other leftist activism that is a definitive divergence with the tea party movement is disruptive behavior.

On October 1, over 700 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested — mostly for disorderly conduct — during a march across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Despite two other peaceful marches across the bridge by other groups earlier that day, the Occupy Wall Street crowd couldn’t resist blocking traffic and scuffling with police. 

When not under arrest (approximately 100 other arrests occurred over the weeks of the protest), the Occupy Wall Street crowd is actually occupying the privately-owned Zuccotti Park, whose owners are working with city officials on plans to return it “to its intended purpose.” 

This rowdy attitude of the radical left is something that, by mistake or design, is grossly unreported in the media.  As the Tea Party must fend off allegations of being violent and racist, leftist protests that are unruly don’t get similar coverage. 

I’ve been active in the Tea Party movement since 2009.  As a black woman, I define the movement’s political diversity and have always been quick to defend its inclusiveness against those who would try to slur it with racist accusations.
I have had the amazing opportunity to meet thousands of freedom-loving Americans who are involved in the movement on their own time and these individuals are sincere in their efforts to reign in our government gone wild by holding our elected representatives accountable. 

As a frequent speaker at Tea Party events nationwide, I’ve never seen the same behavior as described during Occupy Wall Street’s Brooklyn Bridge demonstration.  Tea Party activists, in my experience, police themselves.  Additionally, I’ve never been to a rally in which the grounds weren’t as clean or cleaner than when the first activist arrived. 

Doing a Google search of “tea party activist” and “arrest” brings up nothing of merit.  On the first page, I found three articles about people described as tea party activists, but the arrests were unrelated to rallies. 

Another article, about the demonstrations outside the U.S. Capitol Building on the weekend of the Obamacare vote in the House, reports one man — one single person — was detained after being accused of spitting on a congressman.  But that person was immediately released, and no one has come forward to legitimize the claim and collect conservative Andrew Breitbart’s $100,000 reward for providing proof. 

Furthermore, Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa told people waiting to see President Obama speak at a Labor Day rally that they need to “take these [Tea Party] son of a bitches out.”  And there was a January 30 rally in Rancho Mirage, California in which progressive protesters, many of whom were attending a nearby conference sponsored by Common Cause, were caught on video saying they wanted to “torture” and “hang” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

Salacious allegations against the tea party will get more coverage than actual law-breaking by the left.

It is evident that leftist protests embody the negative attributes that conservative protests are wrongly accused of embodying.  Not that you would ever be able to tell by watching the news, though.  Do we have enough proof now that many leftists are hypocrites?

And, a final note: this is not meant to apply to all leftists.  Only the crazy ones.  

Some Thoughts on 9/11

I write this on September 11, 2011.  While I cannot post it today, I will as soon as I can. 

Watching a documentary about 9/11, which contains actual footage from the attacks, is a surreal experience.  I don’t remember watching it on the news ten years ago.  If watching footage from the attacks is surreal, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to actually experience it.  It looks like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.  I have had nightmares in which I am in a state of confusion, and I don’t know what is going on, and I am afraid.  I have those nightmares I think, because that feeling is what I am truly afraid of; being in that situation.  It sounds strange, but I can sort of remember what it feels like to be in that nightmare.  That is the closest feeling I know to what it would feel like to be in hell.  And of course, that is nothing close to what they would be feeling.  I have always thought of being in such a situation as purely abstract.  This film gives me a better idea of what it’s like, and it is surreal to watch.  In those nightmares, I am usually wondering if I am in a dream.  And, of course, I am.  In the film, one firefighter wonders if what he is experiencing is real.  Going through such a profoundly surreal experience, I’m sure I would wonder the same.  In fact, even watching the events on television, I’m sure I would have wondered the same thing had I been old enough to understand the magnitude of the occurrence.

I have always understood what happened ten years ago today, but only in somewhat abstract terms.  I have seen footage of the planes crashing into the buildings, and of the buildings collapsing.  While surreal, that doesn’t even give you an idea of what really happened.  After watching this film, it is not so abstract anymore.  This film hit me, and, even though it happened ten years ago, I have a new understanding of what happened.  But, for me, it remains still beyond comprehension. 

Whatever I could say wouldn’t do the magnitude of that catastrophe or its victims justice.  Nor the heroic first responders.  While 9/11 demonstrates that pure evil exists, it has also reminded me that, within humanity, there exists good.  The pinnacle of humanity’s good is within the heroes that protect us from the abyss of humanity’s evil.  For police, firefighters, members of the military, and other such heroes, I have nothing but immense respect and admiration.  They remind me of the good that there is, and they inspire me to try to be as good a person as I can, even if my best will never be as good as theirs.  In fact, it will never even be close. 

The spirit of the founding fathers of the United States of America is a noble one.  And what America has done in the face of 9/11 shows that that spirit lives on.  I wish my country was as noble as its neighbor to the south.  What ideals encapsulate the spirit of Canada?  Compassion?  That’s probably right.  The very ideal that is anathema to my worldview.  It’s almost enough to make me want to move, but that’s not going to happen any time soon.  The spirit of America is one that I admire.  Independence, resolve, freedom, and the belief that anyone is capable of what they put their mind to.  Those are ideals that I can respect.  When America is attacked, it fights back.  It doesn’t try to understand what adversity caused its attackers to attack.  It doesn’t care, because it is facing evil, and evil doesn’t care.  I don’t care for what doesn’t care for me.  Maybe that’s a bit too mathematical for some people, but I could care less about the well-being of evil bastards, and I will revel in their demise.  It is evil to inflict harm for no reason.  It is evil to allow harm to be inflicted for no reason.  And America often seems like the only nation that understands that.  In the face of evil, America shows its resolve.  Thank you, America, and thank you, heroes, for giving me faith.  Thank you for fighting the good fight, and thank you for saving lives and for protecting us.  

NOTE: I apologize for posting this so late.