Post by kittenchampion on Jan 30, 2017 3:51:10 GMT -6
I believe in respecting the law. Even if it's for a political or social cause of which I'm agreement with, if you commit any felony in the name of such a cause I think you should experience the legal consequences thereof.
I don't think the law (which strictly speaking refers to those who can draft and enact laws at this very moment) should mandate who can hold power strictly based on their political views - because that could easily be used despotically - and spotlight can fall on anybody and the only way to mitigate that would be active state censorship.
Both of those are supposed to be curtailed by democracy ideally. The ability to subvert it through demagoguery, money, the media, gerrymandering, and other systemic issues with America's party and electoral system are the issues which could be addressed if... ya'know, everything wasn't shit.
Basically, no one should want to vote for a fascist, first and bloody foremost - but even so with full acknowledgement that that can happen - no individual should have enough power to make a democratic country into a fascist state, that's what the legal and political system definitely should be made to prevent. If it doesn't, If - for instance - the next election results are thrown out as "illegitimate", or the executive branch decides it doesn't need oversite and freedom of the press is squelched by new despotic libel laws, I wouldn't judge anyone for the violence I would expect to follow.
It's just - this entire discussion - I keep envisioning those militia assholes who invaded that national wildlife preserve in Oregon because they objected to the legal prosecution of some ranchers, or that Kim Davis who became a martyr for the religious right because she refused to follow the law with regards to the issuing of marriage liscenses to same-sex couples. The American Far-Right has this sort of discourse every time a Democrat is supposedly going to take away their guns. I don't want mealy-mouthed liberal pacifism in the face of fascism - but nor do I want apocalyptic over-reactions - pragmatism, I want fucking pragmatism.