Bravo. You were one of the voices whose thoughts I've been wanting to hear. Yours is the article the revolting mainstream media in New Zealand should have printed. Thank you for so elegantly and resolutely calling out the hateful leftist cult and it's vile followers.
It is ironic and hypocritical that those on the left who preach inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance of diversity are in practise... completely intolerant and exclude any ideas or people diverging from their own views as being unnacceptable.
Brilliant Ani!! Ironic that Kirk himself pointed out that trans activists are a threat due to their (obvious) mental instability & whatever crazy drug scheme they are on. MSM has pushed so hard to hide the lefty/trans angle here, it is journalistically criminal.
And yes, also spot on with your comments re the ‘far right’ (or ‘alt right’) narrative. Same as the ‘racist’ label. Meaningless now, but a great trigger word for the media.
The only reason this idiocy & real danger prevails is that weak western leaders are too fucking cowardly to stop it. Trump, bless him, Vance & the likes of Milei appear to be exceptions.
Ani - you hit the nail on the head - again. We are being indoctrinated that it is the far right, when in reality, as is proven time and time again, it is the far left who are trying to cover their tracks by dis-information. Thank you for honest journalism.
Hopefully more acknowledgement of the dangerous far left will come out across the world, I think it's bound to after CKs assassination...to think of jakinda adhern talking about hate speech and the far right years ago, I'm thinking, white power aren't a big thing in NZ, what's she going on about?
Well said. I'm struck by the similarity to the mob violence against Posie Parker at Albert Park, and the reaction to it, although fortunately she escaped with her life. She was dehumanised to such an extent that the violence was made to seem not only allowable but actually virtuous. And then the violence was celebrated and justified by the likes of Shaneel Lal and Chloe Swarbrick.
But its a blatant attack on the left, and that is what is wrong with it.
This piece does not come across as balanced or objective. It rails against the Left for condoning violence, but ignores Right wing violence. It paints the Left as an enemy, which is not conducive to having civilized reasoned discourse. It fails to recognise that much of the Anti-Antifa material is propaganda manufactured by the Right. It fails to mention that Antifa has been criticised and condemned by both Republican and Democrat politicians. It claims "the left can keep the public terrified of a phantom far-right bogeyman, they can justify censorship, surveillance, and repression" regardless that it was the Right who established most of that censorship surveillance and repression with the 2001 Patriot Act, and that it is the Right who is in power now. It accuses the Left of ignoring facts that do not fit the message, but itself ignores facts that do not fit the desired message.
On one level, I quite agree with you. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't have Antifa? Yes, yes, it would. Wouldn't it be great if we had less violence, which seems to be on the rise? Absolutely. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could just talk to each other without painting each other as the enemy and shooting each other? Certainly!
But do so, you need to be honest and look at both sides. Trump nurtured support from far right neo nazi groups such as the Proud Boys. He encouraged an occupation of the Capitol for crying out loud! Trump is a polarizing individual who ignored facts and science and instead encouraged neo-nazis. Of course there would be a backlash. In that light, the rise of Antifa is entirely predictable. Of course Trump wants to classify them as terrorists: they disagree with him and he can't stand that. Also, classifying them as terrorists opens the door to all kinds of nasty things he can do to them: imprisonment without trial, stripping them of assets and support, warrantless surveillance... Of course, if he does so, something very secret, very real and very violent will pop up, a true terrorist organization. Of course it will. Its patently obvious. But you can't see it if you only look at the Left and if you think Trump is some kind of blameless law abiding choir boy.
Trump also does whatever he wants and to hell with the law, the statute of limitations, the Constitution. He just does things. Courts can object, but the highest court in the land is stacked with his cronies - and anyway it takes years and years for things to get bounced through the different levels of courts, and during that time the thing has been done and whether or not its legal is a grey area - even though it is blatantly contrary to the rules as written. Therefore why would you expect his opponents to be good law abiding citizens?
The title of your blog is "Change my Mind", seemingly inviting honest progressive discussion about important topics. I think that's great, we do need to discuss important topics such as tax, education, political violence and democracy, and we need to step out of left/right blocs in order to do so. We can't just sit in our respective camps painting the others as violent enemies and attacking them. We need to move past that.
But thats exactly what this article is. Its an attack piece, ignoring inconvenient facts to paint the other side as violent enemies and leaving no other option for the left but to say "But you too! You're just as bad! You're worse!" If you want to have constructive dialogue, you can't just write attack pieces. You have to be objective: condemning political violence in general and damning both Left and Right in specific.
That’s because it is a piece on the violence of the left. I have previously written a piece about the woke right. Balance doesn’t mean both-side-ing every article. It is about discussing issues pertaining to both across time.
Yes, it's a massive whataboutism. This always happens when an article is written that doesn't include everything. Those who don't like the content leap on what's not in the article shouting "but what about...!", as if that's an argument against the content of the article. It's not. Its a strawman type argument.
Agreed. But I’m pretty worried about the way Trump and Republicans are wielding power at the moment. Every elected Dem in the US has condemned Kirk’s assassination (as do I. It was heinous.) The person responsible is one 22-year old white man (like so many US shooters) and the law will deal with him, as is appropriate. But Trumpers are saying they will use Kirk’s death as an excuse to pursue “the left.” They’ve started by threatening ABC over comments Jimmy Kimmel made about how Trumpers are desperate to blame the left. So ABC caved and suspended Kimmel’s show. Just as ABC caved on accurate comments by George Stephanopoulos that a judge said Trump is a rapist. ABC chose to pay Trump US$16 million rather than defend an eminently defendable case. So much for media freedom and the first amendment.
I agree with you Jenny and I do wonder what Charlie would have said about the use of the FCC to have Kimmel fired for political reasons. I can’t stand any of those late night shows; their hosts are all daft and seemingly incapable of thinking, but people can change channel and let bad ratings be the reason for their demise
‘Kirk’s assassination was the first of its kind since the spate of political murders of the 1960s’… but what of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband who were fatally shot; the arsonist who set fire to the Pennsylvania governor's residence with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family inside and the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi? This article seemingly ignores all data to suggest political violence exists on the right and that it is not part of the problem.
I'd be a little more cautious before jumping to the conclusion that "But the truth is clear: Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man radicalised by leftist ideology...".
Max Blumenthal and others are highlighting certain inconsistencies in the official narrative that suggest there is also a strong motive coming from the Zionist movement to have an interest in silencing him. The truth may take some time to come out and you may be shocked when it does.
But I think if you write a piece that's all about the evils of the 'left', the eyes of a leftist like me glaze over. There's been a lot of this kind of stuff on social media in the last week. Of course I think, but, but, but.... I agree with Taitung Knight. I think Trump is a real danger to the future of American democracy. If I ran a blog, I'd write about that. As it is, I just hope not to be doxxed (leading rightie on X) or censored by MPs who witter on about free speech (most recently Parmjeet Parmar).
And do your eyes glaze over when most of our mainstream media outlets continually describe coalition supporters and commentators as far right? I'm nearly 80, I voted Labour all my life until the last election and I'm sick and tired of being characterised as far or alt- right.
Not really, as I don't find it all that common, although it happens more than it should. So were I a Coalition supporter, I wouldn't recognise myself in the characterisation. Just as I don't recognise myself in Ani's characterisation of the Left, nor feel convinced by the implication that Trump is one of the good guys.
All the politics of the likes of Green or TPM are now is one big "attack piece".
So I'm not sure what point you are trying to make - but if it is implying that 'the left' presents a more nuanced or balanced view then its well wide off the mark.
In fact, 'the left' not understanding that their view is radical rather than central is at the heart of the problem. And is also why people are moving from previously centre-left positioning to a clearly right of centre one.
That 'the left' dont seem able to even identify this, let alone adapt, is a dull-minded, slow-moving train crash.
Thanks Ani for again putting into words and explaining so succinctly what we know but sometimes can't find the words to express when discussing with left-leaning acquaintances. I find they tend to smirk and make jokes about 'the conspiracy theories I'm finding on the internet.' I will save this article and in future simply tell them to read it. You also pointed out the (trans) activists' claims that 'words are violence,' they are 'under attack,' and 'their opponents are trying to erase them.' That is exactly what trans activists are doing to women but of course they refuse to see that.
Have you caught up with the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show? Under threats from Trumpers. If you believe in free speech, you should recognise this as deeply wrong.
I totally disagree with you! I am so sick of blaming! The left, the left, the left, the right, the right, the right, the woke, the woke, the woke!
We are all watching the so called Right who are in power and destroying democracy! We all saw January 6th! The ? President crushing the Arts, freedom of speech, decency, putting the troops in the cities, people being grabbed by masked ? Officers? Or ICE !
Listen! Open your eyes! Corrupt government! People hating each other! Don’t fan the flames! Think of our humanity! So many people are suffering! Have a heart!
Bravo. You were one of the voices whose thoughts I've been wanting to hear. Yours is the article the revolting mainstream media in New Zealand should have printed. Thank you for so elegantly and resolutely calling out the hateful leftist cult and it's vile followers.
Agreed! I’m so tired of how the media in NZ treats the citizens of this country. They want us dumb and compliant.
It is ironic and hypocritical that those on the left who preach inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance of diversity are in practise... completely intolerant and exclude any ideas or people diverging from their own views as being unnacceptable.
Brilliant Ani!! Ironic that Kirk himself pointed out that trans activists are a threat due to their (obvious) mental instability & whatever crazy drug scheme they are on. MSM has pushed so hard to hide the lefty/trans angle here, it is journalistically criminal.
And yes, also spot on with your comments re the ‘far right’ (or ‘alt right’) narrative. Same as the ‘racist’ label. Meaningless now, but a great trigger word for the media.
The only reason this idiocy & real danger prevails is that weak western leaders are too fucking cowardly to stop it. Trump, bless him, Vance & the likes of Milei appear to be exceptions.
Yes, I was once again disappointed and disgusted at the article that Stuff wrote….totally off the mark. Very sad journalism, if you can call it that.
Ani - you hit the nail on the head - again. We are being indoctrinated that it is the far right, when in reality, as is proven time and time again, it is the far left who are trying to cover their tracks by dis-information. Thank you for honest journalism.
Hopefully more acknowledgement of the dangerous far left will come out across the world, I think it's bound to after CKs assassination...to think of jakinda adhern talking about hate speech and the far right years ago, I'm thinking, white power aren't a big thing in NZ, what's she going on about?
Well said. I'm struck by the similarity to the mob violence against Posie Parker at Albert Park, and the reaction to it, although fortunately she escaped with her life. She was dehumanised to such an extent that the violence was made to seem not only allowable but actually virtuous. And then the violence was celebrated and justified by the likes of Shaneel Lal and Chloe Swarbrick.
Love your work Ani
The far left must have read Mein Kampf. There strategies and properganda are so similar to its not funny!
Interesting. Food for thought.
But its a blatant attack on the left, and that is what is wrong with it.
This piece does not come across as balanced or objective. It rails against the Left for condoning violence, but ignores Right wing violence. It paints the Left as an enemy, which is not conducive to having civilized reasoned discourse. It fails to recognise that much of the Anti-Antifa material is propaganda manufactured by the Right. It fails to mention that Antifa has been criticised and condemned by both Republican and Democrat politicians. It claims "the left can keep the public terrified of a phantom far-right bogeyman, they can justify censorship, surveillance, and repression" regardless that it was the Right who established most of that censorship surveillance and repression with the 2001 Patriot Act, and that it is the Right who is in power now. It accuses the Left of ignoring facts that do not fit the message, but itself ignores facts that do not fit the desired message.
On one level, I quite agree with you. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we didn't have Antifa? Yes, yes, it would. Wouldn't it be great if we had less violence, which seems to be on the rise? Absolutely. Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could just talk to each other without painting each other as the enemy and shooting each other? Certainly!
But do so, you need to be honest and look at both sides. Trump nurtured support from far right neo nazi groups such as the Proud Boys. He encouraged an occupation of the Capitol for crying out loud! Trump is a polarizing individual who ignored facts and science and instead encouraged neo-nazis. Of course there would be a backlash. In that light, the rise of Antifa is entirely predictable. Of course Trump wants to classify them as terrorists: they disagree with him and he can't stand that. Also, classifying them as terrorists opens the door to all kinds of nasty things he can do to them: imprisonment without trial, stripping them of assets and support, warrantless surveillance... Of course, if he does so, something very secret, very real and very violent will pop up, a true terrorist organization. Of course it will. Its patently obvious. But you can't see it if you only look at the Left and if you think Trump is some kind of blameless law abiding choir boy.
Trump also does whatever he wants and to hell with the law, the statute of limitations, the Constitution. He just does things. Courts can object, but the highest court in the land is stacked with his cronies - and anyway it takes years and years for things to get bounced through the different levels of courts, and during that time the thing has been done and whether or not its legal is a grey area - even though it is blatantly contrary to the rules as written. Therefore why would you expect his opponents to be good law abiding citizens?
The title of your blog is "Change my Mind", seemingly inviting honest progressive discussion about important topics. I think that's great, we do need to discuss important topics such as tax, education, political violence and democracy, and we need to step out of left/right blocs in order to do so. We can't just sit in our respective camps painting the others as violent enemies and attacking them. We need to move past that.
But thats exactly what this article is. Its an attack piece, ignoring inconvenient facts to paint the other side as violent enemies and leaving no other option for the left but to say "But you too! You're just as bad! You're worse!" If you want to have constructive dialogue, you can't just write attack pieces. You have to be objective: condemning political violence in general and damning both Left and Right in specific.
That’s because it is a piece on the violence of the left. I have previously written a piece about the woke right. Balance doesn’t mean both-side-ing every article. It is about discussing issues pertaining to both across time.
Yes, it's a massive whataboutism. This always happens when an article is written that doesn't include everything. Those who don't like the content leap on what's not in the article shouting "but what about...!", as if that's an argument against the content of the article. It's not. Its a strawman type argument.
Agreed. But I’m pretty worried about the way Trump and Republicans are wielding power at the moment. Every elected Dem in the US has condemned Kirk’s assassination (as do I. It was heinous.) The person responsible is one 22-year old white man (like so many US shooters) and the law will deal with him, as is appropriate. But Trumpers are saying they will use Kirk’s death as an excuse to pursue “the left.” They’ve started by threatening ABC over comments Jimmy Kimmel made about how Trumpers are desperate to blame the left. So ABC caved and suspended Kimmel’s show. Just as ABC caved on accurate comments by George Stephanopoulos that a judge said Trump is a rapist. ABC chose to pay Trump US$16 million rather than defend an eminently defendable case. So much for media freedom and the first amendment.
I agree with you Jenny and I do wonder what Charlie would have said about the use of the FCC to have Kimmel fired for political reasons. I can’t stand any of those late night shows; their hosts are all daft and seemingly incapable of thinking, but people can change channel and let bad ratings be the reason for their demise
‘Kirk’s assassination was the first of its kind since the spate of political murders of the 1960s’… but what of Minnesota Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband who were fatally shot; the arsonist who set fire to the Pennsylvania governor's residence with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family inside and the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi? This article seemingly ignores all data to suggest political violence exists on the right and that it is not part of the problem.
I'd be a little more cautious before jumping to the conclusion that "But the truth is clear: Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a man radicalised by leftist ideology...".
Max Blumenthal and others are highlighting certain inconsistencies in the official narrative that suggest there is also a strong motive coming from the Zionist movement to have an interest in silencing him. The truth may take some time to come out and you may be shocked when it does.
But I think if you write a piece that's all about the evils of the 'left', the eyes of a leftist like me glaze over. There's been a lot of this kind of stuff on social media in the last week. Of course I think, but, but, but.... I agree with Taitung Knight. I think Trump is a real danger to the future of American democracy. If I ran a blog, I'd write about that. As it is, I just hope not to be doxxed (leading rightie on X) or censored by MPs who witter on about free speech (most recently Parmjeet Parmar).
And do your eyes glaze over when most of our mainstream media outlets continually describe coalition supporters and commentators as far right? I'm nearly 80, I voted Labour all my life until the last election and I'm sick and tired of being characterised as far or alt- right.
Not really, as I don't find it all that common, although it happens more than it should. So were I a Coalition supporter, I wouldn't recognise myself in the characterisation. Just as I don't recognise myself in Ani's characterisation of the Left, nor feel convinced by the implication that Trump is one of the good guys.
All the politics of the likes of Green or TPM are now is one big "attack piece".
So I'm not sure what point you are trying to make - but if it is implying that 'the left' presents a more nuanced or balanced view then its well wide off the mark.
In fact, 'the left' not understanding that their view is radical rather than central is at the heart of the problem. And is also why people are moving from previously centre-left positioning to a clearly right of centre one.
That 'the left' dont seem able to even identify this, let alone adapt, is a dull-minded, slow-moving train crash.
Thanks Ani for again putting into words and explaining so succinctly what we know but sometimes can't find the words to express when discussing with left-leaning acquaintances. I find they tend to smirk and make jokes about 'the conspiracy theories I'm finding on the internet.' I will save this article and in future simply tell them to read it. You also pointed out the (trans) activists' claims that 'words are violence,' they are 'under attack,' and 'their opponents are trying to erase them.' That is exactly what trans activists are doing to women but of course they refuse to see that.
Great piece as usual - it’s great to have your reasoned perspective on this - what a time to be alive…
What an excellent piece of writing.
So refreshing to come to trusted sites like this , for the honest truth and record.
Thank you. God bless that pen of yours
Psalm 45.1
Why do the govt focus on alt- far right ?
Because they are woke wet weak left……
No matter what they identify as.
And the left media support them when they are woke weak and wet.
Have you caught up with the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show? Under threats from Trumpers. If you believe in free speech, you should recognise this as deeply wrong.
I totally disagree with you! I am so sick of blaming! The left, the left, the left, the right, the right, the right, the woke, the woke, the woke!
We are all watching the so called Right who are in power and destroying democracy! We all saw January 6th! The ? President crushing the Arts, freedom of speech, decency, putting the troops in the cities, people being grabbed by masked ? Officers? Or ICE !
Listen! Open your eyes! Corrupt government! People hating each other! Don’t fan the flames! Think of our humanity! So many people are suffering! Have a heart!