Originally Posted by rhaikh


I am arguing about the "why," not the "how." I appreciate that there is a debate about the "how," but it is separate from the "why." However, I will say that I support Goriom's analysis of Trump's speech immediately following Charlottesville, and again I believe that inaction and dismissal of the issue is itself indicative of the problem.

This is not a hypothetical argument. That we have statues romanticizing traitors and slavers in government property is one of the most literal, and tangible, instances of racial injustice I can think of. Many people in this thread, including yourself, and in America generally have literally stated that they don't actually care about the statues. Fine, but then please get out of the way instead of aligning yourself with Nazis.


By telling me that I am somehow "in your way" and aligned with Nazis for criticizing your methods, you are implicitly stating that purported ends justify the means which is not only incorrect - it is a far, far more dangerous manner of thinking than simply supporting, not supporting, or not caring about statues.

If only the purported ends matter, and not the means (or the real consequences) then you can literally self-justify any action in favor of something you feel strongly about. Like an Aryan utopia, or a communist paradise. Your type of emotional thinking is how those kinds of grand tragedies can happen in the first place.

You are correct that I don't care about the statues. There are a lot of things in this world, and I won't pretend to care about all of them. There are a lot of people in this world, and I won't pretend to care about all of them either. Humans aren't built to care about everything. I've found that people who claim to do so are usually either broken sociopaths, or self-aggrandizing hypocrites who mistake their selective outrage for doing good. Hence all the emotion-laden assertions and non-arguments, because the real goal isn't doing good - it's forwarding ones own sense of superiority. It's a highbrow version of watching Ricki Lake or those other sordid daytime TV shows - people didn't watch them because of any sympathy, they watched them so they could look down on others and feel better about themselves.

Similarly, I don't think people who want to focus the world on some statues feel any real sympathy for those purportedly impacted by them. If they did, they'd care more about means, and real consequences.


For who could be free when every other man's humour might domineer over him? - John Locke (2nd Treatise, sect 57)