Normalizing Political Violence At The New York Times.

Tom Maguire:

Have you punched a Nazi today? Or even someone with a political vision that differs from yours? Hollywood and the NY Times are down with you! Here is Cara Buckley pretending that political violence is OK if the cause is just:

SAG Awards 2017: Acceptance Speeches Turn Pointedly Political

Any doubts that Hollywood would take sharp aim at President Trump’s immigration order were swiftly vanquished at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night. Amid upsets, winner after winner lashed out at the policy, pleaded for acceptance of differences in a bitterly divided time and, in the case of the cast of “Stranger Things,” adopted the stance of political firebrands.

“We will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters,” said David Harbour, a cast member of the Netflix series, which won for best television drama, as the audience roared its approval. “And when we are lost amid the hypocrisy and casual violence, we will punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak and the disenfranchised and the marginalized.”

Well, now. Who among us is not in favor of protecting the weak, the disenfranchised and the downtrodden? I am Batman! But there are a couple of problems – first, Batman was a vigilante and that is not how we like to do things in this country. But perhaps more interestingly, that is not what David Harbour originally wrote, if I can believe the Mediate presentation and my lying ears. Roll the tape [Youtube version here], my emphasis [and I am switching sides here after listening a few more time. My bad. It’s easier to hear correctly when NOT reading along, as students of confirmation bias will know.]:

And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy what we have envisioned for ourselves and the marginalized.

As written, “what we have envisioned for ourselves” can go well beyond protecting the weak, etc. and can easily encompass all manner of political differences. Perhaps Mr. Harbour envisions stronger gun control, just at a guess, and would like to punch some NRA people in the face. Their policies are getting people killed, amirite?

Of course, Mr. Harbour may not be feeling lucky so NRA backers might be safe, for now anyway. But how does he feel about those pro-lifers limiting a woman’s right to choose? Is punching them OK?

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