At Thursday night's Town Board Meeting, one of the Town Board's apologists stated that the atmosphere seemed angry and threatening. Another comment heard was that we who oppose the Town Board's current civil war against the Town's residents are a "lynch mob." I submit that nothing could be further from the truth.
To address the first claim, no threats were made against anyone in any manner. In fact, with the Town Board holding power to destroy lives over our heads, to say that we were in any way, shape or form "threatening" is akin to saying that a clerk in the mail room could sexually harass the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. In reality, the Town Board has shown itself to be a threat to our freedoms, our livelihoods and, in many cases, our very homes.
What was, however, palpable and tangible Thursday night was the rising tide of righteous indignation. Yes, we are upset. Yes, we are feeling disenfranchised. Yes, we are disgusted by the behavior of our elected officials. To translate this into the idea that the defenders of Manuela Mihailescu would resort to violence is both absurd and offensive. The vast majority of the people in the Town of Rochester, on both sides of the political spectrum, abhor the use of violence to settle political differences. Of course, there are always some, on both sides of the political spectrum, who find it justified to use force to get what they want. Not only is this morally and ethically unacceptable, it does more harm than good for one's cause. All people of goodwill naturally condemn such behavior and it is vital that we recognize that it is indefensible, unproductive, aberrant and equally to be found among those who call themselves conservatives and liberals, alike.
Of course, when the fact that both sides attract those unbalanced persons who would resort to violence is pointed out, liberals immediately point their fingers to the right and try to make this into a conservative disease rather than recognizing its true nature. That's OK, we're used to it. Liberalism has long been a religion dedicated to the worship of the irrational and the untrue. To set the record straight, allow me to point out some of the peace-loving, gentle, kind liberals of the past who thought a little bloodletting to achieve their ends was a perfectly acceptable exercise, Machiavelli notwithstanding.
The Weather Underground was formed in 1969 dedicated to the violent overthrow of the American government
Liberals continue to defend Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 cold-blooded murder of a Pennsylvania police officer, despite the fact that he was found guilty by a jury based on a combination of eyewitness and forensic evidence.
The 1968 bombing of the CIA recruitment Office in Ann Arbor, Michigan
The 1970 bombing of Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin's Madison Campus
Countless acts of violence and force against servicemen returning from Vietnam
And so forth and so on
You see, liberals only truly believe in peace and non-violence when it suits their interests. They are even more prone to use other forms of force (such as political coercion and attacking people's reputations) in order to achieve their goals.
The second claim, that there is a "lynch mob" in place acting against the Town Board is equally laughable, if not more so. "Lynching" occurs when those with power attack someone without due process and carry out their own punishment against that person. Hmmm... Sort of like when someone is accused of being involved with a porn site, not told who the accuser is, not given access to the evidence, never having the allegations proven but being punished (kept off a town committee, for example) nonetheless. No, wait. That's too far fetched. That could never happen anywhere in America, much less in the enlightened, progressive State of New York.
Right.
By definition, those who are defending one whose rights are being trampled by those with the power to do so cannot be a lynch mob. The abusers of that person's freedom, on the other hand... Well, I'll leave that judgement up to you.
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