 |
| Quick Takes |
Can we please just round up the seditionists who invaded Oregon and put them in jail where they belong?
Much as we managed to find some humor in the whole thing, at least in the early days, it's time to bring this to an end.
I'm not concerned about there being another Waco or Ruby Ridge or whatever else it is that is holding up efforts to get these folks out of the wildlife sanctuary and into jail. It may be cold or callous to say this, but bad things happen to people every day in this country when they stand against law enforcement. That's always a potential consequence of picking a battle with the authorities.
Much as we managed to find some humor in the whole thing, at least in the early days, it's time to bring this to an end.
I'm not concerned about there being another Waco or Ruby Ridge or whatever else it is that is holding up efforts to get these folks out of the wildlife sanctuary and into jail. It may be cold or callous to say this, but bad things happen to people every day in this country when they stand against law enforcement. That's always a potential consequence of picking a battle with the authorities.
I mean, let's treat them like we'd treat anyone else. You know: if they were black, their protest would have been over almost before it had begun. If they were drum-beating citizens in a Republican-controlled statehouse, they'd be out of there for sure. If they were any other garden variety welfare or disability cheats, or people who refused to pay their taxes, this would be different for sure. Heck - we round up homeless people and panhandlers on street corners.
Let's start acting like we're a country of laws that apply to everyone - not a country of laws that apply to everyone but right-wing anti-government extremists, or as we would otherwise call them, terrorists or thugs.
And let me be clear: when I say "bad things happen" I'm NOT talking about unarmed people being killed by police, and I'm not talking about other apparently out of control police situations, a seemingly endless number of which are coming to light these days; here's one example you may have missed.
I'm talking about people like the Bundys and the other snackaholics holed up in Oregon, or Nevada or anywhere else they hold up and engage in armed standoffs with the government.
I think we all know that, if they were anti-war protesters, or anti-drone protesters, they'd be in jail already. If they were militant pro-choice protesters or anti-death penalty priests and nuns, we'd have no problem locking them up. If they were indigenous people, they'd be in jail. If they were Occupiers or Black Lives Matter people, or environmental extremists or anything else, I doubt we'd be having this conversation more than two weeks after the break-in occurred.
The conversation would already be over.
Let's start acting like we're a country of laws that apply to everyone - not a country of laws that apply to everyone but right-wing anti-government extremists, or as we would otherwise call them, terrorists or thugs.
And let me be clear: when I say "bad things happen" I'm NOT talking about unarmed people being killed by police, and I'm not talking about other apparently out of control police situations, a seemingly endless number of which are coming to light these days; here's one example you may have missed.
I'm talking about people like the Bundys and the other snackaholics holed up in Oregon, or Nevada or anywhere else they hold up and engage in armed standoffs with the government.
I think we all know that, if they were anti-war protesters, or anti-drone protesters, they'd be in jail already. If they were militant pro-choice protesters or anti-death penalty priests and nuns, we'd have no problem locking them up. If they were indigenous people, they'd be in jail. If they were Occupiers or Black Lives Matter people, or environmental extremists or anything else, I doubt we'd be having this conversation more than two weeks after the break-in occurred.
The conversation would already be over.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!