Of course, one cannot condone violence.
:pause:
But…
Outspoken MP George Galloway has left hospital with severe bruising after he was punched repeatedly in the face and called ‘Hitler’ in a west London street attack, says spokesman.
The Respect MP for Bradford West was posing for pictures in Notting Hill when he was ‘leapt on’ and assaulted last night by a man yelling comments about the Holocaust.
He has been receiving death threats and hate mail after calling for Bradford to be ‘declared an Israel-free zone’ three weeks ago, according to his spokesman.
…I keep getting told that these incidents do not happen in a vacuum.
First reports of a broken jaw and rib were apparently not fully accurate; the latest story is, cracked ribs, heavily bruised face. The assailant has since been arrested. No official statement about the assailant’s motive or memberships, although if the EDL is now going out and smashing notorious anti-Semites in the face then you would think that would have at least made the news. Certainly this story will.
Anyway, I hope that MP Galloway comes away from this incident with a renewed sense of empathy and understanding* for the, ah, impact that his words might have on people who might be upset that Galloway described a thriving, innovative, free-market democracy as an “illegal, barbarous, savage state.” I mean, imagine if he said that about ISIS! …No, wait, if he had an Islamist thug would have tracked Galloway down and cut his head off.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
PS: What? Surely George Galloway doesn’t want my good wishes. After all, I’m a dirty little Zionist lackey and Jew-lover.
*After all, that’s what Robert Fisk did.
Condone violence? Certainly not! I *encourage* its’ seletive use.
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It’s only the flat refusal to remove that particular tool from the box, when appropriate, that lets the rot set in and the thugs believe themselves safe…
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The implications of Asimov’s “violence is the last refuge of the incompetent” are … interesting.
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Mew
I’ve always been fond of the retort (attributed variously to Jerry Pournelle and Tom Kratman) “Because only the incompetent wait until the last to employ violence.”
Next you will try to tell me that Han shot first. 🙂
It would still have been classic self-defense if Han shot first. Greedo was pointing a blaster at him after all, and threatening to shoot him to top it off.
His racist comment was also poorly worded. I declare my property to be an England free zone, which of course it is. (Yessire, anyone tries to raise one of those silly Union Jack flags will be met with a vigorous volley of musket fire).
I just read that Robert Fisk article and feel dumber for having done so.
I remember reading that back in the day. Yeah, he’s pretty dumb, and that’s why they named “fisking” after him.
I am not exactly surprised by the violence being directed towards Jews, but I am disgusted by it. Europe has had a long history of anti-sematism (even before the influx of large Muslim Populations).
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They’re looking for any excuse to justify their irrational hatred towards Jews.
The funny thing about this article is that since they didn’t mention who beat him, so that tells us who _didn’t_, and who _did_, IYKWIMAITYD.
“One cannot condone violence.” Actually, violence gets an unfairly bad rap. Jailing and executing murderers is violence, self defense is violence, and there needs to be a recognition that some forms of violence are clensing and good. The rule of law is better, but violence can solve things. The trick is to not be goaded into it. Violence is not inherently bad, it is the reason for its employ that has moral content.
One big difference between Galloway and Fisk is that Galloway was beaten because of his prejudice and hate speech while Fisk was beaten despite his. Galloway will wave the bloody red flag over his attack while Fisk raised a white one.