Strawman battles: rape is never OK!
Published by marco on
The article The Rot On His Own Side by Scott H. Greenfield (Simple Justice) writes,
“There is no principle that enables Schumer, or Biden, or any liberal, to find common ground with people who can make excuses for rape, together with the litany of horrors perpetrated by Hamas.”
I’ve written about the author a few times because of the extremely sharp turn he took on October 7th, 2023. See Losing the plot completely on November 1, 2023, Some commentator are still MIA on November 6, 2023, and Moar unhinged commentary on November 23, 2023.
At the beginning of December, Greenfield was still setting up his strawmen and then knocking them down. I hope he’s having fun over there, but it seems much more like he’s going down a rabbit hole like James Howard Kunstler did a few years ago.
“The litany of horrors perpetrated by Hamas.” As if the things that happened almost two months ago are the worst thing that’s ever happened to anyone ever—and as if nothing equally bad has happened since that we might also be paying attention to. Nope, just wallowing in misery and not all interested in any solution that doesn’t offer more misery. Now, he’s off and running on the RISE OF ANTISEMITISM.
“The same failure of principle that infects this ideological schism at its core, where decisions are made based not on substance, but on identities and which box they’re in. Black people are still very much subject to discrimination. Looting is wrong, even when done by black people. Rape is a heinous crime. Rape is still a heinous crime even when done by Palestinians. Even when done by Palestinians to Jews.”
He starts off strong here. It’s a topic he’s admirably addressed in the past. He’s a strong defender of the idea that identirarianism has been damaging to nearly everyone but its most adamant advocates.
But then he gets to the second part, which I’ve highlighted. Who’s he talking to here? Is there anyone worth listening to who’s saying that rape is sometimes OK? Is there anyone at all? Maybe a handful of yahoos who aren’t worth listening to? Is there any reason to continue to treat this idea like there’s a danger of it overtaking the Zeitgeist? What the hell are you arguing about?
Having doubts about whether people were raped before they blasted to smithereens with hellfire missiles is not the same as thinking rape is OK. Even the Israeli government stopped pounding the rape drum weeks ago. Why does Greenfield still mention it all the time, when even the Israelis have given up on that story? Did he not get the memo?
Does he really think he needs to fight the good fight, standing up for the rarely held principle that it’s not OK for Palestinians to rape Jews? Is he getting a lot of pushback on that? Or what is going on?
Once he’s worked himself up into a lather about this, he drops his final stroke of genius,
“[…] there is far more in common between the progressive left and the Nazis and Klan than there is with a principled liberal.”
Put up the straw man, then knock it down. Way to go!
I did not see that one coming.
Comments
#1 − Greenfield’s final post of 2023
Just in case you think I’m picking on him, here’s part of his last post of 2023 Inflection Point 2023 by Scott H. Greenfield (Simple Justice)
“[…] the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7th and its ensuing war in Gaza has bubbled up the fundamental differences between a liberal democratic nation and the swell of simplistic authoritarianism of the young.
“Others in my position have adopted the woke view of the world, some because they needed the validation that comes from espousing the popular views of progressives, and others because they were never quite as serious as I thought. Or hoped. But how many more marches by the young and unduly passionate who justify terrorism and suddenly find rape and murder acceptable when done by those their tribe tells them to favor?”
He’s now just going to be part of the “old guard” defending “liberal democracy” from authoritarianism. Who do you see as being on your side? Who is for liberal democracy in the current political climate? Chuck Schumer? You might want to check carefully there. He’s certainly on your side in the current phase of the long Israeli war against Palestine, but he can’t seriously be said to be a supporter of liberal democracy. He can’t seriously be considered non-authoritarian. That goes for pretty much anyone in that party, from Nancy Pelosi on down.
And he makes sure to mention again that everyone seems to love rape as long it’s Jews and/or Israelis being raped. He thinks that these students are protesting for no other reason than to show their support of terrorism against Israelis. He thinks that every last one of them is happy that Israelis were killed and raped and hope that it happens more.
Did I perhaps misread what he wrote? Am I not being generous enough to what he thinks?
“I never would have believed in my old man head that we would be back to open Jew hatred again. Yet here we are, and tens of thousands of people who would claim the mantle of progress fully embrace the end of Jews. Never in its wildest dreams would Hamas have believed that raping and beheading Jews would turn them into progressive darlings, but here we are.”
Nope. He’s pretty clear. Most progressives hate Jews and love rape and terrorism. Black on white.
Want more? He’s not done.
“Will this cause young progressives to recognize the error of their ideology? Will they realize that their sudden existential concern for Palestinians when they cared nothing about them until it meant they could openly hate Jews”
Who hurt him? I mean personally? He used to be so level-headed. Now he’s completely derailed.
I don’t know how he could sanely come to that conclusion, but this is his go-to topic now. He’s not letting go. How will he possibly reconcile with anyone outside of a pretty tiny circle of people who are going to agree with that extreme viewpoint? Does he care? Probably not. But this is the slippery slope to grumpy, old, out-of-touch man territory. He’s basically the same as any person who watches FOX News and agrees with their wildest ideas about what’s happening.
You poor, lost guy. I wish you the best of luck in 2024.