Monday, August 17, 2020

they stopped broadcasting again, and my guess is that they're trying to censor the following paragraph:

while i won't condemn the bombing of mosques because i support a diversity of tactics, i would suggest tactics that are a little more productive than that. plus, killing yourself is just stupid. you're not of much use to anybody when you're dead.

it's not the first time i've presented a statement like that, and it won't be the last. i'll support that statement to whomever wants to challenge me on it. it's the right moral statement to make, in context.

i wouldn't condemn the bombing of churches, temples or synagogues either, and i've stated as much on repeated occasions; this isn't just made up, it's a position i've spent some time with. and, i'll repeat - it's the right position to take, and the side that history will uphold, in the end.

the threats that religious congregations pose to the safety of the community are well understood, and this tendency to ignore them or otherwise take them lightly cannot be sustained. we need to recognize the harm that religion causes and adjust to it.

as mentioned, bombing them is not the most productive approach; the threat is not generally imminent, and there's usually more proportional ways to address it.

but, i will not allow you to deny the threat that a mosque or a church poses to a large percentage of members in the community, or trivialize their safety as unimportant.

maintaining a diversity of tactics is important...

now, i'm specifically pointing to the religious institutions, indicating that these people are guilty by association. ok, not all of them - there could be young kids, or people stopping in randomly. it would be a sad twist if a bomb at a mosque accidentally blew up human rights protesters - feminists, queer activists - outside. but, if you're at a mosque to worship, you are not innocent - you are willfully taking part in a system of absolutely brutal oppression. i'm not going to sign your death warrant, but i won't shed a tear for you, either.

so, by extension, bombing non-religious gatherings that are not specifically about worshiping are something i'd lean more towards condemning, but i've never seen an actual example of that. i mean, if you were to aimlessly bomb a queer dance party where people are drinking because of the ethnicity of the participants, i'm sure you'd get a rebuke from me.

but, maintaining support for a diversity of tactics is a standard leftist approach that is exceedingly relevant in context. it may seem terrible to you today if you really believe in conservative values, but from the long run and right side of history, i simply can't and won't condemn them - and you shouldn't either.