The Political Discussion Thread

[Gatefan1976]

So it begins.................

http://www.breitbart.com/national-se...y-afghanistan/

http://www.breitbart.com/national-se...ut-not-losing/

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...too-bad-error/

[garhkal]

He just talks and tweets his own demise -- that is if the Repubs are man enough to stand up and save their own skins cause there are going to be consequences -- what kind, I dare not say.

And what kind of concequences do you see from all of us who suported him, if they DO stage in essence, a Coup'de'tat?

What "peaceful" marcher takes clubs, pepperspray, helmets, and shields. Only those out to cause trouble.

Well, since they have SEEN exactly what Antifa have done to people at other rallies, AND HAD HEARD those people were coming, perhaps they TOOK them to defend themselves from WHEN those antifata thugs showed up??

And those who were rammed by the car carried none of those. They were not there to cause trouble, only to counterprotest the hate and racism.

Then why did THEY BRING bats, facemasks, and the like??

Racism is big part of the Nazi ideology.

That is true. And at no time have i DEFENDED Nazism.. I detest it. BUT I DO protect their right to free speech, just as i detest all Kathy gifford says, but DEFEND her right to say it.
However, what i DO find farked up is how that since NAZIS were the "People national SOCIALIST workers party". How that can some how morph into "they are a right wing group"?? FUnny i thought socialism was leftist?

Conflicting?
Have you bought trumps "best words dictionary" or something??

So, your standard of comparison is property destruction (which, BTW is property owned by the people then destroyed by the people) to using basically an IED on people who think differently?

So now -clothing- is more important to you than at least 3 dead bodies?
Good to know how far you will go to defend your dear leader, Just like a loyal North Korean.

I don't know how much louder i can say this, BUT I DO NOT Condone what that ****head did when he ran his car into that crowd.
AND as to the comparison between ISIS and the antifa crowd.. GEE DON'T both wish to eradicate historical monuments? Don't both use violence to push their agenda? DON'T BOTH DRESS IN ALL BLACK WITH FACEMASKS??

The republican party has bent over for trump, and will accept anything he does to advance the party line, and no damage seems to be significant enough to make people consider "is this really our voice"?

Excuse me?? Where do you see republicans bending over to push Trump's agenda?? IN FACT we have more opposing him than we ever saw opposition against Obama..

If you toss partisanship aside, NOTHING President Obama or Secretary Clinton did comes close to backing Nazis and supporting violence and hate.

DID YOU EVEN Watch his speech Condeming the hate on BOTH SIDES?? Where exactly is Trump showing support for nazis??

I get where you're coming from. That's the tactic that's taken with westbrook baptist church....they wanna stand there and hold signs, fine. The media ignores them.

THat said, they show up to protest funerals the patriot guard seems to be just fine with standing between them and the mourners and being a buffer.

(although since Fred died they do seem to be toning things down a bit)

And i am GLAD that they have stopped being total douches..

Bannons out, next to go will be Gorka.

And whom will be next?? IMO all this hounding of trump to push out his staff is just a precursor to PUSHING trum out.. In essence staging a coup detat.
The left won't be satisfied till he's gone.

Is that history something to be proud of?

So only historical events we are proud of should ever be taught? Honored with statues? Remembered?

And another thing to consider about statutes and other means to honor historical figures.
We are applying modern standards, values and mores to people and situations hundreds of years ago. Although the idea of one human owning another is wrong and was wrong back then, by the "rules" of the society they lived in, it was an accepted, common practice. Many important historical figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. It was perfectly acceptable, by the standards of the time they lived in. Do we excoriate them as well by applying standards from 200 years after they lived?

And if "cause slavery is evil/wrong/bad, we should get rid of any statue that shows someone or something that participated in it, does that mean we should blow up/bulldoze the white house (since it was supposedly built with slave labor? The great wall of china, the Pyramids, Mount rushmore?? Force schools/military bases named for those American pioneers to change? And who gets to decide what does or does not go?? Just the loudest bunch of rabble rousers?

What about the Statue of LENIN In seattle?? Should that go?

Let us put it in a different setting:

Exhibit A: Outcry over the removal of confederate statues -- don't take away our beautiful statues, they are a part of our history.

Exhibit B: That pipeline needs to go through North Dakota. No problem, we'll just bulldoze our way through that sacred Native American burial ground (which is also part of your history).

Many of these statues are being FLAT OUT Vandalized.. ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. That in no way compares to a land buy by the govt to put a pipeline to HELP ALL..

Con't next post.

[garhkal]

a lot of what happened in Germany and Europe in the 30's and 40's happened because too many people said 'eh, we'll just sit back and ignore them and they'll go away'. Obviously, that didn't happen. THey did not go away. As Teal'c would say 'things did not calm down, they calmed up'.

I think that is one reason so many are so vocal about issues now. Because they don't want history to repeat itself. They don't want to have 'detention camps'....and tha'ts how the concentration camps started, simply a place to detain and corral 'undesirables'. The wholesale murder started later, and you know, if the lack of food and medicine and crowded living conditions killed a few undesirables, well too bad they should have been stronger.

ANd isn't this coming close to what we are seeing now? Destroying history so we don't learn from it// Trying to "make it go away"??
And isn't it the LEFT who consistently labels anything they 'find offensive, undesireable"?

So you wanna stand on a street corner holding an inflammatory sign, knock yourself out. Just dont' go getting all upset when people yell at you beause they hate what that sign says. You are making your bed, sleep in it.

And if they wanna stand there yelling at me, more power to them. BUT DON'T try to deny me the right to speak, just 'cause i might offend them;, OR USE Violence to drive me off/shut me down.

Most of the countries who have anti-denial laws in place do have free speech laws too. Hate speech is not free speech, nor is denying the holocaust or genocide (for Belgium: the Holocaust and genocide of Armenians by Turkey and the genocide in Rwanda) considered free speech.

BUT WHOM gets to define what is hate speech?

TO most liberals, ME saying "we should build a wall to stop illegal aliens coming in, while looking to make it easier for people to LEGALLY come here, once properly vetted" is "hate speech towards illegals.
or me saying "I prefer traditional marriage" is hate speech towards the lgbtq agenda..

hmmmm.....the current school of thought in public schools seems to be that the secession of the Southern states...and the resulting civil war...broke out because of slavery....when prior to this it was taught that it was about states rights

well the modern education system in the public schools today seems to have forgotten about the Morrill Tariffs and their impact on the South's economy as the apparent chief motivator behind the secessions and resulting war:

And thus proof that liberals love revising history to push their agenda..

How is that dodging the question? If someone or some town wants to put up a statue of someone they honor, what business is of mine? Who am I to say yes or no?

And in a # of those cities, those statues were put up after a vote of the residents/the people paying FOR IT.. So why take it down cause of NON residents whine? WHY NOT put it back to the residents.. AND let them decide. Rather than do as many places seem to be, silently removing them under the cover of night, like some cat burgler..

Let's go build a statue of Obama in Annoyed's home town

They are already looking to do so in chi-raq..

You mean like all of those out of town people in Charlottesville vs the local counter protesters? Or the out of town protesters in Charleston who didn't want the CSA battle flag removed where all of this started? Stop pretending that the issue is about things in museums, battlefield parks and private property. The controversy is about monuments on public property designed to designate honor. I fail to see how the CSA is worthy of any honor whatsoever.

Many of those counter protestors were not local either..

[Annoyed]

And if they wanna stand there yelling at me, more power to them. BUT DON'T try to deny me the right to speak, just 'cause i might offend them;, OR USE Violence to drive me off/shut me down.

We have a very different idea of "free speech" than the left does.. We say "let everyone speak, and let the audience decide the value of what is said", but their idea is they can say what they want, but those who disagree with them should be silenced.

[Skydiver]

We have a very different idea of "free speech" than the left does.. We say "let everyone speak, and let the audience decide the value of what is said", but their idea is they can say what they want, but those who disagree with them should be silenced.

ANd then victim blaming when those speaking distasteful words take violent action towards those disagreeing with them and explain it away as 'well, if you don't want us to attack you, don't protest'

No. In this case, the pro-nazi demonstrators showed up armed and in military gear, possibly to intimidate anyone else. They showed up spoiling for a fight. If their intentions were really peaceful, why take full advantage of open carry and bring their weapons at all?

[Annoyed]

ANd then victim blaming when those speaking distasteful words take violent action towards those disagreeing with them and explain it away as 'well, if you don't want us to attack you, don't protest'

No. In this case, the pro-nazi demonstrators showed up armed and in military gear, possibly to intimidate anyone else. They showed up spoiling for a fight. If their intentions were really peaceful, why take full advantage of open carry and bring their weapons at all?

Because there is a history of the left physically attacking any rally/event promoting views they disagree with?

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Because there is a history of the left physically attacking any rally/event promoting views they disagree with?

They shouldn't stand up to Neo-Nazis?

They killed a woman, you know.

Or is that 'free speech that needs protecting'?

This isn't a left Vs right issue. You are defending white supremacists and Nazis.

They were chanting 'Jews will not replace us' FFS.

There is no way it could ever be considered a peaceful protest. You're so busy complaining about the left being all liberal and wanting equal rights for all that you haven't noticed how far you're Goose-stepping away from what your party is meant to represent.

[Skydiver]

DID YOU EVEN Watch his speech Condeming the hate on BOTH SIDES?? Where exactly is Trump showing support for nazis??

By not condemning, you support.

The reality is, 45's general appeal is fading. Dismiss any and all polls you want, his base erodes by the day. He has yet to deliver on any of his promises (honestly, anyone that believed he'd do what he planned deserves to be let down. None of his promises were possible, they were nothing but campaign rhetoric geared to get him applause.....ends justify the means. Say anything you want to get the result you want and then bully, bluster or litigate your way out of being held accountable....which is how he's run his whole life. ANd people fell for it.)

But, beyond that, as 45's appeal fades he needs to have SOMEONE on his side. He's told women to bugger off (we're nothing but body parts to be grabbed by him), he's told people of color to bugger off (he IS racist and his actions and words reveal that...if there is a black on white crime he condemns it within the hour, a white on black crime and he never condemns it.), he's told hispanics to bugger off (it seems in his mind any and every hispanic must be illegal), he's told muslims to bugger off (in his world it seems that EVERY muslim is a terrorist in waiting). HIs racism is revealed in decrying muslims as a threat....yet bans entry from countries that have never sent a terrorist to the US while leaving the borders open to those that have (coincidentally countries he has property in...so I guess as long as he can make money off it, things are ok)

The only folks he has left are hard right super conservative groups that use religion to hide their bigotry and hate. Hence 'all sides'. Because he can't or won't stand up and say 'this is wrong', because he doesn't think that it is wrong.

ANd now he's doing just what other weak leaders do....start a war to distract from his weakness and failures.

There are still hundreds of appointed positions open because he won't appoint anyone. WHen he does he seems determined to appoint people that will dismantle the agencies insead of supporting them. Unless you're a big business in this country he doesn't care. SHort term profit is his goal.

And short term profit for himself too. He's already funneled millions of campaign contributions into his own pocket by renting office space to himself. He's done the same with his endless golf long weekends. ANd no one seems outraged. He's - legally - embezzling dozens of millions of dollars and it seems it's all ok.

And while people are distracted by this, R's are doing all they can to redraw district lines to rig future elections. They're working to pass laws to make it so everyone has to work to prove that they should be allowed to vote. They're passing laws to legalize discrimination using religious freedom as an excuse to treat others as less than human.

They're doing just what the nazis did in Germany.....silence competition and legalize discrimination. This is the world he and his followers are building. A world where a few ae allowed to take as much as they want and to legally ostracize anyone they define as 'inferior'

And every time 45 refuses to condemn white terrorism he furthers this agenda.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Its why so many sites are now banning white supremacist supporters.

No one wants to give them a platform to spread their message.

Not even in the name of debate.. that effectively normalises their extreme views.

It's why the extreme right are always pointing at the left and saying 'but they're violent too! They're protesting!!' They want people to say 'there's blame on both sides', it blurs the lines, creates confusion and makes their extremism easier to get away with.

Anti-Fascist isn't a movement. It should be the default setting.

[Gatefan1976]

And what kind of concequences do you see from all of us who suported him, if they DO stage in essence, a Coup'de'tat?

Nothing, at least, nothing to those who voted for him for misguided reasons. If all you wanted was jobs and a reduction of military based "adventurism", then people might call you a twit for -believing- his rhetoric, but that's about it. If you did it because you were scared of the "other", then you might get sprayed.

Well, since they have SEEN exactly what Antifa have done to people at other rallies, AND HAD HEARD those people were coming, perhaps they TOOK them to defend themselves from WHEN those antifata thugs showed up??

Cause and effect, look it up sometime.

Then why did THEY BRING bats, facemasks, and the like??

Why did the "peaceful protesters" bring guns?
Let me guess, that was their right............

That is true. And at no time have i DEFENDED Nazism.. I detest it. BUT I DO protect their right to free speech, just as i detest all Kathy gifford says, but DEFEND her right to say it.

You know how you like to bang on about people standing around filming people getting the crap kicked out of them, but not interfere?

However, what i DO find farked up is how that since NAZIS were the "People national SOCIALIST workers party". How that can some how morph into "they are a right wing group"?? FUnny i thought socialism was leftist?

Hitler -hated- socialism and communism as political structures, he was about as socialist as trump is, which is socialism for the "worthy".

I don't know how much louder i can say this, BUT I DO NOT Condone what that ****head did when he ran his car into that crowd.

I didn't say -you- do, I said dear leader did, and if you countenance his position, you are an accessory to his position, you are complicit.

AND as to the comparison between ISIS and the antifa crowd.. GEE DON'T both wish to eradicate historical monuments? Don't both use violence to push their agenda? DON'T BOTH DRESS IN ALL BLACK WITH FACEMASKS??

ISIS kills people with cars, tell me how many people the Antifa have killed with cars.

Excuse me?? Where do you see republicans bending over to push Trump's agenda?? IN FACT we have more opposing him than we ever saw opposition against Obama..

Jeff Sessions - Head of the DOJ
Paul Ryan- Speaker of the Senate
Mitch McConnel- Speaker of the House
-Every- republican senator and Congressman who will not call trump on his insanity.
They ALL tacitly support him, because they will not oppose him.

DID YOU EVEN Watch his speech Condeming the hate on BOTH SIDES?? Where exactly is Trump showing support for nazis??

I did, I also watched his initial remarks, and his later remarks which undercut everything he said during his scripted speech. I watched his speech about Afghanistan today and if he made -those- remarks first, and said no more, this would not be an issue, but trump does not like being told what to do, so he lashes out like the child he is, and we get to see, live on TV or by tweet, what he -really- thinks, not what he is scripted and -forced- to say. The -second- he said that there were "good people on both sides", he lost his moral authority, and showed what he truly thinks.

And i am GLAD that they have stopped being total douches..

They haven't

And whom will be next?? IMO all this hounding of trump to push out his staff is just a precursor to PUSHING trum out.. In essence staging a coup detat.
The left won't be satisfied till he's gone.

"the left" wins -NOTHING- by him being gone, he will be replaced by another republican. Knowing this, perhaps it is -trump himself- that they want gone, even knowing what is lined up next.

So only historical events we are proud of should ever be taught? Honored with statues? Remembered?

Not at all, but "honoured"? Why do you want to honour traitors?

And if "cause slavery is evil/wrong/bad, we should get rid of any statue that shows someone or something that participated in it, does that mean we should blow up/bulldoze the white house (since it was supposedly built with slave labor? The great wall of china, the Pyramids, Mount rushmore?? Force schools/military bases named for those American pioneers to change? And who gets to decide what does or does not go?? Just the loudest bunch of rabble rousers?

Hint: No one has suggested getting rid of the founding fathers statues, except a deranged 71 year old with a very poor grasp of history.

What about the Statue of LENIN In seattle?? Should that go?

Sure, but it's the right defending that one........

Many of these statues are being FLAT OUT Vandalized.. ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. That in no way compares to a land buy by the govt to put a pipeline to HELP ALL..

So, as long as it is the -government- doing the vandalizing, it's ok??

[Skydiver]

Why were the nazis called socialists

http://www.newsweek.com/nazis-democr...t-right-650572
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nazi-party

ALso, in a documentary I watched, he put the word 'socialist' in there to simply make it sound better. It was spin doctoring, a sales pitch, a false term to make his group sound more acceptible.

[aretood2]

That is true. And at no time have i DEFENDED Nazism.. I detest it. BUT I DO protect their right to free speech, just as i detest all Kathy gifford says, but DEFEND her right to say it.
However, what i DO find farked up is how that since NAZIS were the "People national SOCIALIST workers party". How that can some how morph into "they are a right wing group"?? FUnny i thought socialism was leftist?

They call themselves the "Alt-Right". They have constantly tried to align themselves with the right. Until recently, they weren't successful. Now, they are welcomed with ambiguous arms.

I don't know how much louder i can say this, BUT I DO NOT Condone what that ****head did when he ran his car into that crowd.
AND as to the comparison between ISIS and the antifa crowd.. GEE DON'T both wish to eradicate historical monuments? Don't both use violence to push their agenda? DON'T BOTH DRESS IN ALL BLACK WITH FACEMASKS??

You say that, but then you blame the people he ran over saying it's their fault. There's a bit of a disconnect here...ISIS isn't obliterating monuments, they are obliterating religious icons and ancient ruins and churches. That said, I'm not a fan of either group, but if someone is going to make an argument, they should always strive to make an accurate one.

Excuse me?? Where do you see republicans bending over to push Trump's agenda?? IN FACT we have more opposing him than we ever saw opposition against Obama..

How so?

DID YOU EVEN Watch his speech Condeming the hate on BOTH SIDES?? Where exactly is Trump showing support for nazis??

You mean the one where he called nazis good people and blamed the victims?

And whom will be next?? IMO all this hounding of trump to push out his staff is just a precursor to PUSHING trum out.. In essence staging a coup detat.
The left won't be satisfied till he's gone.

I think people will settle for impeachment.

So only historical events we are proud of should ever be taught? Honored with statues? Remembered?

Can you explain to me how or why should the bad stuff be honored with statues in order to be taught? Why must something taught also be honored? Can't we just honor the good stuff worthy of honor and teach everything else? I mean....you haven't answered that whole "Where's Hitler's Statue" question.

And if "cause slavery is evil/wrong/bad, we should get rid of any statue that shows someone or something that participated in it, does that mean we should blow up/bulldoze the white house (since it was supposedly built with slave labor? The great wall of china, the Pyramids, Mount rushmore?? Force schools/military bases named for those American pioneers to change? And who gets to decide what does or does not go?? Just the loudest bunch of rabble rousers?

The difference here is that Washington didn't betray the US to fight for slavery. The White house wasn't built to preserve slavery. Mount Rushmore wasn't meant to honor those who fought in the name of slavery. And the Great Wall of China wasn't built for the preservation of anyone's "peculiar institution". And the earliest Americans get a pass for being ignorant savages as opposed to knowing savages.

What about the Statue of LENIN In seattle?? Should that go?

Yes.

ANd isn't this coming close to what we are seeing now? Destroying history so we don't learn from it// Trying to "make it go away"??
And isn't it the LEFT who consistently labels anything they 'find offensive, undesireable"?

As others have done, how is it that we learn about Hitler if he has no statue? Is it possible to learn about Robert E. Lee without him having a statue?...especially considering that he was 100% against the very notion of Confederate monuments.

And if they wanna stand there yelling at me, more power to them. BUT DON'T try to deny me the right to speak, just 'cause i might offend them;, OR USE Violence to drive me off/shut me down.

But that would be your fault, I mean that is your logic used above. If you don't want violence done unto you, don't show up! Tell me that you see the flaws of that argument.

BUT WHOM gets to define what is hate speech?

Like most things, people with brains.

TO most liberals, ME saying "we should build a wall to stop illegal aliens coming in, while looking to make it easier for people to LEGALLY come here, once properly vetted" is "hate speech towards illegals.
or me saying "I prefer traditional marriage" is hate speech towards the lgbtq agenda..

Never heard of anything like that for the illegal immigrant thing. However you do have a point for the LGBT thing.

And thus proof that liberals love revising history to push their agenda..

So you just simply ignored my post that pretty much dispels that notion, with evidence? Why?

And in a # of those cities, those statues were put up after a vote of the residents/the people paying FOR IT.. So why take it down cause of NON residents whine? WHY NOT put it back to the residents.. AND let them decide. Rather than do as many places seem to be, silently removing them under the cover of night, like some cat burgler..

Are you sure about that?

Many of those counter protestors were not local either..

Fascinating huh? Neither group had any business there.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Never heard of anything like that for the illegal immigrant thing. However you do have a point for the LGBT thing.
]

He does not.

If he wants to say he's in favour of traditional marriage (an arranged marriage between a man and a woman of the same race and equal social standing) then fine. That's his opinion. If he doesn't want to marry a man then no one is going to force him to.

The problem is that he's not happy to stop with just saying he is in favour of traditional marriage. He wants his version to be the only one that is allowed. He wants to ban all other forms of marriage. He doesn't even want gay couples to be able to buy cake.

Can you imagine being so against strangers making a lasting commitment to each other that you want to make it illegal for them to buy baked goods covered in icing?

[Falcon Horus]

And what kind of concequences do you see from all of us who suported him, if they DO stage in essence, a Coup'de'tat?

It's not those who support(ed) him that I'm worried about. It's the one that aren't or weren't.

Examples needed: look to Hitler and Erdogan more recently.

Well, since they have SEEN exactly what Antifa have done to people at other rallies, AND HAD HEARD those people were coming, perhaps they TOOK them to defend themselves from WHEN those antifata thugs showed up??

And perhaps they are as stupid as they are white.

Anyone who takes a weapon (whatever kind) to a protest, is not taking it to defend themselves for what might occur.

A weapon equals a thread to another person's safety. It doesn't matter if it's holstered or in its sheeth, or lowered to the ground. The weapon is there and can be used, not to defend but to attack.

Peaceful protests don't need weapons of any kind.

However, what i DO find farked up is how that since NAZIS were the "People national SOCIALIST workers party". How that can some how morph into "they are a right wing group"?? FUnny i thought socialism was leftist?

Go look it up -- the encyclopaedia brittanica has a whole section on National Socialism.

Here, let me help you:

National Socialism attempted to reconcile conservative, nationalist ideology with a socially radical doctrine. In so doing, it became a profoundly revolutionary movement—albeit a largely negative one. Rejecting rationalism, liberalism, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and all movements of international cooperation and peace, it stressed instinct, the subordination of the individual to the state, and the necessity of blind and unswerving obedience to leaders appointed from above. It also emphasized the inequality of men and races and the right of the strong to rule the weak; sought to purge or suppress competing political, religious, and social institutions; advanced an ethic of hardness and ferocity; and partly destroyed class distinctions by drawing into the movement misfits and failures from all social classes. Although socialism was traditionally an internationalist creed, the radical wing of National Socialism knew that a mass base existed for policies that were simultaneously anticapitalist and nationalist.

I don't have time to go into a more detailed socialist evolution right now, maybe later.

AND as to the comparison between ISIS and the antifa crowd.. GEE DON'T both wish to eradicate historical monuments?

Except of course that IS' motives are entirely different from people feeling the confederate statues have no place in this day and age.

the IS brand of intolerant Islam motivates it to attack polytheism wherever it is found and to reject the worship, as they would put it, of idols that they see these sites as representing.
Elsewhere, it is also no surprise to see IS destroying Shia and Sufi sites, and even Sunni shrines.
If anything, IS ideology despises other variants of Islam even more than Christianity or Judaism.

And also, they sold a lot of what they tore down on the black market, or did you really think they destroyed it all. If they couldn't sell it, then they would destroy it. Too large to sell, blow it up instead -- mission accomplished.

Excuse me?? Where do you see republicans bending over to push Trump's agenda?? IN FACT we have more opposing him than we ever saw opposition against Obama.

They may not push it, because they need him to push their own.
But they're not standing up to him either.

DID YOU EVEN Watch his speech Condeming the hate on BOTH SIDES?? Where exactly is Trump showing support for nazis??

By not calling them by name perhaps.
Like he always blamed Obama for not calling it radical Islam.

So only historical events we are proud of should ever be taught? Honored with statues? Remembered?

You need to remember and learn about the black pages of history. You don't need to "honor" them for there is nothing honorable about slavery.

And if "cause slavery is evil/wrong/bad, we should get rid of any statue that shows someone or something that participated in it, does that mean we should blow up/bulldoze the white house (since it was supposedly built with slave labor? The great wall of china, the Pyramids, Mount rushmore?? Force schools/military bases named for those American pioneers to change? And who gets to decide what does or does not go?? Just the loudest bunch of rabble rousers?

Err... The Great Wall of China wasn't build by slaves, nor were the pyramids.
Just for the record.

Many of these statues are being FLAT OUT Vandalized.. ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. That in no way compares to a land buy by the govt to put a pipeline to HELP ALL.

And by bulldozing that land you're vandalizing sacred ground.

Now, who's the hypocrit?

BUT WHOM gets to define what is hate speech?

According to the US legal definition:

Hate speech is a communication that carries no meaning other than the expression of hatred for some group, especially in circumstances in which the communication is likely to provoke violence. It is an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and the like. Hate speech can be any form of expression regarded as offensive to racial, ethnic and religious groups and other discrete minorities or to women.

A hate crime is usually defined by state law as one that involves threats, harassment, or physical harm and is motivated by prejudice against someone's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation or physical or mental disability.

TO most liberals, ME saying "we should build a wall to stop illegal aliens coming in, while looking to make it easier for people to LEGALLY come here, once properly vetted" is "hate speech towards illegals.

That's not hate speech.

Hate speech would be:

They should build the wall to keep those illegals out, and if they do manage to cross they should be shot on sight.

...or me saying "I prefer traditional marriage" is hate speech towards the lgbtq agenda.

Again, not hate speech.

Hate speech would be:

Gays should be shot.

What are some examples of Hate Speech?
* Racist cartoons
* Anti-Semitic symbols spray painted on the side of a synagogue
* Ethnic slurs or other derogatory labels for a group
* Burning a cross in the yard of an ethnic minority
* Politically incorrect jokes that target the disabled or the aged
* Sexist statements
* Anti-gay protest signs and chants

Source: bsu.edu

And in a # of those cities, those statues were put up after a vote of the residents/the people paying FOR IT.. So why take it down cause of NON residents whine? WHY NOT put it back to the residents.. AND let them decide. Rather than do as many places seem to be, silently removing them under the cover of night, like some cat burgler.

During the civil right's movements in the sixties... that should tell you something...

We have a very different idea of "free speech" than the left does.. We say "let everyone speak, and let the audience decide the value of what is said", but their idea is they can say what they want, but those who disagree with them should be silenced.

#FakeNews

Because there is a history of the left physically attacking any rally/event promoting views they disagree with?

And the same goes for the right -- both sides have shown up to do damage or counterprotest. Neither side is innocent.

[Falcon Horus]

If he wants to say he's in favour of traditional marriage (an arranged marriage between a man and a woman of the same race and equal social standing) then fine.

I'm reading this book now, Old Babylonian Marriage Law by Raymond Westbrook, in which the verb "to marry" can also refer to a contract to obtain objects. Still only a legal contract.

My sister tossed me the book when we were cleaning out our bookcases. She wanted to use it for her thesis about women in Ancient Babylon but due to lack of resources to use, she had to switch to a different subject.