Civil Disorders Quotes
O, you anarchic scum, you cowardly murderers, you leeches upon honest labor, you midnight assassins!
Otis and his paper were virulently anti-labor. See {617172} .
His assumption about whether an army was “willing or able to train its guns on inoffensive people” was a little naïve. The Ottomans had massacred the Armenians, and soon the German troops would murder innocent civilians. As did the Japanese. The Russian Communists on many occasions massacred civilians engaging in passive resistance. In Cambodia, the Kmer Rouge Army killed almost 2 million, most of whom had educations which might have made them passive resisters. Islamic Fascist governments like Syria and Iran used heavy weapons to kill citizens in their own homes because they were in neighborhoods that housed many passive resisters. Extreme Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorists regularly killed innocent civilians in their homes, on the streets or in busses, just to intimidate others to surrender to their religious and political demands. He was right that democratic governments and armies would not engage in such killing of their own people, but there are unfortunately still many other governments.
This absurd statement was made in the midst of the huge Black protests against the Apartheid regime. It was very similar to what the Southern racist, segregationist politicians of the American South used to say about the Southern Negroes who in their view were only unhappy when the “communist outsiders” talk to the them and incite them.
By producing growth and an increasing standard of living and universal education, capitalism’s citizens have the time, education, and resources to protest and produce social unrest. However, that assumes that there is also a democratic state. For Schumpeter and many others, capitalism and democracy go hand in hand, but many point to historical examples of one developing faster than the other.
The president was surprised by the rapid spread and expansion of the anti-war movement at the time was convinced that the communists were organizing the effort. After all the investigations and histories, it was an extremely fast growing movement—perhaps the first of the digital political movements as e-mail was one of the tools used in the universities where e-mail was then coming into use.
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood had won the first democratic election, but they proceeded to use their majority to deny rights to others. Massive demonstrations against the government, with the Egyptian military support deposed the Brotherhood President and government. The Brotherhood then took to the streets, demonstrating against the ousting of their elected government. After more than a week of constant demonstrations and the blockage of many streets, the new military appointed government authorized the police to clear the streets. Some of the Brotherhood were armed and killed over 40 police and several hundred demonstrators were also killed with each side blaming the other for “starting” the violence. The vice president was a strong opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood and supported and called for the ousting of their undemocratic, albeit elected, government. However he also supported their right to protest in the streets and condemned the use of force.
This phrase was also to be used over 100 years later by Malcolm X. See {624101} and {38291}.
Earlier, a virtually all white police force in nearby 67% Black Ferguson, had shot an unarmed black young man who was 20 feet away with his hands up, 7 times killing him and then leaving the body uncovered on the street for over 4 hours. Many people of all races began to peacefully demonstrate in Ferguson and were met with military assault weapons pointed at them and military armored vehicles, with the police illegally (as later determined by the courts) were interfering with the right to protest. The demonstrations turned to riots and there was looting and arson of business establishments. The demonstrations started to spread to nearby St. Louis and other cities as the news spread. While the Ferguson officials had behaved so badly and stupidly, the St. Louis mayor exhibited democratic leadership that was an example for others. Slay was then a 4 term mayor, being reelected more than any other mayor in St. Louis history, and was one of the outstanding politicians in America.
In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Months later, in January of 2006 many in the Middle East protested vehemently and Muslim riots broke out because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim nations started a boycott against Denmark. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews. In the United States a debate raged over whether or not news organizations should show the cartoons. Some did; most did not.
Vladimir Lenin
This is an excellent example of a rhetorical technique of taking programs that the candidate opposed but seemed to be popular and instead of giving reasons for his opposition to the programs, he associated them with the demonstrations and riots that were ongoing as if the programs caused the violence.
