Why do leftists let other people physically bully them around???

[Zalatix]

These people weren't even cops. They were Rmoney drones.

What, is it illegal now to push back when someone pushes you???



http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/31/immigration-and-lgbt-activists-attacked-at-romneyryan-event/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

When protesters from immigration and LGBT rights groups spoke up at a rally for the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan presidential campaign Friday, video showed them quickly getting shouted down and shoved away from the event by Romney supporters.

The demonstration, organized by the DRM Capitol Group, Presente.org and the Get Equal campaign, attacked Romney’s opposition to both the DREAM Act, which would give undocumented immigrants a way to earn permanent citizenship through either good academic performance or joining the U.S. military, and same sex marriage.

“Romney claims that this is a country of immigrants but he wants us to self-deport and he would veto the DREAM Act,” the DRM Capitol Group said in a release. “Those fighting for a more equal America are facing obstruction from a similar cast of characters, led by Mitt Romney. It’s clear that the same people who are perpetrating the war on LGBT Americans are also perpetrating the war on immigrants.”

The DRM group said on its website that its government relations director, Erika Andiola, and an unidentified priest with Get Equal were “roughed up” during the event.

In the short video, protesters chanting at Romney and Ryan from the crowd are first confronted by a white male in a red shirt before another man, wearing a cowboy hat, pushes into them, as the pro-Romney audience starts chanting “USA! USA!” to drown them out.

[cali]

1. What do you think they should have done?

met stupid violence with more stupid violence? Just what are you advocating?

[Zalatix]

3. They shove leftists, leftists shove back. What, do these have more rights than everyone else?

Are leftists second-class citizens here or what?

This is how you handle your business when you are confronted by bullies:

&feature=related

That asshole in that video? He went to lengths to avoid being identified after that incident. People stood up to him and he tried to keep himself anonymous. (He probably failed, too.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Cindy don't take no shit.

[derby378]

42. Amen to that

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. Hey you.

[Zalatix]

44. Hear, hear! I totally admire her.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

13. Self-defense is never "stupid"... nt

[Zalatix]

45. People who resort to shoving are animals seeking to establish dominance.

You don't let an animal establish dominance. Appeasement never works.

[DURHAM D]

2. I am curious -

are you out there physically putting it on the line?

[Zalatix]

4. Done it several times, twice in Oakland. This protest is across the country from me.

[DURHAM D]

5. Way out numbered several thousand to one?

I doubt it.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. ??? Apparent non-sequitur. n/t

[DURHAM D]

11. The OP got it...

[Zalatix]

14. Several thousand to one? How do you figure?

[TheKentuckian]

6. I dunno. I had more than my share growing up and had no choice but to fight back.

Of course we have an element that takes pride in being mealy mouthed, passive, and run over.

[Zalatix]

29. You hit the nail right on the head.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. The story relates a woman and a priest being roughed up standing up for THEIR own rights

and you are, no offense, a white guy co-opting them as 'leftists' while your own leftist while male peers keep sending women and ministers to the front lines only to be lectured later on what should have happened by those who stayed home?
I reject your notion that responding to violence in kind is wise. Goading others to do that shit is wrong, and I reject that as well.

[Zalatix]

15. I'm not white, thank you.

And I protested in Oakland with Occupy. This protest is across the country from me. I don't send people out to the front lines for me, either.

[joshcryer]

61. I feel like had they "fought back" they'd be slandered as hooligans...

...or worse "PSYOPS" / "false flag" / provocateurs.

[Egalitarian Thug]

8. Indicative of the problem I've seen since I was a child.

To advocate for the underdog seems to require having, at one time or another, been an underdog and that experience seems to set up an ingrained reaction to unthinkingly submit to aggression. Submission and obedience have been the primary, foundational responses taught to us since birth and almost all of us react accordingly at (almost?) an instinctual level. I've found this to be very useful in my professional life even as it depresses me.

[arcane1]

9. Because they're not assholes

edited to add: it's not being an asshole to push back, it's being an asshole to push in the first place

[Comrade_McKenzie]

12. If somebody strikes you, you hit them back...

I'm 6'4" and weigh 300 pounds. If one of these pukes come after me, I will rip them to shreds.

[Zalatix]

16. Don't start it, but definitely finish it.

[Frank Cannon]

69. You hit them back twice as hard as they hit you.

That's self-defense in a nutshell.

[bemildred]

17. They don't want to get hurt? The don't want to give that sort of image to their cause? nt

[Zalatix]

19. You let people get away with shoving you, you'll only get hurt worse.

And please, explain why the Right Wingers' image isn't harmed when they initiate the shoving, but somehow the leftists' image is tarnished if they shove back? Why is that? I've asked this question in similar situations before... why is it okay for one group to initiate physical aggression but the other is forbidden to do so?

That's bullshit. Someone shoves you, you shove back. Cindy Sheehan proved that.

[bemildred]

24. Judgement is called for. nt

[Zalatix]

27. Is that code for "they're allowed to shove you, but you can't shove back"?

[mitchtv]

31. who do you think would get arrested?

I think I know, but yeah, I went to jail for pushing back.

[Zalatix]

34. Depends on whether you caught the incident on video.

Sheehan's people didn't get arrested for pushing that big bully back for slapping away a megaphone.

[Blue_Tires]

33. No, but it also means

You have to recognize when you're being baited into something and stay above it...

In my younger days I had a rep as someone who was very easy to dupe into fights, and people were able to push my buttons for the hell of it...And trust me, when the dust settles, no one is gonna give a shit who supposedly started what first...

[Zalatix]

35. I'm not sure your logic makes sense here.

He shoves you and it's okay, but if you shove back, how does that magically become wrong, yet the first shoving wasn't?

[bemildred]

48. No, it's code for think about it before you shove back.

You are welcome to follow your instincts, I prefer to think first.

[Zalatix]

51. And people wonder why bullies are so common...

[bemildred]

52. That's all right, I know you'll fix it for me soon. nt

[Zalatix]

55. Dunno bout that, but I know bullies are better off picking SOME people as targets over others.

[Ashleyshubby]

18. Did Jesus confront his bullies?

?

[Tom Ripley]

23. Did Jesus get nailed up?

[backscatter712]

32. There was that incident in the temple with the money-changers.

Jesus opened up a can of whoop-ass on them!

[Tom Ripley]

37. Absolutely! He also gave his brother a black eye when they were kids

"Mom thinks you can do wrong!"
"Why you..."
POW!

[sabrina 1]

20. Why weren't the Perpetrators arrested? If anyone from OWS did anything like that, they

would be in jail and accused of terrorism.

The people were victims of an assault. If they had fought back, THEY would be arrested. The police are supposed to protect people exercising their 1st Amendment rights. Isn't that one of the reasons for the army of heavily-armed robo cops, tanks, National Guard etc? To protect law-abiding citizens?

Or maybe not!

[Zalatix]

21. The police don't serve you. They serve the 1% and the minions of the 1%.

[Zorra]

22. Um, do you really think it's wise for people to attack a pack of raging mutant hyenas

that greatly outnumber them if there is a possibility that they may escape with their lives by not attacking them?

And don't forget, the zookeepers are on the side of the hyenas in this particular zoo.

It's a total lose-lose for the homo sapiens team.

Discretion is often the better part of valor.

[arely staircase]

25. ?

[socialist_n_TN]

26. This leftist/communist WILL shove back.........

Whether it's political or personal doesn't matter. I'm not a pacifist. And yes I've been out there a lot.

[arely staircase]

41. +1

[Bluerthanblue]

28. for the same reason MLKjr didn't endorse

or use violence in response to the violence targeted at him.

Non violent protest works. It requires a lot out of those who employ it, but it IS the answer in the end.

The spiral of meeting violence with violence only brings us farther away from where we need to be.

[Zalatix]

30. Didn't he get shot anyway?

[Bluerthanblue]

36. yes he did-

but he and his movement and ideas live on.

You can 'shove back' and get yourself killed just as quickly if not more so than Rev.King did Zalatix.
Violence is never a good 'answer' to anything. It requires a deep commitment and willingness to risk everything for what you believe, but that doesn't mean it isn't the answer.

What does it say about your beliefs if you are willing to kill for them, but not die for them???

[Zalatix]

43. I'd rather die free than live as someone's prey or slave.

I'm not going to spend my life being shoved around with impunity. You're going to die anyway.

Dr. King's death set back the African American fight for equality permanently; they have yet to recover from that.

[Bluerthanblue]

49. I would rather die free as well-

and for me that means not allowing someone else to dictate my actions.

I believe violence is counterproductive and not a means of positive change.

I disagree with you on the impact of Dr. King's death. You see it as 'them winning'- but they didn't. They may have killed his body, but they didn't kill the movement, the ideal or the truth that the best way to change the system is NOT by bullying, force or mindless violence, but by non-violent civil disobedience and being willing to stand together and stand true to your beliefs.

Violence has been the way our society has tried to handle everything for so long, and where has it gotten us?

You are absolutely right, we are all going to die someday anyway. I don't think dying for a cause is the worst way to leave this earth.

[Zalatix]

50. People who let themselves get pushed around, never win.

Inescapable law of nature.

Dr. King's death did kill the black movement.

Non-violent civil disobedience? That hardly even works against the police, they throw you in jail anyway and the media STILL crucifies you. It most CERTAINLY will not work against violent ruffians who will simply come back and hurt you worse later.

You have a right to defend yourself.

[mick063]

39. The R complex

link

Reptilian complex

The reptilian complex, also known as the R-complex or "reptilian brain" was the name MacLean gave to the basal ganglia, structures derived from the floor of the forebrain during development. The term derives from the fact that comparative neuroanatomists once believed that the forebrains of reptiles and birds were dominated by these structures. MacLean proposed that the reptilian complex was responsible for species typical instinctual behaviors involved in aggression, dominance, territoriality, and ritual displays.

R just doesn't stand for Republican.

I actually believe this and am not joking. If the R complex dominates your behavior, you will readily identify with the GOP agenda.

N Complex

Neomammalian complex

The neomammalian complex consists of the cerebral neocortex, a structure found uniquely in mammals. MacLean regarded its addition as the most recent step in the evolution of the mammilian brain, conferring the ability for language, abstraction, planning, and perception.

I actually believe that folks with a dominant N complex are compassionate and wish to help those in need. I personally believe they tend to be progressive.

By their nature they wish to avoid conflict and use reason and logic to solve problems as opposed to aggressive tactics.

The left vs right is about brain chemistry. I actually do believe this.

[Zalatix]

46. Damn, that sounds dead-on accurate.

[ck4829]

40. If one of the protesters even breathed on a Romney supporter, it would have been national news

If Romney supporters used baseball bats, there might have been a mention of it being an "even fight".

People are wising up to the 'liberal media.'

[HockeyMom]

53. I had enough of that when I was around 10

being not only female, but tiny, I got sick of being picked on, bullied, and even patted on the head. Either taken advantage of, or "isn't she cute?", when she is 30 years old? Oh, the stories I could tell, but I don't bore you.

No, I learned a long time ago to not take it.

[joshcryer]

54. They're above machoism?

[Zalatix]

56. The word 'pushover' is not a compliment.

[joshcryer]

58. Nor is the word macho.

If everyone behaved as you wish then regular gatherings would turn into nasty riots every time one single person got shoved rudely.

[Zalatix]

62. Standing up for yourself when someone shoves you is called 'macho' and leads to riots?

That's prey logic you're subscribing to. Not to mention totally unrealistic.

If everyone behaved as you wish, the bullies of the world would be living in paradise. The rest of us? Under their thumb. PERPETUALLY.

[joshcryer]

66. You already said the bullies win out.

That doesn't mean it's ethical to be a bully.

[Zalatix]

68. Pushing back at bullies is not being a bully. It's called standing up for yourself.

Know. The. Difference.

[joshcryer]

71. If you go into a fight with a bully...

...with the full intention of fighting and then fight that bully, you are no different than the bully.

[alphafemale]

57. I don't. Be at my elbow if shit goes down.

Nobody near me is getting physically bullied by a shit hole. Not without the attacker regretting lost blood.

Oh...Hell no.

There are ways to avoid a physical confrontation....most of the time.

But even Shaolin Monks know know to snap somebody's neck if it comes to that.

[David__77]

59. Because they are immersed in "anti-authoritarianism."

So many shrink from understanding the politics is about the capture and exercise of power. They want consensus where there should be discipline.

[joshcryer]

60. This is my favorite picture of an anti-authoritarian 'pushover' as the OP terms them:

I see plenty of discipline there.

[Zalatix]

63. Your picture shows peaceful non-violent protesters getting pepper sprayed.

You're hurting your case here.

[joshcryer]

65. My picture shows peaceful protestors not reacting violently to force.

As you propose in your OP.

[Zalatix]

67. And they're still getting their asses kicked and they achieved nothing.

Except, of course, they achieved the status of prey.

Also, my OP was about non-police bullies. Totally different issue. I don't ever have to back down from pushing and shoving by people who aren't law enforcement. When you degrade yourself to doing that, you are prey.

[joshcryer]

70. Ooh, OK, so it's only certain kinds of bully.

[neeksgeek]

64. Nobody pushes me around.

I don't get physical, but I know how to block a punch. And I will cheerfully, aggressively tell them off in no uncertain terms. I learned how to make someone want get far away from me as quickly as possible when I got tired of being bullied in high school.