1y ago

Senior Democrat calls for arrests of ‘leftwing fascists’ urging Gaza ceasefire | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com

Senior Democrat calls for arrests of ‘leftwing fascists’ urging Gaza ceasefire

accidentally posted this in world news before bcs i forgot about the no internal US news rule by accident

Congressman Adam Smith says ‘totalitarian’ protesters are ‘trying to silence anyone who dares to disagree with them’
Protesters calling for Israel to cease fire in its war with Hamas who have disrupted US public events and infrastructure are practicing “leftwing fascism” or “leftwing totalitarianism”, a senior US House Democrat said, adding that such protesters are “challenging representative democracy” and should be arrested.
“Intimidation is the tactic,” said Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democrat on the House armed services committee. “Intimidation and an effort to silence opposition … I don’t know if there’s such a thing as leftwing fascism. If you want to just call it leftwing totalitarianism, then that’s what it is. It is a direct challenge to representative democracy now.”

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1y ago

Senior Democrat calls for arrests of ‘leftwing fascists’ urging Gaza ceasefire

www.theguardian.com /us-news/2024/apr/25/israel-gaza-ceasefire-adam-smith

102 comments

Congressman Adam Smith says ‘totalitarian’ protesters are ‘trying to silence anyone who dares to disagree with them’
Says the man wanting to lock people up.
“Intimidation is the tactic,”[…] “Intimidation and an effort to silence opposition”
Is this man so comically evil he’s trying to be the Spanish Inquisition?
- Does he plan on locking up Chuck Schumer too?
- I was outraged by the headline, but he said protestors should be arrested in the context of protesting outside of someone’s home. While I don’t think I agree with that, I can at least understand why he would feel that constitutes intimidation.
  
  .
  
  Does he mean the Jews doing a Seder in front of Chuck Schumer's house?
  
  protestors should be arrested in the context of protesting outside of someone’s home
  Being a public elected figure typically means dealing with constituents, even when you don't want to. That's the nature of the job.
  If you don't want folks on the sidewalk waving signs that call you a murderer, maybe stop advancing policies that kill tens of thousands of people.
  
  Aren't there harassment laws that should already cover this? Protesting outside of a business should be fine. But protesting outside of living areas feels like targeted harassment.
  
  It was apparently before the college campus protests. I wonder what he thinks about those.
Totalitarian... protesters?
- You get a buzzword, you get a buzzword, everyone gets a buzzword!!!
  
  The ANTIFA are culturally appropriating the Jewish space lasers! Antisemitism!
- Antiwar Tankies
This is the most incoherent thing I've ever seen...
By speaking out, these "totalitarian" protesters are silencing everyone else and challenging representative democracy? And to stop them from silencing others, they must be arrested to prevent them from speaking?
Dude, this couldn't have sounded good in your fucking head...
- It's called doublespeak.
  A guy called Orwell wrote a book about Modern Totalitarianism that includes this (prety good book, recommended read).
  It was supposed to be a work of fiction but apparently a lot of politicians are using it as a roadmap.
  
  This is beyond double speak. It doesn't even need to make sense anymore. As in, like, they don't even need to form a complete, coherent sentence anymore.
  They don't need to. They've had far more success with the big lie than anyone ever expected, I believe.
  
  He wrote the book under the pseudonym Orwell, but the guy's name is Blair.
Strange .. I don't remember storming a capital building trying to subvert our democratic process....
All I suggested is that not everyone in Gaza is Hamas. That 6 year old girls are way to young to understand what a Nazi even is.
And that Israel's tactics for a hostage situation is deplorable. Considering they used more Bombs in a week then the USA dropped in Afghanistan in a year.
Wish we had an anti-genocide party in this country.
- We have anti-genocide parties. The problem is not enough Americans are willing to vote for them or organize for them as alternatives to the Democrat and Republican parties. Plus the coffers for the Democrats and Republicans are filled by corporations, so it's grassroots funding vs multi-billion dollar industry donations and super PACs.
- There is one
  
  A viable one?
  
  Republicans are complicit as well
What an absolute dickbag. He even complains about silent protests that are 100% peaceful. Maybe if your stance is so weak that silent protestors are enough to derail your plans, you should rethink your stance. He even downplays children being killed.
Also, if we are talking about silencing opposite points of views, how many pro-Israel people in the US have been kicked out of school, arrested, vilified in the mainstream press, or fired from their jobs?
- Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
  And it's not about pro-israel VS. Pro-palestine. The issue is much more nuanced. You people realize a terrorist organization is the representative government of Palestine, right? They chant "death to america" and their founding charter calls for the eradication of all jews. They still have, and are probably still torturing and raping hostages. You're cheering for the scum of the earth.
  Both sides have done shitty things, but things will never get better as long as Hamas controls the territory. They have no interest in peace.
  
  What is the ratio of Hamas members getting killed to civilians getting killed? That is the problem people have.
  You’re cheering for the scum of the earth.
  You are such a fucking ignorant dipshit if you really think people are cheering Hamas. Either you are an unbelievably stupid fucking moron if you actually think that, or you are an evil piece of shit who is lying to defend what you think is justified genocide. Nobody is cheering Hamas. Even the people of Gaza, who haven't voted for Hamas as their representative government in 17 years because they aren't allowed to, aren't cheering Hamas. Nobody is cheering anything, honestly. People are outraged at the number of civilians killed and the US's continued support of a government that is perpetrating the mass killing of civilians. Hamas killed 1200 people in a horrific, evil, awful, unspeakable act in October. Israel has so far killed 33,000 Palestinians in response. Of that, 13,000 were children. People aren't cheering Hamas, they are outraged that Israel has killed 13,000 children in response to 780 civilians being killed. Israel has killed more journalists, health, and aid workers (803) in Gaza than all civilians killed by Hamas.
  Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
  People have been kicked out of school and fired from jobs at learning institutions for speaking out against Israel's actions. So yeah, Zionists have disrupted learning institutions.
  
  Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians to achieve political change.
  Terrorists are people that use the tactic of terrorism.
  Israel specifically has been targeting the civilian population to try and get them to turn against Hamas.
  Israel is a terrorist government.
  
  Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
  Since the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes on more than 200 educational facilities, including universities, in the Gaza Strip as part of its military operations in the Israel–Hamas war. The IDF claims such airstrikes are the result of the placement of military infrastructure and rocket launching from civilian areas, including schools. By late-March 2024, the United Nations recorded more than 200 Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza, with at least 53 schools totally destroyed
  [...]
  According to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, around 500,000 Palestinian children in Gaza are unable to resume their schooling routine due to the ongoing conflict. The war has led to the destruction of 174 schools in Gaza, with 26 public schools and 1 UNRWA school being completely demolished and unable to open for the 2014/2015 academic year. Furthermore, 30 other schools remain closed as they are still being occupied by a large number of displaced individuals. 447 children who lost their lives in the Israeli military attacks will never have the chance to go back to school. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has issued a list of public schools in Gaza that were either severely damaged or destroyed, including the following ones:
  
  Hani Na’eem School of Agriculture, Abu Tammam’s Basic School, Hayel Abdel Hameed School, Mahdeya el Shawa School, Subhi Abu Karsh School, The Shujayea Martyrs School, Beit Dajan School, Ali Bin Abi Talib School, Shujayea Basic School, Abbas Secondary School, Jamal Abd el Nasser School, Moaz Bin Jabal School, Mahatet Miyah el Karamah School, Caesarea School, Sukina Bin Hussein School, Khawla Bint el Azur School, Rudolph Filter School, Ibn Zaidun School, El Bareej School, Fathi el Balawi School, Maari School for Girls, Maari School for Boys, Ibn el Nafis School, Absan New School, Ghassan Kanafani School for Girls, Ghassan Kanafani School for Boys.
  
  Were those 13,000 children Hamas?
  🇵🇸
  
  Are Zionists disrupting a lot of learning institutions?
  More than 350 Schools in Gaza have been fully destroyed or severely damaged. The 7 universities of Gaza have been destroyed. 26 Hospitals have been destroyed, leaving no hospital standing to be a place for teaching new doctors.
  And that is not talking about the thousands of students, teachers, professors, doctors and other education personnel that was killed.
  If we look outside of Gaza, we see Zionists demanding legitimate protests to be shut down, protesting students to be denied access to education, among other places in Germany and the US. In Germany the state of Berlin has imposed a new law that demands universities to throw students out, if they are accused of "antisemitism" regardless of there being a criminal conviction or comparable level of proof.
  
  They turned all of the schools in Palestine to rubble, so... yes?
Pretty standard perspective for a politician that has been in office since the 90s.
When you really haven't felt accountability for decades, it probably feels intimidating. He might have to, you know, represent these opinions from his constituents somehow.
- "You're either with us, or you're with the terrorists"
Friendly Reminder:
Neoliberals are conservatives. Always have been. The D next to the name does not change that.
We do not currently have a viable left-wing party. We have a conservative party and a more conservative party.
- We have two parties, conservative and fascist.
  We used to have a centrist and far right party. And before that, for a brief time, we had a liberal and a Conservative party.
  One party makes outrageous and unreasonable demands that only move to the right, and the other party is happy to negotiate with those demands, and so the country moves further and further to the right.
  We're told the only way to stop this is to keep doing what we've already been doing.
- From an outside perspective you have a an economic far right party with gay rights and systemic racism and genocidal imperialism as well as a fascist party w.o. gay rights
- Conservative or left wing? They are complete opposites.
  Also beware rightists/conservatives claiming to be leftist while practicing rightism (i.e. consolidation of power, authority, and wealth).
I can't wait to vote him out of office. He has done little for the state and district, and clearly doesn't give a shit.
I like how he said intimidation is the tactic they're using (while calling them fascists) and in the same breath says the protesters should be arrested. He's literally complaining about fascism while supporting it himself.
- Twas ever thus, with fascism
- Arresting people who break the law is not fascism. Do you not think it should be illegal to totally disrupt government assemblies and college campuses? Or do you only think it's ok when you agree with it? What if all these protests were anti-abortion protests, would you still be OK with them setting up shanty towns on campuses and disrupting classes?
  Lefties are getting as bad as Republicans with diluting language.
  
  Legality and morality are not the same thing.
  
  🤡
Oh look... the (so-called) "moderates" and "centrists" peddling the exact narratives their fascist cousins want them to peddle.
I guess it's true what they say - fascism can only sprout once liberals have loosened the ground for it.
These tools use the novel 1984 as a self help book.
Man I sure do love being forced to be in the same party with this guy and not having a bowl of punch to stick my dick in.
People like this democrats and republican should not be allowed in government
- Problem is that the people who really should be in government are the ones who don't want to be in government.
  
  I dont remember if it was Socrates or Plato but one of them said that should be a requirement as a leader.
  
  Off topic i love your user name.
Ooh, sounds like some asshole just found out he's going to be replaced in November.
"the ranking Democrat on the House armed services committee"
Oh you mean the guy who almost certainly is being paid by the military industrial complex to keep arms sales going as much as humanly possible? That tracks.
Get fucked Smith. Hope your "totalitarian" base votes you the fuck out.
Come and try it, you old ,corporate cock gobbling, douche bag.
"Why do these pinko commies keep talking about what happens when they scratch me?"
This is your daily reminder that the Democratic party is right wing and are just as ignorant of the mere definition of “leftist” as the Republican fascists are.
“challenging representative democracy”
What he means is, they're challenging this fucked system that doesn't represent people equally. 2 senators per state, gerrymandering, and the electoral college. This guy is a fascist himself, and that's why he immediately calls his opposition fascist. Imagine calling people who want a ceasefire fascist? That is something Joseph Goebbels would have said I bet. We don't have a representative democracy.
“Intimidation is the tactic,”
Yes, absolutely. There is a war against free speech and they're trying to make people afraid to even fight back.
No one has explained to me how the hostages are supposed to be released without a ceasefire.
- Don't you get it? If they want to save the hostages they need to flatten the buildings they're in and cut off the supplies of food and water that Hamas are feeding them with, oh and they also need to shoot the unarmed Israeli civilian hostages because they thought they were unarmed Palestinian civilians!
Ironic
Isn't that the guy from Poltergeist?
How dare these "totalitarians" criticize Netanyahu. Arrest these "fascists" trying to influence "democracy" through nonviolent protests.
"democrat"
- he's literally a congressman for the democratic party, i dont see how he could be any more of a democrat
  
  So was Joe Manchin.
- Not a true Scotsman?
  
  Pointing out the desolate state of the Democratic party and its inhumane policies internally and abroad is just botting for Trump didnt you know?
Sorry sorry is yer man literally called Adam Smith
This headline seems very very misleading at best, a lie at worst.

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