Peter Schiff, who has the Milton Friedman-like ability to neutralize stupidity with almost no effort, has done it again. Please view this delicious footage from Schiff’s recent visit to Wall Street, where he confronted the proponents of state-sponsored theft whom the media like to call “protesters.” John Hayward of Human Events describes the dialogue thus:
The ensuing encounter is a master class on what happens when a serenely confident man, with full command of the facts, talks to a passionate mob of clueless wonders who don’t know a thing about their supposed cause, and don’t think they should have to.
The radical method of argumentation is based on a cocktail of guilt, intimidation, and unbridled emotionalism. When in doubt, shout. This works on scared undergraduates at a Chomsky lecture, but it doesn’t work on people like Schiff. Like a skilled aikido practitioner, he uses the group’s negative energy against them: He remains calm. He asks questions they can’t answer. He throws their “fair share” logic back in their faces. Enjoy.
priceless.
Excellent video (well, not from the “protester’s: perspective, that is). I think the most telling thing about this video is the fact that Mr. Schiff continuously asked straight questions over and over, and very few times did he get a straight answer – or even an answer at all. It makes you feel sad that these people, who obviously were drinking the Kool Aid and hadn’t bothered to do any research of their own, are essentially wasting everyone’s time – except the news organizations covering them. It’s also a clear demonstration that higher education in this country has definitely gone into the crapper, based on the way these people responded and tried to debate Mr. Schiff.
that took courage for Schiff to attempt to reason with a mob. There is no way to reason with those who are absolutely convinced that the rest of us owe them a living. We are one stone throw away from outright anarchy. Winter can not come soon enough.
the scary thing is the woman and newsboy hat man were probably the “best” ows had to offer to “debate” against schiff
i’m reminded of the child, when hearing something he doesn’t want to hear, covers his ears, closes his eyes, and shouts NANANNANANANA over the top
one can not have a conversation with these people
The “What do you think is a fair share? Give me a number” question is very powerful. I recently asked that of two neighbors (both highly partisan Democrats) in a discussion about OWS. The question essentially stopped the discussion and I have yet to receive an answer. ‘Fair’ does not mean any more than “I want/I feel” unless it comes with a number.
Words like argument, dialogue, and discussion don’t apply when the thief is in your house with his hand on your property.
In case you missed it:
(9/13/2011) Peter Schiff Testimony Before Congress On Jobs Committee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbQGpf3D_Q