The remarks by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo blaming Donald Trump and his supporters for the bloody riot that ensued after the candidate’s rally were a blatant attempt to excuse political violence.
In fact, the thought process of hizoner is fascinating. Apparently, Mexicans and other Trump opponents listen to his speeches and absolutely lose their minds. They lose control of their emotions and become enraged because…well, because…just because. They can’t be held responsible because Trump has pushed them beyond the ability of a human being to not hurt another.
But an editor at the blog Vox went him one further. Emmet Rensin blew up Twitter last night with an eye-popping tweet, writing: “Advice: If Trump comes to your town, start a riot.”
Mr. Rensin – who looks in this picture as if he’s about 15 years old – responded to a tweet about violence a few minutes later by tweeting, “Property destruction is not violence.”
Advice: If Trump comes to your town, start a riot.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
@Zack_Parker_ Property Destruction Is Not Violence — Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
Vox issued a statement today suspending Rensin:
On Thursday night, Emmett Rensin, the deputy editor of Vox’s first person section, sent a series of tweets that, among other things, urged people to riot if Donald Trump comes to their town. We at Vox do not take institutional positions on most questions, and we encourage our writers to debate and disagree. But direct encouragement of riots crosses a line between expressing a contrary opinion and directly encouraging dangerous, illegal activity. We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger. In this case, Emmett’s tweets violated Vox’s standards and Emmett has been suspended as a consequence.
Where do these people come from? Blaming bloody, bruised people for starting a riot is about as idiotic as it gets. And actually advocating violence against your political opponents is positively Hitlerian. Just who is the “fascist” in this?
Let’s be clear: It’s never a shame to storm the barricades set up around a fascist. — Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
It’s painfully, embarrassingly obvious that Mr. Rensin is unaware of what the definition of “fascist” is. Trump is a boor, a lout, an ignoramus, and a bigot, but is he really a fascist? Let us turn to the trusty Mr. Webster and expose Rensin for the idiot he is:
…a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
Trump is a nationalist — as we hope to God all presidents are — and his rhetoric resonates with white supremacists. This makes him a flaming bigot, not a fascist. But where do we see Trump attempting “social regimentation”? Trump is actually fairly libertarian on social issues, which is giving the evangelicals ulcers in this election. And how can a free market devotee support economic regimentation?
Just who is “forcibly suppressing” opposition to their political beliefs, Mr. Rensin?
The kid should be fired and Vox should come out unconditionally and without using weasel words to condemn political violence. This has to be nipped in the bud now and only the left can do it. Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been silent about the violence — except to blame Trump, of course. That has to stop. If this keeps up, both conventions will end up making the 1968 Chicago convention look like a walk in the park.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member