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On extremism

And the extremely biased

Alheli Picazo
Jun 5, 2019
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In April, a U.S. congressional hearing on hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism was derailed by Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, who felt their own perceived victimhood was the real injustice worth exploring.

But one livestream of the event had to be disabled when “hundreds of anti-Semitic comments, racist missives, and declarations of white supremacy flooded the YouTube page for the hearing: ‘Anti-hate is a code word for anti-white’,” Tina Nguyen reported for Vanity Fair.

Once the snippets of desired confrontations and scripted one-liners began to circulate on social media, the ultimate lack of substance on the day mattered little. The fight for control of the narrative is what preoccupied most observers.

Here at home, given the controversy stemming from Conservative MP Michael Cooper’s bizarre tirade during last week’s House of Commons justice committee hearing and his subsequent removal from the vice-chair position, the unanimous decision to suspend the video broadcast of Tuesday’s meeting exploring hate was a wise and laudable move.

It was one which predictably angered those—panelists and observers—who’d long prepared to weaponize the footage for ideological ends.

Twitter avatar for @AndrewLawtonAndrew Lawton @AndrewLawton
All committee members, including the Conservatives, just voted to suspend television broadcast of testimony by @MarkSteynOnline @NewWorldHominin @thejohnrobson. Unbelievable.

June 4th 2019

107 Retweets162 Likes

Less admirable, however, was the decision by parliamentarians to formally strike a portion of Cooper’s remarks from the record. NDP MP Randall Garrison, one of the six who supported the motion put forward by Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault to expunge the name and words of the man alleged to have carried out the massacre of Muslims in New Zealand, felt a responsibility “to make sure that those who engage in violent acts based on extremist ideologies do not get a public forum to spread their ideas."

Above, you can see a tweet Liked by Cooper, one which rather contradicts the apology posted to his timeline.

CBC has a thorough, accurate account of what occurred, but the section below (emphasis mine) is key:

Suri went on to say that people like Robert Bowers — who is alleged to have killed 11 people in a synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in October — and Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of shooting and killing 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March, were similarly influenced by online hate coming from "alt-right online networks."

Suri told the committee that "online hate is a key factor in enforcing hate in all forms," including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and that more efforts should be made to study online hate and its effects in the offline world.

When it was his turn to ask Suri and other witnesses questions, Cooper laid into the Alberta anti-racism activist, accusing him of suggesting a link between "conservatism" and violent extremism.

"Mr. Suri, I take great umbrage with your defamatory comments to try to link conservatism with violent extremist attacks. They have no foundation, they're defamatory, and they diminish your credibility as a witness," Cooper said.

The Conservative MP then read into the record a passage from Tarrant's 74-page manifesto — which has been banned in New Zealand. In the passage, Tarrant is quoted as saying the social and political values of China are close to his own and that he rejects 'conservatism'.

What merits attention here isn’t so much Cooper’s mention of Tarrant or his reading of the manifesto, so much as his premeditated and deliberate misreading of it.

That such dishonesty was contrived in advance—this torqued narrative a premeditated effort to absolve the right of responsibility while positioning conservatives as victims—suggests a problem which extends beyond this one MP.

Further, I’d argue it’s incumbent on elected officials, particularly Conservatives, to study and properly understand Tarrant’s manifesto, as his depraved ideology is one which extends into Canada and flourishes online in both open and private forums.

That Ben Shapiro—whose rhetoric is known to have directly influenced homicidal extremists, as discussed last week—was invited to testify along with the unqualified trio who appeared Tuesday underscores how willfully ignorant the Conservatives continue to be in this matter.

Twitter avatar for @moebius_stripMoebius Stripper @moebius_strip
This parliamentary hearing could have been worthwhile if it had followed @StephanieCarvin's recommendation: look at how we can apply Canada's robust and specific hate speech laws (which are narrower in scope than a lot of people seem to think) to online activity.

June 4th 2019

1 Retweet2 Likes
Twitter avatar for @StephanieCarvinStephanie Carvin @StephanieCarvin
MPs can decide for themselves who they want to invite at committee, but it’s a shame they seem to be more intent on reproducing the toxic debates on social media than figuring out what drives them. #cdnpoli #just

Univrsle @univrsle

@StephanieCarvin Indeed.....a good question for journos would be why did the CPC think Lindsay Shepherd was a good witness in the first place.

June 4th 2019

3 Retweets30 Likes

One highlight from Tuesday, thanks to a reliably intelligent Liberal MP:

Twitter avatar for @Justin_LingJustin Ling @Justin_Ling
Nate Erskine-Smith challenges the panelists to point to a single hate speech charge under the Criminal Code that was inappropriate. (They spent all their time going after s.13 of the Human Rights Act, which was repealed in 2013.) They cannot.

June 4th 2019

58 Retweets253 Likes

An honest plea from an openly-gay NDP MP:

Twitter avatar for @Justin_LingJustin Ling @Justin_Ling
Randall Garrison, an openly gay man who has served in various roles (most recently, MP) pointedly lecturing the panelists on the actual consequences of hate speech. "When you minimize the impact of hate speech on people's daily lives, you miss the point of these hearings."

June 4th 2019

68 Retweets293 Likes

And revealing remarks from one of the Conservatives’ featured guests:

Twitter avatar for @MackLamoureuxMack Lamoureux @MackLamoureux
"Ms. Shepherd, on the 75th anniversary of D-day, when you go on shows that discuss white population replacement, try and remember who the Nazis are." - Nathaniel Erskine-Smith

June 4th 2019

101 Retweets342 Likes

If only she had a chance at committee to articulate her views and beliefs:

Twitter avatar for @NewWorldHomininLindsay Shepherd @NewWorldHominin
My experience today at the justice committee was eye-opening. Can't believe our country is run by such intellectually empty snakes. I have a lot to say so I will make a YouTube video as soon as I can.

June 4th 2019

477 Retweets2,423 Likes

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Twitter avatar for @Justin_LingJustin Ling @Justin_Ling
Liberals are asking why Shepherd went on a Youtube show where "white replacement" was discussed. She's insisting that she doesn't have to discuss her own views. So that's fun.

June 4th 2019

46 Retweets261 Likes

Another reason Boissonnault’s motion was short-sighted is that it welcomes a re-writing of history by dishonest actors.

That is quite the interpretation of what happened.

Those taking issue with Scheer’s decision have every right to feel as they do, but if you’re a media personality working for an organization which routinely accuses credible outlets of supposed bias, maybe check your own blinders once in a while.

There was no “left-wing mob” here—the vice-chair of a committee studying a deadly serious matter proved himself to be both unprofessional and unfit, and his party leader took appropriate action. Conservatives aren’t the victims here any more than Republicans were back in April, and it’s in the best interest of those on the centre-right who abhor extremist ideologies in their ranks to take the lead, show some responsibility, and work to combat it.

Back to Tuesday’s testimony, John Robson, a conservative columnist who suggested the man who slaughtered 51 Muslims in New Zealand wasn’t representative of an extremist ideology worth concern, claimed to "want to rescue the haters as well as protect society from hate. If you keep it off the open internet it goes into the dark web, where it festers and it breeds.”

First, you can’t “rescue haters” you cannot or will not recognize. Second, that’s not how this works.

Recall Robert Bowers, the neo-Nazi who allegedly opened fire on a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 Jews. He is the product of a social network without guardrails:

There was a blue check mark next to Robert Bowers’s name, meaning that the social media account was verified. His bio said that “jews are the children of satan,” his banner image a clear reference to a white supremacist meme. His last message, posted Saturday morning, read, “Screw your optics, I’m going in.”

All images above are from Gab. In addition to Bowers, there is Chris “Crying Nazi” Cantwell and “Eric Striker,” a prolific and influential white supremacist.

Meanwhile, pictured below is standard worship and glorification of far-right terrorists you can find over at Minds.com:

Pretending a problem doesn’t exist will not make it disappear anymore than refusing to understand it will produce a solution. And blaming “The Left” for bringing things to the attention of conservatives, rather than those on the right proactively minding their extremes, won’t absolve them of some extent of culpability if and when the next act of far-right domestic terrorism occurs.


A few things you should Ngo

Perhaps you’ve come across reports which allege unethical ties between left-leaning reporters and antifa activists, and the subsequent “mobbing” of the man behind the revelations:

Twitter avatar for @MrAndyNgoAndy Ngo @MrAndyNgo
“Antifa often receives media coverage that is neutral or even favorable, with its members’ violence either being ignored by reporters or vaguely explained away.” @EoinLenihan on his research showing who the antifa cheerleaders in journalism are:
It’s Not Your Imagination: The Journalists Writing About Antifa Are Often Their Cheerleaders - QuilletteOn February 1, 2017, Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give a talk about free speech at the University of California, Berkeley. But he was prevented from speaking by a group of 150 or so masked, black-clad members of a then-obscure movement calling itself “Antifa.” The protestors caused $100,000 wo…quillette.com

May 29th 2019

1,329 Retweets2,608 Likes
Twitter avatar for @PopehatNastyHat @Popehat
@TheKyleMurray @3r1nG This was the dude who spotted some graffiti and thought he had located the Antifa Death Star Sekrit Entrance, right?

May 30th 2019

28 Likes

That is indeed the same guy, whose record of very ethical and professional behaviour is demonstrated below as “Progressive Dad”:

Twitter avatar for @JonathanNichol4Jonathan Nicholas @JonathanNichol4
If you are a serving British police officer, a typical Antifa activist here reveals what’s in his bag. An astonishing armoury of weapons. Use your stop and search powers but be very careful. @OwenJones84 @PGdadTV #Antifa
Image

August 1st 2018

7 Retweets9 Likes

Regarding this assertion:

Twitter avatar for @MrAndyNgoAndy Ngo @MrAndyNgo
Looks like antifa’s Twitter mob mass reported Dr @EoinLenihan & got his account suspended. They’ve been trying to target him ever since he released report showing how some journalists & writers have close ties to antifa extremists & were working to mainstream those ideas.

May 29th 2019

2,242 Retweets4,255 Likes

Lenihan was caught evading a prior ban and lost his account. That’s what happens when you’re a documented troll.

Twitter avatar for @GrayMan42Classical Centrist @GrayMan42
@Quillette @EoinLenihan This is the guy who wrote this "story" (hes been banned from twitter for organized harassment campaigns of women and actual journalists)
Image

May 29th 2019

1 Retweet6 Likes

Re: “… how some journalists & writers have close ties to extremists & were working to mainstream those ideas”— that is some impressive projection.

Twitter avatar for @MrAndyNgoAndy Ngo @MrAndyNgo
This group, Patriot Prayer, has hard-line conservative views but they’ve been misrepresented in the local press as “alt-right,” fascist, & white supremacist. Many journalists in Portland have little to no experience interfacing with conservatives so they only know caricatures.

October 23rd 2018

85 Retweets376 Likes
Twitter avatar for @a_picazoAlheli Picazo @a_picazo
Trying to downplay extremism is something of a habit for this man. People who study it, however, know better.
bellingcat.com/news/americas/…
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Image

October 23rd 2018

3 Retweets9 Likes

On that conservative militia and this reporter’s habit, here’s the sort of history and record Ngo would prefer you not read or recognize.

But back to Lenihan, this was a curious part of his elaborate thread:

First off, McNabb—a prominent white nationalist and co-host of The Right Stuff network’s influential neo-Nazi podcast The Daily Shoah—was ultimately fired.

But more importantly, Mathias didn’t dox him. He simply opted to report on him.

One reason /ourguys/ respect McNabb—embarrassing optics aside—is because of how open and unapologetic about his views, his identity, and his job he has been for years. McNabb “self-doxxed” as they say, thus removing one potential weapeon of his enemies.

A sort of you-can’t-fire-me-if-I-quit-first approach.

McNabb actively trolled throughout the contentious hearings spurred by reports of his less-upstanding activities, seeming preoccupied with, while displaying rather prominently, a provocative book by Jim Goad.

Meanwhile, on the matter of doxxing and harassment, the sort of (dishonest) effort below is standard from the far-right, whose leadership targets civilians and journalists alike.

When organized in private, however, these “raids” are much more aggressive and sinister in both approach an intention.

While antifa is just as deserving of fair criticism as the far-right movements they counter and clash with, the threat they pose—online or off—is wholly incomparable to the extremism the Tucker Carlson/Laura Ingraham crowd (which includes Ngo) seeks to downplay or trivialize.

Twitter avatar for @michellemalkinMichelle Malkin @michellemalkin
Here are 2 tweets from @EoinLenihan you can no longer see because @Twitter suspended his account. He warns @jack that based on his research "there is a massive Antifa problem on your platform." (via @PJMedia_com)
pjmedia.com/trending/repor…
Image

May 29th 2019

533 Retweets709 Likes

Anyone suggesting experts on counter-extremism—particularly reformed individuals—who speak with members of antifa or who work for organizations which, in some way, associate with such movements, are themselves adherents of an extremism should be viewed with a great deal of skepticism if or when they seek to “educate” others on who or what constitutes a problem in society.

Below is a tremendous feature on far-right extremism and those dedicated to fighting it, and is an example of a proper exploration of all involved.

Twitter avatar for @NewYorkerThe New Yorker @NewYorker
When a member of a white-supremacist group wanted out, he contacted an anti-fascist organization and secretly started to share what he knew—at the risk of his own life.
The Undercover FascistA young Englishman got mixed up in a white-supremacist movement. Then he learned of a plot to kill a politician.nyer.cm

June 2nd 2019

82 Retweets153 Likes

Are you sensing a theme this week?

Twitter avatar for @TheOnionThe Onion @TheOnion
Defensive Laura Ingraham Challenges Critics To Try Making List Of Prominent Conservatives Without Including Few White Supremacists
trib.al/msEpcO9
Image

May 31st 2019

3,783 Retweets13,971 Likes
Twitter avatar for @thedailybeastThe Daily Beast @thedailybeast
Ingraham lamented Nehlen's censorship, describing him as among “people who believe in border enforcement, people who believe in national sovereignty.” But he's actually an avowed white supremacist who has trafficked in anti-Semitism and racism for years
Fox News Defends Ingraham’s Promotion of Virulent Anti-Semite Paul NehlenThe cable channel called its star a ‘fierce protector’ of ‘freedom of speech,’ while ignoring how Ingraham attempted to paint Nehlen in a positive light.trib.al

May 31st 2019

39 Retweets89 Likes

Nehlen, who recently fought with another neo-Nazi over the best way to start a race war, is pictured below sporting a shirt which celebrates Robert Bowers, while offering a white-nationalist gesture with a number which purportedly signifies the number of countries Jews will soon be expelled from.

Twitter avatar for @a_picazoAlheli Picazo @a_picazo
As certain figures insist that rising anti-Semitic and Islamophobic sentiments are a myth, and that hate crime hoaxes are more the norm, because... Jussie Smollett.

Charlie Warzel @cwarzel

is this just how it’s gonna be now? tragedies at places of worship every week? https://t.co/yznDodKb44

April 27th 2019

3 Retweets13 Likes

The concern illustrated below (click for the full thread) isn’t limited to Twitter, but is nevertheless valid.

Twitter avatar for @jackiehluoJackie Luo @jackiehluo
an unfortunate side effect of twitter is having people who are really not qualified to be an authority on a subject BECOME an authority on it simply by talking confidently about it, whether what they're saying is right or wrong

June 3rd 2019

1,407 Retweets5,037 Likes

As long as status-seeking and social media virility is valued above all else, those who know the least—but do so with great confidence—will continue to drag everybody else down.

Twitter avatar for @RubinReportDave Rubin @RubinReport
It’s almost as if they’re proving everything I’ve been saying for the past couple years in real time. Most everyone sees the trollfest and jealous “journalists” for what they are. Moving the dial brings out haters. It’s the age old story. We win, but it’s a long game...

Ian Miles Cheong @stillgray

I find it obscene that the far left is celebrating the othering and ostracization of one of the largest major, sane centrist voices on this platform—Dave Rubin. It’s almost as if they want further division and acceleration towards the extreme ends of the political spectrum.

May 29th 2019

429 Retweets2,070 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FOXHOUNDER1014Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) @FOXHOUNDER1014
Wow Dave Rubin is currently going on an extended Twitter rant spree after a perfectly reasonable piece by @CathyYoung63 for @Quillette offering what I thought was civil criticism. So much for the battle of ideas.
How the IDW Can Avoid the Tribalist Pull - QuilletteIn the year since the so-called “Intellectual Dark Web” made its first public appearance in a New York Times feature by Bari Weiss, the informal network of “renegade” scholars and journalists on the outs with the cultural establishment has continued to draw attention and controversy. One bone of con…quillette.com

May 28th 2019

25 Retweets151 Likes

Another (superb) thread:

Twitter avatar for @henryfarrellHenry Farrell @henryfarrell
1. On the Ahmari/Kimball/Peterson/Deneen thing. When anti-modern conservatives decide that the liberal world is depraved they can either withdraw from it - the Benedict Option, or cleanse it of the corruption of tolerance. Call it the Torquemada Option.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_t…
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June 2nd 2019

92 Retweets203 Likes
Twitter avatar for @henryfarrellHenry Farrell @henryfarrell
2. And the moderate success that some modern figures - such as Orban - have enjoyed in taking over the university system and forcibly purging it of those who would pollute our youth with gender studies and the like give old time reactionaries like Kimball some hope it can be done

June 2nd 2019

14 Retweets72 Likes
Twitter avatar for @henryfarrellHenry Farrell @henryfarrell
3. But the Torquemada Option threatens to split open the whole IDW/Heterodox Academy/@conor64 alliance by clarifying the stakes. It's easy to build common cause against what you see as liberal intolerance when you keep things nice and fuzzy. It is rather harder when your mates

June 2nd 2019

16 Retweets89 Likes
Twitter avatar for @henryfarrellHenry Farrell @henryfarrell
4. insist on making it clear that what they are opposed to is the liberalism, and that they are A-OK with the intolerance as long as their side is in charge of intolerating. Indeed that they believe as per Ahmari that tolerance towards the unbelievers is itself an obvious wrong.

June 2nd 2019

15 Retweets114 Likes
Twitter avatar for @henryfarrellHenry Farrell @henryfarrell
9. But the alliance that has been built around the IDW etc is intellectually unsustainable. Or, more precisely, it would be unsustainable if those who have joined from the soi-disant liberal side were willing to look at the intolerance of those they have allied themselves to.

June 2nd 2019

20 Retweets109 Likes

One more thing…

Shannon Proudfoot is a journalist who has taken great care in reporting on death, dying, and the quest for dignity for those facing irremediable illness or who are at the end-stages of life.

I’ve written about the issue a couple of times (for Maclean’s here and here), and have discussed these matters with Shannon on various platforms. What I appreciate most is her ability to listen—to truly hear one’s experience—and seek to understand what it is they’re feeling, and why.

Some of that is captured in this podcast, and if this matter is one you happen to care about, I recommend giving it a listen and following Proudfoot’s work.

Twitter avatar for @TheGameSheetJordanHeath-Rawlings @TheGameSheet
Always fantastic to talk with @sproudfoot. But that's even more true when it's on a topic she's reported so thoroughly and cares so deeply about. I know this issue sounds depressing, but it's really about a simple question: What makes a life worth living?
Dementia and assisted death in Canada - The Big StoryWhen the government passed bill C-14, allowing chronically ill patients to access assisted death, some end-of-life conversations became easier. But not all of them. The current law in Canada does not allow patients who have been diagnosed with dementia to plan their deaths. For many people who are …thebigstorypodcast.ca

June 4th 2019

2 Retweets4 Likes

One final thread:

Twitter avatar for @DavidJuurlinkDavid Juurlink @DavidJuurlink
I'd like to share some reflections on the death of a patient. I’ve thought about her a lot. She gave me explicit consent to tweet the details of her case, about four hours before she died. Her hope was that someone might benefit from her experience. /1

May 18th 2019

31,231 Retweets71,942 Likes

tl;dr

Twitter avatar for @DavidJuurlinkDavid Juurlink @DavidJuurlink
We all die eventually. This patient helped me realize that when my time comes, I'll be fortunate if MAiD is an option. And I will always be thankful to her, her family, and a very skilled colleague for helping me appreciate just how good a “good death” can be. / end

May 18th 2019

2,393 Retweets33,456 Likes

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