Thread: Green Paint on Lincoln Memorial

ScoutHikerDad. It's easy to conclude what I did. Leftists are always damaging and threatening to damage historical landmarks in the District. Had you seen the Occupy jerks urinating on everything the way Washingtonians did, you too may also make the quick jump from vandalism to lefty statists. I don't at all suppose you support anything like this behavior. "Hippie" perhaps means something different for the two of us. Back to the issue. A foreign nationalist who overstayed their visa threw paint on three landmarks in DC, and that's how we catch illegals?

Originally Posted by JohnnyCakeDC

ScoutHikerDad. It's easy to conclude what I did. Leftists are always damaging and threatening to damage historical landmarks in the District. Had you seen the Occupy jerks urinating on everything the way Washingtonians did, you too may also make the quick jump from vandalism to lefty statists. I don't at all suppose you support anything like this behavior. "Hippie" perhaps means something different for the two of us. Back to the issue. A foreign nationalist who overstayed their visa threw paint on three landmarks in DC, and that's how we catch illegals?

And historically the right wing extremists have been so peace loving.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

And historically the right wing extremists have been so peace loving.

"Extremists" have been violent for the right & are bad for either side. The word itself, sets them apart.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

"Extremists" have been violent for the right & are bad for either side. The word itself, sets them apart.

I totally agree, was just making a point. Johhnycakes "conclusion" was actually an assumption based on his prejudices, not on facts, this is the fast way to breed irrational hatred. He may be proved right but at this stage even he says that he doesn't know.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

I totally agree, was just making a point. Johhnycakes "conclusion" was actually an assumption based on his prejudices, not on facts, this is the fast way to breed irrational hatred. He may be proved right but at this stage even he says that he doesn't know.

Johnny calls it, the way he sees it.
He's been around here for a while & I'm sure has no intent of creating any hatred.
I actually saw more jest in Johnny's post; rather than any attempt to draw a conclusion.

Ed,,,, Political/Right/Left threads are closely watched by the Mods; when someone pushes the envelope, so to speak, the correction is always swift.

Fair 'nuff, sorry if I got the wrong end if the stick. Might just quietly slope off now.

Right, Left, I hate them all with equal contempt. Mentally ill can be forgiven to a certain extent. Painting Lincoln in the USA, Pooping on Lenin in the Soviet, Exploding cane toads in AU (or is that a national past time?) I suppose anything is fair game to some people.

Sorry, guys-I wasn't trying to stir up a left vs. right shouting match; Hirlau/John is right-those tend to go downhill fast and get locked up by the mods. Personally, I love the civil but spirited nature of this forum, and I know we all want to keep it that way. You should see some of the fly fishing forums-jeez.

Also, I wasn't trying to malign JohnnyCakes or question his integrity or anything, as he obviously has a different perspective on this. Johnny (or is it Mr. Cakes, heheh?), apparently you live in or near DC, and have seen some pretty nasty behavior from some leftist Occupiers in our nation's capital. And no, you're right, I don't condone the public urination you spoke of, and I have no doubt it happened. (Full disclosure: I understand the reasons behind the Occupy Movement, though I know that the fringes of it are pretty scary). Anyway, as a huge admirer of Lincoln who has stood in awe at that monument marvelling at his words and legacy on more than one occasion, I too think the punishment for someone caught vandalizing our nation's sacred monuments should be swift and serious (though what in the world do you do with a homeless, mentally ill woman who doesn't even speak the language?). Washington, DC, for all its current and historical failings, is a place (along with the Grand Canyon and a few other signature national parks) I think every American citizen should visit, especially all the great monuments there on the Mall, Arlington, etc. And, JC, I get your astonishment that DC's overwhelming security and surveillance apparatus (probably right up there with London and TelAviv at this point) didn't catch this woman until her 3rd offense with the paint-so good point there.

Unfortunately, both EdHewitt and Hirlau/John speak the truth too: as we all know, extremists on both the left and right can make both sides shake their heads in disgust, whether it's something venial (like urinating in parks), something more troubling (not-so-veiled "2nd Amendment remedies" threats of public officials, or storefront windows shattered at G8 conferences), to the truly horrific (the Murrah Building in Oklahoma or various acts of eco-terrorism, SLA activities in the 70's, etc.). Alas, this poor woman may just have some loose screws, and may not have any ideology at all-point is, we don't really know.

It seems that, in the last year or two especially, the news cycle happens so fast, and all the differing television and on-line outlets have so many axes to grind (on both the left and right sides of the blade!), that every time something happens, we're bombarded with a lot of 1st-day "facts" that later turn out to be totally wrong, with the Sandy Hook shooting being the poster event for this kind of media madness-you could teach an entire college journalism course on that media shitshow . But it happened with the Aurora shooting and the Boston bombings, too, and just about any other big event in the news lately.

Don't get me wrong, JC, I hope you don't think I'm being pedantic or harping on you (cause I'm not even sure how much my media rant applies to this relatively minor incident), but it seems that everybody these days is ready to assign blame, and even "rooting" for a perpetrator to be one of their ideological enemies before they're even caught. Case in point: Remember the poor 'dark-skinned' guy with the backpack who committed suicide after the Boston Bombings, and his subsequent merciless persecution by "reasoned/rational" amateur sleuths on Reddit? Turns out the Chechen (NOT Czhechoslovakian!) guy who actually did it looks a lot like my oldest son, so go figure...

I guess my point in this long rant is that, OUTSIDE our gentlemanly and urbane little corner of the internet, there is so much disinformation, misinformation, slanted "news" that is beholden to its various corporate masters, and just outright lies that it is hard to ever know the truth about anything anymore (Zimmerman vs. Martin anyone?), and so we have to be careful about the assumptions we make, that's all. It has gotten to the extent that I'm not even sure how to proceed any more with my seniors who are doing their research projects on any recent events-seriously.

Anyway, I've gotten myself all wound up on this topic (pretty good for a guy who doesn't discuss politics, right?). Thanks for indulging my long, rambling post. I hope nobody takes it personally, other than as just food for thought. Aaron

It is nice to see you fellas getting along.

See ya later I have to move along and rattle some door knobs.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

It is nice to see you fellas getting along.

See ya later I have to move along and rattle some door knobs.

Did get a bit heated didn't it. But no one got challenged to a duel so I guess its all good now. :-)