Nothing that Van Jones states in the clip below is novel. Many of us have making the exact same point for many years. Nevertheless, he delivers the argument in such a passionate and eloquent way, it is indeed worth applauding and sharing.
This clip got me thinking about why those who oppose Trump seem so incapable of offering thoughtful, empowering resistance other than to quote George W. Bush or engage in CIA worship. I think part of the problem goes back to the fact that we’ve been telling young people that they’re victims for pretty much their whole lives. If you convince everyone that they’re a victim, they’ll start acting like victims.
Victims are the last thing this society needs. We need strong, ethical, courageous men and women who are willing to step up the plate, challenge authority and make this world a better place. College safe spaces are simply assembly lines for creating future victims, and we’ve got more than enough of those.
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Michael Krieger
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Who is worse–those that have been told they’re victims, or the tellers themselves? The Baby Boomers were the most coddled generation in human history, and now that they are in charge this is what they are doing to their kids. By the time those kids are old enough to be in charge, I suspect the whole American experiment will have been conclusively proven to be a colossal failure.
I went to college in the 1970s, and this whole idea of “safe spaces” is utterly alien to me. If young people’s beliefs are so fragile that they crumble on contact with competing ideas, then those beliefs deserve to die.
College is simply a continuation of the brain-washing and indoctrination that is public schooling.
the reason van jones is standing up for freedom of speech is because he has been personally victimized for exercising free speech in the past. obama dumped from his administration because van jones had signed a 911 truther petition in 2004.
Lets’ be clear: Van Jones did not sign the 9/11 truther pledge and he is not a truther. He is actually the Left version of the Right’s Glenn Beck. Both are more for ideas than ideology, willing to listen to the other side, and have moved towards the center in recent years.
911 truthers believe a combination of the following:
1) The US gov’t knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks and did not try to stop them (because they wanted a war in the Middle East)
2) The 9/11 attacks were not lead by Muslims (perhaps a Jewish conspiracy)
3) The 9/11 attacks were planned/executed by people in the US government (preplanted bombs in the towers, etc.)
Now what Van Jones DID do is to lead a demonstration in San Francisco immediately after the attacks on Sep 13, 2001 (before the death totals were even known). What he said was, “It’s the bombs that the government has been dropping around the world that are now blowing up inside the U.S. borders….We have more in common with the working people of the earth than George Bush or Colin Powell.”
No arguement that the timing of it was disrespectful and distasteful, however, note that he didn’t blame the bombing directly on the US govt, as many 9/11 Truthers do. Instead, he basically said what everybody already knows: the motivation for the 9/11 terrorists was US policy in the Middle East. This is NOT new or controversial information (why do you think the terrorists attcked us?).
Now keeping in mind the distinction bwetween *reasons* and *justications,” then the open question is whether Van Jones believed 16 years ago that the 9/11 terrorists were acting justly/fairly. I can’t find any solid sources to make this determination.
Personally, I don’t believe that terrorism is ever justified. Others – such as our current President – believe that terrorism can be justified. For example, Trump has advocated directly targeting and killing the families of terrorists, but this is basically terrorism by definition. Of course many relatives of terrorists are terrorists themselves, but then that is simply targeting other terrorists, not targeting family members.
SPEAK BACK!!!! OR WHAT VAN JONES OMITTED SAYING—THAT AN HONEST SPEAKER WOULD SAY — BE CONVINCED AND CHANGE YOUR MIND.