The legacy of "The Left"

[Armstead]

13. There is some truth in that, but you are WAY overgeneralizing

Dismissing "the Left" is the road to perdition.

Yes, there are aspects and people in the left who are immature morons, and dreamy goofballs. But two points:

There are also many people in "the left" who have very liberal and progressive views, but are also pragmatic, temperamentally moderate and mainstream in their behavior.

However, people DON'T PAY ATTENTION when "the left" is polite, cerebral and "well behaved." Occupy Wall Street were kind of goofy, but they DID draw attention to a core problem and helped to bring it to mainstream attention.

Also, protest is as American as apple pie. It is annoying when protests are directed against things you (generically) believe in or public figures you support. Just ask Bernie supporters about the protests BLM directed against him at the beginning of the primary.

Dismissing "the left" by becoming more authoritarian and closing off participation is only going to accomplish ONE THING. It will cement conservatism, the status quo, and perpetuate authoritarian government. It stifles democracy.

People are diverse. Life is messy. Overgeneralizing about the behavior of SOME people to dismiss those larger legitimate goals and values is only going to make the problems worse, and make construction solutions more difficult to achieve.

To paraphrase an old saying "Those who make reform impossible make strong protest inevitable."