In an hour-long address punctuated by polite laughter and applause, Gore also accused the Bush administration of working closely "with a network of 'rapid response' digital Brown Shirts who work to pressure reporters and their editors for 'undermining support for our troops.'"
The GeekWithA.45 comments:
REAL brown shirts were absolutely despicable, beating jews in the street, burning synagogues, destroying livelihoods. If I were to find real brownshirts, or their modern equivalent engaged in those sorts of activities today, I would find myself morally obliged to oppose them with all necessary force and vigor, even if it meant a side trip to crack open the armory.
How fucking dare Gore call me a brown shirt. That is DERANGED. (emphasis in original)
Kim du Toit has his say:
I bitterly resent your puerile attempts to demonize me, and my political beliefs, by associating them with Nazism. I especially resent your slimy innuendo that I, as a conservative blogger and one of the "digital Brownshirts" you referred to, am in thrall to some kind of Republican puppeteer who pulls my strings each day and tells me which Republican talking-points to cover.
It is an outright lie. (emphasis in original)
Howard Veit expounds on this:
Gore is accusing Republicans of the same tactics as used by the SS. They terrorized all political meetings beating up attendees and in many cases the speakers themselves. In February of 1927 the "Brown Shirts" armed with blackjacks, brass knuckles, rubber truncheons, walking sticks, and beer bottles broke up a huge meeting of the Communist Party with violence that resulted in hundreds of serious injuries.
So when Gore and many others call you and I "Brown Shirts" they are accusing us of thug politics. The kind that is being practiced every day on college campuses throughout our country and encouraged by the Democratic Party.
My blog is lame compared to The GeekWithA.45's. It is absolutely pathetic next to Kim's and Howard's mighty virtual voices. And yet Gore doubtless would include me in his characterization. Well here's my response to that:
I categorically reject this label. You have insulted me and many others with an appellation that is not only incorrect, but obscene. You have equated us with one of the greatest evils this world has ever known. In so doing, you also denigrate the experiences of those who suffered at the hands of the real brown shirts, and the Nazi's they served. I add my voice to those that say we will not let this stand. We hold opinions that differ from yours but we advocate and fight for freedom, something the real brown shirts sought to crush under their boots. Even if you hadn't already, you have now crossed the line between debate and vicious attack and I denounce you for it.
In contrast, I present you with an example of behavior that would have made the real brown shirts proud (via Baldilocks and others):
(Jun. 25) -- The highly anticipated film, Fahrenheit 9/11, came with more than just controversy at one Las Vegas movie theatre. Moviegoer, Richard Streeter, was one of the many who made his way to a theatre to see what the hype was about. After viewing the film, he was greeted outside the theatre by members of the Las Vegas MoveOn.org.
The group was handing out leaflets on the importance of the film. Streeter voiced his view on the movie, "I made the comment, apples and oranges -- Kerry, Bush -- one's no better than the other. You really ain't got much of a choice. This guy comes up to me and says, 'Oh yeah?' " Streeter was then spat on by the same man.
He attempted to call police to report the incident when he was told not to, "A guy standing next to him said why don't you drop it. I said, 'No, I'm calling the police. I'm exercising my right as a citizen, I've been assaulted.'"
But the horror kept on growing for Streeter as he walked to his car on the phone with police, "This guy turns, and totally by surprise takes his hand and bam! It was a big guy. Shoved me onto the ground, I hit my head." A police report has been filed.
And this isn't the first. I blogged about a similar incident back in January involving Al Franken.
The GeekWithA.45 sums up my thoughts, and I'm sure those of many others as well when he says:
So, who's the fucking brown shirts?
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