How many conservatives have proudly embraced the title of "deplorable"? Now a NYT reporter, Katie Benner (she covers DoJ) has pinned the title "Enemies of the state" on Trump supporters. Via TGP:
Benner uses phraseology that seems to me to have a totalitarian ring to it. How often in history have you heard Americans speak of other Americans as "enemies of the state?" In point of fact, Americans view themselves as citizens of a constitutional republic--despite progressive developments in US politics over the past century or more. The notion of being subjects of "the State", the reference to the federal government or the constitutional order of the US as "the State", is normally reserved for persons dominated by an authoritarian government that exercises total top-down control. Certainly in my 30 year career in federal LE I never viewed myself as an agent of "the State." In America "the state" is normally understood as a separate and sovereign entity within a federal union.
It's really quite a revealing attitude. It is precisely my sense of this attitude (among other things) that has led me to refer, not to an administration, but instead to a "regime"--another word that is typically foreign to American political discussion of their own government. However, to the extent that progs seek to impose this viewpoint on the rest of us, I proudly adopt the title: Enemy of the state.
So that '98 movie "Enemy of the State" with Will Smith and Gene Hackman was just foreshadowing what we're seeing today...
ReplyDeleteSome of the many conservative and libertarian T-Shirt companies are going to make a fortune with that one...
DJL
"How often in history have you heard Americans speak of other Americans as "enemies of the state?"
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I've been hearing that in some form or another for all of my life... Domestic terrorist, white nationalist, racist, consparicy theorist, cynic, hypocrite, or SOMETHING to those effects.
Really the only thing that has changed are the new headlines or subject matter being applied to the name calling.
JFK, Ruby ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City, 9/11, government spying, data collection, Facebook, google, the IC, militarized police...
You don't have to go full blown *the government did it* just question any narrative by walking a middle line of cristal thinking or simply say "something isn't right here" and you've always been dirt by one side or there other, if not BOTH sides of the argument.
The disgusting way we’ve been portrayed as “extremists”, vilified, doxxed, discriminated against, harassed, fired, canceled, et al certainly qualifies me as an enemy of THIS State!!!
ReplyDeleteI’ll proudly wear that smear just as I do “Deplorable”.
Boarwild
"Friend of the republic, enemy of the state.". Mark A
ReplyDeleteI've resorted to the Blazing Saddles methodology of dealing with these phrases.
ReplyDeleteMake fun of how absurd the statement is and then laugh your butt off at the person making the statement.
Today You Know Who has a post, on how Benner
ReplyDelete"used to write freelance for the Beijing Review, China’s only National news magazine in English, *published by* the Chinese Communist *Party-owned* China International Publishing Group."
Yes. I looked her bio up before publishing this brief post. Her Wiki bio is rather misleading, but if you look a bit further you'll see where her perspective is coming from.
DeleteEven more: Bloomberg hired her before the NYT did.
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