Editor’s note: The following letter is in response to the letter “Nielsen Responds To Tom Euell” by Richard Nielsen published Sept. 22.
No, Mr. Nielsen, the progressives not having a permit is precisely the point. We are a country of laws. So, you agree with the Muslims who rioted and caused destruction at Columbia University, paid for with taxpayer’s money, to keep Alan Dershowitz from speaking? A clear violation of the First Amendment. “Every American has the right to defend against the petition (freedom of speech), of those other Americans who were there with an agenda.” So, in your convoluted thinking, we should decide whether someone should speak if we find it repulsive. You really don’t understand the amendment, do you?
The police don’t show up to listen to the demonstrators. They come to protect them, regardless of their reasons for being there, from sanctimonious, self-appointed speech police like you and all left-wing nuts.
I believe the mayor of Charlottesville (an ultra-liberal Democrat) gave the Nazis, KKK, etc. permits, and then pulled the police out knowing what was coming, and wanted that melee. That was for low-information, pseudo intellectuals like you and Mr. Rosen. Quoting a couple of Latin sayings doesn’t mean you understand our Constitution. That’s obvious.
So, Mr. Nielsen, who do we side with at Columbia University, the Muslims, who we all know are peace loving all over the world, or put police there so people who want to can hear Dershowitz speak. Please enlighten us with your self-righteousness, know-it-all advice.
And to give Robert Byrd a pass, a senator for years who was an active member of the KKK, a terrorist organization that lynched blacks, burned their churches and homes, and people like you and Mr. Rosen see nothing wrong.
Both of you have the gall to attack Mr. Trump for a few words. Please don’t get me started on Mr. Obama, who attended Rev. Wright’s church for 20 years. Rev. Wright, who said, and I quote, “God damn America.”
About my Social Security check, I will gladly send it back to the government, if they return to me my 58 years of payments to them with compounded interest. Can you imagine how much I would have if that money was invested? Oh, and they take it again from your first check, even though it was taxed when the payments were sent to them. Like all socialist programs, it’s broke and on the verge of bankruptcy. And that applies to Medicare.
So get off your condescending high horse, and stop dictating why everyone is wrong except you.
As for Mr. Rosen, I saw firsthand the Jim Crow laws while in North Carolina in the mid-1960s. I saw the signs, “whites only” and “colored only.” I found it abhorrent and went into the “colored only” stores just to show I saw no difference between the two.
And I would love for you to point out the exceptions to the First Amendment, other than the obvious shouting fire in a crowded room or soliciting the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Please tell me how you know, sitting in your living room in Wellington, that there were no descendants of confederate soldiers there. Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Rosen, you’re another pompous, left-wing, politically-correct zealot like your friend, Mr. Nielsen.
How about when the Muslims get violent to explain Israel’s situation. Do we beat them down with clubs? You tell me. There’s a lot more Muslims around than Nazis.
My answer is the same, as it always is: a strong police presence. And see to it that Alan Dershowitz or anyone else express their feelings or opinion in a public setting.
We are a country of laws. If you don’t like the laws, change them or add amendments. And get over President Trump’s remarks. He’s still an American and has free speech. I wish you would cherry pick everything President Obama said.
And let’s be honest for a change. You don’t like anything Mr. Trump says, end of story.
Thomas Euell, Wellington
Who even knows where to start when addressing Mr. Euell’s usual rant. Let’s start with the exceptions to the First Amendment. There are many of them and it takes only a little research to see them. Too much space would be taken up here listing them all. Please, sir, do the research. Read “Freedom of Speech And Press: Exceptions To The First Amendment” by Kathleen Anne Ruane, Legislative Attorney, Congressional Research Service – prepared for members and committees of Congress (2014). (https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/95-815.pdf) Everybody does have the right to have their opinions heard, in the proper place, but there are exceptions to the First Amendment!
You also ask how do I know, from my living room in Wellington, that there were no descendents of confederate soldiers at the Charlottlesville march. I actually do not. But I do know that if they were there and were decent people they would not have marched alongside the Nazi’s/KKK’ers (unless they believed what they were chanting). However that also begs the question, how do you, from your living room in Wellington, know that the Charlottlesville mayor pulled the police because he knew what was coming and wanted a melee? Mr. Euell, like your idol, Mr. Trump, you have lost all moral authority in this matter, unfortunately Mr. Trump is President and should know better.
I also would like to discuss Mr. Euell’s calling me a pseudo-intellectual and a pompous, left-wing, politically-correct zealot. First, pseudo-intellectual – I would put my academic background up against Mr. Euell’s anytime. Second, pompous – okay, maybe you got me on that one. Third, left-wing – while I do take a liberal stance on many issues I consider myself more of a centrist (and liberal on some issues, conservative on others), but to you anybody who is not a Trump supporter must be left-wing. And Fourth, politically-correct zealot. Let’s break this down. Politically-correct – actually I am tired of a lot of the political correctness we have in this country. I don’t mind if someone tells a joke about my background – however I do want it to be 1) funny and 2) good enough so that I can retell it (and maybe even take credit for it). Zealot – yes, Mr. Euell, I guess I am a zealot when it comes to dealing with people like you who are on the wrong side of social history. Hopefully the world is passing you by. You use the term ‘Progressive’ as a pejorative, and if that’s the case we should be calling you and your ilk ‘regressive’. Humankind is, in the long run, striving for Progress, you are a drag on human progress. So sad, so sad.
Mr. Euell, by the way, I do not condone anyone (Richard Byrd or anyone) ever being a member of the KKK. And why bring that up? I never supported him or said anything about him. I am glad that you went into the ‘colored only’ stores in the 1960’s. Good for you. That has nothing to do with your knowledge or attitudes today.
Lastly, you say that I “don’t like anything Mr. Trump says”. Currently that seems to be true as I feel he is a danger to our Republic. I did love what he had to say for decades when he was on The Howard Stern Show. He was great then, a riot, but then I never thought he would be President.
Philip Roth wrote “The Plot Against America”, published in 2004. I suggest everybody read this novel. It is an amazingly prescient book. I won’t spoil it by saying what it is about.
However, all this really shows how shallow Mr. Euell’s arguments are. This whole discussion started when I wrote that Mr. Trump failed in his response to the events in Charlottlesville. Mr. Euell’s letters have two main fallacies. The first is his ad homenim attacks. That is, he uses name calling towards his opponents and this has nothing to do with the initial arguments about Mr. Trump. The second are ‘Red Herrings”, things he brings up that have nothing to do with the argument. Things like his family serving in the military, his work as a police officer, his living in North Carolina in the 1960’s things Mr. Obama did as president, other demonstrations, Richard Byrd, just to name a few. These are all tangents and have nothing to do with the basic argument about Mr. Trumps actions in regard to Charlottleville. All distractions because Mr. Euell has no argument, Mr. Trump failed.