And there you have it. Shermer is called out for disparagingly referring to "SJWs," and his response is a masterpiece of false equivalence. Here's the problem. Words mean things. "Neo-Nazi" is a generally agreed upon term to describe a certain set of ideologies, for instance. 1/https://twitter.com/michaelshermer/status/1147621886634782720 …
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Moreover, these terms are not inaccurate when applied to groups like Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer, Stormfront, etc. Proud Boys have many of the characteristics of a fascist militia like the SA. They're not insults in this context. They're descriptors. 3/
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Moreover, Proud Boys have a history of showing up at antifa rallies spoiling for a fight, beating up antifa whom they manage to successfully bait into striking first, and then claiming "self-defense." This is documented fact, as
@DavidNeiwert and many others have reported. 4/Show this thread -
Proud Boys also have a history of intimidating activists by late night visits to their homes in force. /5https://twitter.com/gwensnyderphl/status/1146160977915908096 …
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The goal, of course, is to make activists afraid to be active in their advocacy. 6/https://twitter.com/gwensnyderphl/status/1147570974067441664 …
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Back to Mr. Shermer's false equivalency. He's comparing his derisive, sarcastic use of a term made up to mock and dismiss those advocating for social justice in a way he doesn't like with the use of words with actual meanings to historians other than mockery, like "fascist." 7/
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He's using that false dilemma to ask
@sbkauffman and me if he should apply a "good faith" principle to fascists the way we think he should apply the principle to those he routinely derisively dismisses as SJWs. 8/Show this thread -
The answer is, quite obviously, no. Fascists and Nazis like Proud Boys do not act in good faith, as
@MarkHoofnagle has pointed out many times. 9/Show this thread -
Mr. Shermer's false equivalence is also a false dilemma: Either concede that fascists like Proud Boys are operating in good faith as the price for him to stop using SJW derisively, or let him continue, thereby letting him frame "SJWs" as being as bad faith actors as fascists. 10/
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We get it, Mr. Shermer. You view "SJWs" as acting in bad faith, hence your contemptuous, sarcastic use of the term "SJW" to describe them. Maybe you even view them as being as bad as fascist. 11/
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Not surprisingly, I choose neither option of the false dilemma.
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Addendum: For
@michaelshermer's benefit, just in time, Gavin McInnes, founder of Proud Boys, likens beating up antifascists to Nazi soldiers in World War II killing unarmed Soviet soldiers. Apparently he didn't get the memo not to approvingly invoke Nazis.https://twitter.com/dlamontjenkins/status/1147633727436218368 …Show this thread -
Yet another addendum: All too frequently the police side with the fascists.https://twitter.com/chuckmodi1/status/1147635405061349378 …
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End of conversation
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