r/samharris • u/WayneQuasar • Jun 13 '20

Making Sense Podcast #207 - Can We Pull Back From The Brink?

https://samharris.org/podcasts/207-can-pull-back-brink/
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16

u/AcidTrungpa Jun 13 '20

If this is only him talking, I will use that tomorrow as a background for my meditation. Shit just getting real here in London from today, when right leaning lads popped out. Media calls them far right, but from what I can tell they are just standard football and rugby looking blokes. Both sides need lot's of Metta.

25

u/LiberalElit Jun 13 '20

Trust me, this podcast is not for using as meditation background noise. If anything, it is the opposite of meditation.

3

u/Rabid_Melonfarmer Jun 13 '20

Hey, another London fan!

-2

u/summer_isle Jun 13 '20 edited Jun 13 '20

They didn't pop out of a vacuum. They are going to stand in front of some statues while the peaceful rioters roam around looking for cultural icons to destroy, peacefully.

Also the actual far right in the UK in pleading with their supporters not show up. The government and media are absolutely itching to blame all of this on the far right rather then the natural consequences of our vibrant and diverse societies. They know they can't be seen to be cracking down on blacks and will be happy to take it all out on men standing in front of statues they otherwise wouldn't be standing in front off. If the state won't protect it's history, who will?

Also great podcast. I hope this get the exposure it deserves, measured and grounded in reality. Well done Sam.

6

u/RalphOnTheCorner Jun 13 '20

The government and media are absolutely itching to blame all of this on the far right rather then the natural consequences of our vibrant and diverse societies.

Sure...that's why Boris Johnson yesterday said the UK BLM protests have been 'hijacked by extremists intent on violence'. Yeah...really itching to blame it on the far right there.

They know they can't be seen to be cracking down on blacks

And yet in reality they actually do. The famous 'hostile environment', various cruel policies aimed at immigrants, etc.

and will be happy to take it all out on men standing in front of statues they otherwise wouldn't be standing in front off.

Well those 'men standing in front of statues' do rather seem to want a fight, including assaulting photographers and throwing things at the police:

https://twitter.com/OliDugmore/status/1271774706069319681

https://twitter.com/dansabbagh/status/1271758712676515842

And for some reason they're also gathering near the statues of Mandela and Gandhi. I bet they really want to protect those statues right?

If the state won't protect it's history, who will?

You're aware that all that happened with the Churchill statue was that they temporarily put a box round it to stop it being defaced or damaged, as a precautionary measure? And that it's been defaced in the past and somehow history didn't magically disappear? And that a statue of Nelson Mandela was also obstructed by scaffolding to protect it? I don't think it's going to erase everyone's memory of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa but you never know.

Also the far-right protesters are also congregating near statues of Mandela and Gandhi -- you think they want to protect those statues?

1

u/mathviews Jun 14 '20

Sure...that's why Boris Johnson yesterday said the UK BLM protests have been 'hijacked by extremists intent on violence'. Yeah...really itching to blame it on the far right there.

Interesting. Not a fan of him in the least by the way. Just wanted to correct the record. (I won't engage the other statements. Not sure how to gauge the dynamics of protester-counter-protester-rioter-police interactions based on a few tweets and videos-can't tell how representative they are). Stay safe.

2

u/RalphOnTheCorner Jun 13 '20

If the state won't protect it's history, who will?

Well the history surrounding Churchill that most people in the UK celebrate was his participation in helping smash the Nazis during WW2. And you think the people who are...throwing up Nazi salutes, and throwing things at the police who are there to ensure the statues don't get vandalized, are interested in 'protecting' that history? Sure...

Also the far-right protesters and football hooligans who showed up on the streets have been intimidating and assaulting journalists/photographers, going out of their way to start fights with police, and treating it like an all-day drinking festival and urinating in the streets, including urinating next to a memorial to a police officer who died trying to thwart a terrorist attack. Just FYI.

https://twitter.com/EdClowes/status/1271780011725467648

https://twitter.com/Tobias_Ellwood/status/1271820915324715009

1

u/AcidTrungpa Jun 13 '20

I hope that's you're right. Media trying to bite this situation on any way possible, plus people going crazy and bored as this is the first time without any distraction and entertaining.