Animal Liberation Front and extreme Tea Partiers have similar delusions “The Animal Liberation Front and kookier elements of the Tea Party movement have much in common. In the first place, neither allows the facts to get in the way of their bizarre alternative realities.
At least the Tea Party has not stooped to firebombing barns and forklifts. Its incendiary devices are of a rhetorical nature, often consisting of thinly veiled, racially motivated attacks on immigrants and President Obama.”
Apparently graduating from the same fact-checking school attended by Tea Partiers who continue claiming Obama isn't a U.S. citizen, Animal Liberation last week torched a barn and equipment in Svensen months after mink-raising operations ceased there. Activists previously twice released mink at the farm. Mink-rearing operations ended in December after the Ylipelto family concluded that it wasn't worth the hassle and worry to continue producing the animals.
You can waste a lot of time psychoanalyzing the individuals who gravitate to fringe groups. They are a stew of persecution complexes and obsessions, overstated with self-importance and addiction to the excitement and attention that come with extremism.
From the standpoint of preserving a basically healthy society, our best response is to maintain a steadfast grasp on reality. To label episodes like the Svensen arson "domestic terrorism" is to grant the perpetrators far more importance and credibility than they deserve.
Reality is that raising mink for their pelts is no more criminal than raising cows for cheeseburgers. If someone sincerely believes in mink rights, committing arson against someone who has already left the business is 100 percent counterproductive. This was stupid anarchy committed by narcissistic dolts.
It is also reality that many perfectly rational people have misgivings about raising furry little predators for no reason other than eventually skinning them for conspicuous consumption. At the same time, when you live in a place with severe winter - such as Russia or the northern latitudes or East Coast cities - you understand the functionality of fur in a coat or hat.
America provides many mechanisms for political and social change. “The Tea Party fears progress on goals like universal health care, while Animal Liberation demands immediate parity between animal and human rights.”
Meanwhile, all we in the middle should hold them accountable and make our own decisions.
Written by Steve Forrester PUBLISHER of The Daily Astorian
In his op-ed Forrester compares the likes of the Animal Liberation Front who recently torched some personal property of a “former” Mink rearing operator to that of the “kooky “elements in the Tea Party.
In his partisan smear Forrester claims in essence that the
Tea Parties are no better than these left wing nuts who torched a man’s
personal property because in so many words they’re racists, disagree with the
whole fantastic idea of Obamacare and lastly that Tea Partiers don’t believe
that Obama is a U.S. Citizen.
This is the worst kind of extremist divisive journalism to
publish and does nothing but demonize and marginalize a group of people whose
main political objective is to have the state and federal governments abide by
the US Constitution and the belief that smaller government is better for
America than massive centralized government.
I was so angered by this ridiculous comparison I made a
personal phone call to the Astorian and believe it or not Forrester took my
call.
I immediately asked Forrester why he could make such an
outrageous comparison. I asked him if he had ever heard of a single violent
episode during a Tea Party demonstration anywhere in the nation or did he
believe the TP’s in Astoria were capable of violence.
His answer: He didn’t answer why he made the comparison nor
did he back away from it or apologize for it. He said he hadn’t heard of any
violence by TP’s in Astoria but said it “could” happen back East.
I asked him if he had actually attended the Tea Party event
that was held in Astoria to see who these people were and why they attended.
His answer: No, but he did know some of members like the
Gannaway’s who own a jewelry store in Warrenton, OR.
I asked him why he would claim that all TP’s are Birther’s
when only 1/10 of 1% of the group may actually believe that.
His answer: He didn’t answer.
I asked him why does he publish only op-eds from the New
York Times when most of the people of Astoria are blue collar folks who could
not identify with the Times opinions even if they were Democrats. I also said
that over half of the people in Astoria strongly disagree and object to the
writings of Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, Thomas Friedman, Bob Herbert and especially the phony
David Brooks who claims to be a Conservative but is far from it.
His answer: He said he pays the NYT a yearly fee for columns
and that’s why he publishes them. He didn’t acknowledge nor answer that over
half of the people in Astoria may disagree with the politics of the writers
from the NYT.
I asked him why he didn’t publish op-eds from the other side
since there are many articulate Conservative columnists all over the country
who write insightful pieces.
His answer: I have to pay for columns and I like the NYT so
that’s why I don’t publish other columns because they have to be paid for. He did
say he “might” start publishing George Will’s column “someday.” He also claimed
that he reads the Wall Street Journal which may be true but doesn’t agree
enough with their views to buy any of their columns and publish them.
The conversation came to an end and it was my impression that although he was being friendly with me on the phone he had no intention of making a public apology for the Tea Party comments in his op-ed. I'm convince that as long as he has a voice in the media Forrester will continue to be a very polarizing and divisive left wing extremist making every political situation far worse with his words.
