Response to: “Gun Regulation, Profanity and Thuggery in Rhode Island”
Posted on April 2, 2014 by Gregory Smith
Here’s my response to Gun Regulation, Profanity and Thuggery in Rhode Island, by Lincoln Mitchell
It is rare that the comments of a state legislator make national news, even more so when those comments are only three short words. Last week, however,
State Senator Joshua Miller made national news when he told Dan Bidondi of Infowars to “Go f#ck yourself!” Bidondi, an avid supporter of unrestricted gun ownership had been present at a press conference where Miller and other state legislators appeared. Miller’s comments came after Bidondi had been harassing and berating participants at the event.
Miller later
apologized for using profanity. However, as
more information about this confrontation and about Bidondi comes to light, Miller should probably be lauded for his restraint. Bidondi is associated with the website
Infowars, a right-wing site that is given to conspiracy theories questioning, among other things, veracity of the Sandy Hook shooting and the Boston Marathon bombings. Bidondi has sought to represent these views through among other things intimidation and shouting down opponents. Nonetheless, Bidondi has a right to express his views and elected officials, even ones trying to defend constituents from harassment should, on balance, avoid using profanity.
Since these events, and his apology, Miller has faced an unrelenting campaign of thuggery, threats and bigotry. Miller is a small businessman who owns several restaurants in and around Providence. Since he made those comments, Miller’s restaurants’ web presence have been compromised through floods of negative reviews on sites like Yelp and Trip Advisor and the Facebook pages of his restaurants. Other websites belong to Miller and his campaign have been hacked as well. These are apparently the tactics of the gun supporters who interpret Miller’s support of a bill to do things like ban assault weapons and make it illegal to bring guns onto school grounds as undermining the US constitution.
That’s thuggery? Harassment online? Thuggery is Trayvon Martin beating George Zimmerman. Thuggery is PHYSICAL, a negative review on Yelp is free speech, not thuggery.
Critics of Miller have also attacked the senator for being
too far left. It is not clear that Miller, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, would disagree with the substance of this. Miller is a strong supporter of gun regulation, expanding access to healthcare, marriage equality, the environment and labor. Attacks on Miller for his progressive politics are no surprise given how his position on gun regulations and comments to Bidondi undoubtedly infuriated many on the right.
Pointing out that Miller, a strong supporter of gun regulation, has a generally progressive agenda, is an appropriate political strategy in this context. It is unimaginable that this is the first time Miller has been criticized for being a progressive, and it almost certainly will not be the last.
Attacking Miller because he is Jewish, however, is not appropriate at this, or any, time. Bigotry of that kind never plays a constructive role in the political discussion, yet Miller’s Judaism has drawn
comments of a very bigoted and vile nature since the Bidondi incident.
The anti-Semitism Miller has confronted in recent days is disturbing and draws on some of the oldest and vitriolic prejudices against the Jewish people. It is saddening, but not altogether surprising, that his kind of hatred still exists and is so easily aimed at Miller by some on the far right. More upsetting than the noise from these bigots has been the silence from the more moderate and allegedly reasonable factions of the conservative and pro-gun movements.
We’re not in the business of defending gun-haters, we’re far too busy dealing with the fallout from their bills. Furthermore, anyone who has studied White Supremacy knows that it’s mostly a socialist movement, a redistribution movement. Their websites are full of vitriol against bankers, financiers, Wall Street, billionaires, etc. Just like some blacks believe the white man keeps them down, a lot of white supremacists have the same feelings towards others. Besides, STSA has praised Israel many times, we have condemned Hitler many times, we’re not white supremacist but INDIVIDUAL supremacists. Our goal is to promote the 2nd Amendment to everyone.
Whatever bigotry Miller is experiencing is no different than the bigotry I experience. I too have been called the nastiest names on Mediaite and other websites, yet unlike some Senator, I don’t have columnist writing in my defense. So don’t tell me I have to cry tears over some rich owner of restaurants with a bully pulpit.
Politics is a rough game, if Miller wants to play, he needs to man up and quit being a b*tch.
Response to: “Gun Regulation, Profanity and Thuggery in RI"
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Originally Posted by Seditious
