Right-wing organizers and media personalities have been mobilizing their audiences to attend and disrupt town hall meetings of Democratic legislators. Paul Krugman writes:
Some commentators have tried to play down the mob aspect of these scenes, likening the campaign against health reform to the campaign against Social Security privatization back in 2005. But there’s no comparison. I’ve gone through many news reports from 2005, and while anti-privatization activists were sometimes raucous and rude, I can’t find any examples of congressmen shouted down, congressmen hanged in effigy, congressmen surrounded and followed by taunting crowds.
And I can’t find any counterpart to the death threats at least one congressman has received.
In general, I think that ordinary people need to get more involved in politics and hold their elected officials to account. However, what is happening on the right is very different from the examples of activism I admire. For one thing, violence and the threat of violence have no legitimate place in citizen activism. There are times when fighting is necessary, but moving us in that direction is reckless and irresponsible.
Another difference between responsible activism and the mob is education. I don’t mean schools and degrees, but instead an understanding of at least the basics of whatever is at issue. We have examples of disinformation, like the “kill Granny” scare. We also see plain ignorance, like seniors shouting for government to stay out of Medicare. It’s sad to see people used as pawns to fight against their own interests.
Duh! Did anyone not know this? I heard someone in the business saying something about a gradual tan being protective and that it’s sudden, high exposure to UV that’s harmful. I didn’t argue, but I knew it had to be a crock of shit.
