Perspectives: To the proponents of identity politics, the violence in Virginia is the fruit of your labor

August 13, 2017 Utah Channel 3

OPINION – My comments in this column are directed solely toward the practitioners and promoters of identity politics. To you, I say congratulations. The weekend’s events in Virginia would seem to indicate that you’re finally getting exactly what you’ve wanted.

All that screeching about how it was time to stand up and take aggressive action against those knuckle-draggers who threaten our very existence is finally bearing fruit.

The blood that has historically greased the wheels of history is starting to flow.

You’ve made it clear that the other guys subscribe to a perverted, genocidal ideology that historically has been perfectly willing to use any means to justify their evil ends. That includes mass murder and the persecution of all who refuse to embrace their thinking.

You’ve held loud, disruptive public rallies that have sought to provoke your enemies and dehumanize them for their dangerous, genocidal beliefs. Wherever possible, you’ve made it your business to seek them out and publicly shame them or physically attack them depending on what you felt you could get away with.

Your enemy makes moves and you plan corresponding counter moves. Your willingness to use aggression is promoted as fighting fire with fire anywhere you encounter the foe.

What starts as shouting matches quickly turns to shoving that turns to fistfights then using pepper spray, savage beatdowns with sticks, bike locks, boards and other improvised weapons. You play the victim whenever your violence begets retaliatory violence.

On social and mass media, you plead your case as the victims of your opponent’s irrational hatred of all that is decent and good. You must make a decisive stand or evil will triumph.

It’s fortunate for you that most media today thrives on obsessive outrage and manufactured conflict. You’ll never lack for their jaded attention as long as you help promote fear and distrust of the opposition.

They’ll skillfully use you to their own benefit even as you remain convinced that you’re the one using them to yours.

You claim that extraordinary measures, free of traditional moral restraint, are necessary when dealing with an implacable enemy that cannot be reasoned with. The sooner you can capture the force of the state, the sooner you can gain control and implement a solution that should decisively put the matter to rest.

This has been the goal of every tyrannical movement throughout the history of mankind, and identity politics has become one of the most despicable forms of collectivism.

Right and wrong are outdated notions for losers. The only thing that counts is what works. Period. What’s at stake is more important than whatever universal principles may stand in your way.

Naturally, this approach doesn’t sit well with those whose consciences still function.

Those on the sidelines who do not subscribe to your ideology or affirm the superior status of your group identity are sternly warned that failure to stand with you denotes approval of the enemy. Anyone who does not embrace your cause with enough enthusiasm is accused of enabling the advance of evil.

Your recruiting tactics don’t necessarily win the masses over to your side but you’ll settle for silencing those who choose to remain unaffiliated. After all, who wants to be labeled a sympathizer?

The good news is that an increasing number of us do not respond to your belief in the “word magic” of labeling others to marginalize them. Your name-calling has no power over us, because we won’t grant you the moral status to tell us who we are or what we believe.

Many of us have also come to the conclusion that there is no point in trying to appease malicious promoters of group identity. We won’t bother playing your ideological games.

No matter how you badger, plead and threaten, we won’t be accepting any guilt, shaming or invites to jump aboard the virtue-signaling bandwagon. We refuse to be shoe-horned into a false dilemma that tells us that our choices are limited to one of two despicable belief systems that thrive on creating conflict.

Beating and subjugating others over perceived differences in their worldview is what we expect of barbarians and savages. It’s not hard to tell whose behavior is civilized and whose is not by simple observation.

It’s not that those of us who reject your approach are indifferent to human suffering or genuine problems that need to be solved. We simply don’t believe that spending our time seeking power over others is likely to solve those problems.

We refuse to surrender our minds to group judgments, because we understand that there are no two individuals who are perfectly alike. If we need to categorize those with whom we interact, it’s sufficient to take note of whether their actions are decent or indecent.

You and your fellow adherents to identity politics are clearly known by your actions. You’re reaping what you’ve sown. You have nothing of value to offer.

Bryan Hyde is an opinion columnist specializing in current events viewed through the lens of common sense. The opinions stated in this article are his and not representative of St. George News.

Email: bryanh@stgnews.com

Twitter: @youcancallmebry