So, the political intimidation continues, some climate activists back in March were visited and interviewed by the FBI, but when the activists pushed back, they bugged out fast. It's like they're probing to see what they can get away with and engage in intimidation tactics.
At the same time, maybe it is a matter of national security. Much like with Hasan and his pro Palestine activism, climate activists, sometimes go....too far. Like, it's not uncommon for them to just start committing property crimes and the like in order to advance their goals, and it is a form of terrorism. They rarely kill people to my knowledge, but some of them are weird and will do things like target animal testing facilities, etc. Having taken a criminology class on terrorism back in college, I understand why these kinds of leftists end up on the FBI's radar. They are often, at least, terrorist adjacent.
Now, again, I'm not defending this behavior. But, it seems like, at least for now, Trump is using the FBI to legally go after political opponents. And they seem to be focused on the most militant kinds of leftists who engage in protest culture that risks running afoul of the law. The free palestine people, climate activists. Dont get me wrong, these things are still first amendment protected speech, HOWEVER, sometimes the behavior practiced by these groups can....run afoul of the law. You know what I mean. The free palestine people doing stupid crap like taking over buildings and the like? Climate activists do stuff sometimes like throw red paint on stuff or even commit arson and property damage. It is possible these groups end up on the FBI's radar because of these kinds of behaviors. As I said, if i learned about similar forms of left wing terrorism in college classes, well....yeah, the FBI would possibly wanna crack down on that.
At the same time, the obvious elephant in the room is RIGHT wing terrorism. By far the worst kinds of terrorism in the US comes from the RIGHT. We love to focus on 9/11, but what about stuff like ruby ridge, the oklahoma city bombings, and more recently, january 6th with the proud boys. Right wing militias are the REAL scary threat here. Of course, the FBI under kash patel is probably going to overlook that at trump's direction and focus on the left and their stupid "omg you wear fur im gonna throw red paint on you" people.
Again, it is biased, and in a way it is targetted political intimidation. BUT...so far, this seems like...it can be justified. They're not locking people up just for speaking out against "das fuhrer". So...again, stay safe out there, dont engage in any questionable activities, disavow violence, and terrorism, and even more so, condemn it. Like...leftists have this weird tendency to try to sympathize with people who act outside of the law sometimes and honestly, it's always been something I dont like. My own activism always tries to advocate for LEGAL changes. I want bills passed, I want them signed by executives. I want to focus on stuff like VOTING and mobilizing people at the ballot box. I dont support this crap. And neither should you.
We'll see how this continues to go. If the history of descents into authoritarianism are any indication, this is gonna ramp up and get worse. But for now, again, they seem to be operating within the confines of the law. And once again, I'll encourage everyone, in their own activism, to FOLLOW the law. I mean, I've always been at least somewhat of a law and order guy. I do have a background in things like political science, sociology, criminology, and law. I support the rule of law. My biggest critiques against trump are his brazen lawlessness and his increasing authoritarian and illiberal behavior. But so far, these intimidation tactics seem to be focusing on those who kind of operate near the fringes of that. For most of them, theyre not doing anything wrong, but again, when you talk about pro palestine stuff, climate activism, well...some of those groups trend pretty close to the grey area, ya know? So....stay safe and stay out of the grey areas. Try to do everything legally and above board. Ya know? DOnt give them anything that can be used against you.
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