Engage in real politics and think through the full series of causes an effects that don't lead to a sizeable domestic faction with establishment backing that wants you dead or enslaved actually killing or enslaving you or your friends.
Burying your head in the sand and wailing "I wish it wasn't this way!" isn't one of them.
Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying. If you think giving up all our principles and behaving like animals is a good tactic, or that condemning indiscriminate violence is "burying my head in the sand", then I don't really know what to tell you.
Pretending the violence we've witnessed has been entirely indiscriminate not targeted at political opponents, or shouting at strawmen that any violence, no matter how measured, makes you no better than an animal is exactly burying your head in the sand and ignoring realpolitik.
It's not that you need to tell me anything, you should just stop telling yourself that fairytales are real before you drag everyone around down with you. Nobody is saying you have to give up all your principles, that's just the sand in your ears speaking, just to examine what parameters within those principles still let you to actually win in the real world.
Ignoring all that and shirking the idea of balancing complex moral calculus so you can live in a world of simplistic all or nothing ultimatums that will never be "all" so are inevitably just chosimg "nothing, but more smug" is just childish.
For context, the OP compared certain leftists cheering on an attempted assassination with soldiers at war returning fire at you. These things are not comparable at all. I can agree with your goal without having to agree with your tactics, but nowhere did I ever say that we should "just do nothing."
My point was if you refuse to negotiate over or adapt to not having things work 100% your ideal way, then in the real world you're choosing to forfeit entirely. And choosing to forfeit but complain loudly about it is just choosing to get nothing with extra steps.
Also, you misrepresented OP slightly, he compared it to enemy forces initiating fire at you, not returning fire. Neither instance is defensive.
Engage in real politics and think through the full series of causes an effects that don't lead to a sizeable domestic faction with establishment backing that wants you dead or enslaved actually killing or enslaving you or your friends.
Burying your head in the sand and wailing "I wish it wasn't this way!" isn't one of them.
Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying. If you think giving up all our principles and behaving like animals is a good tactic, or that condemning indiscriminate violence is "burying my head in the sand", then I don't really know what to tell you.
Pretending the violence we've witnessed has been entirely indiscriminate not targeted at political opponents, or shouting at strawmen that any violence, no matter how measured, makes you no better than an animal is exactly burying your head in the sand and ignoring realpolitik.
It's not that you need to tell me anything, you should just stop telling yourself that fairytales are real before you drag everyone around down with you. Nobody is saying you have to give up all your principles, that's just the sand in your ears speaking, just to examine what parameters within those principles still let you to actually win in the real world.
Ignoring all that and shirking the idea of balancing complex moral calculus so you can live in a world of simplistic all or nothing ultimatums that will never be "all" so are inevitably just chosimg "nothing, but more smug" is just childish.
For context, the OP compared certain leftists cheering on an attempted assassination with soldiers at war returning fire at you. These things are not comparable at all. I can agree with your goal without having to agree with your tactics, but nowhere did I ever say that we should "just do nothing."
My point was if you refuse to negotiate over or adapt to not having things work 100% your ideal way, then in the real world you're choosing to forfeit entirely. And choosing to forfeit but complain loudly about it is just choosing to get nothing with extra steps.
Also, you misrepresented OP slightly, he compared it to enemy forces initiating fire at you, not returning fire. Neither instance is defensive.