I hope ya'll had a good weekend. I know these are troubling times with the eruption of violence in the aftermath of the seemingly unjust killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. All I've had on my personal feed on Facebook is a long string of outrage and mea culpa given in an attempt to plead for forgiveness for their "white privilege." It took me a while to come to the point where I felt the need to send my own message. I try not to be too political on my personal Facebook account because my contacts are filled with family and friends (many of my friends are very liberal and I also have a bunch of black friends due to growing up in the Milwaukee area who feel a sense of discomfort with the current state of our country). But I did feel I needed to put my message out there, so here it is (let me know your thoughts):
Since everyone is speaking their minds about racism and violence in America, I guess I'll say something too. And like usual, no one is going to like it. Probably now more than ever because we have just reached peak stupidity.
The first thing I would like to establish right at the beginning. The officer who killed George Floyd can get sent straight to the chair. I hold no sympathy for bad actors like him, the officers who allowed that to happen, or any racist (assuming this officer had racist intentions).
What I don’t stand for is blanket claims made about groups of people with no empirical evidence. I’m talking about blanket claims about race, and blanket claims about police departments. There is a saying (by Samuel Johnson I believe) which is, “all shallows are clear.” Shallow thinking always make sense because it doesn't take much thought, and it lacks any real meaning. The same shallow thinking that tries to prove “white privilege” or systemic racism without evidence is the same shallow thinking that tries to prove a link between race and violent/criminal behavior. Both are claims made by people who don’t like to think hard, so they make the easiest connection that fits their narrative.
You can condemn the bad actions taken by the officer who killed George Floyd and condemn the actions of the rioters in the cities who are just finding an excuse to loot and break stuff. You can do both of these at the same time. I know, it’s crazy!
We all have the right to protest. The people protesting peacefully will shine light on an issue they find troubling their community. That is their right and one of the most powerful right we have as Americans. What the small percentage of A-holes using the protest to start riots, destroy property, loot, and cause violence hurts the cause of the protesters and we should separate those two.
If you hold that position, you must grant the same benefit to police departments around the country. The very small percentage of bad officers shouldn’t sully the names or reflect poorly on other officers who weren’t involved or police departments who protect their citizens faithfully. If you give the protesters the benefit of the doubt, then you have to give the hundreds of thousands of police officers in this country the benefit of the doubt, and vice versa.
I was listening to some news updates when I heard this CNN clip about the potentially hazardous water in East Palestine, and as soon as I heard her ask the question about whether or not her guest would drink the water, I IMMEDIATELY thought of this clip from South Park. Enjoy.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from Return To Reason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 15: The Prospects of International Order’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, I team up with Truman from @ReturnToReason to interview one of the most intelligent and influential creators in the space of philosophy today. Stephen R.C. Hicks is a Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Senior Scholar at The Atlas Society. He has written many books including Explaining Postmodernism and Nietzsche and the Nazis. We bring him on to talk about the social and political issues we are currently facing in America, and the West more broadly, and what the collectivist ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau might have to do with it.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from Return To Reason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 15: The Prospects of International Order’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, I team up with Truman from @ReturnToReason to interview one of the most intelligent and influential creators in the space of philosophy today. Stephen R.C. Hicks is a Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, and Senior Scholar at The Atlas Society. He has written many books including Explaining Postmodernism and Nietzsche and the Nazis. We bring him on to talk about the social and political issues we are currently facing in America, and the West more broadly, and what the collectivist ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau might have to do with it.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
In this special episode of The Engineering Politics Podcast, Truman from @ReturnToReason is back for a new video and podcast series titled ‘Revisiting The Road To Serfdom’ where we review F.A. Hayek’s classic work, The Road To Serfdom. This episode covers ‘Chapter 14: Material Conditions and Ideal Ends’.
This will be an ongoing series that covers the entire book. We put a ton of work into making this insightful and relevant, so we hope you enjoy watching/listening as much as we enjoyed reading and recording.
Become a subscriber of the Engineering Politics Locals Community to support this content. Also, consider joining the @ReturnToReason Locals Community to show Truman some support.
