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PaperclipPerfector  22d ago (text post)   26714 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 30, 2024

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One of the examples that comes to mind, albeit loosely, was the Covid Canada trucker protests, which were the generally peaceful protests of Canadian truckers just driving into various Canadian cities / border crossings to snarl traffic and such. It was a bit embarassment to the Trudeau government, which took escalating actions against them, including probably to almost certainly illegal government actions on top of the already-contestable nature of COVID restrictions.

KR at the time was arguing vehemently on not just the justification for, but moral requirement, for violent resistance to the Canadian government crackdown, including the sort of over-the-top accusations of the moral rectitude or sincerity of anyone who did not join in the violence.

IIRC, KR was posting from Canada at the time, or at least acknowledged he could have gotten there, and could easily have easily joined the protests himself. He didn't.

In fact, I want to say he also made some sort of appeal about how he could do more good in rallying for the cause than joining the fight, but there are a lot of deleted posts from those old reddit threads and it wouldn't really change the point.

KR is the sort of revolutionary vanguard who will never, ever, be found in the vanguard, even as he lambasts the masculinity/morality of others who don't answer the call. Cause, you know, the vanguard is dangerous, and his skills (and comfortable living) come from writing calls to action rather than taking action.

IIRC KR was in the hospital during the protests, and has referenced hospitalization around the right time in many other writings.

Yeah, I remember that. True Canadian girlfriend / 'I totally would enlist but medical deferral' vibes.

'I totally would enlist but medical deferral'

You reminded me to check whether the Reserve would, in fact, take me (I'm guessing the answer is "no", but...).

I can't answer that, but I would sincerely say that just because they wouldn't take you doesn't mean there aren't plenty of worthy public service volunteer activities you can do regardless. They don't come with the paycheck or prestige, but taking one half-day a month to clean litter from public places (cost- pair of gloves, some trashbags, and a litter-picker), help with a public festival setup, or even just visiting a retirement center to entertain the elderly are all worthy parts of contributing to a community and one's own spiritual/moral/civic health. Especially if you are in a position to help organize and lead others to contribute the same.

Strangely, fewer people have a desire to burn down their communities if they've spent sweat and hours making it better, and tend to have better feelings towards those who have similarly exerted themselves in shared efforts.

In this specific case, I believe him because other writings have referenced hospitalization from a motorcycle accident at around the right time, without drawing a connection to the trucker protests.

You don't get to call in sick with a doctor's note the day you're supposed to do the suicide bombing

I can believe that it's hard to do a suicide bombing when you're in traction with both your legs broken, but it was hardly the only opportunity to do some minecraft.

Oh, I'm quite willing to entertain that he was in the hospital, though I would also be willing to believe he publicized the claim to protect himself from charges of hypocrisy. I just find it degrades his point regardless- both because arguments that certain things are worth going to hospital (or jail) over fighting for is an argument for fighting out of the hospital you're already in (if he was physically capable of leaving), and because even if he was incapacitated for the time he was in the hospital, that in no way covers the opportunities of protest-fights he had a chance to join in before or after his claimed infirmity.

Ultimately, people who argue that others should accept the consequences to life and limb to prove their sincerity don't get to hide behind infirmity.

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