This should get some interesting, heated, and (I’ll bet) intolerant responses from the Left-o-sphere:
In the end, we have to face the fact that political intolerance in America — ugly and unfortunate on either side of the political aisle — is to be found more on the left than it is on the right. This may not square with the moral vanity of progressive political stereotypes, but it’s true.
The author, Arthur C. Brooks, is a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Public Affairs. His article provides statistical evidence of what everybody in their Right mind has known for a long, long time — that hate and intolerance on the Left far eclipses anything (and everything) that they have always accused the Right of.
But — if like Daniel Larison and Ross Douthat — you’re not convinced by the data, I would suggest you just look at the actual actions of the Left when presented with conservatives and conservative ideas.
Watch how “tolerant” Liberals react when Conservative speakers are invited to speak at college campuses.
It usually devolves into the Libtards either physically attacking the speaker, attempting to shout-down the invited speaker so that they are unable to speak at all, or throwing all sorts of stuff at them, to include:
Do I hate Kieth Olberman? Yep. But not in a million years would I dream of showing up at one of his speaking engagments to throw something at him or otherwise prevent him from his right to spew his idiocy freely. Nor would I show up at a Barack Obama public event with signs comparing him to Hitler or a sign wishing for his death (I’ve seen both at anti-President Bush events).
Watch how “tolerant” Lefties treat the Military recruiters in their cities and on their campuses — by vandalizing their recruiting stations, their government cars, and sometimes their POVs. When they are not attacking them off campus, they’re physically preventing them from being on their campuses.
Go to a Liberal protest where they are protesting anything. Read some of their signs. Talk to some of them. It’s hate, hate, hate — often turned up several notches beyond anything reasonable.
You just don’t see this level of acted-out-hatred coming from the right. Ever. But it’s everywhere, and it happens anytime more than one Lefty gathers to counter anything “conservative”.
_________
OTHERS:
Michelle Malkin chimes in. And she’s spent a lot of years chronicling the irrational intolerant hate coming from the Left:
When I was on the book tour for Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild, critics predictably countered by playing the moral equivalence card. Show them how intolerant, racist, sexist, hateful, conspiratorial-minded, and violent the Left can be, and they sputter “B-b-b-b-b-ut the Right is just as bad.â€
Spend anytime in the blogosphere and it’s clear that the two sides of the political galaxy are not created equal. One side burns effigies of American soldiers and craps on the American flag. The other does not. One side wraps itself in assassination chic. The other does not. One side indulges in vicious Sambo photoshops, rank religious bigotry, death wishes, gloating over the illnesses of public figures, and fill-in-the-blank derangement syndrome. The other does not.
While he does present statistical data, had he not, this story is just another of those knock me over with a feather moments.
All you have to do is visit zombietime for visual proof.
Left by no2liberals on January 17th, 2008 at 6:45 pm