@YAppelbaum What I find frustrating about this piece, and others like it, is that it makes so little attempt to distinguish between annoying people by telling people how their actions hurt you, and making people feel threatened and unsafe.
@YAppelbaum Many elected conservatives being opposed, by their own admission, are supporting an extremely unusually dangerous leader who is uniquely bad for the country. Yet constituents coming up to them and pointing out *their own stated position* is unacceptably uncouth?
@YAppelbaum I understand and appreciate that norms of civility are important, and protect all of us. And, I know that norms of *incivility* -- blocking traffic, loud protests, occupying a biz and refusing to leave, bringing your grievances in person -- have been crucial in justice movements.
@YAppelbaum What does a piece like this do to illuminate the landscape of those dual truths? Very, very little. What does it do to obscure them? Quite a lot, I think.
@YAppelbaum Take Carlson. This is someone who professionally lies for a living, who aggressively spreads hateful propaganda, and may have criminally lied about the actions of protesters in the course of a law enforcement investigation.
@YAppelbaum I fiercely defend the norm that Carlson should not be threatened with violence. I also defend the norm that defacing his property should be prosecuted -- as it is being.
@YAppelbaum But I also fiercely defend the norm that people should be able to attempt to argue with a public figure in public places, and places with right of way.
**Especially** people who **bring legal observers*" with them, for crying out loud.
**Especially** people who **bring legal observers*" with them, for crying out loud.
@YAppelbaum Of course it's annoying, and possibly can mask or invite real danger. These situations should be managed reasonably by police. Protesters should not even create the kind of environment where someone might be assaulted.
@YAppelbaum I appreciate that Beinart is engaging some of this. But by focusing on the most glaring and incivil voices, he obscures that most of this form of protest is not credibly threatening, not destructive, and not out of place.
@YAppelbaum Norms of civility should not mean that the common people must not address the powerful who prey on them with honest impoliteness, or that they must confine their voices to select times and places.
@YAppelbaum One correction -- I'm not seeing that the Anarchy symbol graffiti sprayer is being prosecuted.
