"Candace Owens reminds me a lot of the kind of people I often critique on the left. Is she the equivalent of the “woke” lefty, simply positioning herself on the right instead?"
To me, this is only a valid foundation to start with if you believe that she believes what she's saying. I'd bet money that Candance Owens is simply a grifter. Her positions are ubiquitously in-line with the hivemind that no real person could fully align with. I'm not convinced that her positions are worth debating because of that, at least not when they come from her.
George Floyd being a not-so-great dude and not deserving to die the way he did can both be true at the same time. Look at Batman (okay, yes, he's a comic book dude but I think there's a principle at work). He refuses to kill. Why? Because he must maintain a moral high ground. I mean, yes...he kind of sends dudes to the hospital with brutal injuries but...you know...moving right along...
As a guy who's center-right (aw heck, I'm a conservative) I can't listen to Owens or Shapiro or some of those folks for anything other than measured doses. You just realize they're singing for the choir. They have some good things to say, but after a while you realize there's nothing truly novel (or, not much) that they have to add to the discussion. They know what their audience wants to hear, and they give them that.
We know Floyd didn't deserve to die. But the evidence in that case shows that he has a big share of the responsibility for his death. If he hadn't started with the claustrophobic act he'd be alive, we don't know that Chauvin caused his death and if you looked at the cross examinations of the medical examiners you'd see that. However, even if Chauvin was the cause it's very doubtful that murder was his intent.
Good article, Erik, I agree with most of your points here but I want to point out a lot of history’s martyrs were also criminals according to the laws, morals and standards of the time, including history’s most famous martyr. We should also recognize that in more recent society, “martyrdom” has stopped being a singularly religious concept. I am definitely not saying George Floyd deserves to be deified, and I don’t believe he needs to be martyred in order to recognize his humanity and stolen right.
I am implying Candace has no real understanding of what a martyr is, as she fails to understand most things, let alone does she have the authority to make that determination and to be fair, neither do figures on the left such as Nancy Pelosi (with her own cringe take on this.) Because who knows what society will look like long after we’re gone and who among our contemporaries they’ll ultimately decide were heroes, martyrs or otherwise notable.
"Candace Owens reminds me a lot of the kind of people I often critique on the left. Is she the equivalent of the “woke” lefty, simply positioning herself on the right instead?"
To me, this is only a valid foundation to start with if you believe that she believes what she's saying. I'd bet money that Candance Owens is simply a grifter. Her positions are ubiquitously in-line with the hivemind that no real person could fully align with. I'm not convinced that her positions are worth debating because of that, at least not when they come from her.
George Floyd being a not-so-great dude and not deserving to die the way he did can both be true at the same time. Look at Batman (okay, yes, he's a comic book dude but I think there's a principle at work). He refuses to kill. Why? Because he must maintain a moral high ground. I mean, yes...he kind of sends dudes to the hospital with brutal injuries but...you know...moving right along...
As a guy who's center-right (aw heck, I'm a conservative) I can't listen to Owens or Shapiro or some of those folks for anything other than measured doses. You just realize they're singing for the choir. They have some good things to say, but after a while you realize there's nothing truly novel (or, not much) that they have to add to the discussion. They know what their audience wants to hear, and they give them that.
We know Floyd didn't deserve to die. But the evidence in that case shows that he has a big share of the responsibility for his death. If he hadn't started with the claustrophobic act he'd be alive, we don't know that Chauvin caused his death and if you looked at the cross examinations of the medical examiners you'd see that. However, even if Chauvin was the cause it's very doubtful that murder was his intent.
A delicate subject all round, but you debate it well. Thank you.
Good article, Erik, I agree with most of your points here but I want to point out a lot of history’s martyrs were also criminals according to the laws, morals and standards of the time, including history’s most famous martyr. We should also recognize that in more recent society, “martyrdom” has stopped being a singularly religious concept. I am definitely not saying George Floyd deserves to be deified, and I don’t believe he needs to be martyred in order to recognize his humanity and stolen right.
I am implying Candace has no real understanding of what a martyr is, as she fails to understand most things, let alone does she have the authority to make that determination and to be fair, neither do figures on the left such as Nancy Pelosi (with her own cringe take on this.) Because who knows what society will look like long after we’re gone and who among our contemporaries they’ll ultimately decide were heroes, martyrs or otherwise notable.