Now that Biden’s “win” of getting something approaching a deal done with Manchin has come and passed and the left is back on the defensive, they’re reverting to the usual “mug domestic terrorists” lines used to crack down on dissent online and treat those who are against the “current thing” like terrorists.
Further, they now have an example of “how to treat terrorists” that they can relate to: Slow Joe’s CIA killing the al-Qaeda leader that replaced Osama bin Laden, al-Zawahiri.
And, in a move that should be surprising to no one who watched the utter meltdown that followed the Capitol riot on January 6th and all the pledges to treat the trespassers like crazies that attempted a coup or civil war, now they’re saying that political dissidents need to be treated like al-Zawahiri.
Such is what Trevor Noah did on a recent segment of his show, making up a situation about a white supremacist pledging to kill people and suggesting that such a person should be treated like al-Zawahiri, which would mean drone-striking them.
Specifically, Noah, who’s not originally from America and thus can perhaps be forgiven for not understanding the whole “due process” or “free speech” concepts, said:
“I will say, when you see stories like this, when you see stories about what America is capable of, this is where you realize there is really no excuse for the amount of domestic terrorism in America…al-Zawahiri lived all the way in Afghanistan in some random safe house in the middle of nowhere, and America knew what time of day he liked to go out onto his balcony.
“But when a white supremacist posts on Facebook he’s going to murder everyone and buys an AR-15, everyone goes, “there was no way to stop this. If only he liked balconies.” And I know some people are saying, “who cares? America killed al Qaeda’s leader, but al Qaeda isn’t even in the game anywhere. This is like taking out Tom from myspace.” That’s not the point. The point is America never forgets. Unless it’s slavery. But everything else— “
First off, if someone is a clear danger, the cops can generally do something to stop them. “True threats” are not a protected form of speech in America, though there is a rigorous test used to determine if speech is a true threat that Noah’s example doesn’t meet. Saying mean, generic things on the internet isn’t illegal in America.
Even if it were, there’s theoretically due process here: citizens can’t be taken out by a drone-launching flying razor blade like al-Zawahiri because, however reprehensible one’s views might be, we have rights as citizens that include not being assassinated for one’s political beliefs.
Perhaps Noah doesn’t understand that because he’s from South Africa, a nation now approaching status as a failed state.
Whatever the case, however, he’s wrong: though the police do have tools to stop domestic, citizen terrorists in America, particularly if they’re actually plotting violence, they can’t and shouldn’t be treated like al-Qaeda operatives.
Rights are granted by God and limitations on government action exist for a reason, something that must be remembered even when someone’s views are reprehensible.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Facebook and Subscribe to My Email List
This story syndicated with permission from Will, Author at Trending Politics