Essays in Idleness

Duh. …

It is not fashionable to express this thought, which I have been avoiding, or trying to avoid, since I came to older years. (By ten, approximately; certainly by eleven.) One comes to the thought by simple observation, for instance of those with a propensity to violence. North Americans recently had another opportunity to notice this during events in which rioting, vandalism, and looting was common, after one of several (arguable, probably necessary) police killings. But compare the most recent political assassination of a beloved, prominent right-winger. There was, as usual, no violence in response. Only grieving.

Many, many left-wingers celebrated the crime.

While this is true, even in principio, however, it is not true that right-wing people never sin. As a notorious right-wing person myself, I have noticed that I am quite capable of sinning. Alas, too, capable of violence, when confronted by an active evil-doer. (I needn’t bore my reader by recalling such experiences.) I am restrained, however, by my curious belief in God. The poor, godless left-winger has nothing to restrain him.

The verbal violence of lying, and its most lively relatives (i.e. smearing, slander, defamation, libel, calumny, traduction, &c), provide common examples of human frailty, and I have been aware occasionally of shameless right-wing characters who do this. But constant, systematic, murderous lying, by, par example, the communists and perverts, has become a settled habit now, across the left. It is not moderated by telling the truth, sometimes, but by virtue signalling: a lie within lies. Indeed, the moment one finds oneself surrounded by blinking, blinding, virtue signals, one knows that one has strayed into a left-wing environment. For instance, one is in the media, or higher education, or the health industry.

But suppose one is, arguably, a man of the left, or perhaps, also arguably, a woman. Suppose, in response to some emotional event (the left often supplies these), one resolves to stop playing with weapons-grade bullshit, and not to participate in violence any more. What happens then?

This can be quite painfully serious, and actually inconvenient. One becomes what is called a “fascist” or a “nazi,” and may receive plausible death threats.

Oddly, however, both the Fascist and Nazi Parties were violent, revolutionary socialist organizations, until they became right-wing through left-wing propaganda.