Every year those of us in the military get herded into a large room and then preached to about "Workplace Relations". I simultaneously hate and yet look forward to these meetings. Hate, because it takes time out of my valuable workday. Love, because I can skewer these politically correct freaks in uniform in front of their peers.This year's theme was - you guessed it - extremist conservatives!
The briefer took heavily from Morris Dee's Southern Poverty Law Center materials to show neo-nazis behind every bush... then dipped her brush in that and began to paint constitutionalists and conservatives with broad strokes.
The message between the lines was that if you actively participated in conservative / constitutional groups your supervisor might watch you like a hawk.
No mention of La Raza, or of extremist Muslim groups (didn't a couple of those guys go unhinged recently, one on a military base??!!)
This isn't the first time the Administration has painted protesters as enemies. Last year the military Counter-Terrorism training had protesters as possible enemies. Let's see, who were the major protesters last year? Tea Parties, anyone?
The Southern Poverty Law Center has about as much truth as ITAR-Pravda, and so I confronted the briefer on her source of the data. You should have seen the anger in this poor E-6. It was like I told her a joke about the Virgin Mary in church.
What happened next gives me hope about our Republic. Several military members chimed in, bringing up "So you are talking about racist organizations - where's La Raza in your slides?" And sarcastically, "What about George Washington - that terrorist!"
In Eastern Europe the Communists didn't take all the dissenters and load them up to Siberia. They were a bit more subtle, having learned from the mass purges in Russia years before.
The Marxists had community organizers that hosted local talk-groups (much like workplace relations) where the crowd was salted with loyal Communists. The whole idea was to present the feeling that everyone was on board with the progressive changes which were happening, so that those who would normally speak up were left to feel they were the only ones in the meeting who disagreed - and therefore did not speak up.
I kick that in the crotch every time I go to these meetings and encourage you to do as well. Be a stand-up American!
-- Hugh Farnham
