RUTHFULLY YOURS

The far-left media are excusing the behavior of San Jose rioters, instead blaming the violence on Trump and rally attendees. Some journalists have gone so far as to encourage the attacks.

In the wake of the outrage over the violent protesters’ behavior, online leftist publications churned out a flurry of articles that stank of damage control.  But unlike of the apologia they exhibited during the Baltimore and Ferguson riots, the authors of these pieces went a step farther than merely excusing the mob attacks in San Jose.  They endorsed them.

On the night of the protests, Emmett Rensin, a deputy editor at Vox, tweeted, “Advice: If Trump comes to your town, start a riot.”

Rensin was temporarily suspended from his position for the tweet.  But this did not stop him from engaging in a two-hour rant on Twitter the following day, attempting to further justify physical attacks against Trump supporters.

Meanwhile, writers at other far-left outlets were given passes for their support of the violence.  On June 3, Salon author Chauncey Devega published an article openly condoning the protesters’ actions:

In a functioning democracy, political violence should almost always be condemned.  However, we must not forget that Donald Trump and his supporters are on the wrong side of history.

In March, Salon published a series of opinion pieces in a similar vein, exalting Trump protesters as heroes and blaming any violence they engaged in on Trump’s own rhetoric.

Excusing otherwise unacceptable behavior, so long as it comes from the “right” people, is a new favorite tactic of the regressive left.  However, in blaming the behavior of a violent mob on the very people it targeted, authors like Emmett Rensin have taken their invective mentality to a new low.  Though this double standard has yet to make its way to large news networks like CNN and MSNBC, it nonetheless reflects a troubling shift in the tone of mainstream regressive rhetoric.

The message here is clear: violence is bad, unless it’s against somebody the left personally disagrees with.  Judging by the reaction of Salon’s readership, many people are troubled by what they’re seeing.  However, even some individuals in the comments section of Chauncey Devega’s article applauded the rioters.  One individual had this to say:

The protestors are doing what they can to protect this country from the next Hitler. I see no issue with their behavior.

This is far from the first time leftists have invoked the name of Hitler in order to justify their own brand of oppressive political violence.  Unfortunately, the irony of such logic continues to elude regressives, who have proven time and again that they are incapable of self-examination.  Perhaps Trump’s next proposal should be to build a giant mirror.