Truth and Reconciliation: An Orwellian Strategy

 

When I first heard the proposal of a “truth and reconciliation” process in the United States, I felt my hair stand on end. Robert Reich, formerly of the Clinton Administration, proposed this kind of commission be established, and I knew that he was up to no good. I actually felt outraged when he used the term because I knew that these commissions were established internationally to deal with the outcomes of devastating upheavals in 40 countries. I am very familiar with events in Rwanda:

The Justice and Reconciliation Process in Rwanda— During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, up to one million people perished and as many as 250,000 women were raped, leaving the country’s population traumatized and its infrastructure decimated. Since then, Rwanda has embarked on an ambitious justice and reconciliation process with the ultimate aim of all Rwandans once again living side by side in peace.

Justice after the genocide—In the years following the genocide, more than 120,000 people were detained and accused of bearing criminal responsibility for their participation in the killings.

Following this kind of horror—one million people killed in one month—Rwanda knew that steps had to be taken in an effort to unify the country.

But Robert Reich’s proposal borders on evil:

‘When this nightmare is over, we need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission,’ Reich tweeted. ‘It would erase Trump’s lies, comfort those who have been harmed by his hatefulness, and name every official, politician, executive, and media mogul whose greed and cowardice enabled this catastrophe.’

Seriously? Does Reich truly believe that a commission of this type will unify the country? Do we need to execute people’s reputations or even lock them up because people’s feelings have been hurt? Not alone in his ruthless commitment to take revenge, he followed Chris Hayes’ recommendation at MSNBC who proposed a similar commission for those who questioned COVID-19 protocols.

It’s clear that Reich and other Trump-haters are determined to punish Trump and anyone associated with Republicans. All the positive outcomes of the Trump administration are irrelevant: improved foreign policy, a thriving economy, reduced regulations, energy independence. None of those achievements matter. The only goal that matters is destroying the political Right and the Republican party.

The columnist at the Chicago Tribune, John Kass, has taken the punishment for his positions as well. Here’s what he said recently about Reich’s proposal:

Among Republicans, the outraged hot take on all of this is to bring up George Orwell’s ‘1984.’

‘It’s Orwellian,”’ they say.

But Orwell’s ‘1984’ was a soulless world ruled by dispassionate intellects. Their terror was numbing and methodical. These Reich/Hayes Truth Commissions are tinged instead with the angry passion of the zealot seeking revenge. It’s rather French. No, not the France of today, but of the French Revolution, of tribunals and trials and the Reign of Terror, the France of the Jacobins.

That prominent Democrats feel free to propose a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is unnerving, even frightening. We must assume that they are deadly serious.

Let’s hope more than ever that November 3 is a Trump victory.

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  1. Buckpasser Member
    Buckpasser
    @Buckpasser

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    The only people threatening violence that I have seen are Trumpists.

    I worry about the future of our country.

    A vote for the democratic party (that would be Joe Biden, but he doesn’t know what he’s running for or where he is) is a vote for Antifa and BLM.  The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.  The dems dislike (hate is probably a better word) America.  Donald Trump loves America.  I will vote for America.

    • #91
  2. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):
    There are a few I worry about. I saw a short video of the riots and confrontations where one guy, in a very calm, cold voice, told a masked antifa guy, “When the police are gone, you’ll have to deal with us.” I don’t think that one was bluffing.

    Maybe so, but I can see where he’s coming from.

    In a world where rule of law applies, I can maybe afford to wait for the cops, and they’ll probably try to end a situation without violence.

    When it’s just me between my family and antifa, I’m not going to be messing around with nonlethal force.

     

    This has been discussed in the PIT a couple times.  The bottom line function of the police isn’t to protect citizens from the criminals.  It’s to protect the criminals from the citizens.

    • #92
  3. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Boney Cole (View Comment):

    I would like to go to Washington DC on election night, and be accompanied by 100,000 individuals committed to a peaceful transition.
    I anticipate that Antifa will be there to riot. They rioted at Trump’s inauguration. I would like enough people to be there to physically displace them. I am now in a position to to that. I will be within two hours of DC. I plan to be at the Lincoln monument by 7:00 p.m. At the minimum I will take videos of rioting Antifa forces. I probably will be taking videos of people taking videos of Antifa rioters. All their riots are pretty well documented. The inauguration riots were very well documented. Please join me and round up another 99,000 people.

    99,999? You wouldn’t want to come up short. May God be with you!

    • #93
  4. Boney Cole Member
    Boney Cole
    @BoneyCole

    Ok, ok, ok,   99,999 peaceful transitioners, although something seems off about that term. 

    • #94
  5. Boney Cole Member
    Boney Cole
    @BoneyCole

    Perhaps I need to change my branding.

    • #95
  6. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    I saw the Jews being rounded up in Nazi Germany and elsewhere. Only those of us on the Right would be their targets.

    It will start with right-wingers but it won’t end with them. Your use of Jews in Germany is apt. It started with Jews but like a fire it spread.

    And the Democrat Party increasingly allies itself with Jew-haters.

    • #96
  7. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Buckpasser (View Comment):
    The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.

    And they hate your dog too.

    • #97
  8. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    The only people threatening violence that I have seen are Trumpists.

     

    Not from what I have seen. Plenty of people on the Left are just itching to go out and smash things if Trump wins, or if it is close, because they have convinced themselves that any Trump victory will necessarily have been a stolen one. Frankly, some of the militant right is, by the same token, just as eager for that outcome for an excuse to go bash heads in. In short, plenty of malcontents all around sound like they’re hoping for a close election, because then it will be an excuse to fight.

    I do not hold out high hopes that anything but a decisive win (one well beyond the error bars of accusations of stolen votes) will actually let any steam out of the pressure cooker.

    I would say that the mood of the country right now rather reminds me of the mood of Europe in June of 1914 – a certain ready eagerness for a war to finally settle things and defuse tensions, and the heady belief that such a war will be short, sharp, and decisive.

    The difference is that Trump seems to give them aid and comfort by telling them to “stand back and stand by.”  I do not recall Biden every saying such a thing.  

    • #98
  9. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine.  While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    • #99
  10. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Buckpasser (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    The only people threatening violence that I have seen are Trumpists.

    I worry about the future of our country.

    A vote for the democratic party (that would be Joe Biden, but he doesn’t know what he’s running for or where he is) is a vote for Antifa and BLM. The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free. The dems dislike (hate is probably a better word) America. Donald Trump loves America. I will vote for America.

    I think that this sums up my feelings.

    .

    • #100
  11. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Buckpasser (View Comment):
    The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.

    And they hate your dog too.

    What sort of dog?

    • #101
  12. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    By whom? Denounced on the Right, but not by your candidate, nor her temporary appendage.

    • #102
  13. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    The only people threatening violence that I have seen are Trumpists.

    You have very selective eyesight.

    • #103
  14. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Buckpasser (View Comment):
    The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.

    And they hate your dog too.

    What sort of dog?

    The ones from Kansas. 

    • #104
  15. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Nancy Pelosi openly endorsed Antifa in 2018 when Antifa was relatively new on the scene. Joe Biden in the recent debate went out of his way to avoid denouncing the violence of Antifa. Kamala Harris has this summer supported those who committed violence. Maxine Waters has advocated violence against those who support the president. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have been evasive on the subject of violence against political opponents. Several Democrat mayors have this year supported those who commit violence against those who disagree. 

    Violence against political opponents is in the mainstream of the Democratic party. Hence a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” by Democrats is something to be feared by peace-loving Americans. 

    • #105
  16. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Buckpasser (View Comment):
    The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.

    And they hate your dog too.

    What sort of dog?

    The ones from Kansas.

    • #106
  17. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    SkipSul (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Buckpasser (View Comment):
    The dems hate my religion, hate that I own guns and hate that I am free.

    And they hate your dog too.

    What sort of dog?

    The ones from Kansas.

    Oh?  The very worst then.

    • #107
  18. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Steve Scalise would like to have a word with you.

     

    • #108
  19. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    FYI:

     

    EDIT: Reza Aslan tweeted on 9/18/20 that “if they even TRY to replace RBG we burn the entire [redacted] place down.”

    ACB was just sworn in.

    • #109
  20. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    • #110
  21. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    • #111
  22. Jeff Hawkins Inactive
    Jeff Hawkins
    @JeffHawkins

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    They spied on the transition team

     

    • #112
  23. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    • #113
  24. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    How much violence can be attributed directly to Q-Anon, [redacted]? 

    • #114
  25. kidCoder Member
    kidCoder
    @kidCoder

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    There are Q-Anoners. Then there are the vast majority of the voting base.

    The Democrats have the antifa-supporters. Then they have antifa.

    • #115
  26. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    kidCoder (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    There are Q-Anoners. Then there are the vast majority of the voting base.

    The Democrats have the antifa-supporters. Then they have antifa.

    I haven’t seen the Q-Anoners being shunned by Trump or the party.  Instead they have been welcomed!

    • #116
  27. Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw Member
    Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw
    @MattBalzer

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    kidCoder (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    There are Q-Anoners. Then there are the vast majority of the voting base.

    The Democrats have the antifa-supporters. Then they have antifa.

    I haven’t seen the Q-Anoners being shunned by Trump or the party. Instead they have been welcomed!

    How many people has Q-anon killed and how many have antifa killed?

    • #117
  28. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Show me one quote by a Democratic leader denouncing Antifa.

    Just one.

    • #118
  29. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    kidCoder (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Instugator (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Not by your nominee. Quite visibly not by your nominee. Or his party (now your party).

    The proclivity of Democrats for supporting Antifa has become notoriously obvious. Denials, excuses, justifications, and government protections.

    Almost like Republicans embracing Q-Anon…

    There are Q-Anoners. Then there are the vast majority of the voting base.

    The Democrats have the antifa-supporters. Then they have antifa.

    The curiously welcoming attitude of Democrats to violent Marxists precedes Antifa, but this is to be expected since the sixties Left is now firmly entrenched in the Democrat Party. Note, as just one example, Democrats’ revealing admiration of unrepentant Stalinist terrorist Bill Ayers–and indifference to Obama’s connections to him.

    And if we go back to the seventies there was the Democrats’ hostility to Vietnamese refugees from Communist terrorism and murder. Those who managed to get to America in spite of the Democrats remember this.

    • #119
  30. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    Miffed White Male (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    EJHill (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins: And if Trump loses, will you abjure any violence and support a peaceable transfer of power?

    I think we should offer the same level of support your Democratic friends offered after November 9, 2016. Deal?

    That’s fine. While Dems went into resistance, only Antifa went into violence, and has been roundly denounced.

    Steve Scalise would like to have a word with you.

     

    Even Joe Biden might have a word about this.

     

    As it was becoming clear in March that Joe Biden would be the Democratic presidential nominee, Alexander Hillel Treisman started to map out his plot to assassinate the former vice president, federal authorities say.

    “Should I kill Joe Biden?” Treisman wrote in a caption to a meme he posted in April…

    The 19-year-old searched online for Biden’s home address and for night-vision goggles, and purchased an AR-15 in New Hampshire, according to federal court documents first reported Thursday by WBTV. At one point in May, Treisman ended up at a Wendy’s within four miles of Biden’s home in Delaware. And when he was arrested later that month in North Carolina, police searching his van found four rifles, a 9mm handgun, explosive materials, books on bomb making, and $509,000 in cash that’s believed to be his inheritance.

    From the Washington Post.  Guess what was buried in paragraph 15 of the story….

    The 19-year-old’s focus on Biden started in the spring, according to the order… Days after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign, Treisman, who had suggested in a Reddit post that he had to “save bernie,” posted a meme with the caption questioning whether he should kill Biden.

    The real violence that is happening now, all across America is almost exclusively on the Left, by the Democrat base.

     

    • #120
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