Has America learned from its past? Modern-day "McCarthywasms"

As mentioned in my previous article, Fitz has likened same-sex marriage proponents to terrorists that we are currently fighting* in the war.

Among Fitz' quotes, present and past:
"I found the specter of a man who spends half his time fighting America’s enemies within & the other half fighting Americas enemies abroad to be truly inspirational!"

and

"I think I understand your point. Free speech is very American.

(I can catalogue for you the momentous violations of free speech that results from the acceptance of same-sex "marriage" a under GLBT "rights" generally)

My point was not to call you un-American because you exercise free speech.

My point: and this explanation, is to say; that advocating for same-sex "marriage" (as well as it implementation) puts American society at risk.

In that sense I stand by my characterization of advocates of same-sex "marriage" to be "enemies of America" inasmuch as ss"m" threatens the social fabric of...well....America."

and

"I’m glad you caught that On Lawn. Very informative conversation concerning the mindset of the far left.
I knew that my “enemy within” comment was a bit incendiary. It seemed a nice fit rhetorically given the substance of Mr. French’s advocacy along with his service in Iraq.

Its not a term I employ on a regular basis to describe our adversaries. However it is a term I think is accurate in describing the entire leftist gender warriors especially in our universities."

and

"...The better Question (is)

Question: IS Jane Know a Neo-Marxist??
Answer: Yes, How can you tell? Why she seriously quotes roundly discredited works like the 1950’s The Authoritarian Personality Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik & other infamous Marxists of the Frankfort School.

This all makes perfect since off [sic] coarse [sic] – this would explain the hostility to traditional families (also a prime source of the “Authoritarian Personality”) and the “obsession” with feminism and queer theory- fields replete with Marxists and locked into Hegelian master slave dialectics.


I have never seen a soviet show trial of a dissident academic held on a blog before….

Nice Job!!!"

and

"...And what does she try to tar Cultulogist[sic] with?

Being an “authoritarian personality”..

She brought that up in this very post (extensively)
Unless your[sic] totaly[sic] ignorant of the origins of your own thought.

I say my red baiting stands on its own.


Thanks"

and

"An “accurate depiction” originated and propagated by Frankfurt school Marxists."

and

"All I’m saying is that my worldview is philosophically under girded by Christianity and western civilization norms.
While you and your movement owes much more to Marxist radicalism & subversion."


Yes, Fitzy is really a simple mind. Part of me pities him. But just a small part. You see, people like Fitz have the potential to be dangerous. He advocates against same-sex marriage, on the grounds that...well... what exactly ARE his grounds?

It's very difficult to sift through the "Well, you're a Marxist, feminist, radical, gender-warrior, etc." name-calling to decipher just what his arguments against same-sex marriage are in the first place.

You will note in past dealings with him through my archives and those of Opine that he merely expects those accusations to stand on their own feet. Perhaps Fitz is practicing a form of denialism? As discussed over in Fannie's Room, denialism is "the employment of rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of argument or legitimate debate, when in actuality there is none. These false arguments are used when one has few or no facts to support one's viewpoint against a scientific consensus or against overwhelming evidence to the contrary. They are effective in distracting from actual useful debate using emotionally appealing, but ultimately empty and illogical assertions."

Note the following quotes I was able to find that have been credited to Joe McCarthy:

"I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five (people) that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department”

and

"McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled."

and

"Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity."


Sound familiar? In fact, one could argue that nearly all of the Opiners have used nearly all of these tactics in their blog. As well as sites like LifeSite (fake experts and illogical assertions) and the AFA (homosexual conspiracy theories).

Is there an overlap between denialism and McCarthyist sympathizers? I would love to to delve into that idea one day.

But I digress. Fitz frequently uses McCarthyist tactics in his blog posts.

What is McCarthyism?

Merriam-Webster defines it as: "a mid-20th century political attitude characterized chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on individuals by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges."

In light of the McCarthy-esque tactics of Fitz at Opine Editorials, I have decided to approach them in the manner that proved to be successful in his era: exposing their tactics and calling them out. Fitz is the epitome of McCarthyism.

They at Opine have likened themselves to Watchmen on the Walls, blasted J.K. Rowling for making a gay character in the Harry Potter series, misused health and epidemiological statistics to oppose gay sex, and last but not least, have accused most of their female and/or educated opponents of being part of the vast left-wing, "gender-warrior conspiracy."

Fitz' constant use of demagoguery is evidence enough of his lack of any kind of rational argument.

On March 9, 1954, Journalist Edward R. Murrow attacked McCarthy's tactics in an episode of "See It Now." In this episode, Murrow stated this about McCarthy:

"His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men." [emphasis added]

So much so did McCarthy's tactics eventually sway public opinion against himself, that President Eisenhower began referring to his school of thought as "McCarthywasm."

As the public tide shifts towards mass acceptance of LGBT persons and legal recognition of same-sex couples, I am sure that we will soon be saying the same thing about the likes of our opponents. They are/were modern-day "McCarthywasms."

Note that I write this article not on the expectation that simply calling Fitz a "McCarthyist" will stand on its own to discredit him, but for readers to draw their own conclusions based on the evidence I have provided. This article is a comparison of tactics of two people, with quotes and evidence from their own writings. It is abundantly clear nearly every time Fitz engages in argumentation that he ends up resorting to this sort of demagoguery. If and when he is ready for any real debate on the topic of same-sex marriage, I am ready. If he would like to continue the name-calling, scare-tactics, conspiracy-theories, and the like, then he will likely get nowhere in his fight.

I'll leave Fitz and readers with this final quote:

"Men who have in the past done effective work exposing [Communists] in this country have, by reckless talk and questionable methods, made themselves the issue rather than the cause they believe in so deeply."--Richard Nixon, March 1954 (as instructed by President Dwight Eisenhower)

I wonder if Fitz will have any solid anti-SSM arguments once he realizes his McCarthyist accusations aren't worth their weight in деньги.



*An interesting and relevant article about the alleged "War On Terror" can be found here.