Topic: 1st Amendment
Alex Jones Goes Berserk in Denver If you ever had any doubts that Alex Jones was a bully and a buffoon, his behavior at a protest rally in Denver ought to clear it all up for you.by Dave Nalle
(libertarian)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
If you ever had any doubt that Alex Jones was a thug, a bully and a jackass, events this week in Denver ought to lay those doubts to rest.
It all started with a protest put together by the anarcho-hippies of Recreate68 and some of their allies. They planned to go to the Denver mint to hold a nonviolent protest in which they were apparently planning to use their positive psychic energy to levitate and ultimately destroy the mint in a protest against global capitalism. As they had hoped, this protest attracted some attention. A number of right-wing bloggers were there to film and scoff at the hippies, including prominent editorialist and blogger Michelle Malkin and Steve Green AKA Vodka Pundit who was acting as a reporter for Pajamas Media and who we have to thank for the best of the various videos to come out of this fracas.
Of course, since the protest was at the Denver mint, it was almost inevitable that Alex Jones would be there with some of his supporters, what with the mint being part of the power structure of the diabolical New World Order and the Zionist bankers who control it, or something silly like that. As quickly became clear, there's not much love lost between Alex Jones and Michelle Malkin. He's convinced that she's going to round up every conspiracy nut and Pakistani convenience store clerk in the country and put them in (nonexistent) FEMA death camps while torturing Iraqi babies and whoring herself to the Gnomes of Zurich at the same time - she can multitask. She seems equally convinced that he's an irritating blowhard who she's too short to shoot pictures over. Well, a picture speaks a thousand words and a video speaks about a million - or in this case shouts them - so see the accompanying clip for what I'm talking about.
What quickly became clear as all these politically volatile elements gathered at the mint, was that Alex Jones can't resist the powerful combination of lots of video cameras and a diminutive Filipino-American to harangue. Calling her a "prostitute" and "disgusting new world order trash" and a variety of other epithets and shouting out her supposed crimes, Jones followed Malkin around, tried to thrust his pudgy form in her path and had his followers chase her down when she tried to get away, yelling "Get Michelle Malkin! Don't let her leave! ...Get on her!" Malkin took it all pretty calmly and did her best to just ignore Jones, setting an example for the world to follow. She did have some help. She seemed to have a large and bearded bodyguard type at her elbow, and some of the peaceniks took offense at Jones' behavior and attempted to come to her defense as well.
Contrary to what some have reported, Jones did not start chanting "kill Michelle Malkin", though it wouldn't have been a surprise, given his behavior. The chant was started by a guy in a funny hat who looked like he was with Jones, but who may just have been a prankster. In the video Jones does appear to give a good hard shove to one of the protesters who was attempting to defend Malkin, which likely meets the legal definition of assault. Jones was out of control and clearly desperate for attention, and when the cameras moved away from him he was quick to chase them down and try to make himself the center of attention again by being as verbally abusive as possible to Malkin.
I've got no particularly warm feelings for Malkin. While most of Jones' claims about her are as ridiculous and delusional as the rest of what he spews, she has said some genuinely troubling things and is needlessly sensationalistic, though she is occasionally fairly humorous. I'm no more a fan of her moralistic, fearmongering, hardline conservatism than I am of Alex Jones bombastic lunatic fringe ranting. Nonetheless, she does have a right to free speech and free assembly and not to be harassed by a mob stirred up by a ranting lunatic. Jones has a right to free speech too, but he doesn't have a right to create a situation which is volatile and potentially dangerous in the middle of what could easily become a dangerous mob.
Jones is just about out of control. It's only a matter of time before an incident like this turns violent. He also seems to have no idea how self-defeating his behavior is. He may think these antics are a great way to get his message out, but what they actually do is let people like me point out to other reasonable people that his behavior is not that of someone who ought to be taken seriously. He may think he's some sort of crusading force of righteousness, but most of those who watch the video are going to join me in concluding that he's a hate-filled buffoon. The contrast between his raging and ranting and Malkin's calm response gives her legitimacy and takes away what little he has left.
Watch the video. Draw your own conclusions.
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2008-08-28 17:23:54
I don't think Jones went berserk. He is just being himself. Alex Jones is mindlessly bent on self-promotion at any cost. He sacrificed any shred of decency long ago; if he ever had any to begin with. He gave it up for love of his own voice and his image on as many miles of video as possible. This guy thrives on being a public spectacle. I don't think he can recognize the difference between a bullying buffoon, a mock investigative reporter and a caricature of a revolutionary patriot...as long as the camera is on Alex Jones, he is comfortable.
Most people do ignore him and those who do not are usually pretty easy to spot and avoid also.
I have some liking to Alex Jones. Agree with him more than I disagree. Fair to say his wisdom writes checks his intelligence can't cash. It's there how I can understand how people can see him as a nutjob. Can't convey a needed message if the methods are repelling.
What\'s with the lame ad hominem attacks these days? So the guy is loud and boisterous and slightly abusive when he gets worked up about something? Who isn\'t? That is who doesn\'t get mad when their country is overrun by these sick Neocons? Who doesn\'t get mad when they live in an empire of lies?? Alex Jones will be made out to be a nutjob no matter what because his views do not conform to the mainstream approved left/right paradigm. The same thing happened to Ron Paul. Anyone who questions the establishment is labeled a kook or a nutjob. Yeah, you\'re a nutjob if you don\'t trust the government!! If you\'re not into torture. If you\'re willing to give up on the Constitution to feel safe from terrorists. If you believe that 9/11 was an inside job. Yeah, really kooooky man. Look out for Fabled Enemies by Jason Bermas, soon to be released by Alex Jones Media on September 1st. 7 years after 911 the supposed mastermind behind the attacks is still at large, and the nation is entrenched in multiple Wars in the Middle East. Is Bin Laden the Evil behind the attack or a mere front man in a larger picture, a Bogeyman? We are told we are fighting a War on Terror, and that the Terrorists hate us for our freedom. If that is the case, why do our leaders take more and more of those freedoms away every day? Trailers here: http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/enemies.html
You said: "While most of Jones' claims about her are as ridiculous and delusional as the rest of what he spews..."
Can you point out what those "ridiculous and delusional" claims are? Malkin DID write a book titled "In defense of internment," and much of Jones' ranting was made in reference to that.
Barrack Obama and John McCain are much more violent than Alex Jones will ever be.
Just like Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter... and whoever runs your local government, they rely on pointing guns to the heads of taxpayers. Litterally. They enforce their endless stream of laws and regulations with physical threats against freedom and liberty. They murder people through their mad foreign policies. Of course, they pay willing bureaucrats and willing soldiers to do the jobs.
How comes that Obama and McCain look peaceful and that Alex Jones looks violent? I guess it all depends on media coverage. Thanks for posting another video showing statists as victims.
Tactically, Ron Paul is doing a better job than Alex Jones at pushing a freedom agenda. I guess they also differ on the core of the problems. Always better to go after the state than after some conspiracy. Any way, Alex Jones is so much better than Michelle Malkin.
"Kill Michelle Malkin" is shocking. Right? Why is "Kill innocent in Afghanistan" not shocking? Of yeah, the slogan is "Protect America. Free Afghanistan from the islamo-fascists". Note that in the first case, no one was injured. Would you please post a list of the names of every human being (including men, women, boys, and girls) killed under the policies advocated by Michelle Malkin and tell us who is the more honorable person: Michelle Malkin or Alex Jones?
Do you have any idea what Malkin's book you reference is about? It's not about interning people today, it's a historical work defending the internment of Japanese citizens during WW2. I don't agree with her premise, but she has a reasonable argument that those with loyalties to entities or movements other than the United States bear some watching during a time of war. Just common sense.
Dave, perhaps it will be useful if I spell out the exact title of Malkin's book: In Defense of Internment: The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror.
Clearly, the book isn't just a mere historical analysis of a particular historical event, but how that event--when understood in a certain light--can and should inform policy decisions today. It is not a large leap to say that, because interning Japanese citizens during WW2 was a defensible policy, a similar policy today, especially since we're in the middle of the "War on Terror," directed against Muslim citizens would also be defensible. Where exactly did Jones' accusations go wrong?
Now, it's true that Malkin denies wanting to put Muslims and Arabs into internment camps, but nevertheless, the suggestion that she does is completely consistent with her argument that the "internment-policy" during WW2 was defensible. So, even if Jones is wrong in ascribing to Malkin a position she denies she holds, he does ascribe to her a position completely consistent with the one in the book--and also one that follows directly from it.
So, how can you maintain your charge that Jones' claims are "ridiculous and delusional" when they in fact hit pretty close to the mark?
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