You know, I'm a liberal. A progressive. I'm a fan of @AOC and voted for her (I live in Queens). I'm also, besides being a writer, a self-defense instructor. A martial artist for most of my life. It's important to me. And one thing I realize as a liberal is, too many folks 1)

2) seem to be under the impression that liberals shouldn't fight back. That we should just smile & take abuse. I don't like to take abuse. No one should. When attacked, I defend myself. When my friends are attacked, I stand up for them, too. That's what we do. However, I note...

3) that I've been called a hypocrite for pushing back. For fighting back. Because liberals are "supposed to love everyone". Say what? I don't love Nazis. I don't love Klan members. I'm called a hypocrite for not conforming to THEIR VIEW of what liberal is. Not mine.

4) My view of liberal is one of strength. You gain strength by lifting up others. Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Stand up for the vulnerable. Don't be selfish.

Nowhere is it written I have to eat their shit to be a liberal.

5) I suspect this goes back to the 60s and flower children, who literally wouldn't fight back. Who literally smiled when you hurled abuse on them. I'm not a hippie, however. Nor am I a christian. I'm a Buddhist, basically.

6) And again, I've been criticized for fighting back by people who have zero idea what Buddhism is or mean. I mean, many a samurai warrior was also a Buddhist. Hell, Buddhist monks trained martial arts and fought off bandits.

Yet some bro thinks I should take his abuse?

7) Because his view of Buddhism is a fat guy who doesn't fight back? Nah, man, nah. Uh-uh. You know who the hypocrites are? Christians who don't turn the other cheek. Christians who don't help the sick and needy without condition. Not Buddhists who punch back.

8) I suspect that a lot of DUDES come to conservatism because they're afraid of appearing weak. Conservatives tell them liberals are weak, join us. that's why they call us snowflakes. libtards. pussies. Whatever. And so a lot of guys join conservatives so they seem strong.

9) Classic bully psychology. Join the tribe that seems strong. But are they, really? Or are they picking on those weaker than they are? That's not strength. Every bully I ever met claimed they only wanted a fair fight. But they always picked a fight they thought they would win.

10) they never picked a fight where they were right but had a disadvantage. That's not strength. that's weakness. So a lot of these dudes pick GOP out of fear of being seen as weak. Liberals allowed ourselves to be seen as weak. Some of us were. We bought into the hippy shit.

11) No. I am not a pacifist. I won't allow my friends and family to die without taking action, ergo, fighting. A pacifist would. I am not that. I honor those who make that choice, but I make a different choice. Liberals aren't pacifists, overall, either. We serve. We fight.

12) We do everything conservatives do. We vote, we work. We just care more about others than conservatives do. We don't pick on the weak. We don't pick on the vulnerable. We stand up for those who have no voice. We advocate for fairness and equality. That's liberalism.

13) It's worth fighting for. I won't take abuse because of it. I'm not gonna smile when you call me names & laugh it off. No. Why should I? I'll push back. I'll fight back.

And I'm stronger not because of who I am, but because I'm fighting for others. You're fighting for ego.

14) I can clearly articulate why I stand for what I stand for, and back it up with facts. If you're quoting Newsmax or YouTube conspiracy videos or Q, you cannot.

you're fighting to preserve your privilege. I fight to extend it to those who need it and don't have it.

15) In short, liberals have allowed conservatives & Rush to define liberals as weak for decades. It's false & wrong.

I am not obligated to live up to your mistaken view of what liberal is. I only have to live up to mine.

I defend myself and my family.

I have that right.

16) We all do, and you're trying to harm them (espec you no-mask a-holes) and don't expect me to be nice. Don't expect me to be reasonable. There's a time to talk and a time to fight. At some point, when someone is trying to hurt you, talk time has passed. You can only defend.

17) When someone is trying to hurt you, talk can actually hinder. You have to act. By talk I mean, resolve it. Push back. At some point you have to say, BACK OFF!

We're at that point, now. Push back. They push you, you push back. Defend yourselves. Show them we are strong.

Fini

18) ADDED.

I think one reason BLM scared the shit outta most white folks is because it's a show of strength. Especially when black athletes embraced it. You cannot call an NFL player weak, they're not. So they spin it as he's corrupt, selfish. In it for the cash, at first...

19) Now they paint it as domestic terrorism, BLM, which is BS, but they're scared of it because it's real strength & the fact they lie about it shows what kinda cowards they truly are, conservatives. They won't engage on facts. They can't label them as pussies. So terrorists.

20) which is SUCH BS. BLM only wants black folk to be treated EQUALLY in the eyes of the law. That's it. That's all they're asking! And it's so scary to conservatives, they invent shit because if someone else rises up, it threatens their privilege. They are exactly that weak.

21) the other aspect I note is when I call someone out for making a false claim, they sniff & why are you attacking me personally, I didn't attack you personally?

Dude. You said libtard. You claimed all liberals are socialists (nor do you know what socialist is).

22) They say, "why are you so uncivil?" A easily fact-checked lie is the most uncivil thing you can do. It's personally. Telling me AOC wants to put Jews back in the oven (as one writer told me) is uncivil (and false). It's racist & plain. It's awful. It is entirely personal.

23) A bright smiling lie that hurts a lot of people is more uncivil than any profanity I can hurl at you.

Calling masks useless? Uncivil & false. Calling Covid "just the flu". Uncivil & false.

We are not disagreeing. You traffic in nonsense that kills. It's uncivil as hell.