Honestly yes, the entire concept of an “extremist” is no different from “criminal” or “terrorist”: a word that describes somebody who stands against an existing power structure, typically deployed with scorn and used as a rhetorical club to keep people’s worldview in line.
According to the powers that be, you and I are “extremists” for wanting drinkable water and a liveable temperature, because those things threaten the unlimited expansion of profits, and the unlimited expansion of profits is the only rule that our society actually runs on. What could possibly be more extreme than deliberately following a course of action you know is causing a mass extinction? Nothing I can imagine.
But the people and corporations doing that are never called “extremists”, because it’s not a factual label but a political one: it’s purpose is not to accurately describe reality but to separate the rich people whose awful ideas we’re supposed to take seriously, because they own tv stations, from the unimportant masses whose ideas we’re supposed to respond to with scorn and ridicule, because they threaten profit.
There is no group of people more extreme in their actions, plans or rhetoric than the common sense, business-as-usual crowd. Their ideology has brought us to the absolute brink and may well kill the human species, but familiarity has blinded us to it’s insanity.
Just saying there are extremists on both sides. Do you think that’s false?
Honestly yes, the entire concept of an “extremist” is no different from “criminal” or “terrorist”: a word that describes somebody who stands against an existing power structure, typically deployed with scorn and used as a rhetorical club to keep people’s worldview in line.
According to the powers that be, you and I are “extremists” for wanting drinkable water and a liveable temperature, because those things threaten the unlimited expansion of profits, and the unlimited expansion of profits is the only rule that our society actually runs on. What could possibly be more extreme than deliberately following a course of action you know is causing a mass extinction? Nothing I can imagine.
But the people and corporations doing that are never called “extremists”, because it’s not a factual label but a political one: it’s purpose is not to accurately describe reality but to separate the rich people whose awful ideas we’re supposed to take seriously, because they own tv stations, from the unimportant masses whose ideas we’re supposed to respond to with scorn and ridicule, because they threaten profit.
There is no group of people more extreme in their actions, plans or rhetoric than the common sense, business-as-usual crowd. Their ideology has brought us to the absolute brink and may well kill the human species, but familiarity has blinded us to it’s insanity.