MovieChat Forums > The Company You Keep (2013) Discussion > Oh so now the 'radical' anti war protest...

Oh so now the 'radical' anti war protesters are the terrorists?


One gorgeous piece of "domestic terrorists" propaganda waiting.

reply

Didn't you see the cast list? This film defends the terrorists.

The point of this film is to justify people like Bill Ayers etc. The moral of the movie is: If you're a socialist, it's OK to be a terrorist.

reply

Both of you are so far off base it's ridiculous. I won't even bother explaining unless I see a sign that you are actually willing to listen. This isn't me being preachy, I'm willing to listen to any REAL rationale on why you know the moral of the movie and why it's such a boiled down, inflammatory statement.

Besides that, it seems like what people like you want is to just start the least civil possible arguments because it's likely already decided in your mind that there is no reasoning with anyone who identitifies with the left or as a democratic-socialist. Granted, there are plenty of people on the the sides of these various "political fences" that think that about their....unfortunate opposition. Considering we are supposed to be working together...but I digress, I reckon.

You have no idea what this film is about and I'm willing to do this little thing that used to happen a bit more before the Reagan-era political arena that was built, though it's something we've had a deficit of since this country's inception on ALMOST everything. Including our scrutinizing of our founding documents. And that is elaboration, it's very clear that few people are willing to take the time to justify their beliefs and idealogies. The funny thing is, you could literally make a 1-2 page-worthy elaboration, copy it to a wordpad or notepad or microsoft word or whatever you use (I use y-writer), then you just paste it every time. You modify it as your argument evolves or is changed, and you NEVER make the elaboration without being willing and able to look at someone else's and perhaps even admit you're wrong.

I know from personal experience how hard it is to change one's political and religious idealogies, and by change I don't mean shifting in the same direction to a further extreme. I mean a pure ideological epiphany which lead to an evolution that continues. Evolution isn't always advancement but it is an advanced form of change in certain contexts.

reply

Honestly, that is somewhat reasonable. The notion that there is no reasoning with the left.

Both the Left and Right have very unpleasant ideas that are implicit in their ideologies. But the Right is often very eager to say out these unpleasant ideas, which makes them seem unpleasant.

The Left is very reluctant, on the other hand, to admit to them. Which to me, makes them dishonest. Basically, the Right may be *beep* but at least they admit they are *beep* The Left are *beep* and unwilling to admit it.

reply

The Weather underground blew shyte up and people died. That's terrorism.

If a day does not require an AK,
it is good
Ice Cube
Warrior Poet

reply

Yes, but they killed for all the right reasons so they aren't terrorists. [/endsarcasm]

reply

How dumb are you? The Weather Underground was just like the IRA, the Red Brigade and other TERRORIST groups of the time. They weren't famous for being anti war. They were famous for blowing buildings and people up. Hello? That is the undeniable definition of a TERRORIST.

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

How dumb are you? The CIA was just like the IRA, the Red Brigade and other TERRORIST groups of the time. They weren't famous for being anti war. They were famous for blowing buildings and people up. Hello? That is the undeniable definition of a TERRORIST.

The Weather Underground tactics were wrong but their political message was the same and they were right about their message all along.

God god, the terrorism propaganda is working like a charm. It's just like anti-Communism of the past generation. No analysis, no differentiation, no discussion. Just label it all terrorism under one roof. No discussion as to the causes of terrorism?

Wow. Just wow. My generation is now suffering under a different type of cold war propaganda....it just went from anti=Communism to anti-terrorism.

reply

How old are you? So you even remember this time period? Or did you just hear about it second hand? The message of the Weather Underground was right all along? Are you kidding? They didn't want an end to the war. They ultimately wanted a Communist revolution in the U.S. and NO 99.99% of the population did NOT want that. So revisionist 'history'' takes a hit! Also they blew up bombs and murdered innocent people to further a political end. That is the definition of a terrorist.

What is shocking is that there are people who ascribe common decency to some sort of propaganda. What is missing is the sense of right and wrong. It has nothing to do with Cold War Propaganda. Defending their actions as somehow noble sounds like the rants of a leftwing lunatic if I ever heard one, unfortunately.

I asked your age because I am old enough to actually REMEMBER the Weather underground and the problems they caused. I am actually old enough to REMEMBER the Cold War.

Surely, SOME folks overgeneralize about various CRIMINAL acts and lump Terrorism all under one label, that is true. But that fact doesn't change the fact that violence and killing people to further a political goal is TERRORISM. No propaganda here...


Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

Their message was communist but their main intent was to overthrow imperialism. Whether you agree with their methods or not, their main message was that imperialism was a far worse enemy than anything they could dish out or the worse scourge of the earth. And they were right and still are right.

The fact that you cannot see that, refuse to see that and cloud your reasoning behind some narrow right and wrong morality doesn't dilute their message.

Most of the people of Germany at the time were very sympathetic to the political message of the Baader Meinhof gang but not their methods.

US and Western Imperialism killed far more people and created much more havoc, that was the message.

So if this is solely about right and wrong, then the CIA must be the worst terrorist group in the world to you? If you do not believe this to be true than you my friend ARE a product of cold war propaganda. By the same standards you dismiss the Weather Underground as a terrorist group, you should likewise apply it to the CIA and to a lesser extent the FBI during COINTELPRO.

Again, you've proven to me that you're just re hashing the same status quo propaganda and framing it as "good ol' common sense morality", "right and wrong".

reply

Hahahaha, I've never laughed so hard at such idiotic ramblings in my life. And guess what, I've run into lots of idiots around the world, but your posts have that 'special something' that makes it hilarious. Keep drinking that hallucinogenic KOOL-AID. :D

Arguing with you is like arguing with someone who believes unicorns live in his basement. Oh, and every government agency has been guilty at some time for horrific acts. I noticed that you didn't mention ATF for the Waco Disaster. But agencies (a) have a government mandate for the most part (b) are government employees following orders for the most part and (c) are made up of fallible humans, i.e. all employees aren't culpable with the mistakes of others in the agency.

You are a throwback to the YIPPIE generation (i.e. politically motivated hippy). Unfortunately, the DNC is under assault by extremists from various crackpot left wing groups. You fit right in. :D

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

Actually you just remind me of the typical Bircher type that thinks anything remotely sympathetic to a radical movement or understanding it, is somehow excusing terrorism and akin to left wing lunacy.

I've never laughed so hard at such ridiculous legitimizing of state sponsored terrorism. So when the government bombs, sabotages, terrorizes and economically strangles an opponent country, that's OK, because government is mandated?

Do you not realize the utter lunacy of that, you idiotic right wing nut?

The fact that you think that your morality is somehow common sense astounds me and shows me that a lot of Americans are still stuck in the Cold War era and haven't moved past that type of inane thinking.

I am not talking about one time incidents either. I am talking about a SYSTEMIC and SYSTEMATIC use of terrorism as POLICY. It wasn't just fallible human beings or bad apples, it was the stated goal to use terrorism as a means to engage in war against perceived enemies.

You need to get that through your silly head because while you think your middle aged white middle management middle class right wing demographic are somehow the gatekeepers of "liberty", you're really just a relic. A throwback to a regretful past.

Do yourself a favor and quit posting more inane drivel because you're only making yourself look more and more ridiculous and revealing your right wing fringe beliefs.

"government has a mandate".....LOL. Laughable. What an idiot!

reply

It's funny that you call me a bircher. I'm not a right winger. I don't consider myself a right winger. You on the other hand are so leftist that you see anything mainstream as radical right wing. Insane drivel? You're the insane one. I see extremist all over you and your posts.

No, my COMMON SENSE is COMMON SENSE. hahahahaha. YOu pathetic little worm. You state that left wing terrorists (versus religious ideologue terrorists like Al Qaeda) are legitimate because, why? you think they are .... I suppose, thus with a wave of your magic wand, you make their murderous activities legitimate.

Go join a radical group. You think like they do. Let's see how long you last with people who don't respect either the rule of law or common sense. Wait a minute! You're in your element I suppose. Pond scum attracts like minded entities. :D


Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

Are you dense? Can you really not follow what I was saying?

Understanding and being sympathetic with their message is different than approving of their tactics. What part of that can you not wrap your small mind around?

You think that you're using your common sense but it's really just a ridiculous moral judgement based off of assumptions, for instance that you seem to legitimize or sympathize with the state terrorism of the CIA, FBI and US military.

That is OK but the Weather Underground are akin to Al Qaeda?

It's not extremist to say that the political message behind the WU was correct. It was correct. How can you possibly deny that US imperialism reeked havoc over countless nations and killed millions, yes millions from open wars of aggression in Indochina, to supporting proxy regimes that murdered thousands upon thousands to systematic terrorist campaigns against opponent regimes and causing economic chaos in any nation that dared move away from the US.Western dominated sphere.

This is BASIC history. You think you're not right wing but your use of language is certainly right wing, your morality play, your insistence on your presumptions being "common sense"...that is classic right wing junk. I can smell you right wing idiots a mile away. Stop pretending like you're not, I read your previous posts in other threads. RIGHT WING....not mainstream!

Just give it up. You're an idiotic person who didn't even answer my question regarding the same standards being applied to the CIA.

If you cannot grasp the basics of what I am telling you then you're just another opinionated oaf with little to say but inane drivel.

reply

CIA is a state actor, and by definition, cannot be a terrorist.

reply

[deleted]

Exactly. That is literally correct. Apparently you are of the incorrect view otherwise.

reply

@Stone Griffin

Seriously,you are out of your *beep* mind. I volunteer with a left-wing activist group that gets people involved in local politics and have peaceful protests---how the *beep* does that make us "terrorists"? You make it sound like ALL left-wingers are terrorists of some kind. Frankly, YOU sound like a damn paranoid right-wing nut who's been holed up in your basement watching nothing but FOX News for too damn long. Funny how you never once mention anything about McVeigh (a domestic terrorist/murderer) and those psycho nuts who tried to blow up abortion clinics and tried to kill doctors who worked there. You sound like a classic example of what happens to someone who spends WAY too much time listening to right-wing radio and nothing else. The left-wing dosen't have a claim on a few crazy violent people who use movements as a way to legitimize the crazy s*** they do---there are PLENTY of right wingers who have done some of that same s***. So please get the hell out of here with your paranoid bull**** and take your meds.

reply

You're jumping into an exchange between me and roycant7. Frankly, I don't care what you write, because you sound just like he does. But also more importantly, you interject your opinion into an exchange that has run it's course.

I love how you interject ad hominem attacks as a normal part of your response. Get out of here? I don't think that you have the right to tell others to not express their views in any forum.

But go ahead, raise your blood pressure. You're the one who lives in an information bubble. :D Thus Your opinion is, frankly, worthless

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

I missed something. I missed where Stonegriffin described all left-wing groups as terrorists. I know he said that about the WUO. They earned the label. Ask the families of the men they murdered trying to carry out their agenda.



Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Tarkin: Enough of this! Vader, release him!

reply

Actually you remind me of a nasty little THIRD grader! You don't tell ANYONE not to post! Typical "free speech...but not for you" liberal LEFT wing nut.

reply

Incredible isn't it ?? I'm beside myself with laughter and amazement alternating with sheer anger ... I just can not believe I'm seeing such a display of the lack of critical thinking as I'm seeing on this movies pages !!

reply

Unlike the GOP & the Tea Party--eh?

I agree with you, that not all CIA employees are culpable for the actions of others. This is why some leave the agency. The CIA--the agency, however, has committed acts of overthrowing (or financing it) of numerous popularly elected leaders, in foreign lands. Allende, in Chile, & Mossadeq, in Iran, come to mind. The whole Iran-Contra scheme was about the CIA trying to help overthrow an elected government, in Nicaragua.

Just because it happened in a foreign country, doesn't make it any more moral, than domestic terrorism.

Neither is right.

Carpe Noctem!

reply

The fact that you call the GOP and Tea Party, radical organizations will automatically not engender a reasoned dialogue, now will it? LOL. Well enough of that. :D well... At least you didn't say "Tea Bagger". hahaha That like saying "N****R" to a black person, the utter vileness and baseness of the insult renders the person who uses it, void of credibility. :D

This is kinda an old arguement, and I think a lot of the original posters aren't even thinking about this thread any more.

Rather than argue the old points, which are lost anyway, I will address your newest point.

True about the CIA but also remember context. The CIA is a group of human beings who are fallible. All government agencies do good and do bad. I don't blame the people in the trenches for bad decisions made by political leaders. The CIA has done much good, unfortunately they can't crow about their successes, as much as their dirty laundry comes up.

Now on to another interesting topic.

Sure you can condemn all bad actions regardless of where it takes place. What drives a lot of the arguements on places like IMDB are things like perceptions of fairness and people's frustrations.

I just hope you see that government mistakes can happen under ANY administration. Being a fair minded person, I see how many folks are extraordinarily angry and perhaps Paranoid purely because the mainstream media will NOT report on any mistake or wrong doing by the current administration. Since mistakes and screwups can never be covered up for long, this campaign of 'covering for Obama' is never fully successful and many folks are angry that there is an apparent double standard between someone say "like Bush" and Obama. Everything Bush did, regardless of whether he was at fault or not was blasted all over the airwaves. Fast forward to now, where Obama does many questionable things and no one says anything.

Now I myself won't slam Obama for things he has no control over, but I do understand why folks seem so angry about everything. They have no voice any more because of suppression of dissent by the establishment media.

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

reply

CIA is a government entity and therefore, by definition, exempt from being deemed terrorist. It is a state actor, not a non-state actor.

reply

OK. All of you can quit ranting now!

reply

anne-536 wrote:
"OK. All of you can quit ranting now!"
---------------------------------------------------

On this thread they pretty much did just that about 6 months ago. And now you, late to the party, dragging a stick too heavy for you to carry into battle, burst onto the scene and tell everyone to be quiet long after the fact. Good work there genius. Thank goodness for peacemakers like you. We'd all be lost otherwise.

reply

Yes, actually.
I've been reading these rants for a long time (not commenting) and thought that it was going on just a little too long. (note the late ranting posts)
So, where's my stick? I'm not ranting about an issue - other than the continuous rant over issues that have been beaten to dust already.

reply

So in other words you're telling people to shut up because you don't like their message. Classy.

reply

God! You are so dense!

reply

Dense as helium.

reply