Editor’s note: This story is from our sister paper the Stranger in Seattle.
Attention-thirsty conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is in Seattle for some reason*. For the second day in a row, he has been standing on street corners downtown ranting about the global elite’s effort to crash the economy, the CIA’s plans to kill Donald Trump, and how everyone he sees has been brainwashed by HBO comedian John Oliver.
During this morning’s session (a few seconds after Jones decided Seattleites who told him to fuck off are “the biggest cucks on the planet”) a passerby confronted Jones, unscrewed the lid from his to-go mug, and threw coffee in the conspiracy theorist’s face. The action starts around 3:40:
Vicious Leftists Attack Alex Jones with scalding coffee in Tolerant Seattle! See the video.. https://t.co/9Hm0c7hh2c
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 18, 2017
Jones’ conclusion? “This is why they’re allied with jihadis because they hate the West so much… These people are bots. They’re in a cult. They don’t know what’s going on.”
Jones has argued 9/11 was an inside job, the Boston Marathon bombing was staged, the school shooting in Sandy Hook involved actors, and, now, that the protests in Charlottesville involved “Jewish actors.” He also runs a vibrant side business selling diet supplements and has the ear of the president of the United States.
A few seconds after the coffee encounter, former Seattle City Council candidate Michael Maddux encounters Jones, who asks him to talk. Maddux responded, “I don’t talk to racist fucks.”
“There you go,” Jones concluded, “See. They cannot even talk. It’s a cult bot.”
Jones now appears to be safely back in his hotel room.
*”My wife went to college here and I’m here with my children and we wanted to come have a work-cation while she saw some of her old friends and went and did stuff and we went and saw the killer whales and stuff. It’s such a beautiful, wonderful American city.”
There is significant overlap in the beliefs on the Far-Left and the Far-right. Between Noam Chomsky and Alex Jones. 1) The mainstream media lie and use propaganda to influence the public; 2) the country is controlled by a small group of wealthy people; and 3) we are lied to especially about our foreign policy, about the countries we invade, bomb, or overthrow. This is not conspiracy “theory”. This is well-documented fact.
Free speech protects us from persecution from the government, not from society. As a society we can assemble and shut down socially and professionally people who’s world views we have come to reject. Free Speech does NOT protect you from a jury of peers. You can say just about whatever you want in America and you won’t be jailed for it, but don’t think for one second that guarantees there won’t be repercussions for what you say and what you stand for.