DISSENT IN THE AGE OF OBAMA
The Age of Obama has already begun in many respects as George Bush toddles off toward the sunset and Obama’s people swarm Washington, cognizant of the fact that they have less than 70 days to create an administration out of thin air. It really is one of the more remarkable facets of our democracy, this peaceful handover of power.
After nearly 4 years of hearing that George Bush would never “allow” an election and that it was likely that martial law would be declared and Bush would assume the presidency for life, it might be nice to get an apology from those on the left who advanced this preposterous idea. But asking the left to apologize for anything is a waste of bandwidth and breath. But there is no doubt that their “dissent” crossed the line many times and the “reality based community” went totally, completely, off its rocker cuckoo.
All the cockamamie conspiracy theories about Bush they have advanced over the last 8 years - about how Bush would set himself up as a dictator and a tyrant, how he would put his political enemies in concentration camps (built by Haliburton don’t you know), how there would be a “Reichstag Fire” - meaning another terrorist attack perpetrated by Bush who as we all know knew about 9/11 in advance and almost certainly planned it - in order that the president could institute all manner of draconian measures in order to silence his critics - all of it has been proved wrong by the passage of time. They are still holding out hope that Bush will attack Iran thus making something that has been predicted at least 5 times in the last 7 years come true. But time is running out and Bush is simply not cooperating.
This was the kind of “dissent” we had from the left over the past 8 years. All of this “speaking truth to power” was a mirage, a product of fevered imaginations and paranoid delusions sparked by unreasoning hatred and contempt for the President of the United States. And I have no doubt we will see similar nonsense from many on the right who are already getting the vapors just thinking about an Obama presidency.
Admittedly, this unhinged variety of dissent against Bush was practiced by a very vocal minority of liberals during the Bush presidency. The problem was that some very prominent lefties occasionally found themselves taking part in the madness. Glenn Greenwald and Dave Neiwert were particularly adept at walking to the edge of total derangement in their critiques while forgoing some of the more wacky notions that Bush was a cross between Satan and Stalin. Nevertheless, they and other prominent progressives indulged in some of the most vile, hateful, unreasoning, illogical falsehoods about Bush and Republicans in order to advance their political agenda or to win the approval of lefty knuckledraggers.
But things are going to be much different now that Barack Obama - our first African American president - is in charge. Or will they be?
Certainly on the left, the idea of “speaking truth to power” will fall by the wayside as will the notion that “dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” In fact, if initial indications hold true, some dissent will soon be equated with racism. And if you thought that political correctness was widespread before Obama was elected, the straitjacket the left is about to put language and symbolism in will make what they have done previously seem tame by comparison.
Consider:
The day after Barack Obama became president-elect of the United States, Larry DeBaker flew Old Glory outside his Pulaski Township home — upside down.
Neighbor Marilynn Curry said Friday she is offended by DeBaker’s action, particularly on the weekend before Veterans Day and just after the election of Obama.
According to the United States Code, as it pertains to flag etiquette, “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
“I do feel people are in danger,” DeBaker, 52, of 3703 50th St., said Friday night. “This country is in distress as far as I’m concerned.”
DeBaker, a McCain supporter, said the country “elected to the highest office in the land someone we don’t know anything about.”
DeBaker said had planned to fly the flag upside down for a week or so, but is also considering taking it down until someone other than Obama is president.
Curry said she, her husband, William, and their daughter, Kacey, 12, a sixth-grader at New Brighton Middle School, had returned Friday afternoon from a Veterans Day program at the school when they noticed the flag.
Curry said her daughter said of the flag’s positioning, “That’s just rude and ignorant.”
Even the family doesn’t argue the man’s right to hang the flag upside down. But apparently, those champions of First Amendment Freedoms at Vanity Fair are wondering why the “National Press is Ignoring Small Town Racism” - and the first item is a story about the guy above exercising his right to protest Obama’s election by reversing the field of stars.
Racism? There is not one single solitary clue in that piece that would even hint at racism on his part. And there’s a problem with a few other examples of “racism” Vanity Fair has detected in Jesusland:
But there are plenty of people out there who don’t like it one bit that a black man is about to become leader of the free world.
For whatever reason, the national papers and wire services are ignoring the steady stream of local reports concerning post-election acts of racism. The only place to find them is in small-town papers. VF Daily scoured small-town America for news of these incidents. What we found may shock you.
• In Pulaski Township, Pennsylvania, a flag was hung upside down. [Times Online]
• In Midland, Michigan a man paraded through an intersection in a KKK robe. [MLive]
• A noose was hung from a tree at Baylor University. [Baylor Lariat]
• In Loxahatchee, Florida, a family home was covered in racist graffiti. [WPTV.com]
• A gunstore employee in Traverse City, Michigan hung a flag upside down. [Traverse City Record-Eagle]
• In Stokes County, N.C., a man crossed his flag with a black X and hung it upside down. [Winston-Salem Journal]
• At the University of Arizona, a cartoon with an individual using a racial slur against black people caused an uproar. [DailyWildcat.com]
• In Apolacon Township, Pennsylvania an interracial couple who supported Obama found a burned cross in their yard. [Star-Gazette]
• In Mount Desert Island, Maine black effigies were hung from nooses. [Bangor Daily News]
Now clearly some of these incidents are disturbing and should be dealt with by the law.
But aren’t we overreacting just a touch here? We are a nation of 300 million people and this is the best Vanity Fair can do in finding racism that “isn’t being reported” by the media? What do you suppose the ratio of racist demonstrations to legitimate protest might be? A thousand to one? Ten Thousand to one? More? Is there such a thing as “legitimate” protest? Vanity Fair has certainly narrowed the definition haven’t they.
And let’s look at a couple more of these incidents that Vanity Fair claims are “racist.” They already smeared Mr. Debaker by lumping him in with the cross burners. Do you suppose they are trying to drum up outrage over other non-racist incidents?
How about the “noose hung in a tree” at Baylor?
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, a rope was discovered tied like a noose hanging from a tree outside of Morrison Hall, prompting the Baylor NAACP and Baylor’s Association of Black Students to hold a joint meeting to discuss racially charged events on Election Day. The groups feel the acts were indicative of a racist culture at Baylor.
Devin Culberson, Spring freshman, found a thin, white rope tied to a loop at the end, hanging from a tree. Culberson borrowed a knife from a janitor and cut it down, he said.
The rope evokes historical images of when black people were hanged from trees in the American South in the early 1900s.
The rope is now in possession of the Baylor Police. Dub Oliver, Vice President of Student Life, says that he believes it was intended to look like a noose and send a hateful message. He hopes students will continue to come forward and help with the investigation.
Would someone want to explain this cryptography to me? Mr. Oliver “believes” it was “intended to look like a noose.” The rope was “tied like a noose” according to the single eyewitness to this “hate crime.”
Forgive me but either this story is poorly written (it is) or nobody knows what the hell is going on. There appear to be a lot of assumptions being made - not the least of which is that 1) the rope was, in fact, a “noose” and 2) that it was not placed their by Mr. Culberson in order to garner attention - a ploy we see often on college campuses. What we do know is that the Baylor African American community jumped on this questionable incident and concluded with little evidence and no logic whatsoever that there is a “racist culture” at Baylor.
There very well might be. But this story is so thin it cries out for a little more proof before a publication like Vanity Fair includes it with the Kluxers who are showing their displeasure with Obama.
Then there’s the racist cartoon at the University of Arizona. Did Vanity Fair actually read the piece they linked to? If they did, they would have discovered that the artist -Keith “Keef” Knight - who drew that cartoon regularly satirizes race relations in his cartoons. And even if they did read the piece, they almost certainly missed this:
Knight is a prominent black artist who often uses art in comic form to bring social, political and racial issues to the forefront of people’s minds. For example, one Knight comic showed police brutality against black Americans in order to stir discussion.
Accusing a black artist of racism against African Americans might be a first - even for Vanity Fair.
I am obviously not saying that cross burnings, racist graffitti, or racial epithets is legitimate dissent. What I am saying is that Vanity Fair is exaggerating. I see no huge breakout of racist incidents in the aftermath of an Obama victory. I see some unhinged criticism coming from the usual suspects on the right.
But then there’s this from Lucianne Goldberg:
We lost some long time posters yesterday. Password canceled, comments deleted, outa here. All because some of us haven’t gotten a grip. We lost an important election. Stuff happens.Don’t lose your ability to fight the good fight because you can’t control your temper.
We are conservatives but we refuse to be in a bad mood about it.
Ed Morrissey wrote a good post about Obama Derangement Syndrome when that idiot Georgia Congressman Braun compared Obama to Hitler and Stalin:
If we plan to offer a rational alternative to the coming debacle of the next two years, then we’d better stick to facts and eschew hyperbole. We need to oppose the reality of the radical agenda proposed by Obama and the Democratic majorities in Congress, not fantasies spun out of context-free snippets of speeches. The more critics invoke Hitler and Stalin instead of Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson, the better the reality of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi will seem in 2010.
There is going to be a huge temptation on the part of the left and Obama to use the race card over and over again to stifle dissent. I doubt whether they will be able to resist the pull of such a powerful weapon. They certainly didn’t resist it during the campaign. There is no reason to expect that if they can shoehorn race into any critique of Obama’s policies, they will do so regularly and shamelessly.
So before we go off half cocked and determine that there is a massive increase in racist incidents from people who are unhappy that Obama won, perhaps we should consider the source. Vanity Fair appears to be deliberately trying to gin up fears of a racist backlash in order to stifle legitimate dissent.
Thankfully, this tactic won’t work unless we allow it to.
How about an apology from the right for installing the most incompetent or most corrupt administration in our history? Doubtful, you still think he’s doing a heckuva job.
Oh go away, troll. Jesus Christ if you’re going to comment on a website, don’t you think you should like, you know, read what the author has written about something before you criticize him? Only a mindless, brainless twit would make a comment like that on this site.
Just go away - save me the trouble of banning your ignorant ass.
ed.
Comment by Nick — 11/13/2008 @ 2:34 pm
This post brings to mind something I have learned about liberals in my own admittedly rather brief life experience of talking to them and working with them daily. To liberals, feelings matter more than logic. If you experience something as offensive, then it is offensive. If you experience Bush as a tyrant, then he is a tyrant. If you experience something as racism, then it is racism–even if you do not have the life experience or the skin color to have firsthand experience of what racism is.
This mentality–of feelings meaning more than facts–has polluted the minds of many. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is now mainstream. In this world, its not the whole picture that matters. It’s how you feel when you are reading an article like that one in Vanity Fair talking about “racist” acts. It’s how you feel when you see that headline on CNN that someone yelled “Kill him!” at a Palin rally. It’s how you experience the world that matters, not the facts that come to light later. And sadly, I have seen this mentality take over the minds of many of my friends who were normally Republican voters, but who eventually voted for Obama after they became emotionally turned off by the “terrible racism” of McCain supporters story line that the media provided America. This story line was particularly emotional for minorities and they felt very saddened by all these racism stories coming out, particularly the infamous Palin “Kill him!” story (even though it was debunked, the damage was done).
Knowing this new trend in our society and in our media, I think our campaign in 2012 should be organized in a completely different way. I don’t know what direction we should head in, but we need to steal this victim storyline from the liberals and use it against them, because right now it is their best weapon.
Comment by Shelby — 11/13/2008 @ 2:54 pm
After hearing over and over the things that “Bush is going to” do, and now hearing just as stupid things that “Obama is going to” do… Well, I normally file those same people in the place I file “The moon shots was fake” people.
As to stirring up racist… There are a lot of them on both sides. Those who blame it all on someones race, and those who see every thing as a racist remark.
Reminds me of the time my new boss informed me that one of my co-workers said I didn’t like that co-worker due to my being homophobic. I laughed, and said “No, I just don’t like him. His being gay had nothing to do with it. If he doesn’t belive me I can introduce him to a buch of drag queens I used to work with”. The guy still works here and still says that I hate gays.
People are going to see what they want to see in a situation. It gives you some insight into how they really view the world.
Comment by Pan_theFrog — 11/13/2008 @ 2:55 pm
In this brave new world, all opposition to a Democrat Congress and the Executive will be considered racist, homophobic, ethnocentric, mysogonistic, etc. Two and two WILL equal five or ten or one or whatever our new overseers tell us it is. Didn’t you get the memo, Rick? BTW, excuse me for mixing my literary allusions - I’m out of practice.
Anyone who doesn’t see this coming down the pike is either deluded or simply stupid. The majority of the fourth estate enthusiastically endorsed this tactic throughout the campaign, and I seriously doubt their zeal will abate now that their demigod is about to be inaugurated. This is why, for the first time in my life, someone whose executive capabilities remain inscrutable on account of race, will take the oath of office on January 20.
As far as stifling dissent is concerned, in the words of the Vice President-elect, “gird your loins.” I would not be at all surprised if some of the leading conservative pundits and/or bloggers will be indicted for inciting so-called hate crimes before Obama’s Presidential tenure expires.
Make sure your accounts are in order, Rick. I strongly suspect they’re preparing to employ the IRS in way that would have made Nixon blush.
Comment by Sirius — 11/13/2008 @ 3:20 pm
Despite the National Security Force that President-elect Obama alluded to several months ago, I would not, without considerably more evidence, compare the soon-to-be President with ANYONE. Why don’t we see how he governs? If he tries to RULE as one of his spokespeople suggested he would - that’s a whole different thing.
I do find it amusing that Obama’s supporters have their knickers in a knot over the ill-advised comments of Georgia Congressman Braun when they had no problem referring to our current President as a chimpanzee and Hitler routinely. One of the most entertaining and frustrating aspects of the leftwingnut brigade is the absence of a sense of humor or irony! Earnest plodders with little brain power and less imagination for the most part. But oh so sanctimonious!
Comment by Gayle Miller — 11/13/2008 @ 4:34 pm
The ‘Late Night’ talk show hosts already censor themselves when it comes to Obama. I’m sure Biden will get a few pokes (if they can forget Sarah Palin for a moment). But the cacophonous left will undoubtedly put up a mountanous torrent of protests via their toadies in any dissenter’s direction.
Censoring would be unlikely from any official sources…with the exception of a perhaps; congressional mention of the “Fairness Doctrine”. Which might not survive constitutional muster. But will just talking about reinstating such an order be enough?
The media would of course, debate such a topic on ‘its merits’ ignoring what it really means and instead qualify it in a context directed at the outlets (TALK RADIO) that are kicking their asses in the ratings wars.
Comment by P. Aaron — 11/13/2008 @ 6:02 pm
when it comes to ‘racist’ and the likes I prefer having a good laugh about myself at:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
this is so true
Comment by funny man — 11/13/2008 @ 7:25 pm
I cannot disagree with what you said about many on the left but there are some democrats who will dissent if Obama does not keep many of his campaign promises. How many of us there will be I do not know but I do know this, that I will be one of them.
Right now I am refusing to listen to the moonbats from either side; I am willing to wait and see how Obama actually governs. I know why I voted for him and some things I do expect, such as banning torture.
I also know that utopia is not coming and I do not expect it. I do require decent goverence.
Comment by Gaia's Child — 11/13/2008 @ 9:28 pm
“They are still holding out hope that Bush will attack Iran thus making something that has been predicted at least 5 times in the last 7 years come true. But time is running out and Bush is simply not cooperating.”
What’s going to happen is that they’ll believe their demonstrations of “truth to power” prevented all those poppycock predictions from coming true. They will probably take credit for “preventing” Bush from attacking.
It’s just like me going out and warning the world of an evil plan to prevent the sun rising in the east the next day. When the sun does, in fact, rise in the east the next day, I can give myself a pat on the back for warning the world and scaring the evildoers to giving up on their plan. I can claim I saved the day. It’s all conveniently logical, but very delusional.
Comment by Andy — 11/13/2008 @ 10:25 pm
There may be another piece to this puzzle. Even Evan Thomas had to admit there was a “creepiness” exuded by some Obama supporters. What he meant, but danced around, was the Messiah complex. If you criticize someone’s personal Messiah, they tend to try to shut you up.
How much of this Obama will denounce I cannot say. But he seems like a very thin-skinned person, and if his personal Cargo Cult could filter out the bad stuff I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. The question is whether he would encourage it. I certainly hope he won’t.
Bush had ardent supporters but damned if he had cultists.
Comment by obamathered — 11/14/2008 @ 12:00 am
Obama is going to be disaster. Yes, I admit I have ODS of a sort. An I don’t apologize for it. I will always be alert to what damage he will bring. If the left’s radical programs come to fruition we’re dead. If the programs turn out to be silly limp-wrist attempts, we will be stuck with more PC waste we can never get rid of.
But, I think I have also developed a form of BDS lately (but for completely opposite reasons from the left). I support Bush on Iraq, the tax cuts of course, etc. But, he is NOT a conservative. He has left the Republican party dangling and wasted opportunity. He has withered away.
What to hell happened to the man in the last few years! As good as a man he may be, he has done a tremendous disservice to his own party. I will never forgive him for that.
Comment by mimi k — 11/14/2008 @ 6:50 am
Obamathered sums up my thoughts on this matter. I’m 31, and just voted in my 4th Presidential election. In my short time paying attention to politics, I NEVER saw folks latch onto a candidate the way they did to Obama. I mean kids singing songs, the filled stadiums, it’s all quite intimidating, and that was before he was elected! If this sort of zeal continues, those of us who dissent MUST be watchful, for protection sake. Who is to say if Obama will “go gestapo”, but if there aren’t any voices to the contrary, his presidency is going to be one of great distress to any who disagree with the way he sees America.
Comment by Frank — 11/14/2008 @ 8:07 am
Look, the next administration will not be remembered as the Great Society, it will be more like the Great Gullibility. The question won’t be the quality of the dissent. The big question is who will report the hypocrisy? The media reports now are that this president has a challenge as daunting as FDR’s. The derangement begins there, and then it will continue with a welcome expectation of FDR style socialism, with a government board dictating industry after industry. Ed Morrissey at Hotair.com likes to talk about how we have to move on, all the Obama flaws are now “baked in the cake.” But the gullible electorate doesn’t appreciate that the One LIED about his support for killing the live births of failed abortions, he LIED about his support of sex ed in kindergarten, he LIED about giving 95% a tax cut. Call me deranged if you want, but if you’re gonna eat Ed’s cake, you might as well drink the One’s Kool-Aid.
Comment by mark30339 — 11/14/2008 @ 9:15 am
What one can see in Rick’s writings and most thoughtful conservatives is not racism. I do see objections to the policies of some on the left in addressing racial injustice. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton have often pressured companies to benefit their race based organizations. Quotas based on race are another issue I see conservatives disagreeing with, These are based in political philosophy, not racism. Obama is the post-racial President or so I heard from the man himself. His election moves us to a new level, I have heard. Let’s base arguments on the merits of the argument, not on BS racial suppositions.
Comment by still liberal — 11/14/2008 @ 9:35 am
Yes, an “unhinged variety of dissent against Bush was practiced by a very vocal minority of liberals during the Bush presidency,” including “some very prominent lefties.”
And no doubt a vocal minority of conservatives will have Obama Derangement Syndrome.
And no doubt lefty knuckledraggers will call any dissent racism, as right-wing knuckledraggers called any dissent anti-patriotism.
But this kind of extreme dissent and labelling are done by vocal minorities on both sides.
Thoughtful, tough dissent, as practised by your blog and many conservative and liberal blogs, is widespread and a sign of a healthy society.
Comment by Postagoras — 11/14/2008 @ 9:46 am
Well, I will just say to your first point, about liberals fears that George W Bush would proclaim himself President for Life, there was a fair amount of talk, prior to 2006, of a “permanent Republican majority”. Liberals weren’t sure what that meant, but it sounded like one party rule for the foreseeable future. But the Republicans (who only had a majority in Congress as well as the White House for four years, from 2003-2007) squandered the opportunity by behaving like politicians, and recklessly spending, cutting taxes, borrowing and not doing any regulating with regard to non-bank mortgage providers and the housing bubble. I know there were some warnings (from both sides) and at least one piece of legislation, but it all appeared to be cosmetic, to me. Certainly nothing in this regard was accomplished.
Which brings us to dissent. If the Republicans can do more than threaten filibusters in the Senate, if they can offer real, market driven (but not relying solely on the market) solutions, they may gain some popularity back. If the Republicans admit that health care is a real issue, and find real criticisms of Obama’s proposed health care plan, such as that it doesn’t do enough to keep price increases in check or something, and the Republicans offer some counter plans that do keep price increases in check, then they will remain relevant. But if the Republicans just want to be obstructionist, and maybe encourage some KKK, neo-Nazi and cross burning activities, then the American people will continue to be disenchanted with politics, and Ralph Nader might finally be our President in 2012.
Comment by Ed Heath — 11/14/2008 @ 9:56 am
Rick,
Bush has indeed acted as more of a dictator than a president. Consider that since 911, the US has been under an official emergency status that delegates special powers to the president. Since that time, he and his administration have bombed Pakistan and Syria. And, his administration, along with Israel, armed and orchestrated the Georgian attack on South Ossetia. This attack outraged Russia and returned our nation to cold war status.
Bush has ignored the constitution in establishing special and unusual powers of the treasury department - all without over-sight and transparency.
Bush has bankrupted this country through his tyranny.
“…his administration, along with Israel, armed and orchestrated the Georgian attack on South Ossetia…”
You haven’t a shred of proof for that. Not one iota. That sounds like an anti-Semites fantasy.
As for the rest, give it up, willya? You really don’t realize that by making light of dictatorship that you are insulting people who really do live under tyranny, do you? Jesus Lord by your standards, Sweden is a fucking dictatorship.
Get your head out of your ass.
ed.
Comment by DrKrbyLuv — 11/14/2008 @ 1:32 pm
Wrong, DrKrbyLuv.
Bush NEVER governed with tyranny. His mistake was to be bipartisan and allow the Democrat party’s creepy and idiotic ideas have their way in forming unworkable welfare-type programs(Kennedy’s ridiculous education plan and example).
He should have kicked the Clinton left-behinds out the door the minute he took office.
People like you couldn’t recognize a dictator. And there is a clear possibility in the next decade we will have a dictatorship, or we will be well into socialism.
As much as I resent Bush for falling down in his last years in office. I am very aware that people who talk and think like you are the most destructive to this country — what’s left of it.
The Democrat party in charge of the economy or anything to do with the country’s security or sovereignty is a death knell.
And we’ll see how “transparent” the Obama administration will be. But then the media and the Democrat party are one in the same, so who will know the difference.
Comment by mimi k — 11/14/2008 @ 6:59 pm
“it might be nice to get an apology from those on the left who advanced this preposterous idea.”
We’ll apologize for our preposerous ideas when you do. Since you have more of them to apologize for, why don’t you go first?
Comment by Kwach — 11/16/2008 @ 2:20 pm
Your response to #17 is a parody right? The guy (probably wrongly) criticizes Israel and you bring up anti-semitism!? No, you didn’t call him that but you brought it into the discussion. See how easy it is? And you’re smart enough to know that only morons believe the Bush conspiracy theories. (His reality was bad enough for most of us) I thought you wanted to keep the idiots on both sides out of the blog? I’ve been reading this blog for about six months and while you usually keep to the clear-thinking high road, you do have a tendency to dip down into the swamp occasionally. As you do here. Racism in Amerika is a horrible, painful part of our entire history, (yes, it continues despite Obama) and if people get a little crazy behind it, well you and I haven’t walked in those shoes. It’s a truly astounding moment in our history and there’s no precedent for it. Read the article in the Times about threats to Obama and think about all the racists that are still among us. How many racists are crying PC victimization right now? How many racists are hiding behind “it’s his policies” I object to? Over-reaction is going to be with us for a long time, just as racism is. Finally, while I think PC speak is sometimes silly, frightening, overbearing, and self-righteous, and I’ve been a “victim” of some of it’s mindless proponents, I must admit that without it for the last twenty years, Obama would probably not have won this election. Finally, PLEASE don’t equate lefties with VF! Most of us are embarrassed by things like this.
Comment by Istanbruce — 11/16/2008 @ 3:17 pm
So much to go into, Rick. I’m only going to address one thing. . . your contention that Obama himself will be tempted to use race to quell criticism of his administration. I think you only need to look at how he ran his campaign and all his statements during that time to know that he will not succumb to such a “temptation.” He has studiously avoided dragging race into the campaign even when directly confronted with attempts by others to do exactly that.
Let’s all leave the lunatic fringe on both sides of the divide to their ranting and raving and try to move on to a rational discussion about where to go from here.
Comment by emgersh — 11/17/2008 @ 2:34 am
If one feeds at the well of madeness and ignorance, the results would be similar to the rantings I find on this website. The comments section in particular.
Willful ignorant hatred. Bigots and pseudo-intellectuals. And nothing anyone can say will cause a single one of you to stop and re-consider your perspective or view-point. Not a single one of the comments on this page hint at anything other than absolute knowledge of the world and all that inhabits it.
Who here can recognize that knowing it all prevents learning anything new?
For one, I still have hope for The United States Of America. And all of the dumb fucks that inhabit them. May we all learn and grow regardless of who the president is.
Who’s the bigot? The one who points out bigotry or the one who attempts to close off debate by ascribing racism and anti-intellectualism to his opponents? You simply don’t want to have your world view challenged at all do you? At the first sign that anyone challenges you to think independently and not spout talking points, you run to mama and bawl about the “racists” who disagree with you.
You have a problem bud. Not us.
ed.
Comment by Absolute — 11/17/2008 @ 5:41 pm
As a democrat (i.e. an atheist, socialist, America hating, terrorist sympathizer with a religion that you don’t like) it’s fairly bizarre to see the flag waving, my-country-right-or-wrong conservatives suddenly crying the world’s ending because their candidate didn’t win. Suddenly it’s not “my country right or wrong” anymore. No, now they’re the embattled freedom fighters. Fighting to make sure that the next presidential is even more about God, guns and gays than this one.
Please.
Keep it up guys, and thanks for ensuring that Obama is re-elected in 4 years.
Comment by Bill — 11/18/2008 @ 8:50 pm