WatchI'm reading Muzzled: The Assault On Honest Debate by Juan Williams, and it's pretty good. He points out that both right and left in America have certain positions that are censored though social pressure. Anyone taking these non-PC positions will be mocked and then excluded by their own social group, and may lose their job. Some examples of non-PC positions:
On the left, you may not say:
- Islam is an extremely violent religion, and Mohammed raped, robbed, and murdered.
- Abortion is obviously murder when the fetus can do things like distinguish its mother's voice from other voices, for example.
- Black fathers often don't hang around, and black kids often shun anyone who does well in school for "acting white".
- AIDS was spread mostly by promiscuous anal intercourse between men.
- It's silly to say "African American", "Native American", "visually impaired", and "Happy Holidays" when everyone knows you mean "black", "Indian", "blind", and "Merry Christmas".
On the right, you may not say:
- The ultra-low 15% capital gains and dividend tax rate is a giant giveaway to the rich at the expense of the 99%.
- We don't like Obama mostly because he's black and has a Muslim name, not because of anything he has actually done.
- Obamacare was created from Republican healthcare proposals, but because Obama got it passed, we hate it.
- The war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and there were no weapons of mass destruction. We should not be there.
- The US has a much higher level of gun violence than other countries largely because of the NRA.
On both sides, you may not say, "You know, the other side has some valid points."
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Patrick says
Although this is the first I've heard about it, I'm not surprised. Things like this rarely get mentioned. Plus, it is consistent with the general culture of the ancient Middle East (and modern to some extent). This is just more reason why we shouldn't keep propagating those middle Eastern religions through the generations.
Nobody says anything bad about the Celtic Earth-based religions. Gaia is a lot nicer than those desert gods. Plus, forest orgy!
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The GOP says
The question is, what exactly constitutes a hair-brained, half-backed, liberal gripe? I think that few people could agree on that.
The GOP says
Are you Sean Penn? Or are you just one of the students in his Metaphor Writing class?
The GOP says
Yes, but the Republicans consistently lie about what they are for. They look after the interest of the rich, but still need the votes of the other 99.9% to stay in power. So they have to lie about everything.
The GOP says
The problem with the Democrats is that because the Republicans only represent the richest 0.1%, just about everybody else is stuck in the Democratic party. So, it's in effect, not even a political party.
Democrats can't agree on anything because they are made up of everybody. There is no commonality other than not being part of the ruling class.
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leoj707 says
This thread has gotten me thinking about the whole gun issue and why I'd feel safer in Switzerland with everyone packing, but not in D.C. or Texas where everyone is also packing.
To the Swiss, gun ownership is a civil duty meant to protect people from the state and from invaders. In America, gun ownership is about who's dick is the biggest. American gun owners are macho assholes who think the bigger their gun, the more manly they are. And, of course, this makes our culture more violent. And that's what really different between us and the Swiss.
We glorify gun violence, whereas the Swiss treat gun ownership and usage with a measure of restraint and responsibility that is lacking in our culture. Maybe it's because Swiss men have huge dicks and don't need to compensate.
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Women are not so frail that they cannot handle the physical labor required for survival.
Yes, there are physiological differences between men and women; each sex has relative strengths and weaknesses that would bias the groups towards certain activities. However, these differences are not so great that certain tasks can only be performed by one sex. There is one exception to this, but I will get to that later.
In the farm example used Iwog seems to imply that women don’t have the physical strength required to run the farm. Therefor it is wise for society to prohibit women from owning farms -- not only unwise, but “extraordinarily stupid”.
While useful for some farming tasks, running a “primitive” farm does not require the level of strength that one would expect from a competition body builder. In fact, as pointed out by Dan’s example, a woman’s tendencies toward language, biology and ecology may result in farming efficiency that on average generates a greater return from a “40-acre food source”.
The problem with all of your examples is that they don’t seem to have any direct connection to the natural abilities of the sexes. All the “consequences” for women stated are societal constructs. There are many anthropological examples of societies where women are viewed as more “equal” partners, and the where the banishment/death mentioned does not exist. Your argument sounds similar to -- and yes I have heard this before -- “We should prevent people from smoking marijuana because it ruins lives. See, all the people in jail for smoking marijuana? Smoking marijuana has restricted their freedom, and ruined their job prospects for when they are released. Their lives have been ruined!”
I would posit that it was not a physical strength requirement that held women back in the labor force.
…Pregnancy…
Yes, the one exception where one sex can do something that no one from the other sex can do. However, even pregnancy would not prevent women from doing the same jobs as men.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/jun/15/childrensservices.familyandrelationships
There is some “downtime” associated with pregnancy, and even in the most egalitarian societies women often become the primary care givers. Running a house is a lot of work: laundry, cleaning, child care, cooking, etc. takes a lot of time. I would posit that men in most cultures have taken advantage of woman’s inherent pregnancy/child care time to foist all “house hold” duties on women -- and I will admit that this division of labor can make sense, but it is not “required” for a society to work.
The men kept property and power positions for themselves. Not due to any inherent ability that is missing in women, but because women were kept busy with other tasks.
Lacking any real political power women have been subject to any rules through the course of history where men wanted to maintain control over women.
Yes, technology has allowed women to become more equal with men in modern society, but I don’t think it has been the “muscle saving” machines i.e. tractor, leaf blower, robotic exoskeleton, forklift, etc. that has facilitated this change for women.
The technology that has made a huge difference for the equality of women has been: automatic dish washer, vacuum, clothes washer, microwave, birth control, etc. all the things that save a shitload of time when doing household tasks.
In conclusion, I don’t believe that there is a physiological difference in the sexes that dictates the roles a woman can successfully compete in -- even in a “primitive” society. Society could have easily existed all along with women holding a more equal role, but that is not the way it happened.
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Great post. One thing I notice is that Republicans are much more disciplined and have better talking points... like when they say "Job Creators."
Democrats suck at talking points. For instance, they should have NEVER used the words "single payer" or "public option." They should have instead said "Medicare for all" or "Medicare buy in."
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LOL ;o) Patrick, I admire you're candor. My conclusion is this: It seems it is profitable having hotly contested opinion fests end in intentional stalemates. So much for democracy. The 'real' management then can peddle their wares to both sides whose arousal level prevents any rational thought. Providing bullets is a great business. And cutting off the supply now and then can be strategic. Follow the money.
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God forbid anyone should ask the question, "What are human beings FOR?" in a political discussion. I don't mean religiously or morally, but physically: what are people good for when it comes to the future of the universe?
All of the other issues are simply distractions from the uncomfortable fact that we don't want to ask this question because we would be ashamed of how we actually behave as a species. Nobody in the public eye is offering a path that doesn't involve a personal profit rather than a useful, sustainable future. Everything on offer is simply various ways of consuming the future to shut people up for the time being. Nobody needs a 'job', cheap oil, less government or more government. They need food, shelter, clean air and water, etc, but most of all, they need to be useful and connected to their own future (and we cannot separate our future from the future of our environment). "Freedom" and "taxes" and "education" all seem to be detached subjects, concerned with maintaining some indirect System of systems that none of us actually control. The word "security" is used when we are really talking about "comfort."
Meanwhile, here's a talking point for both sides: "If socialized medicine is good enough for the troops, it's good enough for everyone." Oh yeah, and "One dollar, one vote. If you want Change, keep it in your pocket."
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HousingWatcher says
Yeah. It's easier to stay on topic when you don't have anything else in your head to distract you. ;-)
Being simple is sometimes better. Knowing the difference between simple and stupid (or eclectic and distracted) is the crux. Sounding "focused and determined" often leads to "rigid and unbending." Sounding "educated and experienced" often leads to "elitist." This is generally why the guy that wins is usually the one that looks best on TV.
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As someone who doesn't care about political correctness, I'll take a stab at each of these. My responses in blue.
On the left, you may not say:
Islam is an extremely violent religion, and Mohammed raped, robbed, and murdered.
There were times when Islam, Christianity, and Judaism each were religions, but like all religions they grew and fragmented into separate religions. Now, each is a family of religions. Islamic religions, like Christian ones, vary in how violent they are. However, almost all of the are violent to a large extent. What the Koran says is irrelevant. All that matters is what the followers do. Most forms of Islam are empirically violent.
Of course, to be fully honest, one has to say that about pretty much every religion ever created. The purpose of religion is to control people, and you can't control all the people without violence.
As for Mohamed, I haven't heard anything about him robbing, raping, and murdering people. What I read is that Mohamed married a rich widow and wasn't satisfied with how easy his life was. So he made up a religion to make himself feel more important. He copied the two most popular religions of the time, Christianity and Judaism, and got his friends and family members to support this religion. In other words, Mohamed was no different than Joseph Smith or L. Ron Hubbard. Given 700 more years, Scientologists may be flying planes into buildings.
Abortion is obviously murder when the fetus can do things like distinguish its mother's voice from other voices, for example.
Yes, abortion eventually becomes murder. Few people are in favor of abortion a day before the expected delivery. However, abortion at conception is not murder. The dirty little secret about abortion that neither side is willing to talk about, is that it is an inherently grey area because a preborn offspring gradually becomes a person. I'll discuss that in more detail in its own thread when time permits.
Black fathers often don't hang around, and black kids often shun anyone who does well in school for "acting white".
I don't know much about demographics and family statistics, but I have read in many journals that single mothers is the new norm for American families. I've read that it started in poor, black neighborhoods, but now encompasses all groups. I've even read that sperm banks have a shortage of donors because so many single women over 30 are deciding to have children before getting married. Given these statistics and the nature of peer pressure, I don't find the above statement a stretch.
AIDS was spread mostly by promiscuous anal intercourse between men.
Yes, the mechanics of man on man sex allows for greater risk of transmission of HIV when not using a condom. And AIDS, like all sexually transmitted diseases relies on polygamous sexual activity to continue existing. [Note: Serial monogamy is polygamy.]
However, this does not imply that polygamy is immoral. Some diseases are airborne. That does not make breathing immoral. Perhaps if people stopped placing moral judgments on homosexual behavior, the taboo of discussing the details of disease transmission would cease to exist.
It's silly to say "African American", "Native American", "visually impaired", and "Happy Holidays" when everyone knows you mean "black", "Indian", "blind", and "Merry Christmas".
It's silly to use any code word or euphemism. That said, not all these terms are code words. African American means "black American" not "black". A black Englishman isn't an African American. So if you are talking about social or economic differences affected on race in America, it makes sense to say African American.
Indian does not mean Native American. Indians live in India. Native Americans are descendant from the tribes that lived in America for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Maybe back in the 1950s, people talked about Native Americans more often than real Indians, but today that ain't true. When was the last time you talked about Native Americans? Back in 1967 when you and your brother were playing "Cowboys and Indians"?
Today, India makes up 25% of the world's population and has a huge IT industry. Native Americans have no effect on my day to day life. Indians, by the sheer vastness of their economy, has a tremendous effect on my day to day life. In the office, I often deal with offshore developers in India or China. Even when I don't, I am certainly affected by everything that comes out of the giant economies of those two countries, which collectively make up half the world's population.
Real Indians have a big influence on the global economy. So if you ever say the word Indian in a modern business, everyone is going to think you're talking about India not Native Americans. Give it up. It was a misnomer to begin with, but now it's a misnomer that miscommunicates.
When people say "Happy Holidays" they don't mean "Merry Christmas". I don't know about you, but I can't tell who's Jewish and who's not just by looking at them. That alone justifies a more generic greeting. I don't want to have to memorize which religion every single person in the office subscribes to just so I can use the appropriate greeting. "Happy Holidays" covers everything, even secularists like me. And no, I don't take offense if someone says "merry Christmas" to me. I also don't take offense if you wish me a happy winter solstice.
On the right, you may not say:
The ultra-low 15% capital gains and dividend tax rate is a giant giveaway to the rich at the expense of the 99%.
True, and that's the whole point.
We don't like Obama mostly because he's black and has a Muslim name, not because of anything he has actually done.
Black, Muslim name, and Democrat. Yeah, Obama is pretty much the poster boy for family values. His daughters aren't whores like Bush's kids. He's been faithful to his wife unlike any Republican. And his policies are pretty much everything the Republicans wanted in the 1990s.
However, I still think that Democrat is what really crawls up their asses the most. After all, the conservatives hated Clinton, too. And he was a red neck!
Obamacare was created from Republican healthcare proposals, but because Obama got it passed, we hate it.
Absolutely. The Republicans have made it well known that they will actively sabotage the country to make Obama look bad and lose the next election. Well, they succeeded in sabotaging the country, but Obama's still going to get elected.
The war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and there were no weapons of mass destruction. We should not be there.
Completely true on both counts. And this destroyed American's credibility and thus has made it much harder for us to secure a peaceful world in the long run.
The US has a much higher level of gun violence than other countries largely because of the NRA.
I don't know if it’s the NRA's fault. I think America has a violent culture compared to most of western Europe. But places like Switzerland have very few restrictions on guns and very high gun ownership levels, yet little violence. It reminds me of the story below.
Shortly before World War I, the German Kaiser was the guest of the Swiss government to observe military maneuvers. The Kaiser asked a Swiss militiaman: "You are 500,000 and you shoot well, but if we attack with 1,000,000 men what will you do?" The soldier replied: "We will shoot twice and go home."
Still today, every Swiss male on reaching age 20 years old is required to attend recruit school and issued a Fucile d’assalto 90 (model 1990, 5.6 mm selective fire rifle) to keep at home. Many women also participate in the shooting sports, as do teenagers and elderly persons. Weapons are carried so commonly on public transportation, around towns, and to hotels – especially when a shooting match is about to occur – that foreigners think a revolution is occurring. For an example of a contemporary shooting match which took place in the Swiss canton of Ticino, visit my website and look for "An Armed Society."
The Swiss militia army consists primarily of an infantry of the armed populace, but also includes modern artillery – some of which is hidden in Alpine fortifications – and fighter jets. As for terrorism, depending on the circumstances, a vigilant and armed populace may be instrumental in stopping a massacre. If terrorist acts occur on Swiss soil, the citizenry will resist however possible.
I think America's gun problem has more to do with our culture than access to arms. And I say that not being a gun person myself. But when the evidence contradicts your gut feelings, you got to go with the evidence.
Now, there are a few things that were not mentioned, but should be.
The left refuses to admit that men and women are different and that each gender has advantages for some mental tasks. When the Harvard University president said that innate differences in sex may explain why fewer women succeed in science and math careers, he was wrongfully persecuted by the left and the media.
The fact is that men compartmentalize which is a damn useful mental ability when dealing with math, physics, computer engineering, software engineering, and similar sciences and engineering disciplines. Women do the opposite, which is useful in language skills, biology, and ecology. It's a tradeoff. And it's biological. Of course, some men will excel in ecology and some women in physics, but statistically the difference is explained perfectly by the differences in the male and female brain. To deny this is both irrational and disingenuous.
Furthermore, if you actually care about the young women learning math in school, then you should praise that Harvard president for having the courage to bring this problem to light. After all, you cannot solve a problem until you acknowledge its existence.
The left often does harm by religiously adopting political correctness over truth.
The right, however, has its own religious dogma that ignores the facts.
The right will never admit that the people who have obscene amounts of wealth did not earn or produce that wealth, but rather siphoned it from those who did. What's obscene? Yatch Transportation Services that transport your yacht to where you want to sail it so that you don't have to sail it to there.
The right also will not admit that no company is going to hire people simply because their after-tax profits are high. Companies only hire people when they have to in order to increase profits. Taxes, or the lack thereof, do not change this.
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Patrick says
This reminds me of a day in class back in college. Some female liberal arts professor asks the class if it was ok for women to be body builders. Then for some reason she looked at me and asked what my opinion was. I said, "Sure if they want to be, but why would they? Female body builders are repulsive." She then said, "oh, but male body builders are attractive?".
I replied, "No, men with muscles are also ugly. The sexiest male physique is that of a 19-year-old computer programmer." For some reason, the entire class started laughing.
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I vote we muzzle the underclass with actual muzzles. The underclass has the superhuman ability to not shut the fuck up. The underclass needs to get back to work and stop bleating on about politics. My golf clubs aren't going to spit shine themselves.
I'll add one unspoken truth held by both the right and left: the rich are better than you.
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Patrick says
I think that as pointed out by others in this thread the level of gun violence is probably caused by other factors not related to the number of guns in the US.
That said the Right does seem to have a disconnect with the realities and responsibilities of gun ownership.
As far as guns go it seems to be forbidden on the right to say:
● Gun control is necessary to assure that only responsible people own guns; gun ownership is indeed dangerous and only those properly trained should own guns
FYI, the NRA gives great classes on gun safety.
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Almost forgot: both left and right are categorically forbidden from criticizing Israel for any reason:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/government-official-who-makes-perfectly-valid-well,20499/
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iwog says
That's because all the female plumbers work in the porn industry. I'm basing that assertion off of a cursory Google Image search of "female plumbers".
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Patrick says
This much is obvious.
It is quite evident in the politics thread here on patrick.net itself.
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HousingWatcher says
I agree. Those are much clearer ways to describe it.
Republicans are better at spin. Democrats get bogged down in details. You don't know what the hell they're trying to say.
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I don't know about you but when I say "Indian" these days I mean someone from Asia.
"Native American" seems to be the only logical way to describe such any more. More a side effect of Columbus being an idiot than anything else.
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Auntiegrav says
Excellent point.
Auntiegrav says
I don't quite get that one. We do have a system where money gets to make laws, but you don't actually want to keep that, right?
Olaf says
When I grew up, Indian was unambiguous because there were almost no Asian Indians around. And even now, the context is usually enough to distinguish. If not, I just say "from India" rather than Indian, as in "He's from India."
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Calling the occupy movement people idiots and bumbs gets a few ugly comments from democrats and liberal types. It easy to start argument.
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beershrine says
True, it's easy to start an argument.
However, it's also true that OWS and The Tea Party are both composed of idiots.
I waited to see if OWS would actually accomplish something, but it hasn't. Their only strategy is to get arrested, and quite frankly, that is dumb. If anything, their lining themselves up for the slaughter makes things worse because now the police have president to pepper spray everyone and physically assault them. Way to go OWS!
We could discuss why OWS is a failure in great detail, but I think we can summarize it like this. OWS acted on the assumption that merely getting attention would be sufficient to generate change. Obviously, this is not the case. You have to have a specific list of changes, codify in proposed bills that you want passed and you have to convince the voters to recall any politician that isn't on your side.