Yay for gray
Jan. 28th, 2009 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veronica_richI never thought I'd feel sorry for Republicans - one tries to show some sensibility and rail against the idiocies of The Mouth, and just as immediately has to say he's sorry because it pissed off the Fourth Reich section of his party. (And did you hear Rush just got an eight-year contract?)
Limbaugh is one of the assholes who introduced the current shitty tone of rhetoric (or lack thereof) in this country 20 years ago. I remember seeing a fellow who decided partway through our relationship that he wanted to be a Dittohead - it was an overnight transformation and I could not believe it. He had his own set of faults before then, but he would at least communicate and listen in return; at that point, however, he started telling me what he thought, what I was going to think, and jeering and belittling any disagreement I mounted against Good Buddy Rush's brainstorms. I finally broke it off, but instead of driving me to the far other direction, it forced me to appreciate moderation and those "gray" areas of life when you have to actually think if you would hold your opinion in a particular case.
Last night, in my efforts to catch up on back seasons of "Boston Legal," I saw an episode in which a white woman had dated this black man because she thought he was hot, and after one of their dates, gave him head - only instead of spitting or swallowing, she spat it out into a container, took it to a doctor, and had herself impregnated with it, all without his knowledge. It turned out this guy was an activist for the black community and one of his causes was black absentee fathers - combating the problem. When the woman turned up pregnant, he used the law firm to sue for her to be forced to get an abortion because he had never had any desire to marry her, and he knew how it would look on him to BE an absent black father while championing the opposite position. While I'm pro-choice in any situation, I couldn't see any ruling other than allowing her to keep it if she wanted - but I did feel sorry for the guy, who obviously hadn't had sex with her and had never intended to father his children with HER. (In the end, he agreed he wouldn't be with her, but he would be a father to the child after all.)
Having people disagree with your position is annoying. It's made even moreso if you happen to be a liberal under the age of 70, because conservatives sometimes tend to pat you on the head and adopt a superior tone as if you're the new "special" kid in junior high they've been asked by the principal to keep an eye on. Because you try to balance your pessimism with necessary optimism (isn't the whole point of being "liberal" to think things can always be better?), you can often be regarded as not quite smart or worldly enough to know when to wipe your own ass. But, disagreement is still essential - if nobody ever challenges you, how do you know what you think is right? How would you ever have a chance to change your mind, or prove you have no need to?
(BTW, for those of you interested in the program about "snark" I mentioned on NPR yesterday, you can find the link here.)
Limbaugh is one of the assholes who introduced the current shitty tone of rhetoric (or lack thereof) in this country 20 years ago. I remember seeing a fellow who decided partway through our relationship that he wanted to be a Dittohead - it was an overnight transformation and I could not believe it. He had his own set of faults before then, but he would at least communicate and listen in return; at that point, however, he started telling me what he thought, what I was going to think, and jeering and belittling any disagreement I mounted against Good Buddy Rush's brainstorms. I finally broke it off, but instead of driving me to the far other direction, it forced me to appreciate moderation and those "gray" areas of life when you have to actually think if you would hold your opinion in a particular case.
Last night, in my efforts to catch up on back seasons of "Boston Legal," I saw an episode in which a white woman had dated this black man because she thought he was hot, and after one of their dates, gave him head - only instead of spitting or swallowing, she spat it out into a container, took it to a doctor, and had herself impregnated with it, all without his knowledge. It turned out this guy was an activist for the black community and one of his causes was black absentee fathers - combating the problem. When the woman turned up pregnant, he used the law firm to sue for her to be forced to get an abortion because he had never had any desire to marry her, and he knew how it would look on him to BE an absent black father while championing the opposite position. While I'm pro-choice in any situation, I couldn't see any ruling other than allowing her to keep it if she wanted - but I did feel sorry for the guy, who obviously hadn't had sex with her and had never intended to father his children with HER. (In the end, he agreed he wouldn't be with her, but he would be a father to the child after all.)
Having people disagree with your position is annoying. It's made even moreso if you happen to be a liberal under the age of 70, because conservatives sometimes tend to pat you on the head and adopt a superior tone as if you're the new "special" kid in junior high they've been asked by the principal to keep an eye on. Because you try to balance your pessimism with necessary optimism (isn't the whole point of being "liberal" to think things can always be better?), you can often be regarded as not quite smart or worldly enough to know when to wipe your own ass. But, disagreement is still essential - if nobody ever challenges you, how do you know what you think is right? How would you ever have a chance to change your mind, or prove you have no need to?
(BTW, for those of you interested in the program about "snark" I mentioned on NPR yesterday, you can find the link here.)
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 12:49 am (UTC)I'd say it's going to take another 100 years before anyone can safely criticize Israel's real estate religion without a god (Zionism, which has absolutely NOTHING to do with Judaism, for you hater lurkers reading my LJ - go educate yourselves), but I don't think it'll take that long. As more people are reminded of just how Israel came by its land (and how the U.S. helped buy it) and how Palestinians were kicked out of their homes and off their land for it, the less they're going to put up with the notion that Israel should have carte blanche politically.
Now the sad part of this is that Jews who aren't Israelis are going to suffer from the public opinion backlash, as well, and that's not fair. The idea of THAT pisses me off, too.
It's all about the money
Date: 2009-01-29 01:54 am (UTC)Zionism, that's why. You scratch my back I'll scratch yours. That Madoff guy is the tip of the iceberg as far as Zionist backscratching goes, otherwise known as "affinity." Makes me laugh my ass off that the asshole ripped so many of them off. And I'm sure some were simply good practicing Jews.
If anyone has no idea what I'm blathering about, listen to this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98674101
And look at this: http://www.wrmea.com/html/us_aid_to_israel.htm
As for Rush Limbaugh
Date: 2009-01-29 01:59 am (UTC)Oh wait, there's also Bill O'Reilly....hmm, well Bill O'Reilly is the hemorrhoid on Rush Limbaugh's asshole.