Posted on 12/06/2004 10:28:27 PM PST by kattracks
Commentators on our country explain our blue-red division in many ways -- liberal-conservative; secular-religious; North-South; coasts-heartland; singles-married with children.I propose one more explanation: the easily offended-the not so easily offended.
With the acknowledgment that there are many individual exceptions, a major defining characteristic of modern-day liberalism is the ease with which liberals take offense personally and/or on behalf of others.
Liberals regularly portray as offended women, African Americans, Jews, American Indians, gays and every other group liberals declare a minority, i.e., any group that votes Democrat -- no group that votes Republican, such as Mormons, Cuban Americans and Vietnamese Americans, is considered a "minority." All other groups are constantly warned that almost anything they say that is not patronizing of those groups is offensive (and therefore subject to litigation).
Having given thousands of lectures across the country and on all seven continents (yes, Antarctica, too) over the past 30 years, I can vouch for the personal-offense element. I am continually astounded at how often members of the audience (usually liberal women) will say they are offended by something I said, when what they really mean is that they don't agree with me.
It is most unlikely that conservative men or women speak that way -- saying, "I am offended" -- when they hear liberal speakers.
For one thing, conservatives are so used to being labeled as stupid, bigoted, ignorant, racist, homophobic, sexist, insensitive and intolerant that it is almost impossible to offend them. Moreover, the culture does not allow them to feel offended, since they are not an officially designated minority.
For another, liberal positions are far more emotion-based than reason-based.
To cite but one of many examples, take the widely held liberal slogan "War is not the answer." It is pure irrationality. War has ended more evil than anything the left has ever thought of. In the last 60 years alone, it ended Nazism and the Holocaust; it saved half of Korea from genocide; it kept Israel from national extinction and a second Holocaust; it saved Finland from becoming a Stalinist totalitarian state; and according to most of the people who put "War is not the answer" stickers on their bumpers, it saved Bosnian Muslims from ethnic cleansing.
The list of irrational, feelings-based liberal positions is almost as long as the list of contemporary liberal positions. The relevant point here is that people who take positions based on feelings will of necessity take disagreement more personally and feel offended more often than others.
Liberals' claims of being offended themselves or on behalf of a selected group are almost endless.
Liberal Jews and non-Jews claim that "Merry Christmas" offends Jews and other non-Christians. That 90 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas is of no importance to the easily offended.
Liberal blacks and other liberals see racism almost everywhere in America. To cite a typical example, the absence of black musicians in major orchestras has frequently been named as an example of white racism, despite the fact that many orchestras audition musicians behind a curtain. To non-liberals, the reason probably lies in the fact that few black kids learn to play the oboe or viola. And the sad result of liberals taking offense at so much white behavior is that many whites now talk very guardedly and unnaturally to blacks.
Liberal American Indian spokesmen and other liberals regularly tell us how offensive Indian names of sports teams are. The latest polls show that most Indians have no problem with such names, but liberals are still offended on their behalf. To make the point of how offensive the name "Indians" is for the Cleveland baseball team, one liberal caller once asked me, "How would you feel if a team were named 'Jews'?" I told him that it would be a great day in Jewish history -- for 3,000 years, Jews have been looking for fans.
Part of America remains the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. An almost equally large part is now the Land of the Easily Offended and the Home of the Hypersensitive. Which land we become is a big part of the second American civil war we are fighting.
"members of the audience (usually liberal women) will say they are offended by something I said, when what they really mean is that they don't agree with me. "
No, what they really mean is that they are offended--personally insulted-- by anything short of robotic, head-nodding agreement.
It's all just part of the narcissistic syndrome, the underlying dynamic of that little known but often practiced subspecialty of: White-chick psych(Cross reference: Dowd, M.)
Good thing we are not easily offended.
That didn't offend me :)
I particularly enjoyed the Jesusland, I'm going to print it!
Where did you find that stuff?
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
The more we offend them, the more we're doing right.
But of course, how silly of me!
The ones that I have met are undereducated. Never met one with a college degree in business, law, economics, or engineering... I believe that liberals are incapable of logic, cause and effect, reponsibility, accountability, and telling the truth.
Hmmm...
I think maybe that map on the right is suggesting that Bush is Hitler...
Never heard that one before.
Excellent!. The first thought was of the move: The Stepford Wives
A bunch of mindless female drones.
A Non-Offensive Ping!
Excellent!. The first thought was of the movie: The Stepford Wives
A bunch of mindless female drones. (movie)
Personally, using the liberal dictionary entry, I have been "offended" numerous times... often while watching TV or a movie. The non-stop homo-agenda, radical pro-abortion stance, and anti-family/pro-infidelity propaganda being fed to the unsuspecting people of this country (yes, adults as well as children) is "offending" even my religious views.
Even the long news cycles spouting some misdeed from a catholic priest gets annoying... when compared to the same length of coverage given to school teachers abusing their students. (I would imagine there are FAR more teachers/tutors commiting these acts then the number of priests)
Help! I'm a Jesus Freak trapped behind enemy lines in Mexifornia! I want to go to Nebraska!
Colt, Glock, Kimber, Ruger or Sig Sauer?
Division of the human family into two distinct political groups began
some 12,000 years ago. Humans existed as members of small bands of
nomadic hunter/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains in the
summer and would go to the beach and live on fish and lobster in
winter.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of
beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man
to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and
together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two
distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning
of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented
yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for
them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That is how
villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night
while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known
as "The Conservative Movement".
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live
off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing
the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the
"Liberal Movement". Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into
women. The rest became known as 'girleymen'.
Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats,
the trade union, the invention of group therapy and group hugs, and the
concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer
that conservatives provided.
Over the years, conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most
powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by
the jackass.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer
white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their
beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.
Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have
higher testosterone levels than their men.
Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in
Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the
designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also
bat.
Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide
for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys,
lumberjacks, construction workers, medical doctors, police officers,
corporate executives, soldiers, athletes, and generally anyone who works
productively outside government. Conservatives who own companies hire
other conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers
and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans
are more enlightened than Americans are. That is why most of the
liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America.
They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of
trying to get MORE for nothing.
Here ends today's lesson in world history.
Prager measures every word.
Civil War 2 Ping.
BTTT
"No, what they really mean is that they are offended--personally insulted-- by anything short of robotic, head-nodding agreement."
"Excellent!. The first thought was of the move: The Stepford Wives."
That image fits well, and it is highly ironic, because the image I was entertaining when I wrote that sentence was a meeting of 1990's era feminazi's who would sit and listen to one of their "sisters" bloviate about whatever damned foolishness sprang from her fevered brow, and every one of them would be nodding their heads, silently but in virtual unison. They may still do it, like in university "womyn's studies" classes and such. Weird to watch.
I guess the conformity gene is overpowering in certain groups.
Good one!
Great article 'ping'.
Proud to see Florida in Naziland-Jesus land and dumbfuckistan. Was worried aboutit the last two elections but my fellow staters came through in the end.
The Florida bar association is controlled by liberal democrat lawyewrs as they outnumber repubs in the organization. The libs thus control the funding for elections and against the wishes of the conservatives they fund aholes libs.
Sort of like the unions, don't matter that a sizeable percentage back the conservatives.
Color me easily unoffended. Liberals make me yawn and giggle.
It's all lies.
They are not offended, it's just a club they use to beat a kindly and tolerant people into submission.
I know. We scare the living daylights out of them. George Romero missed his calling. The real boogies of liberals, who frighten the poor children to death - are you ready for this? - happen to be... drumroll < CONSERVATIVES! HAHAHAHAHAHA
If the phrase "I am outraged ..." didn't exist, the liberals couldn't express themselves.
Interesting.
bump
I wonder what Dennis Prager was doing in Antarctica? :P
Check out my tag-line.
...and can vote.
Thanks for the ping Badray. A good read and thread.
BTTT
You're welcome.
Since you were up I figgered that I'd give you something to do.
Doh! Packwood, NOT Proxmire.
Thanks for today's lesson! (But I'm going to keep my cat, sorry...and my Corona with the lime....)
FOFL! Superb response.
Prairie
The correct answer to your question is "yes".
Actually, I personally lean towards #2 in your list, but am ecumenical and will embrace all. I don't go in for the religious wars you sometimes see on the subject.
;-)
This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).
"The ones that I have met are undereducated. Never met one with a college degree in business, law, economics, or engineering... I believe that liberals are incapable of logic, cause and effect, reponsibility, accountability, and telling the truth."
--Actually, academia is full of liberals. At the law school I attend, out of 50 faculty members, there are TWO registered Republicans. The coocoon of academe allows them to live in an emotional world which is devoid of hard logic....the logic of economics. David Horowitz, a converted liberal, once told me that liberalism allows the person to feel morally superior and it gives the individual great psychological comfort to "take care" of others with someone else's money. That's the best explanation of the psychological motivation for liberalism I've ever heard. I agree wholeheartedly that liberals are emotional creatures and we're logical. We approach problems as managers, not mommies.
Not all of us carry the gene..........
That great lesson which was emailed to me last night went out to my sons, dil and a lot of nephews and nieces last night including a liberal niece. Her parents got it last night and called her this morning to reinforce it.
It is amazing how many conservatives like my oldest son and I, have allergies to cats.
That son and I both like to stick a slice of lime down into the bottle of a Mexican Beer in the Summer. Our younger son, a recovering liberal, taught me to squeeze/stick a slice of lemon into the various lighter summer micro brews.
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