[Innovative]

Actually, I think bigotry still exists. But only against conservatives. Seriously.

[libertylover]

If racism in America was anywhere as serious as the fake news media claims, would they have had to fabricate all these massive lies over the past few years?

So, let's see if I've got this right, Media. America elects, and then reelects a black person, and then even more suddenly America becomes a racist country? Get a grip, Media.

[I want the USA back]

Notice how the hoaxes, once revealed, are put in the dustbin of history? However, the message that they were meant to illustrate lives on and is repeated over and over again for decades afterwards.

[VanDeKoik]

Unless I’m missing something, there seems to be a drought in those big “race attack” stories the past few months. Maybe the Jussie Smollette (dont even care to look up the right spelling) hoax has made people a tad bit shy on promoting them like they used to?

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

This is gonna sound off-topic, but follow me:

Fifteen years ago I read

The Mind and the Brain:

Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force
by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley

which I found to be most interesting. It described the neuronal architecture of the brain as a kind of curiosity machine, constantly seeking to find patterns and make sense of its inputs. At that macro level, we all think of that is commonplace. “Curiosity killed the cat,” and all that. But what I got from the book was that that was true at the micro level as well.

The book discussed “phantom pain” - pain experienced by an amputee as occurring in a limb which no longer existed. It’s a conundrum: "I don’t even have a left middle finger - and pain in it is killing me.”

Well, in my case I have all my limbs and fingers and toes, that’s not the issue. But I do, I’m told, have some spinal nerve damage. Which causes a bit of tingling and numbness in my toes - no big deal, usually. But joint at the base of my big toe (the busiest joint in the body, the Dr. says) hurts sometimes (I’m talking about now, incidentally - not that FReepers in general need much note nor long remember).

But to the extent that I understand the phenomenon, I experience pain “in my big toe" not because there’s anything wrong with my foot, but because at a micro level the part of my brain that receives pain signals from my toe joint got too bored receiving “no report” from my foot, and decided to tap into other information available locally in the brain - and interpret it as pain in my big toe joint. What’s more, swelling and inflammation - actual physical effects in my foot - result from the stupid decision of that micro region of my brain. A positive feedback loop, making the syndrome self-perpetuating. So apparently “my foot hurts” is in my head - but because of that, my foot actually is a source of pain.

Well, I said that I was gonna relate to the topic, which was that “the media” are inventing ways to criticize conservatives - as usual. And it makes about as much sense as the exaggerated pain I experience in an otherwise more-or-less perfectly good foot. And as with the busybody neural architecture linkages in my brain intruding where they have no business, it’s a powerful temptation to think we should be able to just shoot the messenger.

But as Adam Smith put it, "It is impossible indeed to prevent such . . by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice.” Or maybe not. In the 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan case, SCOTUS unanimously denigrated the right of public figures to sue for libel. The right to sue for libel was recognized before the enactment of the First Amendment, and the First Amendment was carefully worded to avoid changing the rights of the people as they were then understood. Unanimous or no, Sullivan is bad law. Some billion-dollar libel verdicts would have a salutary effect on our polity.

[tbw2]

Add it to the literal fake hate crimes list
http://fakehatecrimes.org/

[TBP]

If there aren’t enough criminals, the government invents some. If there aren’t enough bigots, the media invents some. This is the way they control people.

[Williams]

Bingo!

It has been my common experience for decades now to see African Americans abusing waiters, sales clerks and managers in every type of setting imaginable, with the white workers/ managers falling all over themselves to apologize, offer free meals, etc. Just saw it today at lunch.

What’s wrong with this picture if I really was living in a country with institutionalized white racism?

[GOPJ]

John Nolte is cracking the code...