What Lies Beneath (retread troll zotted)

FireDogLake.com ^ | 4/11/06 | Matt O.

[billyakovich]

Frequently readers post comments with racial slurs such as “raghead” and “mooselimbs,” racist anecdotes, castration, charges of a low intellect, wiping their rear with the Koran, calls for a new crusade, violence towards and mass murder of all Muslims, the destruction of Islam and white supremacist-esque language like “It’s time we asserted our culture” and “moral and cultural superiority.” It seems that liberals are now by definition terrorists and labeled as such. They speak of Arabs and Muslims in much the same ways that a racist southerner would speak of blacks in the 1950s.

Responsible? Not quite.

[NZerFromHK]

He's gone. Zotted.

Good.

[Bubbatuck]

This makes any descision-making above micro scale impossible. Generalization is essential to most human descision making - people who argue against "generalizing" are in the wrong.

Like most things, it depends on whose ox is being gored. If people generalize about Christians based on Rev. Fred Phelps, is that OK? I say no. Similarly, the notion that all Muslims are like the 9/11 terrorists is wrong. In my career and life, I've worked with and lived near Muslims - and I never found one objectionable. The ones I've had the pleasure to know were hard-working, educated, smart and very family-oriented. Now, would it be reasonable for me to generalize that ALL Muslims are like that? No. I realize my experience is limited, and the Muslims I've met don't represent all Muslims. But then, neither do the terrorists. Generalizations may be useful sometimes, but they're rarely correct.

[GOPJ]

What I'm curious and interested in discussing on this topic is how often times we use generalizations and stereotypes to describe an enemy, who in reality is not an entire culture but a band of extremists who have the audacity, resources and stupidity to attack our ways of life.

In World WarII all Germans weren't bad - but the Nazi culture was evil. And if every time a person spoke about the horrors Germans pushed on the world, someone like you popped up and reminded us that all Germans weren't bad, it would be fine.

Tiresome, but fine.

So, for the record, all Muslims are not bad. All are not killers. All are not child rapists. All do not want to kill all Westerners.

That said, I also believe that intertwined within this religion are ideas that make it a cancer upon the world and an easy horse to ride for crazy totalitarians.

Remember, tolerance of evil is not a virtue.

[tonycavanagh]

There are a few on FR who do think that way, who call for a crusade against Islam as a whole, but they are very much in a minority here and very easy to challenge.

[Bubbatuck]

I agree. Generalizations are often the ONLY judgments we can make at first. But I think we have to realize that some of these generalizations are just wrong.

Imagine the generalizations an American would make upon encountering a black person 200 years ago. Such a generalization would be based on a very false world-view, that just happened to be prevalent at the time.

I think we need to be honest with ourselves about the reasons for some of our generalizations. Not all of those reasons are rooted in fairness and goodwill.

[MEG33]

Another one down

[Number57]

[MEG33]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1612906/posts
Facing Down Iran (good article by Mark Steyn)
City Journal ^ | Spring 2006 | by Mark Steyn


Posted on 04/11/2006 2:09:47 AM CDT by Tasha Dasha Doo


Facing Down Iran

by Mark Steyn

Our lives depend on it.

[Number57]

Precisely. We are all prejudiced. You ever ponder about which airline to fly? That's prejudice.

WE ALL PRE-judge. If we don't pre-judge, we open ourselves up to all manners of mayhem. Without THOUGHT and FORESIGHT and PRE-JUDGING, all is anarchy. Chaos.

Some will interpret this as racism. Nothing could be further from the truth. I don't care what you're made of or what shade you are... we all are prejudiced. Period.

Dang, I hate this keyboard.

[Raycpa]

How do you debate something when you do not agree on the terms being used?

You have stated a case that all generalization is wrong. You further make the implied case that because Freepers generalize all freepers must be wrong.

How does one debate someone who has generalized and refuses to make distinctions?

[MEG33]

http://donkeycons.blogspot.com/2006/04/hatin-on-hiatt.html

LOL..Seems the banned one should go correct the other side!

I do hate it when we give dems good advice,though.

[Cindy]

Smiling back at you...

[backhoe]

I visit LGF every day, but rarely post. "They speak of Arabs and Muslims in much the same ways that a racist southerner would speak of blacks in the 1950s." Says who? Sour grapes here.

Same here...
...and I agree with you.

Selective cut 'n paste copying of comments from a website can be tailored to make the site, and its denizens, appear to belong to almost any despised group you wish to lambaste.

In reality, the dialog going on is more like what you'd overhear on a worksite, or at the watercooler- sure, some is rough, inflammatory, or edgy-- but most of the other members will call down the nastier ones.

In my opinion, what you get from forums like FR, or the "comments" of blogs, is a lot more normal, and true-to-life, than the "nuanced" and overly PC junk you see parroted in the MSM.

I call it "speaking plainly," and in my view, there's nothing wrong with that.

[Critical Bill]

n my opinion, what you get from forums like FR, or the "comments" of blogs, is a lot more normal, and true-to-life, than the "nuanced" and overly PC junk you see parroted in the MSM.

Right on

[backhoe]

[JRios1968]

[Delta 21]

Early morning zottage tastes best.

[MEG33]

Good one!..LOL