Posted on 08/23/2017 1:46:11 AM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe had some choice words Tuesday night in response to a question he got accusing him of harboring white nationalist sympathies.
Rowe posted a question submitted to him on his Facebook page that accused the TV hosts advocacy for the skilled trades of amounting to anti-intellectualism, and therefore racism.
A man named Chuck Adkins asked, One of the tenants of white nationalism is that college educated people are academic elitests. Comment? No? Im not surprised. You never take a political stand because you dont want to alienate anybody. Its bad for business. I get it. But there is a current of anti intellectualism in this country promoted by Republicans. Those people love you, and they think your initiative is their initiative. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is kickin our ass academically.
Rowe, a popular jovial TV personality, went off in a long, brutal response.
Since were being candid, allow me to say how much I dislike your post. Everything about it annoys me your smug and snarky tone, your appalling grammar, your complete lack of evidence to support your claims, and of course, the overarching logical fallacy that informs your entire position, Rowe wrote. What really bugs me though, is the fact that youre not entirely wrong. Its true; I havent shared any political opinions this week, in part anyway, because doing so might very well be bad for business.'
What can I say? I work for half-a-dozen different companies, none of whom pay me to share my political opinions. I run a non-partisan foundation, Im about to launch a new show on Facebook, and Im very aware that celebrities pay a price for opening their big fat gobs. Gilbert Gottfried, Kathy Griffin, Colin Kaepernick, Milo Yiannopoulos even that guy from Google who just got himself fired for mouthing off. Theres no getting around it the first amendment does not guarantee the freedom to speak without consequences. And really, thats fine by me, he continued.
So no Im not going to share my personal feelings about Charlottesville, President Trump, or the current effort to remove thousands of statues of long dead soldiers from the public square. Not just because its bad for business, but because its annoying. I cant think of a single celebrity whose political opinion I value, and Im not going to assume the country feels any differently about mine, Rowe wrote. So, rather than blow myself up, or chime in with all the obvious observations about the cowardly scum in the pointy hats, Im going to talk instead about my belief that comments like yours pose a far greater threat to the future of our country than the existence of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, or a monument to George Washington. Ready?
Then Rowe started in on Adkins insinuations.
You say that White Nationalists believe that everyone who goes to college is an academic elite. You then say that Republicans promote anti-intellectualism. You offer no proof to support either claim, but it really doesnt matter your statements successfully connect two radically different organizations by alleging a shared belief, Rowe said. Thus, White Nationalists and The Republican Party suddenly have something in common a contempt for higher education. Then, you make it personal. You say that Republicans love me because they believe that my initiative and their initiative are one and the same. But of course, their initiative is now the same initiative as White Nationalists.
He continued Very clever. Without offering a shred of evidence, youve implied that Republicans who support mikeroweWORKS do so because they believe I share their disdain for all things intellectual. And poof just like that, Republicans, White Nationalists, and mikeroweWORKS are suddenly conflated, and the next thing you know, Im off on a press tour to disavow rumors of my troubling association with the Nazis!
Far-fetched? Far from it, Rowe continued. Thats how logical fallacies work. A flaw in reasoning or a mistaken belief undermines the logic of a conclusion, often leading to real-world consequences. And right now, logical fallacies are not limited to the warped beliefs of morons with tiki torches, and other morons calling for more dead cops. Logical fallacies are everywhere.
Not near done, Rowe wrote, As I type this, a Democrat on CNN is making an argument that says, because Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, those Republicans now opposed to tearing down his memorial are pro-slavery, and therefore aligned with the modern day KKK. Thats a logical fallacy.
Over on Fox, a Republican is arguing that any Democrat who has not yet condemned the Senator from Missouri for publicly wishing that Donald Trump be assassinated, is guilty of wishing for the exact same thing. Thats a logical fallacy.
Yesterday, on The Science Channel, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a noted astronomer, tweeted that the ability of scientists to accurately predict the solar eclipse, was proof that predictions of global warming were also accurate. Thats a logical fallacy.
Then Rowe turned the tables on his accuser, continuing, Want to hear another one? Imagine something like this, unfolding over on MSNBC.
Good Evening, America, our top story tonight Chuck Atkins is a racist! Why? Because he cant spell. Just look at his grammar! In a recent post on Mike Rowes Facebook page, Mr. Atkins, while bemoaning Americas global academic standing, not only misspelled elitist, he used tenants when he meant tenets. He neglected to use a hyphen in anti-intellectual, and he misplaced several commas and apostrophes! But why is he a racist, you ask? Simple. Because everyone knows racists are ignorant. Chuck Atkins is clearly a poor speller. Poor spelling and grammar are signs of ignorance. Ergo Chuck Atkins is a racist! Boom! The matter is settled!
Theres not much we can do about the news, but here on Facebook, I think we can do better. This isnt Twitter, Rowe said. Were not limited to a few inflammatory sentences and a flurry of emojis. Take a moment, Chuck. Think. Make a rational argument. Otherwise, just link us to a cat video. People love those, and theyre almost never bad for business. (Unless of course, the cat gets hurt. People hate that.) Just dont assume that people will care about your beliefs, if youre not willing to back them up with some relevant facts and a rational conclusion. Here, for instance, are a few facts that matter to me, with respect to my foundation and the recurring charge of fostering anti-intellectualism.'
Rowe then defended his charitable work, writing, mikeroweWORKS is a PR campaign for the skilled trades. For the last nine years, weve partnered with numerous trade schools, raised millions of dollars for work-ethic scholarships, and called attention to millions of jobs that dont require a four-year degree. But that doesnt mean were anti-intellectual. Were not even anti-college. We simply reject the popular notion that a four-year degree is the best path for the most people. And were hardly alone.
Millions of reasonable people Republicans and Democrats alike are worried that our universities are doing a poor job of preparing students for the real world. Theyre worried about activist professors, safe spaces, the rising cost of tuition, a growing contempt for history, and a simmering disregard of the first amendment. These people are concerned that our universities once beacons of free speech now pander to a relatively small percentage of students who cant tolerate any political opinion that challenges their own. And theyre concerned deeply concerned that millions of good jobs are currently vacant that dont require a four-year degree, or any of the catastrophic debt that comes with it.
Returning to the original attack, Rowe concluded, Again these are not the concerns of anti-intellectuals. They are the concerns of people who care about the future of the country. I dont know how many of these people are Republicans, but I can assure you that no one who actually supports my initiative is remotely confused about my feelings on education, because Ive been crystal clear on that topic from the very beginning. To quote Thomas Jefferson, (while I still can,) If a nation expects to be ignorant and free and live in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. On this point, my foundation does not equivocate.
In other words, Chuck, I have no idea what The White Nationalists think about my efforts, or the Republicans, the Democrats, the elitists, the Italians, the Presbyterians, the unions, or the self-proclaimed anti-intellectuals. And really, I couldnt care less. My question is, why do you? Mike
After his long rant, Rowe added two postscripts to lighten the mood a bit.
PS. Ok, Ive just re-read this, (in a desperate search for typos,) and I want to apologize for pointing out that youre a lousy speller. This is probably not the time to trot out The Grammar Nazi, but your tenor and tone pissed me off, and I responded in my own snarky way. Sorry, he wrote.
PPS Maybe this is how political correctness begins? Maybe we start by correcting each others grammar, and then move on to the business of correcting everything else? Today a missing hyphen, tomorrow a missing monument. Or, maybe not, he concluded.
Been a word-nerd for most of my life, going back to Edwin Newman's Strictly Speaking. These days, I get occasional grammar fixes from Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl podcasts.
Yeah; that one jumped right out at me. “Tenant”. Sheesh.
As well there should be. An intellectual is merely someone who cannot DO anything of value, so he pontificates and expects to be paid to do so. He creates no wealth nor does he provide goods or services useful to others. He is a drain upon, not a benefit to, the economy.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, all the lawyers, then the intellectuals! < /rant >
Thanks for the ping. This is a very good rant.
bkmk
A flaw in reasoning or a mistaken belief undermines the logic of a conclusion.
The defines the left.
Your entering a pedagogical tar pit. :) Heh.
///stabby stabby
A lot of ignorant people don’t realize there are very many different kinds of intelligence.
He has a degree (ironically enough, considering the accusation) in communications. Wouldn't expect less of him!
Start throwing the darts back at them and quit playing nice. Rules for Radicals works both ways.
....just link us to a cat video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY7m5jjJ9mM
Liberals are grammar nazi’s!!
FTA: PPS Maybe this is how political correctness begins? Maybe we start by correcting each others grammar, and then move on to the business of correcting everything else? Today a missing hyphen, tomorrow a missing monument. Or, maybe not, he concluded.
Dear clutch,
MY OJT, as i related it, was in a military setting. You had your training from apprentice to specialist to supervisor. You also had evaluations that you had to pass, with a preferred score, as a minimum, which also weighed on your performance report.
I would expect no less, in the private sector.
One of the high schools in the town where i graduated HAD an entire high school term as a trade cirriculum, in which you learned a trade, and served your apprenticeship, as well, as the state required classes for high school.
True
The anti-intellectuals are running(and ruining) the colleges and universities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.