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Benign Violation Theory: An Explanation for 'Pocahontas' Outrage
American Thinker.com ^ | December 2, 2017 | Debra C. Tyler

Posted on 12/02/2017 4:35:32 AM PST by Kaslin

When I was six years old and my brother was eight, each of us was given a quarter to spend in a candy store before seeing a movie. I thought my quarter was a fortune, but not so my brother. The third-grader was unhappy with the quantity of popcorn he could get for his coin and complained to the shopkeeper. The impatient shopkeeper asked my brother, "What do you want for 25 cents, the Brooklyn Bridge?" My brother said, "Yeah, ya got any in stock?"

This exchange happened in the late 1950s on Staten Island. The TV show Impractical Jokers is also a creation of Staten Islanders: four guys who stage embarrassing hidden camera pranks around New York City. It is no coincidence that this show features New Yorkers pulling weird, sometimes humiliating and disgusting pranks on other New Yorkers. It's the only place they could get away with it. Humor, sarcasm, laughing at yourself and others, acerbic name-calling, and "ranking out" are essential coping mechanisms for life in New York – especially so for the mensches, the real people in the streets, stores, and neighborhoods.

New Yorkers have what psychologists call a large capacity for benign violation. In other words, they can take it, and they can dish it out, too. When the New Insensitive Male in the White House calls the identity-hoaxer Senator Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas" – punctuated by adding that the only apology he makes is to the real Pocahontas for comparing her to goofy Liz – Trump is being an archetypal guy from Queens. He is deploying humorous mockery, a powerful coping mechanism in conflict situations, which, like my brother, he learned to use as a child

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: newyork; newyorkers; trump
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To: Bringbackthedraft
I lived in Honolulu for thirty years. A multi-ethnic society that manages to get along well enough. The Beamer Brothers, "Mr. Sun Cho Lee"

Good for a smile.

21 posted on 12/02/2017 9:26:24 AM PST by Chuckster ("Them Rag Heads just ain't rational" Curly Bartley 1973)
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To: Kaslin

As Rush says: “If the media makes you, they can break you”. Think Lance Armstrong, Hillary Clinton, Tiger Woods, etc.

Conversely, Trump is beset on every side by hostile media, they can’t help but attract with hyperbolic media coverage. This strikes with people’s sense of fair play -consciously (and subconsciously I believe).

The media is unwittingly making Trump a Niechzschean Superman. Love him, hate him, can’t not watch! And, more importantly, whatever doesn’t kill him makes him stronger!

This is in large part a cultural war, when’s the last time Republicans had an offensive game? Any? Reagan was a looong looooong time ago.

You may well hate Trump’s tact. Trump is a pop culture icon, you may hate that too. I get it!

All that said, he is fearless and he cammands attention(s). As I said, regardless of your political persuasion, you can’t not watch!

As for Twitter, it’s the perfect platform for Trump, they can twist or take out of context a 160 character tweet -the media’s standard operating procedure Republicans statements.


22 posted on 12/02/2017 10:25:21 AM PST by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: Fitzy_888

Make that: “...they can’t twist”


23 posted on 12/02/2017 10:27:52 AM PST by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: William Tell

No, I don’t view it as benign. Do you? Trump meant it as a malign taunt to Elizabeth Warren, who thoroughly deserves it. He throws out barbs like that intentionally, so the media will spread the point he is making, by acting all outraged over nothing.

I prefer calling Warren “Fauxcohantas” since “faux” makes the point that she is a fraud more obvious for idiots, plus it’s harder for the media to pretend it’s an insult to Native Americans. But Trump WANTS the reaction.

I’m not into being offended by PC crap, like shouting Geronimo. It’s hardly surprising that Navajos would not care either, since Geronimo is a Spanish-Italian name. Whites applied it to the famous Chiricahua Apache whose name was something like “Goyaate”, hard for us English-speakers to say.

My beef is Trump USING the Code Talker ceremony to make irrelevant political gibes, even if they were about Mitch McConnell. I’ll admit being bothered by the stupidity of Trump bringing up Warren, just because he is with some Navajo guys, since it makes him look like a moron. But mostly I hate seeing old people disrespected by the distraction. They should have mattered more than politics for a few minutes. Feel free to disagree.


24 posted on 12/02/2017 11:47:09 AM PST by Chewbarkah
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To: Chewbarkah
"No, I don’t view it as benign. Do you?"

For the most part, yes.

Any doubt in my mind was totally erased when one of the Codetalker recipients mentioned "Geronimo".

I share a concern that those being honored should not feel slighted. I expected that they wouldn't be. I expect that they are supporters of Trump and share your values and mine.

I think the assessment of whether the comment is benign or not is meant to be made relative to the audience intended. You and I and the Codetalkers were the audience. From everybody else we expect outrage. Their hope is that the Codetalkers and other Trump supporters will feel the same.

As time has passed I have become more and more convinced that Trump's actions are far, far more purposeful than they appear. I think he is using a verbal "rope-a-dope" strategy on the liberals. They keep punching with little or no effect and more often than not make themselves look ridiculous. This is especially true of any defense of Elizabeth Warren.

Also, the problem I see with "Fauxcahontas" is that it depends upon an understanding of "faux" which I don't think is as universal as you might think. Virtually everybody has heard of Pocohantos.

25 posted on 12/02/2017 3:34:04 PM PST by William Tell
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To: LydiaLong
One of the things I hate about leftists is their lack of sense of humor.

If you really want to get under a liberal’s skin, make fun of them. Constantly.

26 posted on 12/02/2017 10:23:52 PM PST by immadashell (Save Innocent Lives - ban gun free zones)
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To: Chewbarkah
One of the Code talkers interviewed after the ceremony said, “When the marines made us shout “Geronimo” as we jumped out of planes, I wasn’t offended. And I’m not offended now. “

You need to pay less attention to the snowflake media.

27 posted on 12/03/2017 9:07:18 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: hinckley buzzard

Read my comment 24 on this thread. The media spin is not my concern.


28 posted on 12/04/2017 5:47:28 AM PST by Chewbarkah
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To: Kaslin

www.pocahontas.com

you may explore the link, but do not spend any money.


29 posted on 12/04/2017 10:12:08 AM PST by mission9 (It is by the fruit ye shall know.)
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To: mission9

Why would I want to? Are you holding me for stupid?


30 posted on 12/04/2017 10:56:03 AM PST by Kaslin (Quid est Veritas?: What Is Truth?)
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To: Kaslin

When will Harvard take some responsibility for this? Or does their lust for diversity over ride all?


31 posted on 12/04/2017 11:06:39 AM PST by ActresponsiblyinVA
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