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| Silverfiddle Rant! |
First off, I damn all Republican politicians and public figures for not making this simple statement, loudly and frequently:
"To the Buffalo killer, and anyone who would be inspired by his manifesto, know this: You’re not fighting for the white race. White people hate you. You are alone." (NY Post Editorial Board)
This is a neat trick progressives have used over and over, but thankfully with diminishing returns. They have made the term 'racist' almost meaningless, and I'm sure you can come up with some other words and concepts they have despoiled by blatant and irresponsible misuse.
So anyhoo, the questions I have are...
* What is the proper, progressive-approved way to voice opposition to illegal immigration?* Can an American express pride in this nation without being labeled a white supremacist (I know, it makes no sense, but we are talking about the progressive left)* Can someone avoid being labeled a neo-Hitlerian if she expresses concern that bringing in too many people with dissimilar cultures, practices and mores will negatively affect our society?
This is what the left does best: Smearing good people with odious labels to stifle debate.
What say you?
Face it, all of Trump's disinformation caused that white boy to begin his massacre. Algorithms, Spyders and Bots must see to it that Disinformation is PURGED from every internet post. Oficialismo uber alles!
ReplyDeleteAnti-racist positivism must be used to purge every last vestige of the America's citizen's Constitutionally protected negative liberties. Freedom of speech ONLY means freedom to be anti-racist, and to "publicly" voice anti-racist thoughts on privately owned platforms. It means freedom for me, but not for thee.
And so the new McCarthyism springs forth fresh once more from the head of Zeus...
-FJ
"Who will watch the watchers?" Unleash the Nocturnal Council! Velayat al Fiqh! Guardianship of the Jurists! Let no Trumper Jan 6th Insurrectionist ever again stand for election!
DeleteBy Grabthar's Hammer, Democracy must be avenged!
Farmer,
DeleteI love and admire your delicate but trenchant sense of irony.
"other words and concepts they have despoiled by blatant and irresponsible misuse"
ReplyDeleteEquality
Diversity
Migrant
Denied access
Rights
Justice
To your 1st question: there is no way to oppose immigration that the left would ever approve of unless you can prove such migrants ran straight to register Republican. IF you can do that, flee for your life to get out of the way of the thundering herd running to close the border.
2: yes. Never fail to express pride in country when it's merited. Eff 'em. Who cares what they think. But DON'T use pat phrases that are sure to bring on reflexive retorts. Response to ignorant reflexive retorts? "So what does than have to do with the price of tea in China?"
3. You cannot avoid being called names by name callers that don't like you. "How did you come to that conclusion?" Obviously, anyone coming to that conclusion lacks thinking skills and may not be worth a second sentence. But it could be helpful to others listening to have this demonstrated by the accuser making a fool of herself via anger, ad hominum attack, and steamrolling emotions with you saying "ok, so let me guess. You're telling us how you feel instead because you can't you answer the question?"
BAYSIDER
Q. * What is the proper, progressive-approved way to voice opposition to illegal immigration?
ReplyDeleteA. There is none. You must shut up and set down.
Q. * Can an American express pride in this nation without being labeled a white supremacist (I know, it makes no sense, but we are talking about the progressive left)
A. Yes, but only at midnight in a deserted coal mine 2 miles beneath the surface and make sure you only whisper or you'll end up on the terrorist watch list.
Q. * Can someone avoid being labeled a Neo-Hitlerian if she expresses concern that bringing in too many people with dissimilar cultures, practices and mores will negatively affect our society?
A. I'll tell you how much things have changed. Several years ago I stated that we could not absorb large numbers of illiterate, destitute illegal aliens who couldn't even speak English, without suffering sever economic and cultural consequences and even Ducky agreed with me. That was during the Reagan amnesty For Illegal Immigrants.
So now they can just call me a Neo-Hitlerian. Coming from these Marxist buffoons, it's a badge of honor.
Warren,
DeleteSeveral years ago I stated that we could not absorb large numbers of illiterate, destitute illegal aliens who couldn't even speak English, without suffering sever economic and cultural consequences and even Ducky agreed with me. That was during the Reagan amnesty For Illegal Immigrants.
You were a prophet!
At that time, I didn't see all this hell coming -- because I was teaching in a private school where we had only one illegal immigrant on our student rolls.
Within a few years of the Reagan Amnesty, the effects on the public education system were undeniable: trailer classrooms everywhere, buildouts of the schools (Real estate taxes soared, the hiring of incredible numbers of ESOL teachers and school counselors to help these students "adjust," the lowering of standards, etc.
This onslaught has now reached the stage that average students -- the bulk of students -- get short shrift. All the attention is paid to gifted & talented and special needs students, that latter category including ESOL students.
"This onslaught has now reached the stage that average students -- the bulk of students -- get short shrift. All the attention is paid to gifted & talented and special needs students, that latter category including ESOL students." -- AOW
DeleteThat last statement is heartbreaking and really hurts my heart because my son as you so well know affected the education of my son. When he first entered school the staff, administration, teachers and principle were truly genuine about education of all students. He was a product at the time of GWB's "No Child Left Behind," actually in VA it was a good program when they executed it. However, when that wanned and there was a new principle of to replace the original, and the new one was "Latina" all the programs instituted in the schoold were banned. They no longer wanted to be part of "No Child Left Behind" and the minorities were catered to and for the first time I saw reverse racism "front and center." Sadly my son was their sacrificial lamb. The left are sick people.
Layla,
DeleteI wish that I could have tutored or had your son in my homeschool classes. I'm sure there would have been a better outcome for him!
I wish that too but the DOE in Virginia would never have agreed and/or paid for such services and sadly I could not afford private services. Hence, why we eventually at age 12 took him totally out of the education system that failed him and homeschooled him the best we could, which honestly we probably did not do him as much justice had we been experienced. I am still saddened we did this but there was no choice unless we wanted him in a small cubby hole tucked away in a literal classroom no bigger than two walk-in small closets. Yes, hide the intillectually challenged. Liberal shame tactics that affect him to this day.
DeleteFrom this source (emphases mine):
ReplyDeleteFormer FOX News correspondent Carl Cameron to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on Tuesday: "It really is kind of horrible to think that journalists with national and international capacity are putting together this type of nonsense. I think the president did a great job. I wish he had done a lot of this a lot sooner, and we need a lot more from the left and the middle, and we got to watch out because the Republicans have become the purveyors of misinformation, and when our two-party system is broken like that, democracy is seriously in trouble. The president acknowledged that it's time to actually start doing things and maybe taking some names and putting people in jail."
More at the above link -- including video.
In other words, "If you don't conform to the narrative, we will not only make you sit down and shut up; we will also lock you up."
Kafka-esque!
Well, well, AOW ... that sounds like a manifesto of evil and more akin to the Russians. What is next, finding ways to poison the citizenry if they do not comply with the left? The day is coming.
DeleteTo be fair, you don't have to look far to find right-wing pundits espousing GRT. I'm not claiming that the Left doesn't smear (politicians gonna politic), but it's not like there's nothing to it.
ReplyDeleteSF's three questions are great, and they challenged my own sense of fairness towards political opponents. My humble opinions (I can barely speak for myself, let alone the Left, still less the American Left)
1. problem is this issue has been misused so much as a racist dogwhistle that it does take extra special care to distinguish yourself from the whistlers while addressing it. It's not fair on you, but it's not entirely the Left's fault.
2. more easily than 1. The problem area is when we deny our culture's transgressions (current and of course historic), and/or dismiss the ongoing repercussions of that legacy.
3. Again, because of the persistent dog-whistling, you may need to explicitly express how your concerns are not borne of anxiety around the preservation of some sort of racial purity. Sure, that's annoying. I blame the dogwhistlers for poisining the discourse so much.
I still think that legal migration routes should be much simpler and quicker.
I'm beginning to detect a pattern.
DeleteThe right starts slamming the left over 'Critical Race Theory' and the left responds by saying that's not what they are teaching in school.
Now comes the Replacement Theory from the other side.
I am biased, but I think the right has done a better job defining their opposition to the racial determinism they are calling CRT. The right (and actually, many centrist parents--the Va Governor's race brought out South Asians to vote for a Republican) is actually debating the issue and stating their opposition plainly.
The left refuses to have an honest debate about immigration, preferring to simply scream RACIST!!! at everyone who voices opposition or even concern about our immigration situation.
I shall have to reread your series of posts on CRT. Outside this blog I do not recall seeing any intellectually honest opposition to it, but obviously you read more right wing sources than I do.
DeleteI'm not saying conservatives don't sensationalize the issue for political purposes. They do. But even Chris Rufo (CRT conservative bete noire) brings real documents and training presentation ginned up by leftist educrats as evidence of what he is saying.
DeleteSF,
DeleteAt first, I ignored Christopher Rufo. Then I noticed that he had evidence to support his assertions.
Well, I don't know Christopher Rufo, so I don't mean to cast aspersions but I'm not particularly reassured... cherry picking isn't hard.
DeletePersonally I think it's worth giving CRT a charitable hearing for the rich insights it can provide, and the backlash against it is a great pity.
They shouldn't teach that, but I think they should prepare children to face the reality that black people are still in the 21st century oppressed in America.
DeleteLots of people don't know that. They're not bad people, they're often good people who, if they knew, wouldn't stand for it. So it's a pity that they're so poorly served by a discourse that insists that America is not seriously flawed (Farmer will tell you who's discourse that is, even though he might not recognise the full extent to which he is constrained by it).
It remains the case that black people are underserved by the justice system & police, by the medical system, the houses they own are undervalued, their earnings are lower etc. etc.
The only way that this situation has perpetuated this long is by hiding it. It's in plain sight, it's a trick of misdirection. Everything about mainstream discourse, of which education is a vital component, makes it easy not to know, hard to acknowledge, taboo to mention. It could have been a well-meaning accident, but you could regard the doctine of colour-blindness as a stroke of diabolical genius: it's a very appealing idea, but in practice all it does is reinforce the taboo against even stating the issue: it enables the very thing it virtue-signals against!
Only when it is stated and accepted as truth can it be faced and irradicated. I'm actually optimistic that racism needn't be such a big deal in America (or Britain, I'm not singling you out; few countries are as ignorant/deluded about its own history as we contrive to be in Britain): in twenty years it could be as retro as homophobia now is. But we didn't get here by pretending that homophobia doesn't exist.
I has not been established that white America is ignoring persistent race problems. Look, bad people on both sides (inverse Donald Trump!) would rather keep problems going than address them.
DeleteI do not by the "systemic racism." Its just not there. What is there are the vestiges of past discrimination and black people are suffering that still today (bad neighborhoods, crummy schools, etc).
I've listened to many serious black intellectuals who detest BLM, and they all agree step 1 is cleaning up the schools black children attend and providing them the same quality education as everyone else.
That thing that you call vestiges of past racism is what I call systemic racism... As usual there's less disagreement on this stuff than it could seem. It still won't go away without recognising it and deliberately dismantling it.
DeleteJez,
Delete[Systemic racism] still won't go away without recognising it and deliberately dismantling it.
Give some specific examples of what you mean by dismantling it.
Most POC have escaped it, but we have persistent pockets the could be focused on, but too many people are more interested in sensationalizing, goading, trolling and owning "the other side" than addressing the problem in a productive way.
DeleteMeanwhile, POC with their white progressive classmates at exclusive universities scream through bullhorns about how oppressed they are. The irony is too much.
@aow I don't know, I'm not a policy guy. I guess some laws would change. Maybe public housing, education. Honestly I think just replacing the happy delusion that everything is fine with a more realistic sense of the distance left to go to get to true equalityhof-opportunity would help a lot. Less sensationalism in the media! The media loves for this to be an argument. It's not in Murdoch's interest to give you any of this stuff straight. He wants two sides, both ridiculous enough for the opposite side to tear strips off and nauseum. That s what sellspapers.
DeleteJez,. Very few people of any race in this country would say everything is just fine. We all know there are problems, but we appear to be totally incapable of discussing them in a rational and productive manner
DeletePick pick your preferred data set. On educational outcomes, health outcomes, wealth, anything, crime.
DeleteThat data will show that the plight of people of color in this country is not due to the color of their skin. This disproves racist claims otherwise.
Unfortunately for the Ibrahim kindies of the world, All of the dysfunctions they try to pin on systemic racism or whatever, is actually a class problem
A legacy of racism, The poverty rate among black people is higher than that of white people.
DeleteJez,
DeleteI don't know, I'm not a policy guy.
Too much the same answer I get every time I ask the question! How can we fix anything if we don't specifically know what they are.
I guess some laws would change. But many laws have changed, starting back in 1964. It's still not enough?
Maybe public housing, education. Again, those have been addressed over and over again -- and continue to be addressed -- with outcomes that backfire somehow.
Honestly I think just replacing the happy delusion that everything is fine with a more realistic sense of the distance left to go to get to true equality of-opportunity would help a lot.
Who is pretending that everything is just fine?
IMO, we very much have equality of opportunity right now. For example, scholarship after scholarship for only people of color -- as my white family found out when one cousin graduated from high school about 12 years ago and could find no needs-based scholarship available to her. No scholarship for her! No college for her! She's white and, along with her two children, would still be living in abject poverty except that her grandmother took her in a few months ago. Now, she made some poor choices along the way -- not drugs, not booze but rather a boyfriend with no prospects possible (mental illness).
"Who is pretending that everything is just fine?
DeleteIMO, we very much have equality of opportunity right now."
When I said "everything is fine," I meant that equality-of-opportunity is not here yet.
Please provide an example of a lack of equality of opportunity
DeleteConsider housing: legacy / systemic racial issues (covenants etc.) abound; black-owned homes are undervalued and it's harder to get loans. I don't have a respectable sources to hand, but it was on john oliver's show. See especially around the 20 minute mark how realtors value houses differently.
DeleteOliver is spouting BS. People pay for a house whatever the market will bear. Lenders will not loan over the market value of a home. That is an economic housing market fact in this country that applies regardless of the race of buyers or sellers.
DeleteNow, where the legacy of racism does apply is where poor black people remain concentrated in really crappy and undesirable areas of the city where their ancestors were forced to live back during segregation. Yahoogle 'sandtown' Baltimore for an example.
Oliver, Jon Stewart and their ilk dish out cartoon versions that garner clapter, but do damage to the truth.
Racism is real, I just pointed out one real legacy of it, but they do no good wallowing in shallow tropes.
Redling was also a bad, racist thing, but Glenn Loury and David Kaiser provide a more complete picture.
https://glennloury.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-redlining?s=r
More common that the crap Oliver is peddling is gentrification, where black people are priced out of their often rundown and undesirable neighborhoods when fixer uppers move in.
Another legacy of racism is poor black families trapped in crappy school districts, thanks to how schools are funded by local taxes from the school district. So, poor school districts get less money than rich ones. Deep blue cities (which describes almost every city in this nation) could solve this by taxing for schools at the municipal level and spreading the money out evenly. Why haven't Democrats done that?
More on my first paragraph:
DeleteThere is not some racist meany slapping undervalued prices on minority properties. The prices are set by the market. Many black neighborhoods are undesirable because they are also crime-ridden and in bad school districts, and this is indeed a legacy of racism.
It has been a lament for decades among black activists that black people who end up attaining the financial means move out of these undesirable neighborhoods as soon as they are able, leaving those neighborhoods even more impoverished.
Not yet read your redlining document, will get to it later, but just wanted to make the point that Carlette Duffy's house didn't move district or get remodeled in a different architectural style. Here's her experiment John Oliver featured in his show written up in a less clapter-provoking (lol) format. https://eu.indystar.com/story/money/2021/05/13/indianapolis-black-homeowner-home-appraisal-discrimination-fair-housing-center-central-indiana/4936571001/
DeleteIt's not great from an experimental design point of view, n=1 and all that, but it's not easy to write off as a coincidence -- worth conducting a bigger experiment, at least?
"...schools are funded by local taxes from the school district. So, poor school districts get less money than rich ones. Deep blue cities (which describes almost every city in this nation) could solve this by taxing for schools at the municipal level and spreading the money out evenly. Why haven't Democrats done that?"
I don't know, but Always says these issues are repeatedly being addressed (and backfiring). What are they doing instead?
I read the article. Sounds like the vagaries of the housing market to me, including interest rates based on credit scores.
DeleteThe #1 factor in that article was almost certainly not that she was black, but that the home was in a black neighborhood, and we have already gone over that.
Once again, I reiterate, house prices are not set by realtors or appraisers or any other shadowy entities. The selling price of a house is determined by the market.
I don't know why an appraiser or realtor would risk their license that their financial wellbeing depends on by purposely jobbing black people.
Realtors want homes to sell for as much as possible since both the buying and selling agent make a percentage of the sale. I can understand why historically discriminated against people would see everything through a racial lens, but we don't need "bigger experiments." Our economy and housing market is a gigantic experiment with all the data wide open.
You're overlooking that the 3rd appraisor valued the house significantly higher (>x2) when she got a white man to pretend to live there. Like I said before, n=1 is anecdote not data, but surely a x2 multiplier falls outside the range of values you can explain away as noise or vagaries of the housing market? If the "market" is so racist that it will pay two times more for the same house sold by a white man, that's a symptom of a much bigger problem. In a way, I hope it's just the appraisers/bank undervaluing her house (in fact, I do think that's the more likely explanation). Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate forcing anyone to buy a house that they don't want. But if the "market" (let's just call them "people") is that racist, that we can measure in dollars, shouldn't we be addressing that, very very urgently?
DeleteI don't know why physicians would treat black babies more roughly either, but let's not turn a blind eye to everything that doesn't match our expectations a priori. Sometimes things happen, and it doesn't matter that we don't understand them. But maybe it's not so puzzling: appraisers work for the bank, and as we learned in 2008 they're not above delivering inflated valuations if that's what suits the bank. Why is the prospect that they're maybe undervaluing some properties any more shocking than that?
If Duffy actually went through with the sale, then I agree it's an open experiment and we can she the results: maybe she'd have been pleasantly surprised to accept an offer close to her 3rd valuation. But she's trying to refinance, and that's not open at all, those valuations never get tested against the market. But it's still a very big deal as it robs her of purchasing power.
To be clear, I am only interested in recognising the issues and rectifying the problems. I could not be less interested in judging appraisers or physicians etc.
The first two appraisals were during covid mid-2020, the third appraisal I think if I read the article right came later this is not uncommon in our housing market
Deletethis version of the story has a few dates.
DeleteFrom July to November 4th is 3-4 months. Is it seriously "not uncommon" for house values to go up or down by more a factor of 2 in 3-4 months in Indiana?
I think it's weird that you're not more curious about what went on here.
https://www.redfin.com/city/9170/IN/Indianapolis/housing-market
DeleteBit of a bump in Q1, but over the period we're looking at, the trend seems pretty steady. Is it really credible that within that city, prices were fluctuating wildly throughout that summer? I mean, maybe. But I think that demands an explanation, more so than the idea that appraisers might not be completely reliable.
This story is one data point. One anecdote. String a bunch of these together and you have a trend. There were multiple factors to this, and any one of them could have contributed.
DeleteI am not saying that race was not involved. Anything is possible. If there was anything funny going on, it could potentially be that the lending company she went to to get the home equity loan uses their own appraisers who intentionally undervalue any home regardless of the race of the person in it.
We've been subjected to way too many stories like this that turn out to have some ordinary explanation. If this is really going on and it's really racism, then the people involved are going to have the federal government come down on them like a ton of bricks, and rightly so.
Govt didn't even punish the banks when they were caught redhanded in 2008, dunno what makes you think they'd lift a finger over this. Unless there was a massive public outcry, but that seems unlikely when so many people are giving them the benefit of limitless amounts of doubt.
DeleteI read your link about redlining: interesting nuances. I wonder if they compare the social mobility each group ?
Caught red handed doing what? The banks were doing what government forced them to do: Loan money to people who they knew couldn't pay it back. The government then packaged that crap into mortgage backed securities.
DeleteLook, in this country, you are innocent until proven guilty, and for civil suits (that this woman could pursue) US juries are famous for calling it for the little guy and sticking it to businesses, so if she was defrauded, she needs to prove it in court.
We have an entire industry stoking racial strife in this country. Have you heard how the GOP keeps black people from voting in Georgia with sneaky tactics including voter ID?
DeleteDid you know that black voter participation increased after those laws were enacted?
Jez, you have to give me credit. I treat the "Stolen Election" Trumpers with the same skepticism. You gotta bring the evidence.
DeleteAbsolutely I give you credit. Can't remember if I ended up posting it, but I did at least draft a paragraph recently about how your skepticism is consistent with your approach to other issues, unlike the special skepticism which I often encounter, reserved exclusively for racial issues. I can relate, skepticism is my natural inclination too, but I think with respect to claims of social injustice it comes from a core belief that other people have roughly the same experience of the world as I have. But there is zero historical justification for that belief, and having acknowledged that truth, I have consciously decided to be less skeptical. The system has not earned the a priori assumption of fairness.
DeleteYou reason these things as best you can, but we're all fallible so we're inevitably going to get things wrong from time to time: when we do, I don't think it's always worse to believe a bogus claim of injustice than it would be to dismiss a genuine one.
"The banks were doing what government forced them to do: Loan money to people who they knew couldn't pay it back. The government then packaged that crap into mortgage backed securities."
That's not how Micheal Lewis describes it.
There was a lot of financial chicanery behind the housing bubble, as The Big Short addresses. Much of it was incentivized by government, but the blame falls on the financial tricksters who actually perpetrated it.
DeleteYour mention of each person's experience is key to understanding where other people are coming from and empathizing with their situation, even if you disagree with them or disagree on causes and motives.
I served with many POC in the Military, quite a few friends, acquaintances and close co-workers. I have heard their stories, the vast majority not harrowing tales of racial violence, but rather mundane--and usually sneaky--acts of discrimination and sometimes hatred, so I do not discount such stories out of hand.
Without discounting and POC story, I can say from experience, reading and observing, that much of what POC experience in this nation, such as the story you reference, is also experienced by lower income people of all races.
It is a fact of life that there are sharpies out there looking to defraud and make a buck, and they don't care who they fleece. People at the lower end of the scale are notorious for making bad financial decisions because no one has taught them, and its doubly sad because small losses can really slam them. They also do not have access the same banking privileges and financial tools higher income people do, leaving them to high interest loans, etc.
Do not understimate the power of the largely-unregulated securities market. I think once the wizards discovered how to conjure AAA-rated securities out of sum-prime debt, the money-hydrant was turned on and no further incentive was necessary to to induce them to keep handing out more and more garbage loans. Any influlence the government could possibly have had on top of that (encouragement or discouragement) would have been marginal at best.
DeleteIt's a totally fair point that the poor black experience has a lot in common with the poor white experience. America's such a big place, I have no doubt that there are many nuances to the class hierarchies and flavours of poverty that I'm not familiar with. I am not setting myself up as an expert. But overall, I still think it makes a difference to be black.
SF,
ReplyDeleteSmearing good people with odious labels to stifle debate.
And, many times, threatening their employment!
No one is safe in America. Good Lord!
Delete* What is the proper, progressive-approved way to voice opposition to illegal immigration?
ReplyDelete* Can an American express pride in this nation without being labeled a white supremacist (I know, it makes no sense, but we are talking about the progressive left)
* Can someone avoid being labeled a neo-Hitlerian if she expresses concern that bringing in too many people with dissimilar cultures, practices and mores will negatively affect our society? --SF
1. There is no proper way to address the Progressive Left because once they realize you are not "left" what you say will all become mute to them.
2. American's should be able to express pride (patriotism) in our nation, however, be prepared to be called names. Nothing the so-called Right can do or say will ever go without their stamp of disapproval and calling us names and white supremists is just the tip of their iceburg.
3. NO! In todays world there is no escaping the disgusting wrath of the Progressive Left. No matter what we say we are "neo-Hitlerian to the Progressive Left. My suggestion is to rebuff them or ignore them. Even a fool appears wise when he stays silent. Arguing with morons accomplishes nothing to change their "STOCKHOLM SYNDROME" thinking and belief system - an insidious form of "group think."
I no longer believe their is hope for the Progressives they are just too far gone.
Layla,
DeleteI no longer believe their is hope for the Progressives they are just too far gone.
Agreed!
+++^+++
DeleteGreat questions Silver. Here are my quick takes as I head out to my week of medical clinics here in So Mexico...
ReplyDelete1. I've said over and over, the Dems have issues here. But as it relates to conservatives, it is not necessarily the ideas behind stopping illegal immigration, it is the language many use. people can be critical of the act of trying to illegally immigrate, without demonizing and using offensive words. Using broad brush terms like "Illegal aliens bring sickness and disease" and promoting themes that smack of English first, or sometimes, only, qualify. Saying immigrants want to change America into a cesspool, bring socialism can also work to undermine conservative credibility.
The problem is there are some that are guilty of the worst offenses conservatives lob at them. But not all.
2. Yes. 100%. Again, think language. If you call Muslims Moslem Vermin, probably not. If you categorize all immigration as bad, as some are doing now in spite of the fact that we need workers, even in low skill jobs, that's a problem. Terms like "Moochelle", "Obamy" and "The Blacks", all used by people who comment here, are sure to earn someone a White Supremacist label.
3. Again, tone and language matters. Raise concerns about the issues and avoid making it personal. Suggest some solutions that show real understanding of the issue. Work to define the cultural values we have "outside of a religious framework."
That's what I have quick, and on the run. Not fully thought out.
I'm sure I'll have more at the end of the day.
Thank you Dave. Unfortunately, most people on the left are not as sincere as you. The real answer is, there is no good way to talk about these things without being smeared as a racist.
DeleteYes, conservatives do it too two people on the left when they talk about social programs, but it is a hell of a lot worse being smeared as a racist than being called a socialist
Full Alinsky. See <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2022/05/17/msnbc-guest-donny-deutsch-cdemocrats-brand-every-republican-racist/'>MSNBC Guest Calls On Democrats To ‘Brand Every Republican’ As Racist</a>. Excerpt:
ReplyDelete...<i>“What the Democrats need to do — and it’s so obvious at this point — is brand then [sic] with it, is basically take this Replacement Theory and now make it the Republican Racist Replacement Theory,” Deutsch said. “Make every Republican answer, ‘Do you believe in it or not?’ Brand every Republican. This is the party of replacement theory. Take what is a sliver [of the Republican Party] … and make it the entire raison d’être of the Republican Party.”... </i>
Aow,
DeleteNice find! This is especially galling, given that Democrats have been openly talking about changing our demographics, and gleefully rubbing their little mitts together in excitement over how that would guarantee them Democrat majorities forever.
It's a trap they deliberately set. They purposely make it about race, and then when someone who is not the right color tries to rebut, they are smeared as racist. As I said up above, neat trick
Well... Deutsch is a marketing guy, probably speaking in his role as a marketing guy as to what Dems should/could do in this moment to gain traction and yes, improve their chances doing better in the mid terms.
DeleteBut... if the GOP does not support the idea of "Great Replacement Theory", why would they not want to condemn it?
Flip the script and that's exactly what the GOP said about the CRT isn't it?
If people don's believe there are GOP talking points saying brand every Dem as a CRT government loving communist, they're not being serious.
Why is the "Full Alinsky' only used to tar Dems when in fact the GOP uses it too?
Brilliant minds. I have detected the same pattern. I'll repost my comment to Jez from up the thread:
DeleteI'm beginning to detect a pattern.
The right starts slamming the left over 'Critical Race Theory' and the left responds by saying that's not what they are teaching in school.
Now comes the Replacement Theory from the other side.
I am biased, but I think the right has done a better job defining their opposition to the racial determinism they are calling CRT. The right (and actually, many centrist parents--the Va Governor's race brought out South Asians to vote for a Republican) is actually debating the issue and stating their opposition plainly.
The left refuses to have an honest debate about immigration, preferring to simply scream RACIST!!! at everyone who voices opposition or even concern about our immigration situation.
But I agree with your point about Republicans not flatly repudiating racist tripe, as I said at the top of my post. But, we then get into the trap of every Republican having to repudiate every event people on the left call out.
DeleteDid Democrats apologize for the Bernie Bro who shot up the GOP softball game?
Apologizing and repudiating can become nothing more than a tit for tat slippery slope, especially in our highly politicized and very unhealthy team sport environment.
Also, and intelligent man such as yourself must realize making someone apologize or repudiate some horrendous act is actually sly maneuver that makes them own and become associated with the horrendous act, it in the eyes of the public.
DeleteHey Silver... pretty busy so I know this is late to the party...
DeleteYou stated. "Also, and intelligent man such as yourself must realize making someone apologize or repudiate some horrendous act is actually sly maneuver that makes them own and become associated with the horrendous act, it in the eyes of the public.
Thanks for the compliment, but actually, I'd never thought of that. I know ppl get sick and tired of being tarred with the worst from their "political side" but it's the game we have.
I've been called despicable, disgusting, unAmerican, a commie, libturd and someone who desires the destruction of our country by many ppl who comment here.
Because I supposedly agree with the favored policies of some of the extremists, which i've repeatedly denounced, of the far left.
When we're talking whether or not people support some pretty extreme views, I just don't think it should be a big deal to expect people to condemn those views or the behaviors associated with them.
When we see ppl marching shouting "Jews will not replace us" while wearing Nazi symbols in America, or advocating for this "Great Replacement Theory", I don't think it's any more unreasonable for the left to expect some public distancing.
It's what the right expected from the left with "Defund the police" isn't it?
There is an important distinction in your comparison. No GOP politician has supported the "Jews will not replace us." None.
DeleteMany Democrats did support and voice defund the police.
Why demand Republicans repudiate every odious racist act or sloganeering? Doing so smuggles in the implicit assertion that the GOP is on the side of the racists. And I do not buy damning politicians because of who votes for them.
What do you think of Liz Cheney's criticism of the GOP leadership?
DeleteIt's her right. I don't get all exercised about it, but then, I'm not paying much attention to the whole Jan6 kabuki anyway.
DeleteMy point is a simple one grounded in documented facts:
For over 20 years, Democrats have been talking gleefully about immigration changing our demographics and making us less white. Their words, not mine and not Republicans'.
For over 20 years, Democrats have been crowing that immigration will give them a permanent political majority. They wrote and spoke about it openly.
For at least the last 10 years, the chattering class has been hammering away about "whites will become the minority" soon. Soon after, "white anxiety" became one of their favorite topics.
See a pattern? We are being manipulated.
Jez,
DeletePlease read my next blog post:
The Incredible Whiteness of Being a Minority
My blogger buddies here either ignored it or crapped all over it, but I'd be interested in your opinion in its comment thread.
Silver... but this is a post about how conservatives can better talk about issues and not be considered racist, Neo-Hitlerian, etc.
DeleteOne way is to pick the low hanging fruit. "The Jews will not replace us" crowd was disgusting and brought real fear to people. Yet few conservative politicians or opinion people respected by the Trump wing of the GOP, stepped up to criticize that crowd.
That act alone would have gained them some traction with the left.
But because of their silence we are left with the impression that they agree, or see no need to criticize those folks.
The right, since 9/11, has consistently stood on the belief that silence in the face of Islamic extremism, is tantamount to acceptance. We've seen moderate Muslim leaders pilloried by the right, and mocked by people who comment here for not being more vocal and forward with their criticisms of the extremists in their midsts. Even of doing so would bring harm.
And so we are at an impasse.
I believe conservatives do have a responsibility to stand up and vocally argue against the extremists in their movement. To repudiate them, distance themselves from them and eschew their support.
You seem to take a more laissez faire attitude. Warren has argued that conservatives refuse to call out their bad actors for fear of giving the left "ammunition."
But if the middle is going to hold, which is by no means guaranteed, it must publicly call out the excesses of both sides. Because silence breeds a view of acceptance and further poisons the well of further discussion, agreement and forward movement.
Dave, See my previous comments. "Mostly peaceful" riots? People burning down cities? I don't recall any Democrats repudiating the violence that overshadowed the legitimate and peaceful demonstrations. See how this tit-for-tat can go on forever?
DeleteJust because I have not repudiated cat torture doesn't mean I'm for it.
@ Dave Miller:
Delete"Warren has argued that conservatives refuse to call out their bad actors for fear of giving the left "ammunition.
I don't remember making such an argument but all these accusations sound like "Do you still beat your wife?" Why would anyone with even a rudimentary education answer a stupid, aggressive question like that? What's the correct answer; no / sometimes / only on Fridays / Yes?
Let me ask you a few questions.
Do you denounce "The Indian Removal Act" of 1836.
Do you denounce the ownership of slaves during and proceeding the Civil War by Democrats?
Do you denounce the actions of the Copperhead Democrats that sought to undermine the Emancipation Proclamation of Lincoln?
Do you denounce those that resisted the "Reformation" and the KKK.
Do you denounce the Jim Crow Laws and Poll taxes?
Do you denounce the slaughter of unarmed Indian men, women and children at Wounded Knee?
Do you renounce President Wilson's policies that barred all German-Americans from living near military facilities, airports, port towns, or the capitol?
Do you denounce him forcing every German-American to get fingerprinted, registered and then sent into camps across the country, locked in like prisoners of war.
Do you denounce President Roosevelt doing the same thing to Japanese Americans? Do you denounce Wilson's overt racism by his ending the desegregation of the Federal Government and Military and saying he would never serve beside a negro soldier?
Do you denounce German-American Bund, pro Nazi organization?
Are you are have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Etc, etc....
I expect each question answered individually and fully
Oh, I forgot one important question. Do you still beat your wife? (LOL)
Dave,
DeleteDo you repudiate Margaret Sanger? Dems and progressives still laud her and receive awards in her name. She is a eugenicist closer to Hitler than today's left, yet you still cling to her.
Love him or hate him, Tucker Carlson has responded with quotes over the past decades of Democrats bragging about how lax immigration and changing Demographics was going to bring the Democrat party permanent victory.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/tucker-the-democratic-party-has-decided-they-will-change-the-electorate/ar-AAXoQsY?
The theological part of replacement theology is left wing. In that idiocy the curch has suplanted the Jews and Gods covenant has been revoked.
ReplyDelete