# Adaher is a Big Giant RACIST **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 3, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740 "2015-04-03T19:48:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/241 "2017-03-15T19:08:01Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > No, I do not generalize about all members of any minority group. Liberals do, and consider them all victims. Fiction belongs in Cafe Society. But I want to help, so I’ll tell you what – there are tons of liberals on the Dope, and we’d be happy to help you learn what actual real-world liberals believe (hint: the vast majority of us don’t generalize about all members of any minority group, and the vast majority of us do not consider them all victims). Feel free to ask questions about what liberals believe, and we’ll be happy to answer them. I’m afraid that if you keep insisting you know what I believe, you’ll inevitably be shown to be very foolish, as I would be if I claimed the gift of telepathy and said I knew what was in your mind. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/242 "2017-03-15T19:09:41Z")
One generalization that is accurate, and that is fueling a lot of the justifiable anger is that our immigration policy, as enforced and to some extent as written, is not designed to benefit America. It’s designed to benefit immigrants and prospective immigrants. Which makes political sense, since immigrants care more about immigration policy than the native born. It’s not the majority that gets what they want in politics, it’s whoever is most willing to vote on a single issue. But the situation has gotten so out of hand, with citizens basically being given the finger by the governments they elected that a backlash has resulted. Immigrant murdered your kid? Too bad, we’re not handing him over to federal authorities, that would be bad for his welfare. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/243 "2017-03-15T19:13:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > One generalization that is accurate, and that is fueling a lot of the justifiable anger is that our immigration policy, as enforced and to some extent as written, is not designed to benefit America. It’s designed to benefit immigrants and prospective immigrants. Which makes political sense, since immigrants care more about immigration policy than the native born. It’s not the majority that gets what they want in politics, it’s whoever is most willing to vote on a single issue. But the situation has gotten so out of hand, with citizens basically being given the finger by the governments they elected that a backlash has resulted. Immigrant murdered your kid? Too bad, we’re not handing him over to federal authorities, that would be bad for his welfare. I’m not sure what or who this is referring to. It’s entirely possible for reasonable people to disagree on whether current immigration policy and practice is beneficial or not for the country. I can’t make heads or tails of your last three sentences. Who is advocating that murderers not be prosecuted or deported? ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/244 "2017-03-15T19:15:39Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > No, I do not generalize about all members of any minority group. Liberals do, and consider them all victims. > > My statement assumes nothing. Wow, this is a level of self delusion that I’ve not often encountered. You just did make a statement generalizing about “minorities”, that I was replying to. That was your word choice. What in your statement allowed for viewing “minorities” as individuals? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/245 "2017-03-15T19:18:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’m not sure what or who this is referring to. It’s entirely possible for reasonable people to disagree on whether current immigration policy and practice is beneficial or not for the country. > > I can’t make heads or tails of your last three sentences. Who is advocating that murderers not be prosecuted or deported? Sanctuary cities don’t want to deport even violent criminals. They protect them from federal authorities. Reasonable people can disagree. That’s kinda my point. It’s not racist to favor an immigration policy that prioritizes the national interest. Something we do not have right now. ---
**Author:** ![inscrutable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a88e4f/32.png) [@inscrutable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inscrutable)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/246 "2017-03-15T19:19:43Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Fiction belongs in Cafe Society. > > But I want to help, so I’ll tell you what – there are tons of liberals on the Dope, and we’d be happy to help you learn what actual real-world liberals believe (hint: the vast majority of us don’t generalize about all members of any minority group, and the vast majority of us do not consider them all victims). Feel free to ask questions about what liberals believe, and we’ll be happy to answer them. > > I’m afraid that if you keep insisting you know what I believe, you’ll inevitably be shown to be very foolish, as I would be if I claimed the gift of telepathy and said I knew what was in your mind. Sorry, learned an earlier version of English than you youngsters. “Liberals do” doesn’t imply all liberals; it implies some liberals, and can imply “more liberals than conservatives”. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/247 "2017-03-15T19:22:52Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > Stationed there for a few years while in the Army. > > How does the fact that many Europeans speak multiple languages negate my observation? I thought you were saying that multi-culturalism was an impediment to assimilation into society. I’m saying, the Europeans have somehow managed to maintain their multi-culturalism and thrive on both fronts. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/248 "2017-03-15T19:24:49Z")
> [@inscrutable](#): > > Sorry, learned an earlier version of English than you youngsters. > > “Liberals do” doesn’t imply all liberals; it implies some liberals, and can imply “more liberals than conservatives”. Ok now I get it, you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how to communicate. Here’s a tip: Statements that begin this way are always generalizations, and always imply that you are referring to the entire group: Liberals do… Conservatives do… Black People do… White People do… Homosexuals do… Men do… Women do… If you mean that only some do, then put the word some in front. Otherwise you will be interpreted this way. Here are some examples: Some liberals do… Some conservatives do… etc… ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/249 "2017-03-15T19:35:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Plus the small matter of European countries actually being homelands for a particular race of people, which gives them more of a leg to stand on when wanting to maintain the character of their country. France isn’t some ideal like America, it’s literally the homeland of the French people. The more I study history, the less this argument resonates with me. The homeland of the French? Who are what, exactly? How you define French, how the French define French and how people in France defined French several hundred years back might be all quite different things. Ask a Breton today and one five hundred years ago what it means to be French. Ask what significance the term Dauphin had in 1200 vs. 1700. Europe is not static and never has been, especially at the edges. The nation-state is a modern invention. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/250 "2017-03-15T19:38:55Z")
I know the history too, and of course there are French people in neighboring countries and non-French in France itself, such as Basques. But the vast majority of France is made up of French people, with a common heritage, and they really don’t have anyplace to go if they give up their country to another people. Americans, if we ever became a minority in our own country, we’d just go to someplace America-like, like Canada or Australia, anyplace that believes in freedom and limited government. Where do the French go to be French if France is no longer theirs? They end up like Gypsys, or Basques, or Kurds, people without a nation. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/251 "2017-03-15T19:41:00Z")
I especially sympathize with the Japanese policy on immigration, which seems to pretty much amount to “no”. Japan is one of the safest, politest, most civilized societies on Earth if not THE most. Why would they ever want to mess that up by letting a lot of barbarians in? It wouldn’t take much immigration for Japan to basically stop being Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/252 "2017-03-15T19:45:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Where do the French go to be French if France is no longer theirs? They stay in the same place and the definition of what is French changes. Just as it has changed down through the millenia. There is nothing immutable or fixed about being French. All cultures change and stasis is a) impossible and b) nothing to strive for. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/253 "2017-03-15T20:02:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I especially sympathize with the Japanese policy on immigration, which seems to pretty much amount to “no”. Japan is one of the safest, politest, most civilized societies on Earth if not THE most. Why would they ever want to mess that up by letting a lot of barbarians in? It wouldn’t take much immigration for Japan to basically stop being Japan. Japanese culture has changed massively over the last century. It had nothing to do with immigration. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/254 "2017-03-15T20:54:34Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Japan is one of the safest, politest, most civilized societies on Earth :dubious: Unless you happen to be a woman. But hardly anybody is, so who cares? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/255 "2017-03-16T01:09:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > {…} Plus the small matter of European countries actually being homelands for a particular race of people, which gives them more of a leg to stand on when wanting to maintain the character of their country. France isn’t some ideal like America, it’s literally the homeland of the French people. “French” isn’t a race. :dubious: CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/256 "2017-03-16T01:33:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Where do the French go to be French if France is no longer theirs? They end up like Gypsys, or Basques, or Kurds, people without a nation. Quebec? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/257 "2017-03-16T01:37:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Japan is one of the safest, politest, most civilized societies on Earth if not THE most. Perhaps now, but I think some elderly folks in Nanking (Naijing now) would probably dispute that, along with some American POWs… If it is a polite society now, it’s because it was beaten into them. And Japan has a declining population and over 1/4 of the population older than 65 (and that number is increasing, not going down as deaths occur of the elderly. If this continues (aging of population, fewer births meaning fewer workers), Japan may yet rue the day it was so adamant about it’s ‘no immigrants’ policy. Time will tell. ETA: As for comment on the OP, adaher is not a racist; he has a set of principles, different from many on this board (including me), but none of them is racist per se, IMHO. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/258 "2017-03-16T05:31:48Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > They stay in the same place and the definition of what is French changes. Just as it has changed down through the millenia. There is nothing immutable or fixed about being French. All cultures change and stasis is a) impossible and b) nothing to strive for. Good to know. Let’s flood the Arab world with Western and Asian immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/259 "2017-03-16T06:36:04Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Let’s flood the Arab world with Western and Asian immigrants. You really don’t keep up so good, do you? It’s not like that hasn’t [actually been happening for years.](https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2017/02/14/middle-east-richest-unequal-economies-immigrants/#10f1c8e3811c) > [@](#): > > In many countries in the Gulf locals have been in the minority for decades, but the scale of the immigration into the region still has the power to astonish. A case in point is Qatar […] > > Locals are easily outnumbered by the 650,000 Indians (25% of the country’s total population) and the 350,000 Nepalese. Other significant groups include Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Egyptians, Sri Lankans and Pakistanis. Indeed just four of these countries – India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines – account for more than half the country’s population. > > The most populous national group from outside the Middle East or Asia is the British, of whom there are about 25,000, a little over 1% of the overall population. There are also at least 10,000 Chinese, 7,500 Nigerians, 5,000 Australians and 2,000 Russians. […] > > Qatar is not alone in its reliance on foreign brawn and brain - locals are also outnumbered by foreigners in Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain, for example. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740/260 "2017-03-16T06:41:06Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Japan is one of the safest, politest, most civilized societies on Earth if not THE most. Well, [unless](http://www.news24.com/World/News/sexual-assault-in-japan-every-girl-was-a-victim-20170308) you’re a schoolgirl who wants to ride the train to school unmolested… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adaher-is-a-big-giant-racist/716740.md?page=14)