And from the report on NPR yesterday afternoon, a significantly large block of voters for Ellison in this election was Jewish.
Capt Am how can you say that values aren’t fact-based? There are some emotional issues that have no objectively measurable basis, true, but that doesn’t make them factless.
All those things you’ve mentioned, that blacks are less intelligent, Jews poison well, whites are sociopaths because they don’t have enough melanin, are indeed in the realm of facts, and are indeed false., so you and I agree there.
However, to take one of your examples, people din’t hate Jews because they thought they poisoned wells. People thought Jews poisoned wells because they hated them. People don’t think blacks are inferior because they have lower IQs, they think blacks have lower IQs because they think they’re inferior.
So, yes, racism usually carries with it incorrect information, but the incorrect information is very rarely the cause of the racism. People have racist views, and then they find or invent facts to support the views they already hold.
And I really think if you could dispel the ignorant or misinformed beliefs, the racism would go away too. “Gee, you’ve convinced me the Jews don’t really poison wells, but I think I’ll go on hating them anyway.”
I also don’t think we should allow racists the luxury of being able to say “Well, that’s just my value system–I hate Jews/blacks/whites/Armenians/etc.” Racists are making fact-based claims about biology and history; they shouldn’t be allowed to retreat to some “faith-based” realm of “values and beliefs”.
Ok, I just heard this toolcase on NPR. Yes, he can totally go to hell, but more importantly, what in sweet zombie Jesus is with that accent? He sounds like Forrest Gump on a good dose of librium and with an entire ricecake in his mouth. Now, I’m from way way out west, but that’s not a standard VA accent is it?
Pretty much. I spent 8 years in Maryland, and made plenty of trips into VA during that time, and heard a lot of folks talk like that.
Seems the South keeps trying to rise again.
Oh, I do wish it were true.
But a lot of recent brain studies (Via PET and functional MRI scans) tend to show that the behavior occurs first, then the cognitive portion of the brain kicks into gear to rationalize the behavior.
So I expect that pointing out the flaw in the rationalization just leads to a different rationalization.
Such has been my experience, frankly. Truly teachable moments are few and far between. They are treasures to find when they occur, but some pans hold no gold, some oysters have no pearls, and many who wander are truly lost.
Remarkable ain’t it? That is as pure a Tidewater accent as I have ever heard. I had no idea any mainlanders still talked like that. Frankly, I find it beautiful, it is a shame we are loosing our accents.
Anyhow, why do nutcases like that have to feed the preconceptions of people about our most wonderful accents?
Eureka! That’s it!!
My cousins, who live on the Patuxent, down where it enters the Chesapeake, sound a lot like that guy!!!
Thanks, Paul!
See, now that sounds pretty stupid, to me.
Guilty as charged. I don’t even eat at McDonald’s- I must not be a real American 
Yeah, but we’ve also got freedom of speech, which means douchebags like this guy can whinge about how oppressed they are because Muslims can run for elected offices.