# Fuck respecting cultural differences! Basic human rights are real! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 1, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460 "2010-06-01T04:04:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/41 "2010-06-01T17:57:53Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Tsk. Ann Coulter would never say anything like that. :rolleyes: > > It’d be, “we should invade their leaders, kill everybody, and convert the ones we missed to Christianity.” Possibly followed by, “it’s what Jesus would do.” Not to defend Ann Coulter, but [no she wouldn’t](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Coulter#Comments_on_Islam.2C_Arabs_and_terrorism). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/42 "2010-06-01T17:59:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > But let’s not go crazy and add basic human rights for unborn women, ok? There is no such thing as an “unborn woman.” ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/43 "2010-06-01T18:18:55Z")
Nice derail (or is it a hijack?) we have here. This thread is NOW about pancakes vs waffles. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/44 "2010-06-01T18:22:22Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Nice derail (or is it a hijack?) we have here. > > This thread is NOW about pancakes vs waffles. I enjoy both pancakes AND waffles, halp SDMB what should I think? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/45 "2010-06-01T18:23:43Z")
Pancakes and waffles are both delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/46 "2010-06-01T18:25:29Z")
Why do these sorts of rants seem to come back to men vs. women, whites vs. black, religious vs. non-religious…? Yes, I’m angry that these things happen to women. But at the same time, I angry that these cultures do horrible things to men, to those who hold differing religious views, or are the wrong race. I’m frankly tired that anyone is taking the cruelty, oppression, and violence of humanity, whether that person be man, woman, white, black, brown, green, Christian, Islamic, Atheist… And regarding human rights, as others said, I’m not really sure what that means. If you believe they’re endowed by God then, obviously, if you believe in a different god you’ll have different views about what they are. Otherwise, they’re a social construct in which either you start with all rights, and trade some away as part of social order (eg, I promise not to kill you if you promise not to kill me), or they only exist inside of the social order in which everyone effectively agrees that certain rights are a good idea. In either case, inside of our values, in which we value the lives of everyone, I can’t see you can justify a statement that the world would somehow be a better place by eliminating these cultures. Sure, you take out the cruel, violent oppressors, but you also take out the very victims that inspired you to want to wipe them out in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/47 "2010-06-01T18:28:15Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Are there really any cultural relativists in the world? It certainly isn’t anything I’ve ever encountered in my liberal, academic background, or heard about from my liberal, social worker wife with her undergrad degree in Anthropology. I never heard it defended in the Anthropology or Sociology courses I took in college, I’ve never heard it defended by politicians of any stripe or even casually by personal aquaintances. > > The only time I’ve heard anything close is from Fundamentalist Biblical apologists making excuses for Old Testament atrocities. > > The idea that cultural relativism is some sacred tenant of political liberalism (or that the sentiment even exists at _all_ among liberals) is, I think, complete mythology. > > It was western feminists who were decrying the Taliban long before conservatives ever cared, and it’s liberals who have always condemned female genital mutilation, violent homophobia and other 'cultural" human rights abuses across the world. > > Who are these alleged liberal defenders of “cultural relativism” anyway? Can anyone name a prominent one? It’s quite the dichotomy; Team A cannot support the atrocities being committed in the name of culture, yet cannot support the extreme intervention necessary to stop the atrocities. Team B can support (or ignore) the atrocities as a form of cultural relativism and is perfectly willing to engage in the intervention required to stop them, thereby engaging in a differing kind of atrocity. The question to answer is this; are we willing to become monsters to remove power from the monsters? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/48 "2010-06-01T18:31:48Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > It’s quite the dichotomy; Team A cannot support the atrocities being committed in the name of culture, yet cannot support the extreme intervention necessary to stop the atrocities. Team B can support (or ignore) the atrocities as a form of cultural relativism and is perfectly willing to engage in the intervention required to stop them, thereby engaging in a differing kind of atrocity. > > The question to answer is this; are we willing to become monsters to remove power from the monsters? Are you saying that killing a murderer who is about to murder my brother makes me a monster? If so, yes, I’m quite fine becoming a monster to stop other monsters. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/49 "2010-06-01T18:34:19Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > If you believe they’re endowed by God then, obviously, if you believe in a different god you’ll have different views about what they are. Otherwise, they’re a social construct in which either you start with all rights, and trade some away as part of social order (eg, I promise not to kill you if you promise not to kill me), or they only exist inside of the social order in which everyone effectively agrees that certain rights are a good idea. Or, you could believe that you’re endowed more than other men. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/50 "2010-06-01T18:34:20Z")
How about everyone just stop being shits to each other? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/51 "2010-06-01T18:43:15Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > How about everyone just stop being shits to each other? Never! ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/52 "2010-06-01T19:11:11Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > It’s quite the dichotomy; Team A cannot support the atrocities being committed in the name of culture, yet cannot support the extreme intervention necessary to stop the atrocities. Team B can support (or ignore) the atrocities as a form of cultural relativism and is perfectly willing to engage in the intervention required to stop them, thereby engaging in a differing kind of atrocity. Nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/53 "2010-06-01T19:14:37Z")
This is why we need space-based lasers. We need to be able to turn individuals in the most remote mountainous tribal villages into greasy dirt spots on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/54 "2010-06-01T19:31:50Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > How about everyone just stop being shits to each other? Thusfar in human history, the answer to that has consistently been “no u.” ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/55 "2010-06-01T19:35:38Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Somehow I knew it would be an Islamic culture when I read the OP. And…? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/56 "2010-06-01T19:50:14Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > And…? And it was. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/57 "2010-06-01T19:51:47Z")
I, too, would like to know where the cultural relativists are. I always figured it was a conservative thing … their culture is different, we should respect it, unless it conflicts with our culture, in which case we can kill them, and they should respect that, because our culture is different too. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/58 "2010-06-01T19:53:30Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Yeah, and I write this off as a long-winded way of saying “Shut up, man who doesn’t agree with me”, because it’s not like the availability of adopters has a great deal to do with the putative right to abortion; as I’m sure many would argue - and many \*have \*argued, right here - that it’s iniquitous to expect a woman to continue with an unwanted pregnancy even if there’s a good home awaiting the infant the instant it falls out of her crotch. Falls out of her crotch? Fuck you. Sideways. With something sharp and rusty. Countdown till Malacandra begins his perennial lament that he just can’t understand why people think he’s a misogynist. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/59 "2010-06-01T20:00:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > There is no such thing as an “unborn woman.” If an aborted she-fetus is converted does that make them “unborn again” or just born? It’s kind of like working with negative numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460/60 "2010-06-01T20:03:02Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Some things should be judged, and harshly. I see this as one of those things. I think for most people it goes without saying they judge rape and brutality as wrong and as such it’s not necessary for them to say so when writing about the people who do it. Very few histories of the Holocaust begin with anything equivalent to the historian saying “Just so everybody knows, I am completely against what the Nazis did”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-respecting-cultural-differences-basic-human-rights-are-real/541460.md?page=4)