“A supporter of X did something mean/bad/hateful to a supporter of Y. Therefore, supporters of X are all jerks/hypocrites/big fat meanypantses.”
Yawn.
I’m actually kind of pleased if we can hold 14-year-olds up as exemplars of a party ethos. Free Republic is a veritable gold mine.
Of course it’s not a reasonable way to express disagreement, as any adult would know. However, somehow you feel that attributing adult judgment to 8th graders is indicative that adults unrelated to this situation are hypocrites. I don’t get this attitude or the conclusions you’ve drawn from it. “Liberals talk about tolerance while children are intolerant of one another” does not prove anything, it only shows that you’re desperate to come up with a “gotcha!” situation to throw in somebody’s face. It’s desperate and sad.
At the same time, when someone points out the crazy behavior of a supporter on the other side of the fence, many are quick to jump in and say “Oh! Don’t think that’s all of us, she’s obviously crazy to carve a B in her cheek and say some black man assaulted her because she was a McCain supporter! We don’t really advocate that, she needs help, and her behavior is not indicative of the whole party!”
So why is it okay for you to do that? Where did it become acceptable for only your side to make broad and ridiculous generalizations about “Obama supporters” or “Liberals” or “Democrats” all behaving and thinking the same way? For fuck’s sake, do you not recognize that this is blatantly disingenuous? Do you even fucking care anymore?
Yes, if one person can show up to support your weak position in the face of many who don’t, it’s exactly correct. I’m not quite convinced that “Obama supporters” would be up in arms if some kid went to school with a t-shirt on and was made fun of. I’m not sure I would give a shit, just like I don’t give a shit about this girl, because the fact is that she was conducting a social experiment and got the exact results she wanted. I hope that’s comforting to you.
In case anyone cares, hereis a slightly less hysterical rendition of the story.
So, some 14 year-olds acted like dicks to her; some didn’t. The reaction of the teachers ranged from “non-judgement” to outright support. Hey, how come that opinion guy didn’t mention the teachers who said they liked the shirt and admired her for being like Elizabeth Hasselback? Was he massging the facts to make a political point or something? I’m disillusioned.
Give me a fucking break. They’re 13 years old. They’d have said the same if she wore a tshirt with the wrong boy band on it.
You’re actually pointing to the behavior of a bunch of thirteen year olds as indicative of “liberal” behavior. Hey, if getting your panties bunched up about this gives your life meaning, go nuts. I understand that some people really *need *to feel oppressed. I’d previously thought better of you. I’m not judging, I’m just… surprised.
Obamabama. Check your inbox for the memo.
Sarah, i’m with you on the idea that were this situation reversed, this would probably get a different reception, though I do not know how different. I too consider this a bad situation, and I don’t consider the behaviour of some of those kids to be all that tolerant. But I think you relenquish some of the ability to point out partisanship when you yourself employ it in the thread title.
I’m not saying that makes either side ok, or drawing a total equivalency that balances out. I’m just saying that if I want to try and point out a flaw or problem in something, i’m going to be doubly, triply careful that I don’t make the same mistake. Because it means people are able to ignore or minimize the problem in favour of picking at my mistake.
[Aside]
When I was that age, a teacher stopped me in the hall because I was carrying a copy of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
“Does your Mom know you’re reading that book?”
“My Mom* recommended* this book.”
Apropos of nothing. Just bragging on my Mom.
[/aside]
Oh please, people, settle down. I am not violently outraged, as I said. It’s hitting me in a little bit of a sensitive spot because this is the middle school my kids will go to one day. I live in this community, and know what it feels like as an adult not to want to put a lawn sign out for an election because I know what kind of reaction I’ll get.
I am pointing to this behavior as indicative of how people feel about conservatives in my community, and I know for a fact that, which the teenage rhetoric may be different, the opinions are pretty much on-target.
Thank you, and I appreciate your making the point about the thread title. I thought it was kind of amusing, but I guess I missed the boat.
Frankly, if everyone in your neighborhood is voting with you, there’s not much point in putting up a lawn sign.
I think she learned that middle school is, in the words of Matt Groening in School is Hell, “the deepest pit in hell”.
Maybe you went to a very different kind of middle school than some of us did, where differences of opinions were respected and no kid ever said something like “you should be burned for wearing that shirt”. I got that kind of harassment all the time in middle school, from kids who knew nothing about my political opinions whatsoever, but just knew that I did not dress like they did.
SarahFeena- would you say that the reaction she got is typical of teenagers, or of liberals?
True, but they all do. Why is that, I wonder (in all seriousness)?
Ain’t that the truth.
Of course, middle school sucks. It’s interesting, though, I don’t remember politics being much of an issue at all…things have changed in that regard, I guess.
I think the reaction she got is typical of liberal teenagers in a place where liberals are the vast majority of the population.
I think I can help you out with this.
Sarahfeena, the behavior of a handful of adolescents is representative of the hive mind of liberals. We all signed a document saying that since we support gay rights and and women’s rights, we therefore will accept all behavior of all people at all times. Since we didn’t hold up our end of the agreement, Obama’s policies have unravelled like a cheap sweater. We now clearly see, thanks to your astute observations, that McCain was our man all along. Boy, do we look silly now!
I’m going out right this minute to vote for Bible Spice. I’ve also come to realize what a scam evolution is.
Thank you so much, Sarahfeena. Without you I’d have never realized that Obama is a Muslim after all.
I think it’s just a little too much picking at a sore tooth; that “liberal tolerance” means any form of disagreement is hypocritical is something of a theme advanced that rankles with some posters. It just seems to have something of an unfortunate association.
To be honest, I think the most interesting thing about this is what you put in the last part of your OP; the kid in question seems to have at least some interest in this sort of thing. That’s not necessarily a good thing, but it’s certainly not something to decry in and of itself.
Technically, yes, but if it had happened to a conservative kid in Hawaii it would be HI!
It just looks like stupid junior high stuff to me. The same happens if you’re foolish enough to bring a lunch from home, or wear shoes with a hole in one toe, or grow breasts bigger than the other girls, or be particularly short, or the teachers like you too much.
In short: This experiment boldly proved that people suck.
When I was in middle school, George HW Bush was promising us “a kinder, gentler nation”. The tone of this election was, shall we say, rather different.
I knew it!
You are welcome! So glad I could help.
Then I submit that you’ve already made up your mind: Liberals are evil, lying hypocrites who indoctrinate their young to carry on their legacy of hatred.
That about cover it?