Right. That means age is an excuse for him, so being angry with him over his statements is stupid. Obviously, he’s just too old to know any better, as his brain got fossilized back in the Pre-Civil-Rights Era, and he never learned anything else.
Never had the opportunities, you see. Never saw anything but the Pre-Civil-Rights mindset on the news or in his professional life.
:smack:
I really can’t wait for the “They’re Too Old To Know Better” idea to die, at least as regards racism and sexism, but I doubt it ever will.
That excuse really doesn’t play well with me. I’m 55. I grew up back when racism, sexism, and homophobia were widespread and condoned. That’s the background I came from.
But I got better and rejected the prejudices I grew up with. There’s no reason Mike Ditka couldn’t have done the same.
I’m 50 soon to be 51. I want to say to you thank you. As a gay male, just thank you. I don’t want straight men to turn gay. I don’t want to convert straight people to gay. I don’t even want the species to die out. It’s nice to know that you understand that I don’t intend to rape you. I could never hurt you. We want different things, but I would never deny your right to choose what you want----
Whoever you choose, ANYBODY------as long as that person chooses you too ------It’s just nice to know there are people like you. Straight people, gay people, ambiguously sexualized people----- ( I do understand that you are a straight man).
You are good. I thank you for that. Universe, help me be as good as Little Nemo, please.
I thank you but honestly I don’t think I deserve a lot of credit for just behaving the way a normal person should behave. Regular decency shouldn’t be seen as extraordinary. I’ll just settle for Chris Rock giving me that cookie.
Hey let’s call some 50% of the country sociopaths that sounds like a fuckin’ great idea.
Do you honestly believe this would pass an ideological turing test? Do you think you could go to a conservative forum, profess this as your viewpoint, and have them believe that you were one of them?
I would be willing to bet $1 that a new poster on a conservative forum could post exactly this: “The world is filled with bad people. We need the government to either put them in jail or kill them and we need to stop giving money to undeserving BAD people. That means more money for the productive GOOD people.”
And most people on that forum will be behind this all the way, is my prediction.
What’s a conservative forum nowadays? Stormies are gone, right?
FreeRepublic’s still gabbing away. Alternet dot org. World Net Daily (wnd dot com). Newsbusters dot org. Those are some of the less openly-Nazi ones, anyway. But there will be people there who could direct you to whatever the successor-site for Stormfront is.
I’m not sure why you think it wouldn’t. I think it’s a logical and defensible position. It’s not one I currently agree with, but once upon a time, I admit I did.
A recent article made a very similar point about Harvey Weinstein and sexual harassment:
Similarly, if Ditka had been saying “There’s no oppression” of black people back in the 1950s, before white America in general started to wake up to the level of injustice in our society, then he might be able to deploy the “collective ignorance” excuse.
But as Derleth noted, Mike Ditka, like every other American his age, has lived through a hell of a lot of eye-opening historical events since the 1950s. He doesn’t get a pass for simply not having paid any attention to them.
Well, there is, pardon my language, N-wordmania. But it’s more pathetic than anything else though. Like “derp derp derp, slurs, amiright?” Posts about their obviously made-up encounters with black people, and badly made photoshopped images.
Is that a slam? Because 4chan’s political boards are not intelligent in the slightest. 4chan brings on the trolls, who aren’t actually interested in taking anything seriously. Sure, there are what seem to be sincere racists and stuff, but I don’t see any real argument for conservatism.
And while I’m sure there are good political subreddits, the most famous conservative ones are not intellectual in the slightest. And when any conservative arguments come up elsewhere, they are all extremely bad. I think even Clothahump and Starving Artist would be ashamed to make them.
Then again, to be honest, I haven’t seen an intellectual argument for conservatism in a long time. You know, something that starts with something we all believe in and then explains why the conservative take is the best one. I remember Bricker making some about long term economics. But that’s about it.
That’s not to say I’ve not met smart conservatives. But, when politics comes up, I don’t hear any of that intelligence in their arguments. 4chan and Reddit may actually be some of the better places–and that’s saying some bad things.
I live in south Alabama. I wish you guys would have occupied us during the civil war like the US occupied West Germany and South Korea. My partner and I joke that “you are never more than 15 feet from a rebel flag. . .” SERIOUSLY. I have been denied medical coverage because I’m on my husband’s policy. My name doesn’t appear on my medical insurance card.
You think you don’t deserve credit for regular decency, I respectfully disagree. My partner and I built our house. I’m not looking for praise. We walk 3 to 5 miles daily. Can you imagine my shame, when someone stops us and asks, “Do you need a ride?” And I reply in my most manly voice, “No, we’re just getting some exercise. . .”?
Remember, I’ve been denied medical coverage because my insurance is not in my name. It’s a delicate dance. And it shouldn’t be. People should be free to be who they are. In the South, you better know your place.
So I reiterate, thank you for being good. My disclaimer is that I’ve lived 48 years in South Alabama. I KNOW WHAT THE CONFEDERATE FLAG MEANS. Heritage be damned.
What’s telling is the fact that conservatism has done an about face on something they used to go to the mat to defend: global free trade. Economically, you can’t get any more conservative than that. The financial crisis of 2008 left a lot of conservative voters angry and a lot of conservative pundits looking stupid. But rather than admit that their economic philosophy is wrong, they realized it was just easier to exploit the growing racial animus. In the end, whether it’s the 19th Century’s Democratic Party of the 20th and 21st Century Republican Party, all roads for conservatives lead back to the politics of racism, exclusion, and dominance.