# Prickly City - humor for conservative idiots **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026 "2006-06-17T02:17:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/21 "2006-06-17T04:11:05Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Seriously. If you thought we were going to talk about the validity of global warming, sorry. I’m talking about a fucking moronic comic strip that nobody can decipher. I’m not contesting the point, or defending the strip. You made a bigoted remark, and I called you on it. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/22 "2006-06-17T04:21:17Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Why do I suspect that if someone else posted the exact same sentence, except replacing the word “conservatives” with any minority group, you’d be leading the chorus of outrage at such a bigoted remark? Are you suggesting that denigrating a group of people on the basis of their race, gender, or sexual orientation is the same thing as denigrating a group of people on the basis of their commonly shared opinions? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/23 "2006-06-17T04:24:48Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Are you suggesting that denigrating a group of people on the basis of their race, gender, or sexual orientation is the same thing as denigrating a group of people on the basis of their commonly shared opinions? Bigot: _n_ One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bigot ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/24 "2006-06-17T04:30:46Z")
Far be it from me to question the infinite wisdom of [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) (it’s not as though I’ve never used it), but I still maintain that calling someone stupid based on their \*opinion \* isn’t bigotry, it’s discernment. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/25 "2006-06-17T04:40:41Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Far be it from me to question the infinite wisdom of [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) (it’s not as though I’ve never used it), but I still maintain that calling someone stupid based on their \*opinion \* isn’t bigotry, it’s discernment. Agreed. The definition would be probably be better if it was narrowed to things that the person(the one being…uh…bigoted against) can’t change. I.E. Sexuality, Race, Gender. Politics can and do change. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/26 "2006-06-17T04:40:54Z")
> [@Brain Wreck](#): > > Why am I not surprised some idiot conservative would come along, climb up on the cross, and whine about persecution for their choice of beliefs as if it were the same as a race/ethnicity that someone’s born into. Yeah, you’re right, I would happily call you on that bullshit. > > But since you’ve stopped by, now we have a walking talking example of the mental health problem that produced this lovely work of art that I’m talking about, can you explain what the fuck it’s supposed to mean? What is “the problem” and how does being carbon-neutral “add to it?” Please enlighten us. Lighten the fuck up. Smug wankers like you make me ill. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/27 "2006-06-17T04:41:06Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m not contesting the point, or defending the strip. You made a bigoted remark, and I called you on it. Psshhh. Nonsense. He started the rant with a complaint about an indefensible, piece-of-crap, waste-of-perfectly-good-funny-pages-real-estate. He gave reasons for his characterization of the strip as unfunny and pointless (as in, not having a decipherable point), gave evidence that it was playing to a certain segment of the cheap seats (Gore-bashing), then identified the intended audience. He followed up with the generalization that you complain of. Not every generalization qualifies as a “bigoted remark.” Sometimes they can be an overstatement of observed phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/28 "2006-06-17T04:48:55Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Far be it from me to question the infinite wisdom of [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) (it’s not as though I’ve never used it), but I still maintain that calling someone stupid based on their \*opinion \* isn’t bigotry, it’s discernment. Indeed. If we’re going to run with that definition, we’re going to have to admit that bigotry is most frequently a good thing. I’m pretty fuckin’ partial to democracy, for example. You could definetly call me a bigot against totalitarian, autocratic, and fascist regiems. Doing so, however, badly dilutes the word. Which is not to say that conservatives are totalitarian, autocratic, or fascisterrific. However, they are examples of legitimate bias against a political position. No one’s going to call you out for hating on Nazis, but how far in from the extremes do you have to go before harshly criticizing a political group becomes the same as criticizing an ethnic group? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/29 "2006-06-17T04:52:20Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Far be it from me to question the infinite wisdom of [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) (it’s not as though I’ve never used it), but I still maintain that calling someone stupid based on their \*opinion \* isn’t bigotry, it’s discernment. He’s not denouncing a person for a particular opinion. He denounced “the mass of conservatives” for the horrendous crime of being conservative. That’s bigotry. If he also denounces bigotry, then we should probably talk about: hypocrisy: _n_ 1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness ``` 2. An act or instance of such falseness. ``` http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hypocrisy. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/30 "2006-06-17T04:57:51Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > He’s not denouncing a person for a particular opinion. He denounced “the mass of conservatives” for the horrendous crime of being “Conservative” isn’t an opinion? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/31 "2006-06-17T04:58:47Z")
You’re just gonna keep going with this, aren’t you? People aren’t born conservative. People identify as “conservatives” based on their _opinions_. Please do try not to be obtuse. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/32 "2006-06-17T05:08:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Conservative” isn’t an opinion? No, it isn’t. Conservative _adj_ 1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. Conservative _n_ 1. One favoring traditional views and values. 2. A supporter of political conservatism. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative Opinion: ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/33 "2006-06-17T05:11:37Z")
**Liberal** , is that you? I keed, I keed! ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/34 "2006-06-17T05:13:38Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Conservative” isn’t an opinion? No, it isn’t. Conservative _adj_ 1. Favoring traditional views and values; tending to oppose change. Conservative _n_ 1. One favoring traditional views and values. 2. A supporter of political conservatism. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative Opinion: _n_ 1. A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opinion Thus, we see that a **conservative** may hold many **opinions**. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/35 "2006-06-17T05:20:47Z")
Sigh. And yet if we don’t acknowledge that people who identify as “conservative” tend to share many of the the \*same \* opinions as \*other \* people who identify as “conservative,” then the word loses all meaning. The same thing applies to “liberal,” after all. These words refer to groups of largely like-minded people. Sufficiently like-minded, at any rate, to refer to themselves using an agreed-upon word. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/36 "2006-06-17T05:33:03Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Sigh. > > And yet if we don’t acknowledge that people who identify as “conservative” tend to share many of the the \*same \* opinions as \*other \* people who identify as “conservative,” then the word loses all meaning. The same thing applies to “liberal,” after all. These words refer to groups of largely like-minded people. Sufficiently like-minded, at any rate, to refer to themselves using an agreed-upon word. That’s not the problem with the portion of the OP I challenged: > [@](#): > > 1. The mass of conservatives are too stupid, greedy, and shortsighted to be persuaded, convinced, or negotiated with. They need to be moved into assisted-thinking communities where they aren’t going to fuck up anybody else’s world, and they shouldn’t be allowed outside unsupervised until they score 100% on a test of critical thinking skills. How about instead of replacing “conservatives” with a minority group, we use “liberals” or “democrats”. The statement is still objectionable, and unsupportable. Rational minds can differ. A political disagreement does not mean that one side must necessarily be wrong, stupid, or evil. Gotta say this is not an argument I expected to find here. I thought this board was a place for reasoned discussion. Was I mistaken? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/37 "2006-06-17T06:11:52Z")
Of course you were mistaken. Everyone here but you is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/38 "2006-06-17T06:29:51Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That’s not the problem with the portion of the OP I challenged: > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by **Brain Wreck** > > 2) The mass of conservatives are too stupid, greedy, and shortsighted to be persuaded, convinced, or negotiated with. They need to be moved into assisted-thinking communities where they aren’t going to fuck up anybody else’s world, and they shouldn’t be allowed outside unsupervised until they score 100% on a test of critical thinking skills. > > How about instead of replacing “conservatives” with a minority group, we use “liberals” or “democrats”. The statement is still objectionable, and unsupportable. While I’m not prepared to simply accept **Brain Wreck** ’s generalization as accurate, I think you go too far in characterizing it as “insupportable.” I will agree that he has not adequately supported it in his OP. I myself would feel daunted by the prospect of needing to support it. If you would like to try to support a similar generalization leveled at liberals/leftists, you’re free to make the attempt. If I happen to see you try, I’ll promise to defend you against cries of “bigotry” that may be directed toward you by those who find your arguments less than convincing. > [@Oakminster](#): > > Rational minds can differ. A political disagreement does not mean that one side must necessarily be wrong, stupid, or evil. Gotta say this is not an argument I expected to find here. I thought this board was a place for reasoned discussion. Was I mistaken? I would point out that a political disagreement also does not mean that one side cannot be wrong, stupid, or evil. 😉 And no, you weren’t mistaken in thinking this board is a place for reasoned discussion. Unless you were thinking that reasoned discussion is the ONLY thing that this board is a place for, in which case you were mistaken. We also have rants, trainwrecks, meltdowns, and I think I’ve heard rumors of primal scream therapy workshops on alternate Wednesdays. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/39 "2006-06-17T06:51:23Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > At least half of Prickly City’s strips poke fun at conservatives. FYI. Unlike, say, Mallard Fillmore, it’s an equal opportunity offender. Makes some good points, too…at least when I agree with it. No way it’s half. It is one of the better conservative strips, but that’s not saying a whole lot. It will occasionally be willing to call out conservatives on their bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026/40 "2006-06-17T07:29:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > . If you would like to try to support a similar generalization leveled at liberals/leftists, you’re free to make the attempt. If I happen to see you try, I’ll promise to defend you against cries of “bigotry” that may be directed toward you by those who find your arguments less than convincing. My point is, I wouldn’t make that attempt. It might interest you to know that I recently got accused of favoring liberals and unfairly bashing Bush on my own little board. Had my most outspoken conservative poster leave the board in a huff over it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prickly-city-humor-for-conservative-idiots/361026.md?page=3)