# SDMB Bigoted Asshole Omnibus Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489 "2012-05-29T22:59:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/81 "2012-05-30T18:50:21Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > For too long the word “racist” has been used to inhibit a candid, public discussion of black social pathology and the durability of the race gap in academic performance. What word would you prefer? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/82 "2012-05-30T19:12:50Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > All true, but you’re like a guy who wanders into a Church picnic and points out that there really isn’t much evidence that Jesus was resurrected. > > The main differences are that (1) modern Christians tend to be a lot less nasty than Leftists when it comes to those who question their dogma; and (2) most modern Christians are reasonable enough to admit that their beliefs are a matter of faith – they don’t insist that their beliefs have been scientifically proven or that anyone who doesn’t accept their beliefs is stupid or evil or both. But…racists are stupid. Quite stupid. :dubious: They also do a REALLY bad job promoting their views. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/83 "2012-05-30T19:41:49Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > All true, but you’re like a guy who wanders into a Church picnic and points out that there really isn’t much evidence that Jesus was resurrected. > > The main differences are that (1) modern Christians tend to be a lot less nasty than Leftists when it comes to those who question their dogma; and (2) most modern Christians are reasonable enough to admit that their beliefs are a matter of faith – they don’t insist that their beliefs have been scientifically proven or that anyone who doesn’t accept their beliefs is stupid or evil or both. However, as you know: 1. Non-racists != “Leftists.” Few leftists are racists, but most non-racists are not leftists. 2. Racism is only the belief-system under discussion here depending on “faith”. The burden of proof is properly on the racists. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/84 "2012-05-30T20:17:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > However, as you know: > > 1. Non-racists != “Leftists.” Few leftists are racists, but most non-racists are not leftists. I’m not sure what you mean by “racists,” “non-racists,” and “Leftists.” For me, one of the basic principles of Leftism is the “egalitarian hypothesis,” i.e. the claim that genetic predisposition for intelligence and other important psychological traits is distributed equally among all racial and ethnic groups. You are of course free to offer your own definition. > [@](#): > > 1. Racism is only the belief-system under discussion here depending on “faith”. The burden of proof is properly on the racists. Given that the overwhelming evidence shows the Leftist position to be false, it’s the Leftist position which relies upon faith at this point. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/85 "2012-05-30T20:17:32Z")
I think what NDD says should be self evident: when Europeans peacefully sailed into non-white territories to lay claim to the natural resources that God had provided for them, they encountered people that were much more prone to criminal activity than white people were. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/86 "2012-05-30T20:37:37Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > All true, but you’re like a guy who wanders into a Church picnic and points out that there really isn’t much evidence that Jesus was resurrected. > > The main differences are that (1) \*\*modern Christians tend to be a lot less nasty \*\*than Leftists when it comes to those who question their dogma; and (2) most modern Christians are reasonable enough to admit that their beliefs are a matter of faith – they don’t insist that their beliefs have been scientifically proven or that anyone who doesn’t accept their beliefs is stupid or evil or both. Bullshit. [Death threats directed toward 16 year old atheist.](http://cranston.patch.com/articles/ahlquist-family-told-to-get-out-of-ri-in-threatening-letter) [Thread on same](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=653542) And this is no isolated incident. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/87 "2012-05-30T21:02:11Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by “racists,” “non-racists,” and “Leftists.” For me, one of the basic principles of Leftism is the “egalitarian hypothesis,” i.e. the claim that genetic predisposition for intelligence and other important psychological traits is distributed equally among all racial and ethnic groups. > > You are of course free to offer your own definition. 😕 Waitaminnit, first thing, where the fuck are you getting **that** definition?! LW politics and thought had its origins in the practically monoracial environment of 18th- and 19th-Century Europe. It has **nothing to do** with race essentially, except that its moral and political premises are all about socioeconomic equality in general, and therefore mandate racial equality by most interpretations. (Most. Even without getting into “National Socialism” or the debate over whether it even deserves the s-word, I recall that in Australia in the 19th Century, the Socialist Party ran on a xenophobic Chinese-exclusion platform.) In any case, even WRT individuals or social classes within a racially homogeneous society, leftist thought does not depend on any presumption of equal genetic endowments, it never has. > [@brazil84](#): > > Given that the overwhelming evidence shows the Leftist position to be false, it’s the Leftist position which relies upon faith at this point. Are you making an economic/political or a racial argument here? The first could perhaps still be maintained, but there is no “overwhelming evidence” of any genetically-determined differences between “racial” groups however defined. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/88 "2012-05-30T21:02:58Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Eymologically speaking, “Asian” is the same as “Oriental” – Anatolia is east of Greece, so they called it Asia, “the East.” Yep. For the record, I completely understand that Asian people find the term “oriental” to be very offensive, and I believe that it shouldn’t be used for that reason. But I also think they’re being damn silly to insist on that in the first place. Ah well. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/89 "2012-05-30T21:54:14Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I’m not sure what you mean by “racists,” “non-racists,” and “Leftists.” For me, one of the basic principles of Leftism is the “egalitarian hypothesis,” i.e. the claim that genetic predisposition for intelligence and other important psychological traits is distributed equally among all racial and ethnic groups. > > You are of course free to offer your own definition. > > Given that the overwhelming evidence shows the Leftist position to be false, it’s the Leftist position which relies upon faith at this point. **brazil84** , or **New Deal Democrat** if you’re so inclined as well, I have a question for you: What was the journey of discovery for you to learn that certain races are inferior? Why did you get started reading racialist theories? Did you used to believe differently? What hypothesis did you set out with, and what facts convinced you your currently-held theory is true? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/90 "2012-05-30T22:03:13Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > **brazil84** , or **New Deal Democrat** if you’re so inclined as well, I have a question for you: > > What was the journey of discovery for you to learn that certain races are inferior? Why did you get started reading racialist theories? Did you used to believe differently? What hypothesis did you set out with, and what facts convinced you your currently-held theory is true? It all began one terrible night after an ill-fated trip to Red Lobster. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/91 "2012-05-30T22:21:36Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > People do not get angry when beliefs they are confident of are questioned. People get angry when opinions they want to believe in, but privately doubt are exposed as prejudices with nothing behind them but hot air. People also get angry when they see your archaic, delusional viewpoint and how it systematically oppresses others. You are actively harmful to people. Why wouldn’t that piss me off? > [@Sattua](#): > > I applaud this pitting and encourage **olives** to start more threads about other Dopers in the future. I expected to feel guilty for starting this. Incidentally, I don’t feel guilty at all. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/92 "2012-05-30T22:30:49Z")
New Deal Democrat sure likes to wallow in the ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/93 "2012-05-30T23:04:24Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > My mind cannot be changed by yelling silly insults at me. Instead, prove that most blacks behave and perform as well as most whites. I’m not sure what your point is. Why is it so important to point out that median black IQ is lower than median white IQ? Are you saying that we have so thoroughly eliminated racism that we no longer need affirmative action and that all the existing disparity between blakcs and whites is the result of disparities in IQ? Are you saying that the IQ gap means that there will be a persistent socioeconomic gap that cannot be bridged by government programs over the long run so we might as well let them wallow in poverty? I don’t for one second believe that we have eliminated racism to the point that even SOME academic affirmative action is no longer warranted. Frankly I would be perfectly fine with leaving the small number of affirmative action minority students in place and getting rid of the massive numbers of white students who underperform asian students. I don’t think our society is ready to revert bay to 19th century solutions for poverty. Perhaps you could convince me that the better policy for combatting poverty is 1996 style welfare reform in other areas but I simply have not been convinced that blacks are so dumb that they cannot aspire to self sufficient American mediocrity. > [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > That is why so much anger is directed at me and at any one who tells the truth. We are like the boy who shouts, “The Emperor has not clothes!” The boy who shouted that the emperor has no clothes shouted something so obviously true that everyone immediately agreed. I don’t know that your statements are quite as obviously true. Especially all that stuff about accelerated evolution over the last 10,000 years. > [@jlzania](#): > > Do you think these men staggeringly incompetent or just immoral? Some of these men are my best friends and they are not immoral so much as they are amoral. They do not really care that they are causing the destruction of $10 for every $5 they make so long as they make the $5. Their role in the marketplace does not demand that they consider the cost to society, only the cost to themselves. As a matter of fact I don’t know that they would turn away from $5 profit even at the cost of $100 to society. The free market doesn not naturally internalize those costs. > [@FinnAgain](#): > > Yep. > For the record, I completely understand that Asian people find the term “oriental” to be very offensive, and I believe that it shouldn’t be used for that reason. But I also think they’re being damn silly to insist on that in the first place. Ah well. I’m not sure why people are offended by the use of the term either except that it is so frequently used by people who mean offense. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/94 "2012-05-30T23:45:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > In the _et al._ category, I offer a friendly amendment to include the more genteelly and less blatantly/honestly racist **Chen019.** And now the not-so-genteel and very blatantly dishonest **brazil84.** I **knew** it was gonna show up here sooner or later. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/95 "2012-05-30T23:48:23Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I’m not sure what your point is. Why is it so important to point out that median black IQ is lower than median white IQ? Are you saying that we have so thoroughly eliminated racism that we no longer need affirmative action and that all the existing disparity between blakcs and whites is the result of disparities in IQ? Are you saying that the IQ gap means that there will be a persistent socioeconomic gap that cannot be bridged by government programs over the long run so we might as well let them wallow in poverty? **Of course** that’s what he’s saying. That was the whole political point of [_The Bell Curve,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_bell_curve) remember? “Stop wasting time and money to improve those who cannot be improved,” that’s all it came down to. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/96 "2012-05-31T00:06:10Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **Of course** that’s what he’s saying. That was the whole political point of [_The Bell Curve,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_bell_curve) remember? “Stop wasting time and money to improve those who cannot be improved,” that’s all it came down to. Genes matter. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/97 "2012-05-31T00:20:06Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > Genes matter. But race doesn’t, not scientifically; it isn’t _real_. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/98 "2012-05-31T00:48:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 Waitaminnit, first thing, where the fuck are you getting **that** definition?! LW politics and thought had its origins in the practically monoracial environment of 18th- and 19th-Century Europe. It has **nothing to do** with race essentially, I’m not going to waste time arguing semantics with you. I’m using the term “Leftist” in a certain way – to mean a certain group of people on the political Left in the West today. One of the core beliefs of this group is the egalitarian hypothesis. If you want to refer to this group in some other way, feel free. > [@](#): > > Are you making an economic/political or a racial argument here? The first could perhaps still be maintained, but there is no “overwhelming evidence” of any genetically-determined differences between “racial” groups however defined. The overwhelming evidence indicates that the egalitarian hypothesis is wrong. I’ve outlined much of the evidence on a blog post elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/99 "2012-05-31T00:54:20Z")
Whenever I read nonsense like this, these [two](http://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2007/12/29/) [comics](http://leftycartoons.com/a-concise-history-of-black-white-relations-in-the-united-states/) always come to mind. How people can ignore centuries of social differences and hinge everything on unproven genetics is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489/100 "2012-05-31T00:58:41Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > **brazil84** , or **New Deal Democrat** if you’re so inclined as well, I have a question for you: > > What was the journey of discovery for you to learn that certain races are inferior? I’m not sure what you mean by “inferior,” but assuming you mean differences in intelligence, for the most part it was my learning how to think critically, i.e. learning how to think rationally about issues without letting my own wishes and emotions color my judgment. As I learned how to think critically, it became clear that the ridiculous explanations I had been taught for the various racial gaps were just that – ridiculous. Now I have a couple questions for you: First, do you believe in the egalitarian hypothesis? Second, if the egalitarian hypothesis were false to a small but significant extent, how would the world be different from the way it is today? Third, would you rather live in a world where the egalitarian hypothesis were true or false? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-bigoted-asshole-omnibus-thread/623489.md?page=6)