# Stupid Ideas Generally Held by Liberals **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210 "2014-06-06T16:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/101 "2014-06-08T14:02:32Z")
Don’t get me started on home births. My son would be dead, and I might be as well, if I’d attempted a home birth, and I had no risk factors, other than being older than average for a first birth. I was all-go for a regular vaginal birth, and didn’t end up with the c-section until after three hours of pushing and two styles of forceps had failed. As they were prepping me, my son’s heart rate dropped, so the decision had been made none to early. He was born blue, but had a pulse. He was revived quickly, thanks to the immediate presence of medical equipment and extra doctors, none of whom we knew in advance we would need. I can’t imagine the horror of the 911 call, and the emergency transport when his heart rate dropped-- or worse, a midwife with the attitude, which I have seen in some blogs, that death is natural, and sometimes babies just die, and we need to accept it. My seven-year-old is happily spending a rainy Sunday watching SpongeBob. Tomorrow he starts swimming lessons. ---
**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 8, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/102 "2014-06-08T15:58:57Z")
Hey, **Urbanredeneck** , can you do me a favor? Try reading one of my posts before you respond to it. Because I’m getting tired of you ascribing ideas and positions to me based on the fantasy going on in your head, particularly when it’s so completely at odds with what I’ve actually written. ---
**Author:** ![here\_and\_there](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@here\_and\_there](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/here_and_there)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/103 "2014-06-08T17:25:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Let’s see some examples of GMO foods being _proven_ dangerous. just a quick google search… > **[Study says genetically modified corn causes tumors, but other scientists...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-says-genetically-modified-corn-causes-tumors-but-other-scientists-skeptical-about-research/)** > > Mice fed Monsanto GM maize and/or Roundup weed killer more likely to die early, develop tumors, but some see methodology flaws ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/104 "2014-06-08T17:33:52Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > They don’t? That’s news to me. Of course, maybe it varies from troop to troop. It does. The troop structure for GSA and BSA is very different. For BSA, the troop is a long term ongoing organization that contains hundreds of boys in units of varying ages. The troop works as a cohesive whole. For Girl Scouts, the troop is the girls in their age bracket locally - my troop is currently THREE girls. The closest thing the GSA has organizationally to a Boy Scout troop is a Service Unit - but Service Units don’t work together the same way BSA Troops do. Also, BSA is very clear about the volunteer commitment up front to parents. BSA parents tend to be very involved. GSA parents tend to be less involved - you get out of an organization what you are willing to put into an organization - if some parent wants to take my girls camping - go for it. I’m not much of a camper and my coleader needs her CPAP - we don’t camp much. That said, my daughter averages three or four weeks of camp a year through GSA - just not with our troop. She likes it. GSA expects girls to do different things than boys. They both have religious badges and camping badges - but there are a lot of girly craft and girl self esteem activities in Girl Scouts - that appeal to girls and parents of girls - i.e. it isn’t camping focused by a long shot. Each troop may have a focus - ours is a “service troop” - my girls work with an Alzheimers home, singing with the residents, planting their gardens in the Spring - they also do some things for younger Girl Scouts, pick up trash for Earth Day, collect food for food drives, have garage sales and donate the money to libraries… But frankly, the GSA/BSA thing here is a hijack - and one we’ve done many times on this board. If Urbanredneck is interested in why BSA hasn’t always had the full throated support of liberals, he could open a new thread or search up old ones. Me, when you are told your six year old “isn’t welcome” it isn’t a news story hypothetical, its the real thing. My kid COULDN’T join Boy Scouts with his friends because atheists could not join. Yes, he could lie about his religious beliefs, but Scouting is about developing character (see my GS troop and their service commitment). I’m not signing my kid up to a character building organization and telling him to lie. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/105 "2014-06-08T17:38:25Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > It does. The troop structure for GSA and BSA is very different. For BSA, the troop is a long term ongoing organization that contains hundreds of boys in units of varying ages. The troop works as a cohesive whole. > > For Girl Scouts, the troop is the girls in their age bracket locally - my troop is currently THREE girls. The closest thing the GSA has organizationally to a Boy Scout troop is a Service Unit - but Service Units don’t work together the same way BSA Troops do. > > Also, BSA is very clear about the volunteer commitment up front to parents. BSA parents tend to be very involved. GSA parents tend to be less involved - you get out of an organization what you are willing to put into an organization - if some parent wants to take my girls camping - go for it. I’m not much of a camper and my coleader needs her CPAP - we don’t camp much. That said, my daughter averages three or four weeks of camp a year through GSA - just not with our troop. She likes it. > > GSA expects girls to do different things than boys. They both have religious badges and camping badges - but there are a lot of girly craft and girl self esteem activities in Girl Scouts - that appeal to girls and parents of girls - i.e. it isn’t camping focused by a long shot. Each troop may have a focus - ours is a “service troop” - my girls work with an Alzheimers home, singing with the residents, planting their gardens in the Spring - they also do some things for younger Girl Scouts, pick up trash for Earth Day, collect food for food drives, have garage sales and donate the money to libraries… > > But frankly, the GSA/BSA thing here is a hijack - and one we’ve done many times on this board. If Urbanredneck is interested in why BSA hasn’t always had the full throated support of liberals, he could open a new thread or search up old ones. > > Me, when you are told your six year old “isn’t welcome” it isn’t a news story hypothetical, its the real thing. My kid COULDN’T join Boy Scouts with his friends because atheists could not join. Yes, he could lie about his religious beliefs, but Scouting is about developing character (see my GS troop and their service commitment). I’m not signing my kid up to a character building organization and telling him to lie. Your right. sorry. I stated my opinion so I’ll let the issue drop. And thanks for the extra info on Girl Scouts. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/106 "2014-06-08T17:45:19Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Don’t get me started on home births. My son would be dead, and I might be as well, if I’d attempted a home birth. Yeah, I’ve never understood why risk a serious issue when you dont need to. Truth is hospitals already have midwife programs where you have the baby in a home-styled delivery room with a midwife if you wish. However down the hall is the ER with every other possible medical tool available just in case. So if you have the insurance, have the kid in the hospital. Now what SHOULD happen, is when a mother has a baby, her friends should all get together, come over, clean her house, and leave her with a refrigerator with a week’s full of casseroles or offer to come over with daily meals. Plus do any yardwork. She needs rest and needs to be treated like a queen for just a little while. Dad does to. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/107 "2014-06-08T17:54:21Z")
> [@here\_and\_there](#): > > just a quick google search… > > [Study says genetically modified corn causes tumors, but other scientists skeptical about research - CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-says-genetically-modified-corn-causes-tumors-but-other-scientists-skeptical-about-research/) Did you even read the story? First paragraph. > [@](#): > > A French study that supposedly shows that mice who ate genetically modified corn **sprayed with weed killer** were more likely to develop tumors, organ damage and die early is becoming a polarizing debate among researchers. Right there destroys any credibility that study might have had. More. > [@](#): > > There were some reported findings some considered strange, however. Rats that ate the higher percentages of genetically modified corn did not get as sick as those who were eating the lower percentages. > > Critics also have taken issue with the study’s methodology. Specifically the researchers’ choice of rats are known for their propensity to develop mammary tumors if their diet is not controlled. > > The most evocative part of the paper is those pictures of tumorigenesis," said Maurice Moloney, a research biologist at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, England, said to the BBC. > > He said the authors mislead readers to believe that these tumors never happen in control groups. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/108 "2014-06-09T06:34:43Z")
I say this as a liberal but among certain relatively popular attitudes: -Nuclear power is bad -GMOs are bad -Race-based affirmative action is good -Cultural supremacism is racist/all cultures are inherently eqaul -Gay marriage and gun control are the most important issues of our times -All Southern whites with socon views (or even more broadly all working-class whites) are inbred retarded racist hicks who deserve to be mocked at every opportunity. Of course its racist when you mock urban blacks as stupid or criminal. **This view more than any other has probably helped ensure that much of the South goes regularly Republican** -Modern abstract art has any redeeming value -All family structures are more or less equally good -Oriental mysticism is superior to the Western tradition -Primitive societies are better than modern civilization -The death penalty is morally equivalent to murder ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/109 "2014-06-09T13:44:34Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Did you even read the story? > First paragraph. > > Right there destroys any credibility that study might have had. > More. > [@](#): > > ate genetically modified corn sprayed with weed killer ummm… that’s legitimate. Unlike many people, I don’t have a ritual objection to GM food. For several important GM crops, spraying week killer on the crop and killing only the weeds is the sole advantage of the GM crop. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/110 "2014-06-09T13:56:16Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Liberals make use of pressure, letter-writing, petitions, and boycotts a little less than conservatives. It isn’t a standard liberal mind-set. [… …] > > On the other hand, liberals are more likely than conservatives to be supporters of libraries and the annual “Banned Books Month” exhibit. Liberals are less likely to try to get books removed from libraries. > > As for actual outright government censorship, liberals are very strong in their opposition. Conservatives…somewhat less. just picking the one I saw today [Quadrant](http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2014/01/australia-council-blacklists-fine/) But it’s the same thing every week: the Left inherited the approach to thought control described in [1984](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt), which the author wrote following his experiences in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/111 "2014-06-09T15:26:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And not what I said at all. I said “food fads **like** quinoa”. Folks on the left seem to go in for the latest whole food craze, whether or not there is anything supporting its use. Acai berries, et al. If you believe it’s good for you without any supporting evidence, then yes, it’s delusional. Ah, I didn’t realize you meant believing that it was supposed to be particularly good for you. For example, I frequently try whatever new foods, like quinoa, become available, but for a new experience and varied diet. I was not aware quinoa was supposed to be particularly good for you. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > In regards to censoring books, it is definitely true on the defensive front of the publishers but sometimes even retroactive for books that were popular and innocent. > > Try to buy a Little Black Sambo book sometime. They are very rare because they were pulled from the shelves decades ago and destroyed because people claimed that they were disparaging to African Americans for some ill-informed reason. Sambo wasn’t a black African, he was Indian. Tigers don’t live in Africa and anyone with any general knowledge should know that. Furthermore, there is nothing in the stories that are disparaging to any particular group. It is just a cute children’s fairy tale that was written by an English woman (Helen Bannerman) that lived in India. Sambo was never portrayed as anything less than clever yet the books had to go because an ignorant group of early group of politically correct people assumed that the books were making fun of American blacks even though there is no association at all. This may be an example of censorship… > [@](#): > > Also, try to find a copy of Disney’s Song of the South. I saw that movie as a child but good luck finding it today. It is forbidden officially. I can almost see the point that it wasn’t an accurate portrayal of antebellum slave life but it is still a good movie and a valuable historical piece (two on top of another; early Disney and 1940’s Southern Revisionist history) but you have to go through a lot of work to view it today. I am not sure what people are scared of today but you will certainly get bad comments if you say you would like to view it for yourself. But this certainly isn’t. Disney no longer releases it because they think it will make them look bad. To my knowledge they have received no organized pressure to do so. > [@](#): > > Those are just two of many examples. I can give you many more if you want to be here for a few days. Certain socially liberal sects use censorship as a tool at least as much as ultraconservative ones. I wouldn’t say that is a general trait for any mainstream liberals or conservatives in the U.S. It occurs mainly at the fringes but I don’t know of any conservative organizations that have been as successful at censoring once popular works on a large scale as a few liberal ones. I would be amazed if this was true. > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > The OP wants “stupid ideas,” not Philosophical & Political Beliefs I Disagree With[sup]TM[/sup]. I am thus assuming the OP is referring to beliefs that have proven to be woo/pseudoscience. Bingo > [@](#): > > Like > > “Organic food is healthier, is better for the environment, etc.” > "Nuclear power is dangerous.” > “GMO foods are dangerous, will make you sick, are bad for the environment, etc.” Done these. > [@](#): > > “MSG makes me ill.” > “Gluten makes me ill.” There is definitely a fad in avoiding Gluten. Hard to say if this counts as stupid when the major thing they claim is that they don’t feel as good when they eat it. Hard to disprove that. > [@](#): > > “Tap water is dangerous to drink.” Hell yeah, but change it to, “Bottled water is better for you.” I am not at all sure that liberals do this more than conservatives though. This seems to be an everyone problem in my experience. > [@](#): > > “Homeopathic cures work, but they’re suppressed by Big Pharma.” > “Natural childbirth is better than a hospital birth.” > “Vaccines are dangerous.” Did homeopathy and Vaccines (in the OP and the fact that opposition to vaccines is not a liberal idea was what resulted in the thread), but the natural childbirth one is good. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I say this as a liberal but among certain relatively popular attitudes: > […] > -Cultural supremacism is racist/all cultures are inherently eqaul > […] > -All family structures are more or less equally good These could be good. Need data to support it, but the unwillingness of liberals to condemn another method of doing things/living as inherently not good could be one so long as data supports problems. I think it comes from so much time and energy taken to get people to accept some nontraditional ways to live (gay, interracial couples, etc). > [@](#): > > -Race-based affirmative action is good > -Modern abstract art has any redeeming value > -The death penalty is morally equivalent to murder You would need data to say that the first one is not good and it would need to be overwhelming for this to count as a stupid liberal idea. Modern art is subject to taste and condemning it as a whole would better count as a stupid conservative idea. When you say, “morally equivalent” you are by definition speaking of morals and therefore cannot mark something as just blatantly stupidly incorrect. > [@Melbourne](#): > > just picking the one I saw today [Quadrant](http://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2014/01/australia-council-blacklists-fine/) > > But it’s the same thing every week: the Left inherited the approach to thought control described in [1984](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100021.txt), which the author wrote following his experiences in Spain. I have no idea who either of these groups are. Without background I cannot even tell if this is a criticism of liberals, conservatives, both, or neither. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/112 "2014-06-09T17:51:41Z")
> [@flight](#): > > But this certainly isn’t. Disney no longer releases it because they think it will make them look bad. To my knowledge they have received no organized pressure to do so. Over the years, there has been organized pressure for them to release it. Its an important piece of Art History. And for Disney completests, its lack of availability is distressing. Moreover, it fits in a racial analysis along side the crows in Dumbo and the Indians in Peter Pan. (Don’t get your cultural sensitivity training from old Disney movies - or gun safety from Fox and the Hound). ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/113 "2014-06-09T18:08:47Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Over the years, there has been organized pressure for them to release it. Its an important piece of Art History. And for Disney completests, its lack of availability is distressing. Moreover, it fits in a racial analysis along side the crows in Dumbo and the Indians in Peter Pan. (Don’t get your cultural sensitivity training from old Disney movies - or gun safety from Fox and the Hound). I may have been unclear, I am aware people have pushed to release it (though I did not know how organized). I don’t think anyone has been pushing for them to NOT release it. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/114 "2014-06-09T19:36:40Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Liberals seem to assume that people are basically good. Personally, I don’t believe that. This is what I came in here to say. It seems to be a philosophical axiom in Liberalism (even though many Liberals don’t necessarily articulate it) that people are born good, and the only reason anyone is bad is that they are corrupted by environmental factors. Last week I saw an article about how we need more programs to combat school bullying, and it included a quotation from some social-science professor that “violence is a learned behavior.” Seriously? How can anyone who has raised kids, or been around toddlers, believe that? They grab whatever they want, they hit, they even bite, all instinctively. They have to be taught _not_ to do those things. You seriously believe those ideas only entered their heads through the influence of morally corrupt older people? > [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > Liberal views on capitalism drive me nuts, and I say this as a liberal. The idea that capitalism is an evil system that screws people is just plain wacky in the face of the evidence. Capitalism, as a system, has done more than any other force in history to raise people out of poverty and increase the standard of living of the masses. Liberals tend to talk as though all economic systems, including capitalism, are planned, as though Our Leaders “decided” at some point to implement capitalism, as opposed to communism or anarchism or whatever, intentionally. In actually, capitalism is simply _what happens._ Even in the most hardcore socialist countries, there have been black markets galore, naturally arising from people’s tendency to trade something they value less for something they value more. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/115 "2014-06-09T20:57:54Z")
I’d have to go with the whole anything “artificial” is bad, and that “natural” foods and medicine is somehow better. It’s like, snake venom and nightshade are natural, but I’m not going to consume them. Or chemical phobia. That drives me fucking nuts. ---
**Author:** ![here\_and\_there](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@here\_and\_there](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/here_and_there)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/116 "2014-06-10T01:11:12Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Did you even read the story? > First paragraph. > > Right there destroys any credibility that study might have had. > More. This report is in many versions out there. I chose this link because it gave “all sides of the story”. Strangely , you chose to “quote” only the parts that suited you… 😉 ---
**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:** [June 10, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/117 "2014-06-10T01:32:01Z")
I was quoting the parts that pointed out the flaws in that study. Such as where the rats with a higher intake had fewer tumors yet the authors still tried to claim that the study proved GMOs are harmful. Along with concealing the rate of tumors in the control groups. And if GMOs really caused tumors like that, why don’t we see such results in the human population? ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/118 "2014-06-10T01:32:56Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Gah! This is pet peeve of mine. I always ask people to watch Penn and Teller’s Bullshit episode for this. They (not Penn and Teller) think GMOs are bad, pesticides are bad, modern farming techniques are bad AND that the ‘organic’ foods taste better or are somehow of higher quality. **Typo** , going broke, quickly. I’ve got a different perspective on this that is painted neither Liberal nor Conservative: completely gluten-free paleo/primal diet. Key sites: [http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz34CBBDasl](http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz34CBBDasl) [http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/](http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/) Wheat in general and modern wheat in particular has been a disaster for human health. Modern wheat was bred and introduced without any testing, and it’s even worse than older varieties. So no, I don’t think GMOs will strike a person dead, but there is no knowing that their _gradual_ and _long-term_ impact on human health will be. They simply haven’t been tests. But if you are eating primal/paleo, you are avoiding grains anyway. I am also not a big soy eater (mostly in the form of tamari = wheat-free soy sauce, but I use organic, non-GMO tamari anyway). So there go most of your GMO issues anyway. The paleo community does not seem particularly leftie to me (although I am a leftie); in fact, I think it has a strong Libertarian strain (but includes various types in any case). ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/119 "2014-06-10T01:35:44Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Liberals tend to talk as though all economic systems, including capitalism, are planned, as though Our Leaders “decided” at some point to implement capitalism, as opposed to communism or anarchism or whatever, intentionally. I think this is a good point, but I think it applies to both sides. Conservatives will talk about capitalism as though we wisely chose it over some other economic system, when in fact it was merely the accretion of practices over the long term. Thus, I think a better name for it is the “legacy economic system.” ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210/120 "2014-06-10T01:53:15Z")
I consider myself to be left of Liberal, and there is a lot of thinking on the Left that is impractical and stupid. A lot of it seems to consist of: 1. Whining about problems but proposing no solutions, as though merely having the right thoughts and intentions were enough. 2. Shaming those who don’t agree, just because. Climate change is one such area. It’s horrible because: 1. Liberals talk stupidly and inaccurately about the science. They frame the debate as obviousness vs. idiocy, when it is anything but. They also mush the scientific and political aspects of the debate into an intractable congeries (this last complaint applies to many Conservatives as well, however). 2. They try to shame anyone who disagrees as a “denier” unworthy of respect, without recognizing any nuance in various positions. 3. They propose no practical solutions of any sort. Or provide any kind of cost-benefit analysis. 4. They seem content to lose on this issue just so long as they can bitch about Conservatives, etc. And it’s this way on a lot of issues. I’m a leftie but I eschew the label “Liberal” or even “Progressive,” as I associate them with a whole lotta pissing and moaning and never getting anything done. Like Obama (who is a coopted crypto-Conservative at this point, but I digress…). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ideas-generally-held-by-liberals/690210.md?page=7)