# The arrogance of the left-wing **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 15, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037 "2016-11-15T04:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/101 "2016-11-28T18:26:35Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No one is talking about anything without context. > > The context is what the average or even sub-average person can do. Why is obtaining some kind of ID an unreasonable obstacle to vote, but not to buy beer or [apply for food stamps](https://www.reference.com/government-politics/need-welfare-office-food-stamps-7d649c9b92b7fdb2#)? > > Regards, > Shodan “Less capable” without context implies an innate trait. “Less capable of obtaining an ID” can refer to external or social contexts. This is an asinine point you’re trying to defend here. Look at the antebellum south. Would it be racist to say that black people were on average less capable of voting then? Of course not: social factors made it much harder for black people to vote then. Today’s circumstances are much less extreme, but still extant. Referring to racist social structures is not the same as making racist claims. It’s a despicable form of equivocation, and now you too should be ashamed of engaging in it. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/102 "2016-11-28T18:36:37Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > http://thetab.com/2016/04/05/isnt-ok-white-people-dreadlocks-83996 http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/31/living/white-dreadlocks-cultural-appropriation-feat/ And even here: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=788735 > > The people directly complaining about ‘white guy dreadlocks’ may be only a minority, but the idea of ‘cultural appropriation’ as a bad thing including the idea that you’re a racist if you believe that anyone of any race should be able to wear any headwear or hairstyle they want is not something I came up with and is something I hear often from left-leaning people. When you take the label of ‘racist’ to that point, you dilute the condemnation value of the term to where it becomes meaningless. Bullshit. The clip is fake. There was one clip and it looks and sounds like an improv theater type thing. Then it’s pasted into the other articles you cited. A bunch of nothing clickbait. Don’t you have any other worries in this wide world at long last? Please. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/103 "2016-11-28T19:10:31Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Bullshit. The clip is fake. There was one clip and it looks and sounds like an improv theater type thing. Then it’s pasted into the other articles you cited. A bunch of nothing clickbait. > > Don’t you have any other worries in this wide world at long last? Please. So are you claiming that the whole phenomenon of criticizing people as “racist” for supporting the nebulously defined “cultural appropriation” is made up, or just that particular incident? Because “cultural appropriation” and using it as a justification for calling people “racist” is something that happens in more than that one video. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/104 "2016-11-28T19:47:06Z")
Suppose you were taking an exit poll, and, after determining that the subject of your interview voted Dem/liberal/lefty you ask their opinion on “cultural appropriation”. Just that, no hints other than the term itself. How many, do you figure, would have the slightest idea what you were asking about? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/105 "2016-11-28T21:22:26Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > So are you claiming that the whole phenomenon of criticizing people as “racist” for supporting the nebulously defined “cultural appropriation” is made up, or just that particular incident? Because “cultural appropriation” and using it as a justification for calling people “racist” is something that happens in more than that one video. Yes, it happens. Rarely. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/106 "2016-11-29T05:18:43Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > So are you claiming that the whole phenomenon of criticizing people as “racist” for supporting the nebulously defined “cultural appropriation” is made up, or just that particular incident? Because “cultural appropriation” and using it as a justification for calling people “racist” is something that happens in more than that one video. You posted it. It doesn’t speak well for your argument if you have one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037/107 "2016-11-29T14:17:15Z")
> [@Crisstti](#): > > Yeah, reality is real, or to put it another way, facts are facts. But we can’t always know them, not with certainty anyway, especially if we’re talking about the pros and cons of a certain policy, or proposed policy, or of ethical matters. We can’t know with certainty that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. But there are many issues where the facts overwhelmingly support one side of the argument. > [@](#): > > Do you think you KNOW what’s the right answer on abortion, on gun issues, on crime policies, education policies, immigration?. No. But I know that the place to start is with the facts. If your crime policy is based on crime spiraling out of control, _it’s likely to be the wrong policy_, because crime isn’t spiraling out of control; it’s returned to the levels of 50 years ago. If your immigration policy is based on hordes of Mexican rapists invading the U.S., then _your immigration policy is likely to be the the wrong policy_, because net immigration across our southern border has been hovering around zero for years now, and there’s no evidence that immigrants are any more likely to be violent criminals than anyone else is. \* A policy that takes into account the facts as they are may or may not be a good policy, but it will almost surely be better than one that doesn’t.\* Seriously, do you have any issue with that statement? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-arrogance-of-the-left-wing/772037.md?page=5)