# The white hood: heritage, not hate! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050 "2015-06-21T02:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/441 "2015-06-25T19:26:53Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Well she is a freak. You realize that you’re insulting your mom and not me here, right? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/442 "2015-06-25T19:29:09Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > You realize that you’re insulting your mom and not me here, right? If one wants to be a freak, who am I to judge? ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/443 "2015-06-25T21:11:39Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Except that’s not the position you’ve been arguing against. **Left Hand** didn’t say…but you can’t claim that he hasn’t given any reasons at all…same degree as a Southerner displaying the Confederate flag as an emblem of “Southern pride.” Please see Post 414. I think I’m comfortable leaving it at that. > [@Miller](#): > > Nobody has been called an asshole for flying that flag in this thread, because nobody who flies that flag has shown up in here. Is this like the tree falling in the forest? Very Zen. Or very “Since Smartass isn’t here, let’s talk about him.” > [@Miller](#): > > If I want to convince _you_ of something, calling you an asshole is probably not a great idea. But if I want to convince **iiandyiiii** of something _about you_, call _you_ an asshole may very well be persuasive to _him_. Well, that’s putting the “Great” in “Great Debates”, isn’t it? > [@Miller](#): > > If you want to argue that the lynching part is integral to wearing the hood, that’s fine, but the point is that violence against blacks is every bit as integral to the Confederate flag as it is to the Klan hood… I think that argument has been made as well as it can. I understand that you reject it; I hope you understand that the people you’re talking about don’t (well, a material portion of them don’t). > [@Miller](#): > > Is the Confederate flag flying over the capitol in South Carolina today? My understanding is that it is not. That sounds like a positive change to me, and it happened because, after Roof, there was an explosion of condemnation over displaying the flag, pointing out (not always in these exact words) that it’s a symbol of racists and assholes. Not sure. Latest news item I can find says it’s being debated, which is definitely good. However, I seriously doubt that this debate is happening because of people calling South Carolinians assholes. > [@Miller](#): > > **Left Hand** and the others in this thread haven’t budged you with insults. But you haven’t made much headway in budging any of us without them, have you? So, maybe the “insult” thing is a bit of a red herring? In my real life, I have found a sizable positive correlation between not insulting people and being able to influence them. And you can be sure that there have been more of the “insult” data points than I could ever be proud of. Of course, YMMV. > [@Miller](#): > > Perhaps stop treating conversations that happen on the internet like conversations that happen in real life? They’re really not the same thing. Everyone involved in them knows they not the same thing. So, pointing out that there would be consequences for saying these things to a person’s face isn’t really necessary, because we all know that already. “With all due respect, I think you’re making counsel’s point for him.” Ironically, this is a quote from _From The Hip_, part of a courtroom argument over an objection to witness testimony, “He’s an asshole.” > [@Miller](#): > > and some people who fly the flag who are assholes, and some people who fly the flag who are neither - and that it’s our fault if we can’t or won’t distinguish between those three groups? Actually, you’ve elided a bit here, but what I was asking for was acknowledgement that the “neither” group exists. Whether you think the distinction matters is, well, up to you. > [@Miller](#): > > You’re confusing “People who fly the Confederate flag” with “Southerner” again - and now, also, with people who use the word “nigger,” which is really weird, because that’s a word that’s absolutely _not_ unique to the South. That’s an impressive amount being read into a fairly short statement by me that didn’t include most of those words. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/444 "2015-06-25T21:15:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > What **Left Hand** already said, but also - if I walked into a bar in Alabama, went up to a guy with the Confederate flag on his hat, and said, “You are rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly,” would I get any less of an asskicking than if I’d just called him an asshole? > > I’m inclined to think “more,” just because it sounds so much prissier. _I_ kind of want to kick my ass for saying it like that. I think the important distinction in this case is not the descriptors, but the verb phrase, whether you say, “You are” or “You are acting like / being”. In a lot of cases, if you use the second one, the FIRST response would more likely be, “Why, what did I do?” Not to say that an ass-kicking might not still follow. I DO think that people all over–including the south–make a distinction between being called a name or being called out for a specific behavior. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/445 "2015-06-25T21:22:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > You’re saying displaying the swastika is more “rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly”? What are you disagreeing with? If displaying the swastika (for, let’s say some notion of Teutonic pride) is worse, then why is it worse? I think the first two questions have been answered enough times. As for the last question…because there aren’t a bunch of currently living Germans who think the Swastika is a symbol of Teutonic pride. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > No one is denying this, I think. I don’t think it matters – it’s extremely rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly no matter how one feels about it. I think I’ve already agreed with this several times. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > In my view, anyone who flies the flag is doing so to make a racist statement, or is ignorant of the actual history behind why it was returned to prominence in the 20th century, or doesn’t care about that actual history, and is therefore being an asshole. I’ve also said that this formulation is much more acceptable to me, because it’s something other than just name-calling. It’s becoming obvious to me that what I see as important nuance is, to a number of posters here, a trivial distinction. All I can say is, I still think it’s an important nuance. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I don’t see “you’re being rude” or “you’re being an asshole” as an insult, at least not in this case. Rather I see it as a chastisement, e.g. “you should do better and be better”. And if this had been the way it was originally presented, I wouldn’t have been vigorously objecting to it. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > These people that you’re talking about…and something that is not compatible with being a good neighbor (and in my view, with the positive aspects of Southern values and traditions which include being a good neighbor). I don’t see anything in the whole block of text (which I’ve abbreviated) that I disagree with. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/446 "2015-06-25T21:28:07Z")
> [@HeXen](#): > > And the nazi’s didn’t invent the swastika and means good fortune or well being and is also a chines character but it’s irrelevant as it is the will of any given society to dictate the intent or meaning of any symbol, flag or other. > So you’re free to wear a big swastika on your head with the intention and meaning of well being or other but society has already labeled it’s own definition and you are judged for it… I don’t know…I wonder if someone could pull it off if they used a different color scheme and orientation…no black or red, for sure. -VM ---
**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 25, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/447 "2015-06-25T21:52:28Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > Is this like the tree falling in the forest? Very Zen. Or very “Since Smartass isn’t here, let’s talk about him.” What Zen? Literally no one has shown up in this thread who’s copped to flying the Confederate flag. So they’re not part of the conversation that’s happening in this thread. And how does that equate to talking about you when you aren’t here, given your repeated declaration that you don’t fly the Confederate flag? > [@](#): > > I think that argument has been made as well as it can. I understand that you reject it; I hope you understand that the people you’re talking about don’t (well, a material portion of them don’t). I accept that there’s a substantial number of people out there who display that flag, who don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. There’s also a substantial number of people out there who litter, and don’t think they’re doing anything wrong, or text and drive, and don’t think they’re doing anything wrong, or catcall women, and don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. Regardless of how they view their own actions, all of those people are assholes. They’re not assholes 100% of the time. But they are assholes when they do those particular actions. > [@](#): > > Not sure. Latest news item I can find says it’s being debated, which is definitely good. However, I seriously doubt that this debate is happening because of people calling South Carolinians assholes. My mistake: it was [Alabama](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/24/alabama-governor-confederate-flag-robert-bentley/29210283/). > [@](#): > > Actually, you’ve elided a bit here, but what I was asking for was acknowledgement that the “neither” group exists. Whether you think the distinction matters is, well, up to you. Problem is, it doesn’t. Which you’ve already acknowledged, when you said you had no problem with the “rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly” descriptor. Because someone who is rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly? That guy’s an asshole. > [@](#): > > That’s an impressive amount being read into a fairly short statement by me that didn’t include most of those words. Well, let’s look at the exchange: I compared flying the Confederate flag to people who think they can say “nigger” if they’re just talking about “bad” black people. You said (sarcastically, I assume) “Clearly, the South is just full of assholes.” So, if I’m reading a meaning into those words that wasn’t supposed to be there, I can honestly say I have no idea what meaning you were intending to convey. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/448 "2015-06-25T21:57:54Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > I think the first two questions have been answered enough times. As for the last question…because there aren’t a bunch of currently living Germans who think the Swastika is a symbol of Teutonic pride. How do you know? And why is this relevant? If there were a bunch of living Germans who thought this (and there may well be), would you agree that displaying the swastika and displaying the Confederate flag are comparable? ---
**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 25, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/449 "2015-06-25T21:58:43Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > I think the important distinction in this case is not the descriptors, but the verb phrase, whether you say, “You are” or “You are acting like / being”. In a lot of cases, if you use the second one, the FIRST response would more likely be, “Why, what did I do?” Not to say that an ass-kicking might not still follow. But it’s the same verb phrase in both situations: “You ARE an asshole,” versus, “You ARE rude &c.” Also, this: > [@](#): > > As for the last question…because there aren’t a bunch of currently living Germans who think the Swastika is a symbol of Teutonic pride. …is [incorrect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazism#Germany). ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/450 "2015-06-25T22:50:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > What Zen? Literally no one has shown up in this thread who’s copped to flying the Confederate flag. So they’re not part of the conversation that’s happening in this thread. And how does that equate to talking about you when you aren’t here, given your repeated declaration that you don’t fly the Confederate flag? I know that people will sometimes interpret my posts in the broadest manner possible, and sometimes will be narrowly literal-minded. However, I find it impossible to predict which will happen for a given post. For example, it never occurred to me that you would read this as if I had suggested you were talking about ME when I’m not here, because I thought YOUR prior sentence used my name rhetorically. Let’s try it algebraically: Say that X stands for people who fly the confederate flag. Now substitute X for “Smartass” in my sentence. > [@Miller](#): > > I accept that there’s a substantial number of people…But they are assholes when they do those particular actions. I don’t see anything here that I disagree with. > [@Miller](#): > > My mistake: it was [Alabama](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/24/alabama-governor-confederate-flag-robert-bentley/29210283/). As an Alabamian (who obviously doesn’t follow the local news), I have to say that is pretty awesome. I’m personally more pleased with that than I would have been a South Carolina announcement. Thanks. > [@Miller](#): > > Problem is, it doesn’t. Which you’ve already acknowledged, when you said you had no problem with the “rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly” descriptor. Because someone who is rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly? That guy’s an asshole. This part of the discussion has now run full circle. I don’t see any benefit for either of us in pursuing it around the loop again. > [@Miller](#): > > Well, let’s look at the exchange: I compared flying the Confederate flag to people who think they can say “nigger” if they’re just talking about “bad” black people. You said (sarcastically, I assume) “Clearly, the South is just full of assholes.” So, if I’m reading a meaning into those words that wasn’t supposed to be there, I can honestly say I have no idea what meaning you were intending to convey. There’s has been a whole bunch of round-and-round in this thread over different versions of “Flying the confederate flag is just like doing X, and people who do X are assholes,” and this just looked like another iteration of that. Seems to me, if we list enough of these examples, we’ll have managed to cover every bad behavior that southerners might do. Rather than repeating the same argument over yet another version of X, I decided to just create a facetious summary of them all. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/451 "2015-06-25T22:56:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > How do you know? And why is this relevant? If there were a bunch of living Germans who thought this (and there may well be), would you agree that displaying the swastika and displaying the Confederate flag are comparable? I think you might need a few more scenario adjustments, but I think you CAN get to an imaginary place where I would agree that they are comparable. But in the non-imaginary world, no, I don’t think they are comparable in the way that you are suggesting that they are. For the record, I don’t see any value from trying to find ways that Nazi Swastikas are like confederate flags. Not to say that there aren’t ANY ways that they are similar, but there aren’t enough for the comparison to be enlightening, and in a debate like this, all they do is rile up both sides. Which is to say, if this line of discussion is as tiresome to you as it is to me, I’m perfectly okay with dropping it. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/452 "2015-06-25T23:02:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > But it’s the same verb phrase in both situations: “You ARE an asshole,” versus, “You ARE rude &c.” Round and round we go. Please refer back to **LHOD** ’s comments about the Spanish (and Portuguese, by the way) variants of “to be”. It is the exact same distinction as I am making here, and you are suggesting doesn’t exist. > [@Miller](#): > > …is [incorrect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazism#Germany). Are you suggesting that Neo-Nazis are to German society as confederate-flag-flyers are to Southern U.S. society? Whatever, dude, this conversation is exhausting me. -VM ---
**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:** [June 25, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/453 "2015-06-25T23:26:54Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > Round and round we go. Please refer back to **LHOD** ’s comments about the Spanish (and Portuguese, by the way) variants of “to be”. It is the exact same distinction as I am making here, and you are suggesting doesn’t exist. The thing is, the distinction doesn’t exist in English. I might be playing Settlers of Catan with a friend, and they see I’m trying to get some points for building the longest road, and they deliberately build a settlement in a place that destroys my chances. I’ll laugh and say, “You’re SUCH an asshole!” They understand quite well what I mean: I’m saying that in this particular case they’re taking an asshole action. Because in English, the verb “to be” has different meanings that depend on context. As someone brilliantly put it once, in a very similar context\*, “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” The context here was a discussion of why someone might fly the flag. IN CONTEXT, it makes more sense to interpret “is an asshole” to refer to that specific action, the “estar” meaning of “is.” You interpreted it as the “ser” meaning, as if I were saying that this single act reflects globally on their personality. I understand, now, the ambiguity. But when someone phrases something ambiguously, it is incumbent on the reader at minimum to ask for clarification; in general, a charitable interpretation is preferred. (And before the obvious lame gotcha attempt shows up: there IS no charitable interpretation of waving the confederate flag. Or, rather, the “ignoramus” interpretation is the most charitable, given that of course I’m saying “ignoramus” specifically in connection to this act. The entire point of this thread was to explore whether there were other interpretations, and nobody’s been able to come up with anything more charitable than “they just don’t know about the flag’s history.”) - Powerful government officials fucking someone ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/454 "2015-06-25T23:33:38Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > i suppose this means Casper’s uncles are about to become the latest victims of this PC witch hunt. It’s about time, since they are rude, obnoxious, and un-neighborly. Or assholes. Same difference. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/455 "2015-06-26T00:07:37Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > I think you might need a few more scenario adjustments, but I think you CAN get to an imaginary place where I would agree that they are comparable. > > But in the non-imaginary world, no, I don’t think they are comparable in the way that you are suggesting that they are. > > For the record, I don’t see any value from trying to find ways that Nazi Swastikas are like confederate flags. Not to say that there aren’t ANY ways that they are similar, but there aren’t enough for the comparison to be enlightening, and in a debate like this, all they do is rile up both sides. Which is to say, if this line of discussion is as tiresome to you as it is to me, I’m perfectly okay with dropping it. > > -VM I use this comparison because it’s worked before, personally, with Southerners I’ve known (and I’m a Southerner too, by the way). It doesn’t change the way they feel personally about the flag, but it has changed how they feel about it’s display. In my mind it works because of how obviously impossible it seems to criticize or complain about a Jew’s offense over the swastika – in such a comparison, when the real history of the Confederate flag is related, I think it similarly becomes obviously impossible to criticize or complain about a black person’s offense over the flag. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/456 "2015-06-26T00:11:40Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I use this comparison because it’s worked before, personally, with Southerners I’ve known (and I’m a Southerner too, by the way). It doesn’t change the way they feel personally about the flag, but it has changed how they feel about it’s display. > > In my mind it works because of how obviously impossible it seems to criticize or complain about a Jew’s offense over the swastika – in such a comparison, when the real history of the Confederate flag is related, I think it similarly becomes obviously impossible to criticize or complain about a black person’s offense over the flag. 27% of black South Carolinians supported flying the Confederate flag on state grounds, when asked, in a poll this year. When you show me a poll where 27% of Jews (you know what, show me 5%) support flying a Nazi flag anywhere, then your comparison would be somewhat valid. ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/457 "2015-06-26T00:25:01Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The thing is, the distinction doesn’t exist in English… We don’t have distinct versions of “to be”, but I thought you very effectively illustrated an English version with “You’re being an asshole” and “You’re acting like asshole.” I’m disappointed that you seem to be disavowing that now. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/458 "2015-06-26T00:27:40Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I use this comparison because it’s worked before, personally, with Southerners I’ve known (and I’m a Southerner too, by the way). It doesn’t change the way they feel personally about the flag, but it has changed how they feel about it’s display. In that case, I’ll clarify my position: I don’t think the comparison worked in the way it was used here, and I don’t think it generally is useful in Web debates, particularly with the history of everything being “just like the Nazis” that we’re all familiar with. Having said that, if it WORKS in conversation with actual oblivious southerners, well, I’m fully in support of _that_. -VM ---
**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:** [June 26, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/459 "2015-06-26T00:36:41Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > We don’t have distinct versions of “to be”, but I thought you very effectively illustrated an English version with “You’re being an asshole” and “You’re acting like asshole.” > > I’m disappointed that you seem to be disavowing that now. > > -VM I’m not disavowing that. “You’re an asshole” can mean either “you are in this particular case being an asshole” or “you’re irredeemably and forevermore in all ways an asshole.” I clarified later that I meant the former, where apparently you thought I meant the latter. But I think that in context it should have been clear that I meant the former, since it’d be absurd to suggest (for example) that someone who flies the confederate flag is an ignoramus in all areas of their lives. I was glad to clarify for you, since you were confused about what I meant, but I don’t think the problem was with my initial phrasing, except that there was some room for ambiguity. Given context the ambiguity should have been resolved the way I intended; that you didn’t even realize there was ambiguity, and interpreted it in the incorrect and absurd way, is something you should take responsibility for. You went craycray on me because you misunderstood what I wrote; don’t expect me to apologize for that. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/460 "2015-06-26T00:40:20Z")
Oh puhleez, enough with the bullshit 27% figure. That number represents the views of 60 individuals in a state with over 1.3 million black people, drawn from a poll done over the phone last year. Let’s see some recent poll numbers, now that it’s an issue front and center. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050.md?page=24)