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I don't disagree that both sides can be intolerant. I'm pretty moderate myself. However, my point is that it's generally liberals (in my experience) who like to call people bigots for disagreeing with them, and I find that to be a bit ironic.
I agree.
I think (based on experiences) Many liberals like to call others uneducated and stupid.
It's notable that very smart people rarely address this insult to people who actually have deep cognitive limitations. No, it's usually said about people who have an IQ of at least 120, and it is best said to someone who is obviously very accomplished and has a reputation for being a serious thinker in their field. Because obviously that feeling of swelling superiority is much sweeter and stronger if we're agreeing that we're all well above someone who's pretty good at what they do.
Calling other people stupid is, of course, a great deal of fun -- who doesn't like that giddy, expansive feeling, or the admiration of our ideological compatriots? But crack cocaine is also a lot of fun (I hear). It's still bad for you, and you shouldn't do it.
Trust me, it really is both sides. Sometimes the chosen label is different, one side yells moron while the other yells idiot. Its just so toxic. Once the emotional reaction to being insulted gets going, rational discussion ends.
Well, it's the particular label, considering its definition and the context that it's often used in, that I find to be incredibly ironic...
But yes, I agree that there is a lot of name-calling and immaturity in a lot of political discussions, and I don't like it.
When it comes to money and business, I tend to lean much more toward the right than the left. When it comes to social programs, I'd say that I lean more to the right but am closer to the middle than many (or even most) conservatives. In regards to other social issues, I'm more left of center but nowhere close to as "left" as many of today's progressives.
Because of that, I love having good political discussions, both online and off. I'm fully capable of seeing where others are coming from. I may agree, partly agree, disagree...but in a good conversation, I can certainly remain respectful of others' views.
In today's world, as someone who leans more to the right than left, I have found it nearly impossible to have reasonable discussions.
For example...I had a recent online conversation with someone about voter ID laws. I said that I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to have to prove who you are at the polls but that I think they should be pretty open about what is accepted as ID....after all, it would suck for someone whose license expired last week or who hasn't had their address changed since a recent move or something like that. So, as someone who was literally pitching ideas and kinda trying to figure out what I thought was fair myself, I said..."well, what if they accept a wide range of things, like a passport, drivers license, state ID, social security card, a copy of their lease, a utility bill, maybe even a random piece of mail with their name on it...maybe with a rule that it can't be expired or outdated by more than 6 months or a year or something..."
The person I was talking to immediately rejected my comments and said that those things are discriminatory against poor blacks in particular and that Republicans only want these types of laws to prevent black people, who historically vote Democrat, from voting...
Well, this irritated me. As I've mentioned in other posts, as a white person, I'm actually a minority in my town, and yes, there are a whole lot of poor black people here. Still, I feel confident that every single person I know, black, white or otherwise could produce at least one of the things I mentioned. As a matter of fact, I was really annoyed by the fact that this woman would even think that a "poor black person" would be incapable of producing something so simple...looking back, it may be hard or impossible for someone who is homeless or whose home just burned down or something (of any race), but overall...
So, I made the mistake of saying, "Jesus Christ, how pathetic do you think these people are??"
Lord knows I didn't mean anything racist by that at all. I said "these people" just like I would say about, say, a group of people from another state or from a church or any other group that I'm not a part of...but her and her husband took it and ran with it, calling me a racist and a bigot and blah blah blah.
I thought it was all really crazy because a) I felt that her assumption that poor black people just don't have IDs or mail is actually pretty racist and b) she called me a racist but lives in a city that is very, very predominantly white while she knows that I live in and have many diverse friends in an area that is actually very diverse.
That is my problem with many of today's progressives.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilyflower3191981
I agree.
I think (based on experiences) Many liberals like to call others uneducated and stupid.
It's notable that very smart people rarely address this insult to people who actually have deep cognitive limitations. No, it's usually said about people who have an IQ of at least 120, and it is best said to someone who is obviously very accomplished and has a reputation for being a serious thinker in their field. Because obviously that feeling of swelling superiority is much sweeter and stronger if we're agreeing that we're all well above someone who's pretty good at what they do.
Calling other people stupid is, of course, a great deal of fun -- who doesn't like that giddy, expansive feeling, or the admiration of our ideological compatriots? But crack cocaine is also a lot of fun (I hear). It's still bad for you, and you shouldn't do it.
This is actually a really good point...because really, who actually calls someone who is clearly developmentally challenged "stupid?"
Lkmax, that was a long read but worth it. Liberals seem to operate from the assumption that anyone conservative or white who doesn't fully support every liberal idea no matter how ridiculous must be racist.
Calling someone a racist is not unlike calling someone a witch in 1680's Salem. It has no real meaning or basis other than to supposedly label a person as taboo or with a scarlet letter.
I don't personally believe being racist is not a valid and defensible position. But policy and public opinion is conditioned to believe it's taboo, so liberals resort to it attack their opponent. I find liberals to be racist not only toward white people but non-whites in certain ways.
Lkmax, that was a long read but worth it. Liberals seem to operate from the assumption that anyone conservative or white who doesn't fully support every liberal idea no matter how ridiculous must be racist.
Calling someone a racist is not unlike calling someone a witch in 1680's Salem. It has no real meaning or basis other than to supposedly label a person as taboo or with a scarlet letter.
I don't personally believe being racist is not a valid and defensible position. But policy and public opinion is conditioned to believe it's taboo, so liberals resort to it attack their opponent. I find liberals to be racist not only toward white people but non-whites in certain ways.
Yes, I got a little long-winded...sorry about that! That whole situation got me really upset..
And yes...nowadays, talking to a far-left progressive DOES feel like a witch hunt. You are immediately labeled with a scarlet letter by "these people" (there I go again!) as soon as they realize that you have even the slightest of conservative views.
Every single word will be twisted, turned and misconstrued, if they even wait for you to speak a word at all before they start in. It's exhausting.
And anyone that backs a pathological liar like Hillary is an idiot.
Oh.
Well, since I'm not a Clinton supporter, I don't have a dog in that fight. But I'm sure someone will come along shortly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by greywar
Can you folks NOT personally attack each other? Many of us back Clinton being FULLY aware she lies. We also look at the other candidate and can say...hey of these two horible choices, that ones worse. It doesnt make us idiots, it makes us people who are paying attention to the faults of BOTH candidates. Not someone who ignores the faults of their side because of illogical reasons.
I wouldn't say anyone is personally attacking anyone. I certainly don't feel that the poster you quoted was personally attacking me, anyway, and I for one have not personally insulted anyone. The way I look at it, we're all speaking in general terms about broad groups of voters, not any specific individual or individuals. My apologies if my participation in those discussions seems as though it has contributed to the ugly, childish, petty, meanspirited tone that the OP seemed to be trying to establish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texan2yankee
That is the difference between us. I don't consider my friends, relatives, or neighbors to be morons if they support Hillary. On the contrary. We just disagree and that is OK. I have no desire to intimidate, harass, or bully them into my way of thinking.
Well, then perhaps we're not so different at all. I don't consider my friends, relatives, or neighbors who support Clinton to be idiots, either. Sounds to me as though we're actually on common ground, my friend.
Nobody I know is a never-trumper. Most of us agree that we can't believe, with the talented, skilled, people in the US, we can't find two people to run for President other than these two.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seacove
Amazing. Eight pages of posts and no one yet has admitted that it could be a member of right wingers that are "Never Trump".
Lot's of intolerance and violence on the left these days. I'm considering investing in a video monitoring system for my property.
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