09-05-2016, 10:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2016, 10:27 AM by Eric the Green.)
(09-04-2016, 01:19 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: Galen and Eric tend to indulge in what I call 'vile stereotypes'. They have spliced together the worst aspects of members of their opposite cultures into ugly caricatures, and will try to sell their venom as if it represents the culture of their political rivals. They are highly partisan and as such are making no attempt to understand or sympathize with people who disagree with them.
I don't know if you've read any of my articles, or would admit it if you have not. But if you haven't, you can't really say I don't understand my political rivals. For example, can you honestly say that I don't understand my free-market opponents upon reading this article?
http://philosopherswheel.com/freemarket.html
This ideology that Galen passionately believes in, is not hard to "understand;" nor that it holds sway to a great extent in the red states. There are other aspects of southern culture besides the belief in this ideology; other ideologies and folkways and so on. I don't say southern culture is all bad, since it is a musical hub, it shows hospitality, I like baseball, etc., although I don't like greasy food, or guns, and I don't follow NASCAR anymore, and sympathize with Colin Kaepernick, and disagree with knocking hippies, etc.; but as long as they keep voting for Republicans, as they exist today, they stereotype themselves, and they are fair game, because their votes have real-world consequences, such as climate change, war, poverty and discrimination. That doesn't mean that Democrats and Greens and people who believe in other ideologies don't make mistakes too.
But I hadn't been clear on just how reactionary Galen is, until I saw these recent posts. Not only is he a free-market libertarian, but upholds traditional gender roles and says boomers messed up society by challenging them. No doubt that I am a progressive, because I am interested and concerned and support movements for change, and therefore I am going to disagree with reactionary ideas. To say I don't understand them, just because I oppose them, makes zero logical sense.
What I notice often from you, Tara (especially), galen and others, is that when I make measured and qualified statements, they are ignored. Only my apparent extremist positions are heard or remembered.