I was driving through Wisconsin this weekend, where religious radio is rife. I listened to a show lamenting the SCOTUS decision on marriage. Of the many bad arguments they made, one was the comparison to Dred Scott. They used it to say the Supreme Court can be wrong, not realizing this time they are on the minority side without a logical or coherent argument, just like the SCOTUS was then. Of course, they don’t see that, they think they are on the right side and are grasping at anything to show the decision was wrong. It got me thinking about how they should be interacted with. If those on the side of equality and fairness treat them like ignorant segregationists from a by-gone era, then we haven’t made much progress toward trying to understand each other. Have we?]
If those on the side of equality and fairness treat them like ignorant segregationists from a by-gone era, then we haven't made much progress toward trying to understand each other. Have we?]We sure haven't. It seems like the past decades have been dedicated to increasing divisiveness and misunderstanding between people, rather than any attempt to come to terms with each other. I dare say the absolutism (and deep pockets) of the right have done more to fuel that self-destructive trend then the fumbling feeble efforts of lefties to make their stand.
Huh? We just reaffirmed ACA for the umpteenth time, we are affirming people’s right to love all over the world, the tea party is collapsing under its own weight and old men are finding it necessary to shoot girls in the face to maintain their antiquated systems and they’re screwing that up!
What news do you watch?
If we can’t treat bigots like bigots how are we to treat them? The article does not say, it just essentially says “play nice,” without offering any advice on how to interact with people who let fear and loathing control their thinking, ignore facts and the law and make things up to support their beliefs.
Yes, very little advice given there. The only specific thing is “don’t thumb your nose”, which is about as good as “turn the other cheek” because it doesn’t answer, “then what?” But it does say, don’t treat them in the way they treated LGBTQ before the law changed, basic golden rule stuff. The law is now on the side of fairness and equality. That doesn’t mean people won’t be unfair and treat others unequally, it means we have a peaceful recourse when they do it. The point is to use that means instead of shame or anger or threats from a power structure. If I had a simpler answer, I’d give it, but I don’t think there is one.
Huh? We just reaffirmed ACA for the umpteenth time, we are affirming people's right to love all over the world, the tea party is collapsing under its own weight and old men are finding it necessary to shoot girls in the face to maintain their antiquated systems and they're screwing that up! What news do you watch?And the news is one of the tools used to keep people in an emotional state of siege, or victory for their camp. Media companies are making billions by perpetuating the myth of a culture war. It keeps people in a paranoid, fearful state that craves constant updates. It also keeps them inthralled with many talking heads spinning a narrative of confirmation bias that is very lucrative for the industry of so called "news". For every Fox News there is a an MSNBC. The culture war is actually a bankable money maker for media moguls and oligarchs. Any actual conversation is squashed by not being able to peel your eyes off the media. It's like the vaccine issue or global warming, presented as being handled in a supposedly fair and balanced way when they really just inflating the controversy for the sake of ratings.
Back during the first Bush administration, I was able to engage in reasonable discussions involving Conservatives and Liberals on anything from the economy to separation of church & state. During the Clinton administration, less so. By the time of the big “W", reason became a fleeting commodity among my Conservative friends. It all but died out with the election of Obama.
With the recent Supreme Court decisions, we have broken the camel’s back. Longtime friends are posting vile and hateful things on Facebook. There is no more discussion. I can no longer consider them friends, and for that I am sad.
The only thing that still brings a smile to my face is when someone expresses their paranoia and blames everything on the evil “Media". :lol:
Yes, very little advice given there. The only specific thing is “don’t thumb your nose", which is about as good as “turn the other cheek" because it doesn’t answer, “then what?" But it does say, don’t treat them in the way they treated LGBTQ before the law changed, basic golden rule stuff. The law is now on the side of fairness and equality. That doesn’t mean people won’t be unfair and treat others unequally, it means we have a peaceful recourse when they do it. The point is to use that means instead of shame or anger or threats from a power structure. If I had a simpler answer, I’d give it, but I don’t think there is one.Great strides were made in just one week, the tragedy in S.C. forced a dialogue over continued racism via the flag controversy, ACA was re-affirmed, gay marriage allowed in every State and the gun law debate renewed. But as Andy Jackson once said, and I'm paraphrasing here, Marshall (Chief Justice of SCOTUS after his decision to protect the Southeastern Native Americans) has made his decision, let him now enforce it. Now that these decisions have become "law of the Land" they must be backed by the other two branches. Some legislators and presidential candidates e.g. Mike Huckaby, are vowing to fight these decisions to the death; meanwhile pro-Rebel flag enthusiasts and bigots are hosting flag demonstrations in Southern States, the most hilarious of which was in Dalton, Ga. So, no even though these SCOTUS decisions are a beginning, they are by no means the finish. Hopefully they will become tradition down the line and Americans will look back in horror at what was done to disenfranchise and shun minorities. The best way to thumb our collective noses at bigots, be they religious or racist was to rainbow the Whitehouse. Cap't Jack