Having led off by, among other items, quoting a Glenn Reynolds from Virginia (not, mind you the Glenn Reynolds and how conveeeenient that the two men should both use an uncommon spelling of their first name), HuffPo proceeds to haughtily lecture us pore ijits:
Some people consciously, most unconsciously, hold on for dear life to the pure and invariant categories of "good" and "bad." Keeping them apart and unambiguously distinct helps us retain a reassuring infantile fantasy of safety, order and certainty.Yes, "some people." You know, the ones right next to "those people." The ones indulging infantile fantasies of "good" and "evil." The ones who don't cower under the sheets at night knowing if someone breaks in, all they'll be able to do is give 'em what they want. Childlike inferiors, who must be led to the truth by their bett-- Hey! Dammit, why does this sound so terribly familiar?
Dude? Dude? Dude! Don't cry "prejudice, zomg!!!1!!" and then play the same "in-group/out-group/alas, the heathen Chinee" games yourself.
As for the main overt thrust of the piece, that the Junior Senator from Chicago is disliked 'cos of (o, the tailfins! O, the Great-Society thinking) his havin' a paleface Ma and an African Pa, this is persecution fantasy of the wildest sort. It's (checking watch) 2008, Huffy ones, and you'd go mad if'n you grasped just how "miscegnated" us productive-class humans are.
I don't dislike your candidate 'cos of his family, skin color or hairstyle. (Fact is, I think he's a handsome guy). I disapprove of his political philosophy. Remember that stuff? --Or were you indulging in your own "infantile fantasies" of "order?"
There is good in this world; there is evil in this world. Security lies in recognizing them when you see 'em -- and that's not always easy: the skin doesn't tell the tale. As for "order," sortin' out the world into categories, types, styles and kinds is what humans do. Certainty? Look, when I cook a meal, I like to be certain I'm puttin' edibles into it, not poison.
A splinter in my eye? How can you tell, past the log in your own?
2 comments:
But, but, but, by putting in edibles instead of poison, you're being "judgmental"...and that's bad!
If you then apply that kind of judgment to human beings and their chosen philosopies, that's racist.
"I don't dislike your candidate 'cos of his family, skin color or hairstyle."
Like the man said:
"Why am I going to hate someone based solely on the color of their skin when if I get to know them I can find 1,000 other reasons to think they're an asshole?"
-George Carlin
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