what some conservatives say when they think they're among friends only

[jrtom]

http://www.alternet.org/story/57001/

This is, honestly, chilling.

That said, I've heard hardcore liberals say analogous things when they think they're 'among friends'. (Then again, hardcore radical liberals tend not to have nearly as much money or power as hardcore conservatives do...so while their hatred can be just as sickening, it doesn't inspire me with the same sort of fear.)

Comments

Just among friends

[fdmts.livejournal.com]

I'll try to keep this short ... but I may fail:

This is exactly why political correctness and speech codes are such a bad idea. You never convince someone that their idea is incorrect by saying "you can't say those words!" All they ever learn is "don't talk that way around those people." They still go home to their family ... or out to the bar with their friends ... and remain just as bigoted and small minded as ever. Eventually, it becomes a powerful club.

It's really, really hard to take the alternate route, because you have to confront and internalize racism, sexism, and petty hate in order to communicate. It's worth it though, because when you put these small minded ideas on the same table with liberty, equality, and justice, and when you hit them with the same threshing stick ... the truth wins.

This is why I try to make a practice of keeping these people talking. When the guys at the gym are all "faggot" this and "raghead" that ... I try to keep them talking. Not to talk down to them ... that would turn anyone off ... but with "tell me more." A lot of the time, they realize what a bunch of dumbasses they sound like ... simply because I took them seriously. The same works at weddings with that guy across the table ... or at some social function where redmed is the star and I'm the arm candy.

When I say "I liked the new Harry Potter movie," I'm fair game for everyone in the room to wonder where my rational mind has gone ... but somehow when it's "we ought to kill a few Democrats," we can't muster a rational response? The reverse ought to be true.