D: Yes the first time I heard the saying "defund the police" I thought how stupid can we be. A gift to the law and order conservatives. A realignment of priorities is necessary but why label it in such a stupid way.
S: I agree with you. It was an unfortunate phrase to begin with and the dems should have replaced it with a more appropriate term.
The liberal left is touting what extreme ideas? Health care for all isn't extreme. Having a minimum wage that keeps up with the cost of living isn't extreme. Welcoming immigrants and those escaping persecution in their homelands isn't extreme. Using some of the funding for local police departments to add professional mental health assistance isn't extreme. Enabling all US citizens to vote in elections, regardless of where they live, isn't extreme. Please explain this to me.
Me: The right has gone totally insane and completely addicted to extremism. The left is beginning to flirt with extremism again. Main stream left-wing thought remains main stream where as main stream right wing thought has become the lunatic fringe (but the fringe no longer). Defund the police. Social justice re-defined as reparations when the first term is positive and the second term is threatening to millions of Americans. White privilege when what you really mean is human rights.
Attacking Obama for saying something rational and reasonable. Hypersensitivity to any interaction between whites and blacks (Which is often grossly misinterpreted). Micro aggressions. Cultural appropriation. An entire zoo of exotic and frankly ridiculous hypersensitivities masquerading as social justice. The entire social justice warrior movement.
I agree the left wing ideas are still primarily main stream. The problem I’m seeing and find very disturbing Is the growing acceptance of ridiculous positions. They are still on the fringe, but they are moving to the main stream. Slowly, but steadily.
Here is an example or two of that extremism. Quite some time ago a woman on a small boat notified the Coast Guard that a pod of whales had surfaced around her and her group. They were in a small boat surrounded by massive marine animals and there was serious fear that they would swamp the boat. She was notifying the Coast Guard that they might require rescue, please be ready. This was exactly the correct thing to do. There is nothing to criticize about this action. And yet all over the left-wing media she was reported as another horrible white person attacking whales because they were whales in the ocean! This was utter nonsense. Everyone who attacked this woman owes her a sincere apology. She was not a super racist. She was a rational, reasonable human being taking rational, reasonable precautions against a very real danger to the life and safety of her self and those on her boat. But to the left wing extremists this was another example of insane white woman attacking… Etc. ad nauseaum.
Second example: I recently read an article in which a Black man said White people are really offending Black people by being nice to them. Yeah. That’s right. His classic example was that he and his family were in a public pool and an older white man said it’s so nice to see you having such fun with your family. I like seeing happy families, or words to that effect. The author took this to mean Black people are usually horrible to their families so it’s nice to see a Black man being nice to his kids for a change. That is not what the man said. There is a sick troubled person who is being very racist in the story. It is not the White man. I have had people compliment me on my tight relationship with my son. I don’t even remember what race the various people were, because race wasn’t an issue. They just thought it was really nice to see a father and son so close.
This is left wing extremism. You can’t be nice to Black people because that’s an insult. But you can’t ignore Black people because that’s an insult. And you can’t criticize Black people, even if they actually deserve it as human beings, because that’s racism.
Main stream left-wing positions are reasonable and rational. But the fringe on the left wing is growing slowly and steadily. It moves at almost a glacial pace, but glaciers are incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous.
S: Sorry Jim. I don't agree this time. I couldn't find the facebook responses to the woman but fear of whales swimming around under the whale watching boat just doesn't lend itself to racism. I would like to see the responses to her. As far as being nice goes, there is a difference between being friendly and being condescending. We weren't there. We don't know.
Me: When I read the article he made no comment about being condescending he simply said the man complemented him. That’s it and then he went on to say that white people should not complement Black people unless they have done something extraordinary. That’s what he actually said. Other articles and commentators have said the same thing. Some have even declared being complimented for an everday good act is mentally damaging to Black people (that was in the Washington Post!).
I have seen a young woman college-age attacking a young man because his hair was in cornrows. That was a micro aggression. He was confused. He had no idea what she was talking about. Cultural appropriation and micro aggressions are usually simply being accepted by society. If we apply both concepts we must eliminate all rock ‘n’ roll music. It’s a combination of micro aggression and cultural appropriation against Blacks, Europeans, people from Appalachia, and you can go on and on identifying offended groups. This is not micro aggression. This is both hybridizing cultures and accepting each other.
Tolerance goes both ways. If we look for trouble we will invariably find it. Just as conspiracy theorists invariably find proof that their conspiracy is real. It comes down to there’s a tiny bit of proof which I will wildly exaggerate, therefore I’m right or there’s no proof which just shows how powerful they are in covering up the truth.
You know me. I just can’t stand extremism. Even if the extremists agree with me they just should never carry the position to extremism.
Oh, and the comments attacking the woman specifically
referred to her as a White woman “Karen” who was treating whales like White women treat Black people. Try Seth Myers, Amber Says What. She was not alone in making a racial issue of this.
Let’s end on a cheerful note!
Read this link.
https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/the-first-wine-label-was-invented-in-egypt/
