(no subject)
Nov. 4th, 2004 07:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzRealizing he won the election, move one was to sink the country further into debt by raising the debt ceiling again: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041103/ap_on_go_pr_wh/debt_ceiling_1
What's amazing is the high # of people who vote republican because they want smaller government. They seem immune to the ironic reality that it's the dems who are pushing for such things. Growth of gov during Clinton 2%, during the republican congress and Bush, 7%. Hmm.
The pres and Kerry are both talking about healing and unifying the US after the divisive election. It almost sounds good if you ignore the last 4 years of extemism and the administration's highly partisan moves. Why would it happen now when it didn't before?
EDIT - wow, I saw my first flagrantly racist opinion in a response to a friend's LJ. That's kinda neat, an old-fashioned paranoid white-christians-rule philosophy, where not being the majority was a threat. It's actually refreshing to see, for the xtian white hate is usually the subtle undertone of the debate, not the out in the air emphasis. Ah hate is coming back in style, sweet. What % of Germany was in the Nazi party before the war again? You know, when political dissent was called enemy of the state?
Racism...that takes me back. I remember a girl from college going back to the south, I asked why. She explained that at least down there you knew if they were racist - no bones about it. In Baltimore, it was unpopular to be racist but many were. She got sick of having people who seemed otherwise ok 'slipping' and saying something assinine. Overt racism was less scary to her.
Racism is hilarious. I always wind up with the same argument - if the race is superior, why does it need to protect itself? Why is it people don't see that the most 'militant' members of society are its biggest cowards? Bravado doesn't fool a soul.
I'm not equating this election with a race issue, just reflecting on something I haven't seen in ages.
What's amazing is the high # of people who vote republican because they want smaller government. They seem immune to the ironic reality that it's the dems who are pushing for such things. Growth of gov during Clinton 2%, during the republican congress and Bush, 7%. Hmm.
The pres and Kerry are both talking about healing and unifying the US after the divisive election. It almost sounds good if you ignore the last 4 years of extemism and the administration's highly partisan moves. Why would it happen now when it didn't before?
EDIT - wow, I saw my first flagrantly racist opinion in a response to a friend's LJ. That's kinda neat, an old-fashioned paranoid white-christians-rule philosophy, where not being the majority was a threat. It's actually refreshing to see, for the xtian white hate is usually the subtle undertone of the debate, not the out in the air emphasis. Ah hate is coming back in style, sweet. What % of Germany was in the Nazi party before the war again? You know, when political dissent was called enemy of the state?
Racism...that takes me back. I remember a girl from college going back to the south, I asked why. She explained that at least down there you knew if they were racist - no bones about it. In Baltimore, it was unpopular to be racist but many were. She got sick of having people who seemed otherwise ok 'slipping' and saying something assinine. Overt racism was less scary to her.
Racism is hilarious. I always wind up with the same argument - if the race is superior, why does it need to protect itself? Why is it people don't see that the most 'militant' members of society are its biggest cowards? Bravado doesn't fool a soul.
I'm not equating this election with a race issue, just reflecting on something I haven't seen in ages.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-04 07:44 am (UTC)But the argument is only useful in the case of overt racism, where the racist *knows* they despise people of other races. In bal'more racism, many people truly feel they *aren't* racist, and they want to help "those people" as much as possible. You know, as long as their kid isn't fucking one of "them", or something. They truly believe they are open minded and compassionate. And then they come out with something comically horrible.
Example- my mom put up with my dating habits in college as graciously as possible for a Dundalk native (I think the harshest thing out of her mouth was calling me the "League of Nations") but when I started seriously dating my Chinese husband-to-be she became more reserved. Always overwhelmingly nice to Dave, tho. It wasn't a surprise Dave proposed, but what came out of her mouth later was- "I wanted you to marry a nice Catholic boy." But mom, he *is* a nice Catholic boy. "I meant, a nice Irish Catholic boy."
She also feels very sorry for gay people. Even though they stick things in their ass. I tried to point out that straight people do, too, but to no avail.
She thinks she's progressive because she *acknowledges* gays and coloureds and tries to treat them just the same as she'd treat any other person. She has no idea that her problem is that she can't see the person for the labels. And it devolves into a horrible mess any time I try to reason with her.
A theoretical question posed to me by a friend was: so, which do you think your mom would prefer you to date; a black man, or a nice irish-catholic girl?
And I honestly don't know.
I'd come out to my mom if I thought I wouldn't be doing it just to piss her off.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-04 08:05 am (UTC)Straight butt-sex might increase when Roe v. Wade is overturned, and laws are passed to prevent crossing state lines for the purpose of medical operations.
I'm ok with people like your mom. They have emotional ties to certain belief systems, but generally don't want to harm others. Prejudice based on fear I understand. Hell, I'm too judgmental to really criticize other forms of classification - but I try not to act on those bases, same as your mom might be. I get ill when they cross the line to 'kill em all' or not trying to be a decent person through their perspective.
Someone like that is often ok to work with, but you have to go in tiny steps in non-threatening ways. Often you have to plant little thought bombs for them to figure out on their own later. They do well when they think they are the ones that made the discovery.
I remember Dundalk! I went to UMBC :)
on racism
Date: 2004-11-04 03:38 pm (UTC)-- Mike