Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
The author claims to have discovered that right-wingers are decent, pleasant, intelligent people. Someone will have to convince me that the same applies to left-wingers....
Comments
Stockholm syndrome ;)
More seriously, this "revelation" is shallow. I have no doubt that most Fox News folks are quite charming in person (except maybe Bill O'Reilly, who seems like a jerk), but personal charm doesn't make you a good guy. Heck, even Adolf Hitler was reportedly a charmer.
by Michael Wolraich on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 11:04am
Wow! The (inevitable) comparison to Hitler on the first reply! Is this a record?
by Lurker on Sat, 04/19/2014 - 1:24pm
If you want everyone to be healthy, but support policies that thwart that, is it really fair to say that you "want" everyone to be healthy?
by Peter Schwartz on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 11:43am
Playing devil's advocate a bit here, but sure, it's fair to say that, as long as you are ignorant about what your policies will achieve, which I think is a fair assumption in many cases. Hanlon's razor: never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
As an example, I might support helping people to heal and then institute a policy of replacing doctors with praying priests on the belief that the latter is more helpful than the former. (Well, not me, but a hypothetical me.)
by Verified Atheist on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 11:54am
The article assumes that Liberals are screaming in the face of Conservatives. This is ridiculous. Discussions between individuals tend to be civil. Many Conservatives cite Fox as a source of information and it is hard to convince them that the facts do not support the conclusion drawn by a panel on Fox, the conversation can be civil but unproductive. When confronted with facts that run counter to belief, the tendency is for the person rejecting facts to double down on their belief.
The idea that Conservatives are not "nice" is as bad as O'Rielley being surprised that Blacks don't yell MF in restaurants. The argument places the "pathologic" behavior in the laps of Liberals and does not appear to require anything in return from Conservatives.
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 12:13pm
I agree completely. There are liberals who always assume the worst of conservatives just as there are conservatives who always assume the worst of liberals. In fact, I'd dare say that it is far more common for conservatives to think of "liberal" as a dirty word than vice-versa.
by Verified Atheist on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 2:18pm
I agree. In my experience many Conservatives views barbs against a well-known Liberal as a joke that you are automatically supposed to take in stride.
by rmrd0000 on Thu, 04/17/2014 - 2:46pm
I'm afraid that even when conservatives are nice on a personal level, I have trouble tolerating their inhumanity.
by Aaron Carine (not verified) on Fri, 04/18/2014 - 5:46pm
Sally Kohn's flattering testimonial on the nice and smart people at Fox News and her favorite, and 'mentor', Sean Hannity, hasn't gotten through there. Yet.
I won't hold my breath.
Specifically....Kohn's advice to avoid 'harboring stereotypes' and to 'not vilify the other side', Sean's books:
Sean Hannity Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism
Sean Hannity Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama's Radical Agenda
Sean Hannity Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism
by NCD on Sat, 04/19/2014 - 12:59pm
Wattree seems to have missed this thread, since he quotes the same article in his "Sally Kohn Sings Kumbaya to Fox News". He seems to have missed her point, too, which is that hating your opponents and treating them like monsters is unlikely to win them to your cause.
by Lurker on Sat, 04/19/2014 - 1:28pm
Wattree properly characterized the ridiculousness of Kohn's statement. The GOP greeted Obama's election with a vow to make him a one term President. What Kohn leaves out is any requirement on the part of Conservatives/Libertarians/Tea Party members to be civil.
What changes in rhetoric should be required by those on the Right?
by rmrd0000 on Sat, 04/19/2014 - 4:53pm
Well, yeah, if you want to persuade people, you won't do it by railing at them. But a lot of people won't listen to reason.
by Aaron Carine on Sat, 04/19/2014 - 7:08pm