Thread: The Trayvon Martin Case...

Originally Posted by greenhavoc

There's more normal people out there than what's being shown. I don't see a divide, at all. I just see stupid people. This is why I poke fun at it every chance I get.

I'm not particularly talking about a divide in this issue, as much as I'm talking about a divide in almost every major issue across the States. I just hate how the media perpetuates such things, so purposefully.

Since you bring it up, though, you will have to excuse me if I'm not too much of a fan of the 'stupid people' paradigm - especially when it comes to political issues. I tend to see it as a sort of a cop-out for lacking understanding about why some people follow the ideologies that they do (which often has much less to do with being 'stupid' than it does with having been sufficiently persuaded). I understand that this stance doesn't carry with it the comedic value of just being able to call everyone who disagrees with me 'stupid' and making a witty quip about how unintelligent they are, but it's a reasonable sacrifice, I think.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut Zero

I understand that this stance doesn't carry with it the comedic value of just being able to call everyone who disagrees with me 'stupid' and making a witty quip about how unintelligent they are, but it's a reasonable sacrifice, I think.

I think that's an amazing perspective.

Originally Posted by Phion

I think that's an amazing perspective.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut Zero

...I'm not too much of a fan of the 'stupid people' paradigm - especially when it comes to political issues. I tend to see it as a sort of a cop-out for lacking understanding about why some people follow the ideologies that they do (which often has much less to do with being 'stupid' than it does with having been sufficiently persuaded).

Often, it's stupidity that allows them to be so easily persuaded. For example, it's been well documented numerous times that Rush Limbaugh makes things up. Yet people still believe him. He contradicts himself and applies double standards almost constantly and yet his fans don't catch it. This is an excellent example. There are a lot of intelligent conservatives but anybody that cites Rush as a source is a moron. Intelligent conservatives don't even cite him as a source.

They may be brilliant in many ways but if we're having a political discussion then they are, within that context, essentially morons and should be discussed as such for the simple reason that their stupidity is a source of power for those that take advantage of it.

For a liberal example, take the people that hated US foreign policy under Bush but are chill with it since Obama moved in.

I understand that this stance doesn't carry with it the comedic value of just being able to call everyone who disagrees with me 'stupid' and making a witty quip about how unintelligent they are, but it's a reasonable sacrifice, I think.

I understand that citing stupidity where stupidity is due doesn't carry with it the aura of being an accepting, level headed person that pretending that stupid people are anything else does but I think that it's a reasonable sacrifice to attempt to legitimately understand how power operates in this world.

How can you change something if you don't even understand it?