I came across this while searching for something, and I found it interesting. Just curious what others thought. Too many ads throughout to easily copy so I'm just leaving the link.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
A lot of people — college educated, high school dropouts, nice guys, racists, homosexuals, ***** sapiens — voted for Trump. Not as many as voted for Clinton but enough to win in our "second place is close enough to succeed" society. I think people in general are just becoming more and more out of touch. And dumber in general.
Anecdotal observation, but stroll through Facebook. I noticed someone the other day with a meme about how if you're abducted, put your PIN number in backwards and it alerts the police when you use an ATM. The function (according to the meme) is mandatory on all ATMs. It's false. It's the kind of stupid misinformation that gets people hurt. I rarely respond to that kind of thing, but I googled the snopes article and linked it. The next day, the same person who posted it liked the same misinformation meme on a mutual friend's page.
I don't know if society is just snowballing with stupid or if some unscrupulous world power is out there determined to overthrow America by making it a culture of uninformed, gullible idiots, but either way we're stepping ever closer to Idiocracy.
(06-20-2017, 10:42 AM)Benton Wrote: I don't know if it's that easy.
A lot of people — college educated, high school dropouts, nice guys, racists, homosexuals, ***** sapiens — voted for Trump. Not as many as voted for Clinton but enough to win in our "second place is close enough to succeed" society. I think people in general are just becoming more and more out of touch. And dumber in general.
Anecdotal observation, but stroll through Facebook. I noticed someone the other day with a meme about how if you're abducted, put your PIN number in backwards and it alerts the police when you use an ATM. The function (according to the meme) is mandatory on all ATMs. It's false. It's the kind of stupid misinformation that gets people hurt. I rarely respond to that kind of thing, but I googled the snopes article and linked it. The next day, the same person who posted it liked the same misinformation meme on a mutual friend's page.
I don't know if society is just snowballing with stupid or if some unscrupulous world power is out there determined to overthrow America by making it a culture of uninformed, gullible idiots, but either way we're stepping ever closer to Idiocracy.
There was an internet myth going around recently that News stood for Noteworthy Events Weather Sports. I kid you not, I argued with people for hours who were both amazed they never knew this but adamant it was true because it was all over the internet. In case anyone is wondering, that isn't true.
The general populist as a whole is gullible and unwilling to vet the information they hear because it is easier to accept it as true.
(06-20-2017, 10:42 AM)Benton Wrote: I don't know if it's that easy.
A lot of people — college educated, high school dropouts, nice guys, racists, homosexuals, ***** sapiens — voted for Trump. Not as many as voted for Clinton but enough to win in our "second place is close enough to succeed" society. I think people in general are just becoming more and more out of touch. And dumber in general.
Anecdotal observation, but stroll through Facebook. I noticed someone the other day with a meme about how if you're abducted, put your PIN number in backwards and it alerts the police when you use an ATM. The function (according to the meme) is mandatory on all ATMs. It's false. It's the kind of stupid misinformation that gets people hurt. I rarely respond to that kind of thing, but I googled the snopes article and linked it. The next day, the same person who posted it liked the same misinformation meme on a mutual friend's page.
I don't know if society is just snowballing with stupid or if some unscrupulous world power is out there determined to overthrow America by making it a culture of uninformed, gullible idiots, but either way we're stepping ever closer to Idiocracy.
I just respond that my pin number is 4224. Now what do I do?
Critical thinking has been replaced with a "share" button.
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
(06-20-2017, 10:51 AM)Au165 Wrote: There was an internet myth going around recently that News stood for Noteworthy Events Weather Sports. I kid you not, I argued with people for hours who were both amazed they never knew this but adamant it was true because it was all over the internet. In case anyone is wondering, that isn't true.
The general populist as a whole is gullible and unwilling to vet the information they hear because it is easier to accept it as true.
My daughter (going to be a senior at OSU) believed it. When I told her she was wrong I got the "You think you know everything."
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
The majority of people don't vote. Out of those that do vote, the majority vote with their guts and not their brains.
Is academia insulated? Sure, but that doesn't matter much in an election because when someone goes to the polls they are more than likely using their gut and not any level of education.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
(06-20-2017, 11:55 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: The majority of people don't vote. Out of those that do vote, the majority vote with their guts and not their brains.
Is academia insulated? Sure, but that doesn't matter much in an election because when someone goes to the polls they are more than likely using their gut and not any level of education.
It's more about their shock and not being able to understand why people vote the way they do.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
(06-20-2017, 12:00 PM)michaelsean Wrote: It's more about their shock and not being able to understand why people vote the way they do.
There is no way to understand it. People vote against their own interests all the time because they don't vote with logic.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
(06-20-2017, 12:12 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: There is no way to understand it. People vote against their own interests all the time because they don't vote with logic.
It's not about any of that. It's about having a worldview, and being unaware that there's even an argument about it.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
(06-20-2017, 10:51 AM)Au165 Wrote: There was an internet myth going around recently that News stood for Noteworthy Events Weather Sports. I kid you not, I argued with people for hours who were both amazed they never knew this but adamant it was true because it was all over the internet. In case anyone is wondering, that isn't true.
The general populist as a whole is gullible and unwilling to vet the information they hear because it is easier to accept it as true.
A small city council I cover meets monthly. They've had a fairly controversial issue going on for about 18 months. About 6 months ago I reported on how they're in violation of some state laws (nothing criminal, just doing things in violation of KRSs which normally results in a scolding from the Attorney General's office and a sternly worded letter), which lead to a meeting where they brought in an outside attorney who said 'yeah, there were mistakes, but nobody got hurt so the city should just redo their ordinances and board.'
And every month since then, a couple council members ask if they're really in violation and the mayor (who made the initial mistake) says 'nope, the news made a mistake' and everything rolls right along. Eventually someone will take it to court, but for the time being, the council just ignores their own attorney, news accounts and common sense because the mayor said 'it's all good.'
Anyone else tired of Benton's accounts of six farmers and a general store owner getting together in the church?
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
(06-20-2017, 10:42 AM)Benton Wrote: I don't know if it's that easy.
A lot of people — college educated, high school dropouts, nice guys, racists, homosexuals, ***** sapiens — voted for Trump. Not as many as voted for Clinton but enough to win in our "second place is close enough to succeed" society. I think people in general are just becoming more and more out of touch. And dumber in general.
Anecdotal observation, but stroll through Facebook. I noticed someone the other day with a meme about how if you're abducted, put your PIN number in backwards and it alerts the police when you use an ATM. The function (according to the meme) is mandatory on all ATMs. It's false. It's the kind of stupid misinformation that gets people hurt. I rarely respond to that kind of thing, but I googled the snopes article and linked it. The next day, the same person who posted it liked the same misinformation meme on a mutual friend's page.
I don't know if society is just snowballing with stupid or if some unscrupulous world power is out there determined to overthrow America by making it a culture of uninformed, gullible idiots, but either way we're stepping ever closer to Idiocracy.
(06-20-2017, 02:03 PM)Benton Wrote: A small city council I cover meets monthly. They've had a fairly controversial issue going on for about 18 months. About 6 months ago I reported on how they're in violation of some state laws (nothing criminal, just doing things in violation of KRSs which normally results in a scolding from the Attorney General's office and a sternly worded letter), which lead to a meeting where they brought in an outside attorney who said 'yeah, there were mistakes, but nobody got hurt so the city should just redo their ordinances and board.'
And every month since then, a couple council members ask if they're really in violation and the mayor (who made the initial mistake) says 'nope, the news made a mistake' and everything rolls right along. Eventually someone will take it to court, but for the time being, the council just ignores their own attorney, news accounts and common sense because the mayor said 'it's all good.'
(06-20-2017, 02:07 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Anyone else tired of Benton's accounts of six farmers and a general store owner getting together in the church?
Hold on and I'll regale you with the story of Calaveras County's most celebrated frog...
(06-20-2017, 02:42 PM)GMDino Wrote: I do all my banking in Russia.
(06-20-2017, 09:56 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I came across this while searching for something, and I found it interesting. Just curious what others thought. Too many ads throughout to easily copy so I'm just leaving the link.
1. The conflict between higher education and American conservatism began in the latter 19th century, when many American colleges ditched the Latin curriculum and became research universities. This validated Darwin and produced thousands of graduates with degrees in political science, sociology, journalism, and secular history and biblical criticism, as well as science. For the last 140 years, conservative parents have been complaining their children came back from college with too secular views. Communism even.
2. Over the last three decades, in the latest round of this conflict, the Right in the US has flipped a civil rights argument to argue that universities lack intellectual diversity: they exclude conservatives. They are out of touch with "real Americans." David Horowitz is perhaps the most famous purveyor of this view.
3. Camosy advances the Horowitz argument a step further, connecting it to the Trump election. Academics are "out of touch" because they apparently did not understand what really motivated what he calls "the working class." Borrowing from liberal academic George Lakoff, he argues that while academics might know some "hard facts" of the scientific type, they don't understand what makes the ordinary non-academic tick. These ordinary folks rely on "intuitions and stories" to understand politics. And without explaining why, Camosy insists these cannot be racist or sexist. But he appears to assume they are reliable guides when voting for a president and academics are wrong if they condescend to Trumpster "stories."
Academics are thus framed as the problem. It is they, not the "working class", who do not seek to understand other views. Without specifying what a non-dogmatic view of race, gender and gun control would look like, he suggests colleges stop peddling dogmatic views on these subjects. It is now time for professors to start incorporating more diverse views into academia. And it's also time for the professors to start "the hard work of forging the kind of understanding that moves beyond mere dismissal to actual argument."
To quote Benton, "I don't know if it's that easy."
During the election, I had discussions with old high school buddies who were supporting Trump. They had no understanding of the one China policy, and wanted to know why Obama gave Iran 150 billion dollars from our treasury. If I said they were out of touch, I believe Camosy would call me "condescending." Can he be so sure I don't understand my old buddies?
I can point to threads on this list in which I have certainly engaged Trumpsters with "the kind of argument that moves beyond dismissal" and been dismissed or ignored. In fact, it has been my experience that when I question Trumpsters' claims, they repeat them once or twice, usually ignoring any criticisms, and then tell me that I cannot be argued with.
Lastly, I think lots of "academics" are trying to understand Trump voters in rather neutral terms, interviewing them, collecting polling data. etc. I am not aware of any Trump voters doing the reverse. They have explanations of why people didn't vote for Trump, but these seem "data-free" to put it charitably, and not at all concerned with neutrality, objectivity, etc. Rather, they seem embedded in incredible conspiracies--like all 17 intel agencies made up the Russian intervention in the election to get Trump and Democrats are after Trump not because his incompetence is a danger to the nation but because of "butthurt" over the election and he is not the candidate some shadowy group called "globalists" wanted.
So them's my thoughts. The piece was smoothly written--but was it clarifying analysis or propaganda? I lean more towards the latter.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
but enough to win in our "second place is close enough to succeed" society. I think people in general are just becoming more and more out of touch. And dumber in general.
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
![[Image: jamarr-chase.gif]](https://media.tenor.com/Ycw6u-nmw3AAAAAM/jamarr-chase.gif)
