Culture Warriors category archive
Samuel Johnson Was Right 0
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel In related news, David Niose questions attempts to “instill” patriotism. A snippet:
Such conditioning is neither necessary nor healthy, and as a society we should rethink it. Just ask Colin Kaepernick, the NFL player who unleashed a public outcry after respectfully dissenting from the national anthem. For doing nothing more than sitting out a ceremonial song at the start of a football game, Kaepernick has been called a traitor and worse. Or ask Bradford Campeau-Laurion, who was once ejected from Yankee Stadium for having the audacity to use the seventh-inning stretch to visit the men’s room rather than sing “God Bless America.” Such hostile responses to mild gestures of dissent show not a healthy patriotism but an aggressive, chauvinistic nationalism.
“I Trolled You So” 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Joe Pierre reviews recent research revealing why anonymous internet comments are so wretched. A snippet (emphasis added):
Hiding in Plain Sight 0
One of the screwier trends to emerge from Europe lately has been efforts to ban burqas and “burquinis” (and this is the United States of America–we know something about screwy); one column I saw somewhere in a US paper I forget where about Nice’s recent banning of the burquini was headlined something like “Leave It to the French To Outlaw Modesty.”
Der Spiegel attempts to understand the movement in Europe, and particularly in Germany, to “ban the burqa.” It concludes that the movement has little to do with religion and everything to do with domestic politics and attempts to co-opt the European far right. Here’s an excerpt, but I urge you to follow the link and read it in its entirety.
That’s about the Size of It 0
Here’s more proof that the fashion industry hates women.
The larger pair of pants shows “Size 0,5.” The slightly smaller pair shows “Size XL.”
Words fail me.
Facebook Frolics 0
By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea . . . .
Aside:
This trifling tribalism (as my first wife would have said) plucks my last nerve.
Staring into a Stereotype 0
At the Raleigh News and Observer, Mary Roodkowsky explores the origins of Hillary Hatred. A snippet:
But why is Hillary Hatred so intense, so committed, so sure of itself?
It’s because Hillary isn’t feminine or womanly, at least not in traditional ways. She doesn’t emote much publicly, she’s not spontaneous, she’s not touchy-feely. In short, she’s not vulnerable. And this is terrifying.
Women are emotional. Mothers are nurturers. Being a real woman means being spontaneous and responsive. Hillary doesn’t fit these stereotypes, and so she’s not a proper woman. This outrages many Americans, of both sexes.
(snip)
This dislike and fear of serious, reserved women is particularly American.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Why do persons think Hillary Clinton isn’t trustworthy? Perhaps this compilation of claptrap will give you a clue or three.
Amazing.
Via Karoli at C&L, who notes (follow the link for the full article):
When you hear questions framed like the ones in the video above, or you hear media allowing the frame that she is a “horribly flawed candidate,” allow yourself the space to consider that it is their perception only. It’s something they’ve invested in for 40 years now, and they’re unlikely to let it go anytime soon.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Rob Korobkin, self proclaimed young person, is dismayed at the dismal destructiveness of the dispersal of the discourse. A snipppet:
These days, if you want folks to hear your voice, you have to be just as incendiary as the trolls.
You have to be share-worthy. . . .
Trump’s obnoxious, sure, but that’s an asset, not a liability.
King of the “Subgroups” 0
In The Des Moines Register, Reka Basu challenges Congressman Steve King’s statement that no “subgroup” has contributed anything to civilization matching the contributions of European Christians. With some help, she compiled a list of contributions from others:
Here is some of what they shared:
Algebra. The number zero. Peanut butter. Accounting. Cotton. Gunpowder. Fireworks. Meritocracy. Language. Law. Government. Philosophy. Building construction. Wine. Food. Religion. Philosophy. Corn. Agriculture. Silk. Plumbing. Tools. Jazz. Blues. Beer. Pasta. Paper. Arabic numerals. Books. Writing. Gandhi. Buddha. Astronomy. Chess. Herbal medicine. Bread. Soap. Surgery. Ayurveda. Math. Wireless (Bose). Silicon Valley (largely Indians). Sanskrit. Banking. Money. Insurance. Lacrosse. Music. Hospitals. Optics. Voting. Woodblock type. Stirrups. Art. Philosophy. Farming. Human rights. Blood transfusions (African-American Dr. Charles Drew). Blood banks. Aqueducts. The compass. Porcelain. Massage. Tea. Rock ‘n’ Roll. Chocolate. Coffee. Architecture. Philosophy. Athletics. Tai Chi. Carnatic music. Bharat Natyam dance. Papyrus. The modern state. The public library. Gynecology. Universities. Acupuncture. Sewer systems. Engineering. Democracy. Original thought. Clocks. Maps. Yoga. The Sabbath.
Fear and Loathing (and Delusion) in Cleveland 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., can only shake his head and sigh at the Republican Hate-Fest in their fact-free Never Never Land:
Did Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel really say, “It’s time to end the era of stupid wars,” as if it were Democrats who dragged Republicans into Iraq with promises of flowers strewn beneath American tanks?
Did Ben Carson really link Hillary Clinton to Satan? Did the crowd really chant, repeatedly and vociferously, for her to be jailed? Did at least two Republicans actually call for her execution?
Follow the link for more.
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*Remember, in white-wing world, these are not examples of “terrorism.” These are examples of “putting them in their place.”
Coddled Yeggs 0
Catherine Rampell notes that, despite their small-government protestations, what Republicans truly want is a nanny state, one that mops their tears, protects them from the real world, and coos over their booboos, all the while keeping them swaddled in their bigotry and prejudice. A snippet:
(snip)
They . . . want policymakers to bar transgender Americans from using the public bathroom of their choice, lest those in neighboring bathroom stalls feel vaguely threatened.
They want government to protect religious freedom, yet they also want government to expel holders of select religious beliefs — a policy that couldn’t possibly pass constitutional muster even if you could figure out a way to implement it.
They also want their small, spartan government to round up and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, quickly and on the cheap, but “in a very humane way, a very nice way.”
Follow the link for more on the liturgy of white-wing whining.
American Taliban 0
Shorter Newt Gingrich: Sharia and Sharia alike.