Dog-Whistles, and The Racists Who Hear Them.

originally posted by: Hazardous1408
You make a valid point...

& I'd agree if it weren't for the fact that enlightened people like me and yourself can tell when someone is using a dog whistle, even if only the dog can hear it, we know it's being used.

No, your brain reinterprets words to fit your own prejudices.

Basically, left wingers did some mental gymnastics and rationalized a way to see racism where none exists. You guys are the modern version of the Salem Witch Trials.

a reply to: TonyS

I agree although..........maybe some of this is "contextual" depending upon one's life experience.

For example, you stated: " When someone hears the phrase “men not working”, and instantly and without further inquiry thinks of black people,".

Where I live there are no "black people"; they just don't inhabit this part of the country which is extremely remote.
The population is roughly 80% Hispanic and 20% Latino. You go into the nearest small town near me and you discover hundreds of working age men who aren't working, or only work enough each week to pay for rent, smokes, & beer.

In this case.................they're almost exclusively white men. Go figure. A town full of "white men not working".

BTW, there's plenty of jobs goin' a beggin out here! I know.........I can't even find a guy wiling to friggin' PAINT a wall!

I agree. If one believes the species can be divided into races (which is the broadest definition of racism or racialism), one might conclude that this or that race is more prevalent in this or that area (ie. unemployed). But if the species is divided into individuals—which it is—one can immediately see the faulty generalizations and racism in that pattern of thought.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Another fantastic post.

Much better put than I would have explained it which would have been more along the lines of, "The one who smelt it, dealt it."

The overall sentiments you described I've often thought about in the context of Voter ID rules. I'm of the personal opinion that voting is one of the, if not the single most important functions/rights citizens have. To my small mind, making sure that a person that attempts to vote is eligible to vote and is, in fact, the registered voter they say they are is of the upmost importance.

A typical reaction to the suggestion that a voter should present identification is that it, "is racist." I've always found that a strange response. Are these people saying that minorities are too stupid or lack the wherewithal to obtain an acceptable form of identification?

a reply to: eluryh22

Another fantastic post.

Much better put than I would have explained it which would have been more along the lines of, "The one who smelt it, dealt it."

The overall sentiments you described I've often thought about in the context of Voter ID rules. I'm of the personal opinion that voting is one of the, if not the single most important functions/rights citizens have. To my small mind, making sure that a person that attempts to vote is eligible to vote and is, in fact, the registered voter they say they are.

A typical reaction to the suggestion that a voter should present identification is that it, "is racist." I've always found that a strange response. Are these people saying that minorities are too stupid or lack the wherewithal to obtain an acceptable form of identification?

It's called the soft bigotry of low expectations. That's exactly what they are implying, and the racist thought in that kind of logic is that minorities should be held to a lesser standard. A while ago I was watching something on that issue, I forget where, but a lady was saying that her blind 90 year old grandmother, whom was a direct descendent of slaves, was able to get a an ID and vote, and that it is condescending to say that one's skin-color would impede people.

originally posted by: shooterbrody
a reply to: thinline

And to pick today of all days to start a trump is racist thread............

geez....you have scores of threads bashing dems and Hillary today....tell us what day would be most convenient for you?....all 2 of us on the left that are still on ATS, would like to know.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

I've wondered about that...........by that I mean........are there different "races" or is "race" a made up construct?

So.....in Africa for example, most all the native peoples there are "black" (or various shades thereof). But if you examine Africans from different regions...........they appear to exhibit different "racial" characteristics, as if they are of a different racial grouping. (I've lived in Africa). So....I've asked myself......how many different "races" live in Africa.

But then again.....am I observing actual "racial" differences? Or am I just seeing genetic variations between different "Tribal" or "family" groupings?

To demonstrate what I mean, I'll provide a little known but rather extreme and interesting example. I also lived in Italy and found the easiest way to learn a language is to hang with the elderly at the park, (they got nothing better to do). And in talking to them I learned something amazing! For hundreds of years, for many, many generations, vast numbers of Italians lived in small towns throughout Italy, in the mountains, their "hills" country, the PO valley, etc. While talking to a retired cab driver one late afternoon, he chuckled and pointed out an old guy across the street and called him, (in Italian), an "Aquilan"? I asked him........how he knew that, were they friends? He laughed and said he'd never known of nor seen the guy before, he said.........the guy had the Aquilan nose and chin! After further discussion it turns out that because of the relative isolation of these small Italian towns, over generations............of marrying cousins, every body starts to exhibit similar features, there's the "Roman" nose, the Calabrian cheeks or whatever. So the old Italians can tell you what small town another Italian is from! After a while, (being a young man) who traveled throughout Italy, I could pretty well differentiate young women from Palermo (Sicily) from young women from Naples, from young women from Verona and from young women from Milan. And yes..........there are Sophia Loren look a likes in Naples! Daniela Giordano, (actress) is very typical of Palermo.

Guess what I'm saying is...........I really don't know or understand what "race" is.

The easiest way to spot a racist is to look for the loudest person accusing others of being racist. These are the most dangerous types of racists, unknowingly causing rifts in society and impeding constructive conversation while projecting their insecure thoughts onto anyone within an ear shot. "I'm not a racist, and I'll prove it to everyone" is their solution to the deep sense of guilt they have over their deeply buried racist mentality they refuse to acknowledge.

a reply to: TonyS

I've wondered about that...........by that I mean........are there different "races" or is "race" a made up construct?

It's a mix. There are obvious genetic differences in phenotypes, but that these racial differences are arbitrary, have very little use outside of genealogy, medicine (genetic risk) or base descriptive purposes.

Here's a great primer on the subject: Why both sides are wrong in the Race debate

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Interesting read.

I have ALWAYS said that we need to raise standards and ensure to pick those up "below" us.

Bring them up, don't bring yourself down.

Maybe that's just the Military in me though.

Why would BLM be in France?

usawatchdog.com...
WHAT world wide loss of brain power,created these Pokemon hypnotized Epsilon semi-morons anyway?

originally posted by: thesungod
a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Interesting read.

I have ALWAYS said that we need to raise standards and ensure to pick those up "below" us.

Bring them up, don't bring yourself down.

Maybe that's just the Military in me though.

Absolutely. And not only to raise standards but to hold them to everyone. Double-standards is a vicious hypocritical circle.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Bravo!

Nicely said, and deadly accurate!

Ironic that the Left talks about people wearing hoods, yet it's the "protestors" on their side who mask their faces. Ironic that they call everyone else racist, when they are the ones most often mentioning race.

You covered everything, so not much more to say, except, have a virtual drink on me, since I can't buy you one in person.

originally posted by: Slanter
This has been used forever, the "Well I didn't mean that, so YOU must be the *blank* one for reading into that statement."

There's no way to definitively catch these as pro-racists, but it doesn't seem that strange to me that the main people catching on to racist-adjacent wording are A: anti-racism activists, and B: Overtly racist activists. They're the opposite side of the same coin but tend to communicate along similar lines. So it seems pretty obvious that the two groups of people that would make these connections would be the ones attuned to this method of address.

This is what I'd like to applaud (but a star will have to suffice).

I think in most social issues, you find this phenomenon. When I was very young I observed it in my feminist activist mother- who in fact had the strongest misogynist tendencies of anyone I have met to date! Her behavior in her private life was the exact opposite of her proclaimed principles and values she fought for.

It was obvious she was an activist precisely because she was combatting her own internal sexist programming- projecting her demons outward. Since then I cannot help but see any extreme activists as either overt or covert (in denial, usually) manifestations of their particular focus.

That makes me want to remain more neutral, observe and listen to both the external and internal clashes, working upon creating integrity within myself rather than outside events and others. But that keeps me from being active in many collective movements and events.

But heck, if we were all introverts, that wouldn't make much of a world either. Some people need to externalize their conflicts in order to resolve them.

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
Why would BLM be in France?

usawatchdog.com...
WHAT world wide loss of brain power,created these Pokemon hypnotized Epsilon semi-morons anyway?

What? That guy does a summary of weekly news highlights, and he covered three different, unrelated ones there- there is no connection made between the events in France and BLM.

a reply to: Bluesma
www.breitbart.com...

originally posted by: cavtrooper7
a reply to: Bluesma
www.breitbart.com...

THAT one does! Totally ridiculous.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Claiming racism is th easiest way not to have to address the issue. Like the tweet donald made about Hillary and her emails. Make a claim it's racist and she can ignore it. There is no attempt to start a race war what we see is just a political tool used to avoid real issues.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Yes, racism is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

Marxist polylogism asserts that those of different classes actually process information differently and their "logic" is essentially incompatible. Therefore, there is no purpose in attempting to negotiate with the bourgeoisie because they can't understand the "logic" of the proletariat. The Marxists view racial polylogism as kindling for the full-on class war complete with shallow ditches and guillotines. It doesn't particularly matter to them whether there is any truth to racial polylogism, it's just a stage of the revolution.

When the German socialist welfare state collapsed, rather than recognizing the folly of socialism, Hitler posited that socialism for Germans only (not immigrants) was the answer. This is actually the recipe that seems to be taking shape before our eyes. Trump may be a socialist, weird huh? That's why Bernie supporters are drawn to him whether they recognize it or not. Their rhetoric has considerable overlap (the goal of national economic autonomy, government provided health care, etc.).

Our socioeconomic interventionism is failing and instead of identifying the cause we are doubling down. Obama shifted the process into high gear and whoever takes office next will further accelerate it. At some point, socialism is inevitable as the market distortions caused by it come to fruition. I'm not sure how long this phase might last because we have such an enormous amount of capital to consume but, when the sustainability of interventionism comes to a close, the state will be in control of all of the resources. What people don't realize is that fascism is really just a late stage of socialism.

So, economics is the devil to interventionists and socialists because it describes both the problems with and the solution to socialism. Defamers of markets must always be either uneducated or have such nefarious intentions.

There is a reason Obama brought racism back to America, it is an integral part of international Marxism, something we all hoped was gone for good.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Thanks for the link:
I like this answer best:
Or as Craig Venter, founder of Celera Genomics, the private corporation that revolutionised the process of mapping the genome, put it, ‘The Human Genome Project shows there is no such thing as race’. The message was clear: Biology permits no racial divisions. The Human Genome Project has settled once and for all the age-old question of whether races really exist.

a reply to: Bluesma
There are passions devoted to things that don't make sense,that is the fate of useful idiots to these oligarchs, ,they SURE have turned it UP during Obama's reign.