The old e-mail tray has yielded up another contribution to the sense of victimization of the conservatives of America, by which they become more paranoid, distrustful of their fellow citizens – and prey to those who manipulate them. It’s an interesting mix of truths, half-truths, and lies. Let’s take a look at the email, with a little commentary…
My New Reality
It seems that lately my life has been getting more complicated, and I want to thank those of you who are brave enough to still associate with me regardless of what I have become. The following is a recap of my current identity:
I was born a white male, which makes me a racist.
Attribute to physical reality what is, in fact, a controllable attitude.
I am a fiscal and moral conservative, which makes me a fascist.
It all depends on with whom you’re associating.
I am heterosexual, which makes me a homophobe.
Just no. See being white male.
I am non-union, which makes me a traitor to the working class and an ally of big business.
This one’s unclear. The author is anti-union, or just doesn’t belong to a union? In the former case the probability is it’s accurate; the latter is non-determinitive.
I am a Christian, which makes me an infidel.
Which is both a semantic fact (which is to say, the fact that we have this human concept of religion, with no root in reality but a huge impact on same, which has a rule that says if you’re not part of a particular variety of religion, then you have this word infidel attached to your identity) and a subtle reference to the paranoia about all Muslims.
It would be interesting to know if there is a similar email to this circulating in, say, Iraq, where they reference being Muslim and that this makes them … well, there’s a variety of pejoratives, isn’t there?
I am older than 65 and retired, which makes me a useless old man.
It’s hard not to feel some sympathy, 65 not being all that far off for me. It’s a shared feeling, but at the same time I cannot help but think of the many volunteer activities that are available. Being useless is self-directed in our society, not imposed.
I think and I reason; therefore I doubt much that the main stream media tells me, which makes me a reactionary.
And then we slam right up against a silly statement, which juxtaposed against “I’m so old” becomes a fallacious appeal to authority. It’s also an invitation to another common logic error, affirming the consequent, which, in this case, would be to appeal to those who distrust the media by making them think that therefore they must think and reason. But it’s not true; they may just have a distrust of the media because it says things they don’t like. Not everything in life conforms to your preconceptions; your training, no matter how much you love or hated your parents, your church, and the other institutions, is sometimes flawed, particularly in those areas in which unreasoning obedience is expected.
I am proud of my heritage and our inclusive American culture, which makes me a xenophobe.
An affirmation of a proud society which often believes God has endowed us with perfection, or so certain preachers would have us believe. My advice: learn a little history. Discover the basis of our society, the hideous massacres of the native people, the slavery we used and abandoned so late in the game, the bigotries and prejudices. There are other viewpoints of our society, based on reality on the ground rather than the truly admirable ideals of the Founding Fathers and others. Being soberly proud of our ideal is one thing, but quite another to precipitously take pride in a culture which has indulged in its share of injustices.
I value my safety and that of my family; therefore I appreciate the police and the legal system, which makes me a right-wing extremist.
A bit of folderol. The vast majority of Americans would agree with the author, with the caveat that the two systems need to improve, to cast out the abusers and affirm the desperate need for justice.
I believe in hard work, fair play, and fair compensation according to each individual’s merits, which makes me anti-socialist.
Then I hope you’re not a Trump supporter, since Two-Faced Trump only pays lip service to these ideals. Although there is some validity to the interesting idea of UBI.
I acquired a good education without student loans and no debt at graduation, which makes me some kind of odd underachiever.
No, it makes you unfamiliar with how higher education has changed over the years in terms of financial support and financial consumption. See here and here.
I believe in the defense and protection of the homeland by all citizens, which makes me a militarist.
Now they are trying to inspire more unjustified paranoia, although since we could beat the world with one hand tied behind our back right at this moment, I don’t really understand it. In fact, we should be in the business of cutting DoD funding, not raising it, as that would lead to long-term economic gains (but some short-term pain), but that’s another rant…
I believe guns do not kill people by themselves. People kill people, which makes me anti people.
While this has some vague sensibility about it, which I bought into for a while myself, the cold fact of the matter is that there’s a hidden assumption that mankind is a rational actor.
Every case of domestic abuse destroys this assumption. Every little accident that hurts or kills a child destroys it. Every time a child grabs and uses a loaded gun destroys it.
You want to make this argument? Why do guns exist? To make it easier to kill. It’s easier to kill a deer with a gun than it is with a knife; the same applies to a human. Guns kill people. This argument doesn’t cut it.
Please help me come to terms with this, because I’m not sure who I am anymore!
My newest problem is that I’m not sure which bathroom I should use
Use the one on the left. Heh.
