From: Dace (edace@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat 23 Nov 2002 - 21:44:13 GMT
> From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
>
> One of the insights of the US civil rights movement is that until there is
> tolerance for all, there can be tolerance for none, and in Joe we see the
> quintessential bigot: a raging anger against things and people he cannot
> understand; a recourse to binary, simplistic 'me-good, you-bad' thinking;
> and a biased selection of 'facts' for obsessive repetition; and, a
pervasive
> paranoia - 'they are out to get me.'
> It is sad, really, for a couple of reasons: Joe is not stupid, so there is
> in principle a waste of intellectual capability going on, and it occupies
> time and space on our list. Joe will never understand that we are here to
> study memes as objects, because instead he gets caught up inside them.
> And Joe's raging bigotry is toxic; to the extent that anyone buys into it,
> it impedes the ability of the US to form intelligent and effective views
of
> the world, and so to find our way to effective international policies. The
> consequence is that the US alienates itself from a world in which we need
> all the friends possible. It is ironic, too. Joe makes President Bush
look
> like a model of insight, understanding, tolerance and leadership. Joe
lines
> up with the Falwells and Pat Robertsons of our country, and only make the
> job of the President harder. Joe will rush to say that he is
anti-religion,
> but his bigotry is on a par and with and of the same nature as Falwell's
and
> Robertson's.
> Having said all of that, I will also say that Joe's presence here on this
> list is interesting and not without value: it gives us our own case study
of
> memetic warfare, and reveals a dark side of the American soul, a dark side
> that harks back to the foundations of our country - the dispossession of
> native peoples by Europeans colonialists, slavery, anti-black prejudice,
> religious fundamentalism, and now, international bullying in the form of
> power-based relationships.
> I know that not everyone here is interested in this memetic battle, and
> sympathize. As with the battles that attended these other dark issues, we
> can't always choose our case studies. Sometimes they choose us <smile>
> Best regards,
> Lawry
Thanks for this. No doubt you've expressed the feelings of many on this
list.
Ted
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