Re: Islam and Europe and Joe

From: Dace (edace@earthlink.net)
Date: Sat 23 Nov 2002 - 21:44:13 GMT

  • Next message: Wade T.Smith: "Re: Why Europe is so Contrary"

    > 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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