Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA25024 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 15 Feb 2002 19:01:30 GMT From: <AaronLynch@aol.com> Message-ID: <16.1a45d53e.299eb3b9@aol.com> Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 13:55:53 EST Subject: Re: An odd addition to the axis of evil To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Windows 95 sub 113 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
In a message dated 2/14/2002 6:01:47 PM Central Standard Time, Ray Recchia
<rrecchia@mail.clarityconnect.com> writes:
> Hello Vincent and Aaron,
>
> I applaud you both on your in depth analysis of the right wing
conservative
> mind. One of you claiming it was RU 486 and the other economics, and I
> think there was someone else who said something about GATT. However there
> is a far simpler alternative. I would have to give the nod to the editor
> of The Weekly Standard who I would assume understands his reader's minds a
> bit better than any of us.
>
> >Dear Ray,
> >
> >You weren't able to find the results to that Question of the Week because
> >the polls aren't archived for the public. But it's true: France was the
> >run-away winner.
> >
> >However, I'm not certain that our readers weren't just having a little bit
> >of fun.
> >
> >Best,
> >JVL
> >
Hi Ray.
I interpret the editor's comments as political damage control in the wake of
coverage in The Times, and probably in other publications. The editor is
surely aware of the criticisms of neo-conservative xenophobia and ignorance
by more mainstream thinkers. An example is again the criticism that erupted
when Pat Robertson called Scotland a "dark land."
It's also very unlikely that 41% of respondents would all think of the same
joke, and all play that joke on the same country. There are so many countries
that any one of them would only be the butt of a much smaller percentage of
the jokes.
--Aaron Lynch
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