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kleinbl00  ·  3140 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The smug style in American liberalism

Here's the basic structure of the argument thus far:

ARTICLE: It is not the facts on the ground that caused the poor to side with the Republican party, it's elite liberal smugness.

KB: Here, chapter and verse, are the facts on the ground that aren't even touched on by the article.

TLE: I feel that the article is right and you are wrong.

KB: What you feel does not contradict known, well-established facts.

TLE: I feel that facts have a liberal bias.

KB: That does not change their factuality.

TLE: I still feel justified in disputing your facts with my feelings.

Look - you don't have an argument. You have an emotional reaction. The argument of the article is that liberals don't have an argument, they have an emotional reaction and it's utterly and completely wrong.

However, I recognize that this has not yet compelled you to examine your own viewpoint, nor is it likely to. Fundamentally, you are putting forth your feelings, free and unfettered by justification or fact, and demanding that I somehow acknowledge them as equivalent to historical events. You are also choosing to change the subject at will and hold me accountable for not answering assertions that you have not yet made.

So look. It's like this. You register to vote. You get to choose "Republican" "Democrat" or "Independent" (or some random splinter party that nobody cares about). To vote in a primary you only get to choose "your side." How do you pick "sides?" Well, what "values" does "your team" believe in? What is its mascot? What are its colors? Who are some of its famous players? How are you doing on the away games? How are you doing at home? What's going on at the convention? Who's going to speak for "your team?"

Politics are every bit as tribal as sports and it has even more money thrown at it. "Our side" is in favor of the new library expansion, a bill guaranteeing the right of gays to marry and is putting forth Jane Smith as mayor. "Their side" is against the library expansion, has put forth a bill to gut school funding and wants to put "under God" on the license plate. Oh, by the way, they're putting forth Bob Jones as mayor.

You may not give the first fuck about Jane Smith vs. Bob Jones. You might not care whatsoever what goes on a license plate. But goddamn, you don't have kids, your sister sends Timmy to bible school and fuckin' A your taxes are way too high. So you're gonna come out to vote for that tax reform bill.

Are you... not going to vote for Bob Jones or Jane Smith? Are you going to leave the license plate question blank?

Or are you going to vote for your team?

Again: I didn't come up with this. This is APUSH shit. This is Poly Sci 101. It's as settled as the Bay of Pigs. Regardless of how you feel, this is. So while I appreciate the politeness, this is not "our" misunderstanding.