Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Exact Same Crap

Rick Moran from Right Wing Nuthouse has a post up where he takes issue with many on the right. It almost exactly mirrors my own thoughts when I read various right-wing blogs -- especially the comment sections.
It got to the point last week, after reading the usual nonsense from many conservatives about how Obama is deliberately trying to “destroy” the country, or is a Marxist, or wants to be a dictator, or is favoring Muslims in the Middle East because he actually is one, or is plotting to cancel the elections in November, or wasn’t born here/not a naturalized citizen/Hawaiian official says he was born in Kenya/yadayadayadayada…that I nearly screamed ... Conspiracies, falsehoods, batshit crazy observations, wildly off base dot connecting, Cloward-Piven, Rules for Radicals — a never ending flood of idiocy, illogic, unreasoning hatred, and just plain ignorance from people who tell me I am insufficiently passionate in my opposition to Obama and the liberals and am therefore on their side.
As he says,

It’s like the previous 8 years of putting up with the exact same crap from liberals about George Bush never happened. ... Bush the dictator. Bush trying to destroy the country. Bush policies formulated only to help cronies. Don’t these people remember how we laughed at that kind of stupidity? And now, it looks like I have to put up with the same damn ignorant tripe for another 8 years.

Just in case anyone thinks he's exaggerating, I went to one of the latest posts on Hot Air, one of the largest conservative blogs, and looked at the comments under a post on the oil spill. (Hot Air posts are rational, but some of the commenters are not).  Here's what I found right near the top: 

"Obama doesn’t WANT to do the job. He doesn’t want the spill cleaned. Even some in the media know that, but they can’t say it because you can’t prove motive." AND "The President doesn’t WANT to do the job. He likes to inflict MISERY on the Gulf Coast Subjects. AND "Giggles thought he could use the spill to push cap-and-trade and badly overshot the mark. And he’s too stupid and arrogant to realize that his inaction is only perpetuating the disaster, while he still thinks he can blame “Biiiiiiiiiiig Oooooooooooil” and “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH” for all of this while passing cap-and-trade."
That's right, Obama is deliberately prolonging the oil spill to hurt the Gulf Coast, or to push cap and trade. That's the conspiracy theory these idiots are pushing. But I'm just cherry picking comments from a couple of nuts, you say. Well, here's an actual post at Right Wing News, another major blog on the right. "Is President Obama Trying To Kill The Gulf State Economies?" A small excerpt,
It sure seems like President Obama despises Republican states ... President Obama doesn't seem like the President of all the people...just some of them.

How does that differ from "President Bush doesn't care about black people"? Kanye West's stupidity in the wake of Katrina was rightly derided as ludicrous by conservatives, but now some are doing exactly the same thing, whining that President Obama doesn't care about Republican states.

Like Rick Moran, after having to endure eight years of insane conspiracy theories and assorted other Bush Derangement Syndrome symptoms from the left, I find it extremely annoying that many on the right are now behaving in the same fashion. It is neither necessary or useful to impute bad motives to political opponents without evidence -- and conspiracy theory fantasies do not count as evidence. Just because Obama is an incompetent executive who has badly fumbled his handling of the oil spill does not imply that he is deliberately trying to wreck the Gulf State economies. There is a huge difference between incompetence, poor job performance, and a deliberate attempt to harm the nation. It's sad that even needs to be pointed out to many on the right, after eight years of pointing it out to much of the left.

8 comments:

  1. While I must admit to being very sympathetic to the "conspiracy" bloggers, when it comes down to it, I like these three sayings:

    Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

    Clark's Law: “Sufficiently advanced cluelessness is indistinguishable from malice.”

    Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor[1]) is the principle that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" (entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem). The popular interpretation of this principle is that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

    So, my thinking is that the simple explanation for Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Frank, et al, is that they are mind-numbingly naive and ignorant, but think of themselves as brilliant and deserving of ruling us "simple folk". The ignorant label also goes for the 52% of the voters that put these mental midgets in office.

    Perhaps conspiracy people can be forgiven by the possibility they cannot conceive of such collective stupidity, so it must be a "plan" somehow.

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  2. I think jjmurphy makes some good points and that the truth of the matter may lie somewhere in between. John Kyl's report on Obama's remarks re: border security vs. immigration reform got me to thinking about the inexplicable delays and inaction in the Gulf alongside cap-and-trade and the moratorium, and my speculation almost got away from me. The thing is, there's nothing to say that the stupidity jjmurphy refers to doesn't extend to a genuine belief that one's naive, stupidly idealistic ends justify whatever means are required to achieve them. Don't forget, we are talking about a Bill Ayers protege here. I'm just sayin'....

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  3. "The thing is, there's nothing to say that the stupidity jjmurphy refers to doesn't extend to a genuine belief that one's naive, stupidly idealistic ends justify whatever means are required to achieve them."

    True, but that's different from acting out of malice or bad motives. For example, Obama supports increasing the size of the government and continuing to spend huge amounts of money, because he thinks more government is good for the country, and more spending is good for the economy -- not because he wants to seize power and become a dictator, or because he wants to bankrupt the country. Shorter version: being wrong doesn't make him evil.

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  4. Indeed. I expect that Obama is just working under the assumption that his goals are good for America. He might occasionally do something for less-than-pure reasons,* but I have to agree with jjmurphy that Obama is most likely just a combination of mistaken and inept.

    *ie, blaming Bush for everything.

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  5. I agree comment sections are bad on both sides of the aisle, though I think those on the right tend to be less vulgar. In some cases, especially at the more popular sites, the whole goal of comment sections is defeated. It is impossible to carry on a discussion of any kind, since for every thought-out comment there will be several dozen inane and juvenile posts. This post from a few days ago at Little Green Footballs, for example, currently has 1122 comments:

    http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/36635_Rick_Barber_Concern-Trolls_About_Slavery

    Who but a nut would bother to post a comment into that crowd?

    I have been reading a lot over at Reason Hit and Run lately, but am sorry to report that the libertarian comments over there are often pretty juvenile as well.

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  6. Hortensio,

    "He might occasionally do something for less-than-pure reasons"

    Definitely. He's a politician, and politicians usually act at least partly for political reasons.

    "I have to agree with jjmurphy that Obama is most likely just a combination of mistaken and inept"

    Yes, that is how I see him.

    Steve,

    "I agree comment sections are bad on both sides of the aisle, though I think those on the right tend to be less vulgar"

    I agree. As bad as the right is, the left is far worse in most respects. Much of the left has long seen ideological opponents as not just wrong but evil. But that makes it even more annoying when people on the right engage in the same types of demonization.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Let me show you how ATHEISTS were partially responsible for 911

    These ATHEISTS NEED TO BE ON THE TERRORIST WATCH LIST!

    You don’t even have SCIENCE on your side…

    You’re a perfect example of when PHILOSOPHY becomes an ENEMY OF LIFE...

    http://stephenlaw.blogspot.com/2010/06/playing-mystery-card.html

    not quite samantha with her *supernatural spit*, eh?

    this isn't one of your little WORD GAMES...

    blasphemy is a DEATH SENTENCE

    you people actually BELIEVE the BS you preach!

    GOD 1 - atheists 0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQcNiD0Z3MU


    Atheists,
    you are ENEMIES OF GOD AND ARE GOING TO BE ANNIHILATED...

    Repent and turn to God or be destroyed...

    YOU HAVE NO CHOICE...

    my interpretation of the STATUE FIRE... it symbolizes the SPIRITUAL DEATH of atheism...

    http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/national/la-naw-0616-jesus-statue-lightning-20100616,0,4295974.story

    http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/6/16/1276680110544/The-King-of-Kings-statue--005.jpg

    http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-06/54332292.jpg


    http://friendlyatheist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/butterjesus-1.jpg

    PRINCESS DI IS WEARING A NEW DRESS!

    http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/speechesandarticles/a_speech_by_hrh_the_prince_of_wales_titled_islam_and_the_env_252516346.html
    ______________________________
    http://skepticblog.org/2010/04/06/would-i-ever-pray-for-a-miracle/

    Shermer, I WANT TO SEE YOU BEG FOR A MIRACLE...
    ___________________
    we do like your music Lady Gaga, but...

    The B**BQUAKE - 911

    Let me show you the FATE OF TRAITORS...

    http://www.loiterink.com/photos/products/182_3424_500x500.jpg

    they are incapable of telling the difference between SCIENTIFIC *FACT* AND
    RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL *TRUTH*... FATAL ERROR!

    they also preach a *VALUE FREE SCIENCE* called *POSITIVISM* that ignores the
    inequalities of wealth and power in capitalist civilization...

    for a sample taste of PZ Myers' GARBAGE...

    http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/06/sunday_sacrilege_imagine_no_he.php

    HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

    http://hawaiiwebgroup.com/maui-design/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/website-hijacking.jpg

    HIJACKING IN PROGRESS!!!

    how can these HEADLESS IDIOTS BET AGAINST GOD!!!
    ________________________________________
    what happens when you LOSE Pascal's Wager...

    http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm
    ____________
    you FIGHT PAPER MONSTERS...

    the blood and bodies of the atheist movement...

    you mofos killed MICKEY MOUSE!!!!

    this has more TRUTH then what Dawkins, Randi, Harris, Myers, and Shermer
    combined have said in their entire lives...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=5R2wE8Sduhs&playnext_from=TL&videos=hht1U_19anc&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh%2Bdiv-1r-3-HM

    they tried to BULLDOZE the entire METAPHYSICAL DIMENSION...
    they LOST THE WAR......

    you have FORFEIT YOUR SOUL, shermer... you have become an object in the material world, as you WISHED...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUB4j0n2UDU

    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/11792994_ffaaee87fa.jpg

    we're gonna smash that TV...

    They had become ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE AND OF GOD...

    you pushed too much and *CROSSED THE LINE*

    degenerates (PZ) or children (HEMANT) - ATHEISTS!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRRg2tWGDSY

    do you have anything to say, you STUPID LITTLE F*CKER?

    how about I tell you, Mr. Shermer, EVERYTHING YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORLD is
    *WRONG*

    THE BOOBQUAKE - 911!
    ****************************************************
    http://dissidentphilosophy.lifediscussion.net/philosophy-f1/the-boobquake-911-t1310.htm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7XNb3Q9Ek

    RUN, ATHEISTS, RUN!!!
    -------------------
    http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-information.html

    the 9th and FINAL RING of Dante's Inferno is designed for little blaspheming traitors like you...

    but at least FREE AIR CONDITIONING is included!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yeh, there are silly folk on both sides of the spectrum, about equally I think. It would probably be easier to have a reasonable discussion if the US wasn't so politically polarised.
    I also think it would be helpful not to use the terms "liberal" and "conservative" as they are currently used. For example, from looking at this blog, I would describe the author as liberal (eg. pro individual rights, socially progressive, etc), and a supporter of laissez-faire economics. I think that the confounding of the orthogonal opinions {socially-conservative} and {laissez-faire} gives social-conservatives (often religious nutcases) more respectability than they deserve,

    ReplyDelete