(02-02-2017 10:29 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-02-2017 10:14 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(02-02-2017 01:47 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(02-02-2017 12:46 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(02-02-2017 12:04 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I don't know who he is, have never heard of him. Kind of presumptive of you to assume I know who he is and to think I WANT to minimize him. I guess you think i am just plotting for a white America. But white supremicists in general are small groups, and i don't follow them.

OO, you're reaching there with the implications of what I was presuming.

The issue was you calling him some form of cult leader when he has a much wider audience. He is similar to David Duke or Milo Yiannopoulos it terms of name recognition and reach - he is not some Jim Jones type character brain-washing a select group of individuals.

Basically, there has been enough news about him that he now has name recognition, and while you may not recognize who he is, he is not some nobody. There is no issue with you not knowing him, but instead of just stating you hadn't heard of him, you went further and tried to minimize his reach and influence by falsely claiming he was "fringe cult leader in God-knows-where."

I did not think your minimization of Spencer had anything to do with your personal beliefs and ideas, just that it makes sense to minimize the importance of a hate-monger associated with the side of the political spectrum you lean to. The same would be said about someone who said a similar thing about say, Al Sharpton who is a race baiter.

Well, I didn't know who he is, who he leads, how many they are, and still don't know where they are from. I really don't consider him associated with my political beliefs, any more than (I assume) you consider Raul Castro associated with your political beliefs.

this is the thought that offends me:
"But I understand the desire to minimize who he is".

because you are generally a good guy, I presumed that it was inadvertent. But now you are doubling down on it.

I don't know the name of the leader of the KKK or Westboro Baptist, so I will have no reason to minimize who they are.

I presume you are equally unaware of the names of some of the far left leaders.

I consider all white supremacists to be fringe and cult. I don't like them being associated with me in any way, nor do I agree with them in any way. Being conservative is not the same as being racist, although I hear that a lot.

I had no ulterior motive in calling him a fringe cult leader. Seems apropos.

OO, again, I think you're misconstruing what I'm saying and perhaps the tone came across harsher than necessary - I didn't really think you had an ulterior motive in the way it seems like you're suggesting. I don't think that your comments about Spencer had any air of racism to them (like I said already).

I understand that you don't like Spencer and his ilk being associated with you in anyway, and that is why I said I understood why you were minimizing who he was - because, in essence, you don't believe he is your type of conservative. And while you don't think he is associated with your political party, the reality is that he has latched himself onto your side of the spectrum and he and those he represents have become not only emboldened since the inauguration of Trump, but they have become a fairly loud voice in politics. Therefore, whether your like it or not, when these alt-right wackos start posting their hateful crap, your side of the political divide has to deal with it unless it is fervently denounced by the party as a whole. And it's especially bad when their ideas/beliefs start oozing their way into Trump's actions, as they are. Heck, just look at what David Duke said:

Quote:‘Everything I’ve been talking about for decades is coming true and the ideas I’ve fought for have won. #winning’

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/david-d...2017-02-01


As I said, it's not different than how fringe liberal groups get lumped into the Dems, even though they rarely represent the mainstream liberal identity.

Or perhaps it is just a semantics issue. I could agree with a characterization of Spencer and the alt-right as a fringe element on the right, but they are no cult. These guys are politically active and are trying to push an agenda of hate and racial superiority into our politics - cult leaders don't get political.

OK. I can understand the desire to maximize who he is.