(06-22-2019 06:01 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(06-22-2019 02:37 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(06-22-2019 12:38 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(06-10-2019 05:52 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(06-10-2019 04:32 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  I am open to the possibility. Do I think that my observational powers are weaker than average? My experience doesn't suggest that, however I am certainly biased when it comes to that question as well.

You haven't ever observed any racist behavior from a conservative while you have from liberals. Are you open to the same possibilities?

I think I have the same degree of openness as you do, and the same degree of confidence in my own abilities. But two data parameters that might be relevant are:

- I know a whole lot of people-- my wife and others often tell me that the number of people I know is astonishing. And of the people I know, the overwhelming majority (by an integral multiple) are on the left. That in itself may explain why I've seen more racist behavior from leftists whom I know than from conservatives whom I know, and more than you've seen from leftists whom you know.

- As I mentioned a while ago, my social circle is extraordinarily loaded with advanced degrees, even by Rice alumni standards. That doesn't make it "better", but it is demographically unusual by any objective measure. It is possible that as they pile on degrees, any latent racist tendencies of conservatives tend to decline or at least be suppressed, while latent racist tendencies of leftists tend to increase or at least are given freer reign. That hypothesis may fit not only yours and my observational data, but also some of the other topics cited in this thread.

Yesterday I unfortunately experienced an anecdotal example that is consistent with the theory that leftists may become more noxious the more degrees they pile on. A leftist who I thought was a friend posted the following comment on the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision on the Maryland war memorial cross:
- He posted: "It's a terrible day for the Constitution . . . The Supreme Court must have run out of toilet paper, because they just wiped their arse with the Bill of Rights."
- I thought this was rhetorical overkill, so I replied: "It's a fine day, your scatological whine notwithstanding. Get a grip!"
- He responded by posting a doctored picture of my father's grave.

This guy is a Rice alum with a PhD and is a college professor.

This particular incident is not racism, and one is not much of a sample. But it is inconceivable to me that any conservative I know would even consider such a move, much less decide to act on it (which took time and deliberate effort, both to find the photo and then to doctor it). Yet this guy, in the certainty of his righteousness, felt justified in making one of the trashiest moves I have ever seen in my life, on social media or otherwise. And not to a stranger, but to someone who has sat with him at games and has bought him lunch.

That is terrible and I'm sorry that he did that (and that you had to see that).

Perhaps this awful act was inherent in this guy's personality or even in response to something going on in his life? Why does this become a leftist thing? Without knowing any details, it seems that the type of person who would do this has really gone off the deep end.

Both leftists and far-righters do horrible things on a daily basis. Do you really think one side can claim righteousness over the other? Especially in light of the fact that you have let us know that your circle is mainly composed of leftists with advanced degrees? Do you think that you are, therefore, in a position to evaluate the behavior of one group versus the other?

Again... not trying to be combative in light of a really lousy thing that happened to you.

Thanks. Those are all fair questions. In fact, the whole thing raises questions more than anything else. I certainly don't know the answers.

Also, to be clear, I'm not really all that hurt by it, but I am stupefied.