"The kindest person in the room is often the smartest."

[kpete]

Message of the year:

“How do you spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel. The kindest person in the room is often the smartest.” — Gov Pritzker

Bravo! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_rwyv1l7LDS1s52xa0.mp4

[spanone]

1. K&R

[malaise]

2. That is a profound statement

The Slobfatherhas very low self esteem because he knows he knows nothing about anything but grifting and criminality - a con and a criminal.

[mopinko]

3. the whole speech is great.

posted in v&m.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017840937

[kpete]

4. THANKS

Great speech!

[mopinko]

5. i just adore my gov.

just a mensch.
he checks my #1 box for a pol- puts kids 1st. all else falls into place if we do that. he was doing that long before he was elected.
he’s the poster boy for- good rich guy.

[Bluethroughu]

12. 100% agree.

He was fighting the bad guys before anyone was really paying attention.

My husband and I had come across an interview beteewn Pritzker and Rauner before either had ever discussed in public about a run for governor. As they discussed Illinois and its economics, they also discussed their personal business accomplishments. Pritzker could not contain his contempt for Rauner's business practices and ideology, and it was at that point that we became fans.

When he announced his run for governor against wreck it rauner, we moved to Illinois to knock on doors to spread the word on what we believed him to be, the next FDR, BUT BETTER, and I feel proud that he has lived up to that measure.

He's kicking ass here.

[mopinko]

14. tho he's rich, his personal story is quite tragic.

iirc, he had to sue for his part of the family fortune after his mom died of alcoholism.

the colonel is ok, too. her company, tawani, has done some amazing projects in my hood. wonderful historical renos, and a restaurant/music venue in an old 6+1 that looks like something out of the golden age. unfortunately that project foundered under some bad management, but it think it will hang on anyway. had tough time in the plague tho.

and the whole family has made enormous gifts to chicago.
and i mean, they made their money in hotels. not like it’s the ge fortune.

[Bluethroughu]

19. He embodies what an American businessman serving his country

By patrioticaly creating jobs and investing in community is about vs
Tearing down companies by loading them up with debt and dumping them like Rauner and Romney.

Big hearts go out to Governor Pritzker and his family, I'm glad he ran again. He's done so much for Illinois in a short time and even during the pandemic.

He's investing into this state, and it will excellerate IL upward, not only as one of the largest economies in the world, but full of innovation and equality forward.

[NJCher]

34. I knew Penny

Years ago. We lost track of each other over the years, though.

[PortTack]

23. Same!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

43. +1

[sarchasm]

6. KnR! That speech is epic!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. This whole speech is kinda ableist.

[mopinko]

15. how so?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

24. Because our culture has a very specific idea of what "smart" means, and it has little to do with

what a person's morals are. As well, Pritzker's language edges into eugenics, implying that some people are "more evolved" because of the way they live their lives. Linking intelligence and morality, especially in a speech given at a highly selective and insular university, simply reifies the unscientific idea that there is a link between intelligence and kindness, two social constructs.

It resonates because it's a populist idea: "We are good and so must be smart" feels really great. "We are smart and so must be good" leads to drone strikes and job cuts. "They are bad and so must be unintelligent" also feels great, and leads to no solutions. "They are unintelligent and so must be bad" leads to dehumanization.

Northwestern, a month after this speech, fired someone who was widely regarded as a "good" and "deeply caring" individual, for overseeing a sports program rife with hazing and humiliation, FWIW. We can think of dozens of examples that upend Pritzker's thesis. It's a feel-good address for commencement, but it's lacking in rigor.

[NJCher]

35. are you saying Pritzker is responsible for Northwestern's firing action?

the unscientific idea that there is a link between intelligence and kindness, two social constructs.

I used to work with honors students in a university's gifted program and we (meaning the director and staff) had plenty of research on the correlation with IQ and interest/activity with social justice and other types of social awareness. There is such a correlation.

What surprised me about these students is they thought nothing of starting some sort of helpful action on their own. It might be a one-shot or it might be a more organized, lasting activity.

They were quite capable of organizing and carrying out such efforts.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

36. .

are you saying Pritzker is responsible for Northwestern's firing action?

No.

I used to work with honors students in a university's gifted program and we (meaning the director and staff) had plenty of research on the correlation with IQ and interest/activity with social justice and other types of social awareness. There is such a correlation.

Well, of course those things correlate: IQ (social construct valued by a gifted program) and interest (reported activity) of kids expected to be well-rounded both to get into a good school and uphold the system that created them are going to be found to correlate by an institution that benefits from gifted kids that perform the markers of being good people.

[NJCher]

38. no, studies done in general

I'm sorry if you misunderstood me.

There are many studies showing that IQ and caring, kindness, etc. correlate.

Just for your information "of course" does not very often apply. In working with studies for decades it is my observation that it's very difficult to attain a correlation.

I was only using the students in the program in which I worked as an example. They were not the study.

[Meadowoak]

8. I've found, this is almost always right. The smartest people

Are the kindest. While the meanest and cruelest are the least intelligent.

[bronxiteforever]

9. K&R. I love this speech.

[IronLionZion]

10. I agree but too many believe the opposite

they think kindness is proof that someone is stupid and weak.

[KPN]

18. Yup. "Nice guys come in last." That notion is at the root of Donald J. Trump.

[OldBaldy1701E]

51. Unfortunately, it is more than a 'notion'

There are examples of the nice guy finishing last all around us. So, although it sounds like some business jargon, it is also the truth.

[SouthernDem4ever]

53. So the smart guys need to learn to be smart asses

Do anything to get rid of thee morons at this point.

[OldBaldy1701E]

55. Oh, I agree completely.

It is the nice, smart ones who are (more and more) realizing that being nice to these democracy destroyers is getting us nowhere. Neither is 'taking the high road'. Will enough learn it so that it happens? We will see.

[KPN]

57. Yep. Not sure about do anything, but do whatever is necessary to save the country and the earth.

I'm more and more convinced that we underestimate the speed at which mass extinction could be upon us. At 72+, I am no longer absolutely certain that I won't live long enough to see it. As an example. in the course of my career, I had the opportunity to work in and observe first-hand wildfire during the summer fire season. My career started in the early 70s. I have never experienced the catastrophic scope and effect of wildfire we've seen repeatedly and globally in the past 10 years.

My view: We better hurry up!

[KPN]

56. Good correction. I( agree fullky. We Democrats are a good example as a whole sometimes.

[Fla Dem]

11. High IQ or education doesn't always mean Smartest.

Some of the nicest people I've known are ones without higher education. They are aware of their surroundings and have empathy for others. They have a kindness of spirit.

Some of the less pleasant, less kind people I've known or met were highly educated but totally unaware of their surroundings and lacking any interest in those around them.

Smart comes in many different forms.

[KPN]

20. Absolutely!

[sammythecat]

49. +1 n/t

[LittleGirl]

13. Epic! Thanks for sharing! nt

[jaxexpat]

16. ...or it could be that kindness is simply a commitment to keeping one's countenance......

and holding one's tongue, something so many "smart" people find impossible.

[Artcatt]

17. This rings true. Same goes with talent and ego.

[Joinfortmill]

21. OMG! Love this.

[Liberty Belle]

22. I disagree. I know some very kind-hearted people who have low IQs.

Even a simple-minded person can be sweet and giving.

That said,when a not-so-bright person gets fed a diet of hateful propaganda, they lack the mental tools needed to be critical readers, so may be more apt to be swayed by demigods like Trump than a highly intelilgent person.

But I've personally known some very sweet, loving, generous people who are not the brightest bulbs mentally.

Let's not spread a false and harmful stereotype that all less intelligent people are cruel.

[sammythecat]

50. +1 n/t

[Upthevibe]

25. kpete.................

Thank you for this post.

I watched this part of his speech (I think here on DU) and was very moved.

[CanonRay]

26. Old souls

Wise and kind

[Johnny2X2X]

27. Humble brag

So, I work with some of the most talented aerospace engineers in the world. Elite educations, elite careers. I am well aware that I am often the least intelligent person in the room, but I do make up for it with personality.

And I think there's some truth to this, there are elite engineers here, and then there are legendary ones, the ones who NASA literally calls when they can't figure something out. Those guys are without fail soft spoken, reserved, and measured in their words. They're almost always kind and patient too.

[ForgedCrank]

29. HAHA, you

stole my main mode of operation. Or did I steal yours?

"I am well aware that I am often the least intelligent person in the room"

That's how I do it, fake it 'til I make it. Some days I wish I were smarter than I really am. The best I can do is try to be civil and make every interaction as pleasant as I can without abandoning my convictions.

[Johnny2X2X]

32. For me

The one statement that rings true for my career is, "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." And I mean this in relation to people skills. So yeah, a lot of socially awkward genius engineers here, but I have a good skill to include people in activities and actively seek opinions of those who are slow to give them.

[llmart]

39. +1

My son is a NASA engineer and he is all of those things you mention - soft spoken, reserved and measured in his speech. He is extremely kind too. I saw all of that in him when he was growing up. He rarely ever brags about himself or mentions what he does for a living unless he's asked.

[ForgedCrank]

28. There are

so many that could learn from this very wise advice.
Thinking and questioning everything is the first step.
There is no need to be vile and hate, it only serves to inflame and fester.

[twodogsbarking]

30. And those with the least to say talk the most.

[llmart]

40. +1

Not only do they talk the most, they feel the need to TALK THE LOUDEST.

[sellitman]

31. A great example of this is Joe.

He is one of the nicest people in Washington.

By far.

[Stuart G]

33. Joe is the.........BIG BOSS......What a gift to the U.S.A. and the ENTIRE WORLD!!

Incredible Gift!!!.......A TOTALLY KIND PERSON IN CHARGE OF OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD...

[Lucky Luciano]

37. Robert Mercer is definitely a big time genius...and Bond/comic book villain.

[pnwmom]

41. Albert Einstein was known to be very kind, at least in his later years, in NJ.

And he was a very smart man.

[Blue Owl]

42. K&R

[Faux pas]

44. Yes

tis true

[NNadir]

45. This suggests that Wolfgang Pauli only entered rooms with lots of other Nobel Laureates.

I'm not entirely sure though that he could find many rooms in which he was not the smartest person in it.

[NNadir]

46. I wouldn't know. I have spent my life working to be the dumbest person in the room.

I will say that I am often rather nasty too.

This is however true; I am happiest when I'm the dumbest person in the room.

[3catwoman3]

47. Love my guv.

He has a heart.

[Azathoth]

48. Not always true, unfortunately

The people in history who achieved the greatest evils were all quite smart. Famously, the captured Nazi leadership were given IQ tests at Nuremberg and they all scored exceptionally high (Goring was in the actual 140 genius range, and that was after years of rampant drug addiction).

Intelligence merely enables people to be more effective at whatever they already are. You don't have to be smart to be kind and empathetic.

[betsuni]

52. Disagree that being suspicious of unfamiliar things is evolution. Children often don't even

notice differences until they learn to do so according to their culture, it's not "animal instinct." There wouldn't be the incredible variety of human cultures throughout history if that were true, whereas other animals whose behaviors are all instincts are pretty much the same wherever they are except for adaptations to environments, some learned behaviors like using tools (monkeys using branches for ants-on-a-stick or otters and birds using rocks to open delicious shellfish).

Didn't really care for this. But then, I'm an idiot and like an animal all I think about is food.

[Showbizkid]

54. Nah

I’m usually the smartest, and I’m a real prick.