Welcome to the bullshit…

[MrScorpio]

Last edited Mon Dec 28, 2015, 04:09 AM - Edit history (1)

This guy, Arthur C. Brooks, wrote an entire NYT OP-ED about "victimhood" and didn't mention the word, "privilege," even once.

"The Real Victims of Victimhood" http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/27/opinion/sunday/the-real-victims-of-victimhood.html

It's awfully generous of him to sit up there in his high and mighty chair of opinion, one handed to him by a major American institution, and criticize the way that oppressed peoples fight the way they're being oppressed. I put this fool in the same boat as people who tell BLM activists that they're not doing themselves any favors by the way that they're protesting.

I'm sorry but free speech doesn't give ignorant and bigoted privileged assholes the right to spout off their own bullshit without a response.

Just like any other people in positions of privilege, he wants to DEFINE, who's worthy of being a victim or not… I say that he doesn't get to do that.

[elleng]

1. Unfortunately, 'free speech' DOES give them the right.

It's one of the monkey wrenches in our system.

[MrScorpio]

2. I stipulated, not without a response

[Nye Bevan]

7. You seem a little ambivalent about the First Amendment,

which I think we are fortunate to have even though it protects bullshit.

[elleng]

8. I am in no way ambivalent about the First Amendment,

I am an attorney, and value the Constitution more than probably any document. I don't, however, always agree with the way the Court interprets it.

[trillion]

28. This isn't free speech. This is RW propaganda. See below for who the writer is then read the

article again. He's attacking minorities and women. How dare anyone claim to be a victim of unfair treatment. He goes on to say that if they write that they are, they are more dishonest (steal the pencil) and inconsiderate (leave a mess at the table they left and refuse to help when asked for help with an easy task)

[daleanime]

3. You can always tell who's a professional bullshitter....

they like the smell.

[bhikkhu]

4. pffft...I read it to see if there was some logical flaw behind his theory

but there wasn't much there deserving an argument. You can justify any narrative if you are sufficiently narrow in your selection of facts. Brooks is more than sufficiently narrow.

[Starry Messenger]

5. Shame on NYTimes for not identifying AEI too.

That outfit's stock in trade is conservative astro-turf.

[creeksneakers2]

6. Conservatives often complain about victimhood

They also blame social ills on it. But, they portray themselves as victims all the time.

[trillion]

18. I thought of that too andthought he meant republicans the first read through this article.

The 2nd time through it was clear he meant minorities. He is trying to minimalize minorities who stand up and and claim unfair treatment and his article goes so far as calling them selfish and dishonest(more likely to steal pencils and not help with an easy task when asked - ie. not generous) I have no doubt he's trying to quash women too with campus sexual abuse. This article is to attack the victims and silence them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Nothing like the privileged claiming they would sympathize if only the oppressed loved them more.

[MrScorpio]

10. Perfect description nt

[MrScorpio]

12. Especially if they're black, or women, or gay, am I right?

Jeez, what is this world coming to?

[MrScorpio]

19. I'm sorry, you think you're being bullied?

Are you saying that blacks, women and gays are bullying you?

Really? So tell us all, how are blacks, women and gays relegating YOU to an unprivileged position in a society based wholly on white supremacy, heteronormality and patriarchy?

[MrScorpio]

32. So, you're saying that we don't live in a society

Where white straight men are the standard by which everyone else is graded.

So, when was the last time you were bullied because you weren't a black lesbian?

Who's taking your rights away?

And how can anyone possibly do that in white, straight America, a real man's world, right?

[MrScorpio]

38. Oh, so you think that there isn't a problem with calling black people that name…

I wonder, what's so addictive and attractive about calling black people nasty slurs?

And who are these Christians who you're saying have had their rights taken away? The right to use their own prejudices to discriminate against other people? That right?

Hey, I get it… You don't want to get gay cooties. Ewwww!!!

[pinboy3niner]

15. Well, bless your heart

I had no idea white privilege is a myth and it's the oppressed who are doing the bullying until you told me.

[trillion]

13. I re-read the article. I think he's attacking the real victims and wanting them to do the

very thing right wingers want them to do - shut up.

Note, my first read through made me think he was attacking the republicans, but the 2nd read through it was very clear he was attacking anyone who would claim to be unfairly treated and trying to make them look dishonest and selfish. He also says they are likely to stifle other people's voices against their victimhood. Clearly a covert attack on anyone standing up for civil rights.

[MrScorpio]

16. The way I read it is that he's using the old "Both sides are doing it" trope.

Which faulty reasoning, of course.

Because in these type of discourses, we have both privileged and unprivileged groups conflicting.

We both know that the so-called war of Christmas is a worthless complaint because it's quite clear that Christians are not an unprivileged class in this country. It's a device practiced by mostly white, right wingers to justify their own bigotry against people that they view as non-Christian.

If he was honest, he wouldn't equate those people with people of color, LGBT people and women, who are all fighting against systemic oppression in this country.

[trillion]

20. I think he gave the war on christmas to throw us off- ie. act like he's throwing a bone out there to

not sound like he's attacking the left.

I'm going to google that writer's articles now and I'll post back what I find.

[MrScorpio]

21. Give us an update

Thanks

[trillion]

25. Update is he leads a Right Wing group and is a right wing author.

It's as it seemed. Knew that's what I'd find.

[trillion]

24. That sounds like something strait off of Free Republic.

[trillion]

34. No actually they're not. They're being attacked by right wing politicans and the right wing

in general in every state. They make less money and take far more abuse - from cops and from white males.

They don't have fair representation in government and are under attack with the right wing trying to stop gays from being allowed to marry and have health care. Womens rights are also constantly under attack by the right and especially health care and the right to choose what they do with their bodies. You sound like a typical infantile right wing racist with your claims that it's the white male who is suppressed.

[MrScorpio]

29. Well, my friend, between you and me, I know exactly what I'm doing in this conversation…

I'm making you my little pet project right now, by subjecting to you to a little race based, religious-based, gender-based and sexuality-based stress.

I'm presuming from your reaction that you benefit from being in the privileged position in all of the categories, and it's quite clear that you're not emotionally or intellectually equipped enough to handle the stress.

Well, that's just too bad for you, I have to say.

I have a couple of articles for you, I'd like you to read. Hopefully, you will be willing to educate yourself about the subject matter before you stumble into another situation where enlightened individuals are discussing something:

http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/white-people-freak-theyre-called-race-hesaid/

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/10/white_americas_racial_illiteracy_why_our_national_conversation_is_poisoned_from_the_start_partner/

[MrScorpio]

35. You deal with it everyday… Yeah, right

So educate us, what's so horribly problematic about being a white, straight male living in America?

Your AMEX card was declined at the Ethiopian restaurant or something?

[MrScorpio]

41. You're back!

I thought we lost you.

I'm taking it that you're going to use this as the justification where unarmed black people are shot on sight.

I'm sorry that you have to live in such a scary world.

Hey, you're not Bill O'Reilly, are you?

[marble falls]

45. Whoever he is, he's been shown the gate. And about time, too.

[MrScorpio]

46. I love trolls

They're so much fun

[marble falls]

47. He thought he was so smart, you did have fun with him and I did enjoy it.

[trillion]

37. oh really, what is your stress? Do you work with gays, women and immigrants?

Do tell, do tell. What is this stress that is hurting the white male that you have to deal with every day?

[ck4829]

33. "They are the new privileged class. " / "true oppressors use to call their victims privileged"

Interesting way of thinking you got going there.

[trillion]

22. The author leads a conservative group and is a conservative writer

http://arthurbrooks.com/


http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/american-enterprise-institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is one of the oldest and most influential of the pro-business right-wing think tanks. It promotes the advancement of free enterprise capitalism, and has been extremely successful in placing its people in influential governmental positions, particularly in the Bush Administration. AEI has been described as one of the country's main bastions of neoconservatism.

[MrScorpio]

30. Yep…

Just as I thought.

Thanks for the update.

[DonCoquixote]

40. what is really odious about right wing sanctimony

is that this is not just a case of stupid people downing "Kool -Aid", they really really believe that their selfishness, arrogance and willful ignorance IS Virtue. Granted, that is my same anger with many in the center: these people really do think they are entitled to all that they have stolen or outright strong armed from the rest of the nation, and think that we owe them gratitude and servitude.

Here is a newsflash for these folk: the reason why some of those minorities you get frustrated with are angry is because when we politely asked to be treated as fellow citizens and human beings, you fought it TOOTH AND NAIL. Even those that did not actually swing clubs at us were more than happy to hold the coats of those who were. As a matter of fact, you still are! Even now, there is the great slam on Obama, and even in the supposedly leftist party, rights are often a matter of what minority happens to get enough money not to be ignored anymore, the ones that jumped through double the amount of hoops you did to make 80 percent of your paycheck.

[MrScorpio]

42. Damn Skippy! nt

[trillion]

43. +10000

[brer cat]

44. The grievances

of the privileged elites demonstrate the truly deserving victims, especially the white males who are, after all, the fair-minded good citizens; men who pulled themselves up by their boot straps to earn their success and become the aspirational leaders extolling us to cultivate higher values. Minorities, women, LGBTs are the mindless gullible fools who have been deceived into a culture of being coddled, living from free stuff to free stuff, too delicate to be exposed to free speech, and whose lower-class values lead them to steal pens. Got it!

[Bluenorthwest]

48. Oh, on any given day many people will sit in a high mighty chair and criticize how oppressed

peoples fight that oppression. Why many on DU have in fact lectured LGBT sternly about every piece of disruptive activism we have ever done. Many of those who have long sermons about how LGBT are doing themselves no favors employ an entirely different standard when other groups do the exact same things. Like other privileged classes of people, they want to define and command who has the right to action.

I have had to learn to be somewhat forgiving of such persons. Over the years many persons have created OP's to wail from a Straight perspective against the ways LGBT protest the oppressive straight culture. Yes, that's right. The very people we are protesting think they can tell us how to protest against them. Which of course means more protest is needed until they catch on that they are the ones who need to change.

[MrScorpio]

49. Even the left has that problem too

We should be where aware of that.

[uriel1972]

51. The trolls of tonesville....

How dare we oppress their delicate sensitivities?

[Facility Inspector]

50. I see what you did there