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Trying to turn around the argument with no success. Need I point out specifically how I debunked your assertions? Apparently I do, so I will spell it out clearly for you.
You posted an unsolicited response to my statement (post #4):
"There's no such thing as Red States/Blue States. It's a corporate media construct used as propaganda to create a false polemic."
In your next post (post #7), you did not at all address the content of my comment :
"I look at it this way
close to 60% dem = blue close to 60% rep = red everything else = purple"
I responded (post #9):
"Uh oh! They still control your mind."
(ha ha! Joke it goes quite well and is explained by my creative Sci-Fi pic - perhaps too abstract I will admit)
Haven't broken out of that paradigm yet, have you? That's OK, I understand. Even though I naturally resisted the sinister forces of the power elite all my life, it took me a while to realize I had been nonetheless brainwashed.
(See, I am a victim too. You are not alone... a empathetic, humanistic response)
I have a recommendation for you: Turn off the TV for one year, starting right now, and even though it's an arbitrary date used to frame our existence, make a New Year's resolution to read a book everyday.
(My little brother, who is a linguist made this very same suggestion to me and I have appreciated it ever since)
I suggest you obtain and start reading George Lakoff's new book "Don't Think of an Elephant."
(Friendly and helpful suggestion for progressives)
Your response (post #16)
"Just because I disagree with you...Doesn't mean I am stupid and have never read a book. It also doesn't mean I am brainwashed. IMHO there are states that will never be anything other than deep dark red. Feel free to disagree but when you insult my intelligence you make it impossible to have a constructive discussion. Rather than insult your intelligence, I'll just invite you to kiss my ass."
My response(post 23): "A bit touchy aren't you. (I am a bit shocked by your vitriolic language the rest is self explanatory)
Is it because I am right? I think so, especially since you are blatantly insulting me now. You could have asked me if I was TRYING to insult you before attacking me. None of what I said was meant as an insult, though you seem quite ready to dish it out. If my brand of humor, fashioned to dissolve cognitive dissonance, is not welcome I will practice it elsewhere.
Good bye. (Smiley: friendly wave)
Notwithstanding the above, I recommend you read Lakoff's book. The forward was written by Howard Dean." - (still trying to make a helpful suggestion with obviously NO bad intent)
Your response (post 26):
"so take your ball and go home then..." - (what are you insinuating, I am a child?)
Now I begin to deconstruct your statements in post #26 (post 27): "Fascinating...
Fascinating how you continue to attack me after I explained I meant no harm.
"so take your ball and go home then" - I decided to stay since you want to pick a fight with me. I am interested to see how you will defend your position. - (which you NEVER did)
"This party is way too full of people who insult the intelligence of everyone they disagree with." - You are free to leave the "party." I prefer to stay and try to fix it. That's why I recommended Lakoff's book, with the Howard Dean Introduction. - (you never addressed this)
Perhaps you are not interested in linguistics nor learning how to re-frame the debate. Fine. Read or don't read. Apparently you are not interested. Personally, I would have been curious enough to click on the link as I am a lover of books, especially one that is written by an eminent professor of linguistics at Berkeley University and introduced by one of the greatest grass roots, democratic leaders of our time. - (no comment by you)
"Rather than try to educate me on your views of why the blue state-red state meme is false, you fell right into the usual leftist mantra of,... " - Uh oh, red herring coming up... - (delineating your fallacious reasoning)
"You disagree with me, therefore you must be stupid and unread." - Those are your words, not mine. I never called you stupid nor did I imply it, as you read in my previous post. Again, I never meant to offend or imply those things, but I am quite satisfied that you, and anyone else who happens by, are thinking about the point I was making. In fact, you will be thinking about the "elephant" for the rest of the day. Btw, I disagree with your fallacious "leftist" construct used here as a straw man. - (delineating your fallacious reasoning)
"Nowhere in your reply did you actually explain your views at all." - Well, you attacked me, then I responded by saying I was trying to use humor to break the meme of crayon colored states, and meant no harm. Sorry for breaking the crayons. - (joke-trying to add levity but to no avail)
"For that I invited you to kiss my ass. You don't have to accept my invitation but I gladly repeat it." - I will be frank with you. This statement, in the context of our entire exchange, is hypocritical and ironic. - (you did not defend yourself with logic, just ad hominem)
"Do you advocate pouring cash into Wyoming next time around because it is so purple?" - Another straw man. = (delineating your fallacious reasoning)
Your next response (post #34) addresses NONE of the above:
"In each one of my replies I have explained why I feel the way I do about the red state-blue state issue." - The ball was in YOUR court since you first responded to me by making an apparently indefensible statement.
"You still haven't bothered to explain your side and instead use the tired old ploy of saying, "Go read this book, go do some research, go learn whatever, blah blah blah"." - Trying to turn around the argument with no success. It is YOU who must explain the nonsense about crayon colored states.
"Since you are incapable or unwilling to answer any of my points, there is no point in continuing the discussion." - Sorry to see you give up, but it has become obvious that you are unwilling or perhaps unable to defend your assertions.
Perhaps you NEED to read Lakoff's book. That's why I suggested it to you. I could have reacted sarcastically, like I usually do with freepers, by saying "go get a lobotomy, you are breathing my air," but instead I offered a suggestion that I assumed would be appreciated by a progressive. Your next response, or lack thereof, will determine the accuracy of my choice.
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