The Tolerance of the Left Posted by: Dale Franks
on Thursday, April 05, 2007
The lefty blog "Liberty Street" engages in some whining that left-wing blogs don't promote smaller blogs enough.
It does not make me happy to know that people whose worldview is so narrow, intolerant, exclusive, and hateful are so much better at supporting their ideological soulmates than we on the left, whose values run to diversity, inclusiveness, a place at the table for everyone, human needs before defense contractors' wish lists.
This irks me, for two reasons.
First, is the attitude. It's this kind of smug, morally superior attitude gets right up my nose. Funny how people who want "a place at the table for everyone", seem not to include their political opponents in the term "everyone". By everyone, they mean everyone who exhibits "rightthink" and "goodthought"...as defined by them. The "haters" of course, don't deserve a place at the table. And they get to define who the "haters" are.
How convenient...and sickeningly self-righteous.
Second, well, it just isn't true. People in the left are no more likeable, tolerant, or caring, in aggregate, than people on the right.
For example, as Deroy Murdock points out, when the Tennessee Center for Policy Research issued the press release noting that the Gore Mansion in Nashville had an unusually large electric bill, they were immediately treated to a full-on dose of the Left's tolerance, diversity, and inclusiveness:
"I was accused several times of being a 'stupid, redneck bitch,'" recalls Nicole Williams, who fielded numerous calls. "I repeatedly was called a 'whore' and asked 'Whose whore are you?' for three days straight, almost as if those were talking points ... I was shocked by these sexist insults _ basically attacking my gender."
The calls continued beyond Williams' Nashville office.
"I had to change my home number and get an unlisted number," Williams says.
"I got about 10 death threats by phone. I got the 'I'm gonna get you'-type threats more than 100 times ... I worried I would get shot walking to my car"...
Many e-mails displayed Dixiephobia _ an intense disdain for the South and Southerners.
"Why don't you all go back to shooting one another across the hollows instead of trying to make people think anyone in Tennessee has an ounce of intelligence?" Roger Miller insisted. "Get your snaggle tooth grins capped and learn to read and write."
"W.T.F. difference would it make if he was (sic) using 1000 times more energy than the average household if it came from clean energy?" Thomas Grinnell wondered. "Don't think about that too much. It will give your southern mullet a headache."
"You really should concentrate on what Southerners do best," D. Hunter advised. "Sodomizing and impregnating little children!"
Christopher LaBarge declared: "I hope you all die slowly and have your hearts and brains trampled to pieces you small-minded, ignorant, backwoods ideologues."
"We should have flattened the South when we had the chance!" wrote Mount Laurel, New Jersey's Robert Dodelin. "If ever you confederates (sic) want to leave the Union please do. We Nothen (sic) states would love to stop having to subsidize you with our tax dollars"...
Some e-mails, like Benjamin Greuel's, reflected anti-religious bias: "Go f_k yourselves you neo con, non-secular, bible thumpin, anti-science dumb f_-k pricks."
Similarly, Anthony Black wrote: "You bunch of stupid hick red-necks. I am sure you are quite religious, yet you have no problem destroying His creation with pollution; and, rather than addressing that, you cast dispersions (sic) on Al Gore's home energy use.
_"How about you have a do (sic) humanity a favor and have a stroke," Russ Smith recommended. "You silly metrosexual twit, need some more hi-lites in your hair?"
Another gay-hater wrote: "You guys are the faggiest fags I've ever come across. How do you get any work done, what with all the c_k sucking and such?"
_Two e-mails feature chillingly violent imagery.
"You people are such slime," TJ Williams noted. "You are a total waste of skin and air. Help the environment and jump off a cliff."
Bob Beaver urged: "Find a hole and stick a knife in it."
You can take your self-aggrandizing, holier-than-thou attitude and stuff it, as far as I'm concerned.
Deroy Murdock points out, when the Tennessee Center for Policy Research issued the press release noting that the Gore Mansion in Nashville had an unusually large electric bill, they were immediately treated to a full-on dose of the Left’s tolerance, diversity, and inclusiveness:
To the kind of people we are dealing with here, believe in ‘Free Speech’, defined as speech they agree with. They are so sure they know all the answers there is no need to include the opposition. The left has suffered a special kind of ‘Hubris” that allows no descent. It all dates back to the 60’, Summer of Love, Demonstrations, and Hate. Those who interrupted administration speakers believed they had to protect the boobwazee from the truth. Liberal was a blast. Being at a demonstration was always an adrenalin kick. Who knows, you might get busted or you might levitate the Pentagon. Those kids are today’s activist. Still sure “Gods on their side”.
It seems like hardly a week goes by without the HuffPo mob chanting for the assassination of someone in the administration. This week the target is Rove.
I got six comments on the Huffington Post, number seven was a comment, the day Bill Richardson announced for the Presidency. I suggested the current rash of political scandal in the state might cause Richardson problems. That got me banned for life with no means of appeal.
It does not make me happy to know that people whose worldview is so narrow, intolerant, exclusive, and hateful are so much better at supporting their ideological soulmates than we on the left, whose values run to diversity, inclusiveness, a place at the table for everyone, human needs before defense contractors’ wish lists
at some point, the accusations of treason got so tiresome that the global "Left" that you characterize so uniformly decided to no longer tolerate the intolerance of the Right.
now, of course the preceding sentence is utter BS, but so is any attempt to characterize large groups as holding uniform positions.
