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How can we break our addiction to contempt?

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Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#11

Post by notenoughbeans »

Hokusai wrote: post #9
panzagl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right because conservative = bad and deserving of contempt. This is exactly the type of kneejerk reaction that he is talking about. The 1% do just as well when Democrats are in office, but keep on playing the game ruled by tribe and emotion, see where that gets us.

Brooks is literally against wealth redistribution. The parent comment is very relevant for this individual.

Market economies are full of wealth redistribution. Do you mean that Brooks is against government mandated wealth redistribution?

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#12

Post by bpodgursky »

shaldjfb wrote: post #10
panzagl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right because conservative = bad and deserving of contempt. This is exactly the type of kneejerk reaction that he is talking about. The 1% do just as well when Democrats are in office, but keep on playing the game ruled by tribe and emotion, see where that gets us.

The Democratic Party is conservative by any popular measure outside of the insular American worldview. In many European countries, the Democratic Party’s politics would be considered far right.

This is a stupid meme which is wildly untrue if you look at actual policies.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#13

Post by at_a_remove »

What's the Matter with Kansas? is a lovely example of contempt disguised as gentle inquiry, with a touch of worry over another, and it starts even with the title itself. "Why those poor, naive, uneducated conservatives in the flyover states, they simply do not understand that they are voting against their own interests." It's concern-trolling with a mask of pity.

Once you begin looking for it, you can see it more and more. On a rather left-leaning forum, an article appeared discussing authoritarianism and how pervasive it is in society. One commenter, without a hint of irony or self-awareness, wondered if there were some way to hook into this tendency to get people to get behind gun control or get vaccinated.

I will at least take naked, open contempt over that sort of thing.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#14

Post by rubatuga »

greenail wrote: post #8
alexfromapex wrote: post #3

"Arthur Brooks is an economist who for 10 years ran the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most influential conservative think tanks in the world. He has come to believe there is only one weapon that can defeat our extreme political polarization: love." ... in other words, we're all doomed.

It isn't clear to me what you are saying. Are you saying we are doomed because he's a conservative or because you have no faith we retain the ability love?

The ladder.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#15

Post by jorblumesea »

panzagl wrote: post #5
dontbeevil1992 wrote: post #4

seems like a good place to put this quote: "Justice is what love looks like in public." If this conservative economist wants to spread love, he can start by supporting economic policies that prevent the 1% from exploiting everyone else

Right because conservative = bad and deserving of contempt. This is exactly the type of kneejerk reaction that he is talking about. The 1% do just as well when Democrats are in office, but keep on playing the game ruled by tribe and emotion, see where that gets us.

So I guess bring up negative facts is now contempt? One party is very much in favor of a more level playing field, for the most part. One party is very much against it.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#16

Post by panzagl »

bpodgursky wrote: post #12
shaldjfb wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Democratic Party is conservative by any popular measure outside of the insular American worldview. In many European countries, the Democratic Party’s politics would be considered far right.

This is a stupid meme which is wildly untrue if you look at actual policies.

I've often wondered about this- I mean the US has it's share of coffeehouse anarchists and redistributionists. The large size of the US and the political structure make it hard for e.g. a 'Pirate Party' representative to appear, even if there is the same amount of support per capita.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#17

Post by Hokusai »

notenoughbeans wrote: post #11
Hokusai wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brooks is literally against wealth redistribution. The parent comment is very relevant for this individual.

Market economies are full of wealth redistribution. Do you mean that Brooks is against government mandated wealth redistribution?

To move wealth from the poor and the middle class to the rich is not what commonly is known as wealth redistribution. Even if it can mean that if you take the words literally.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#19

Post by rkk3 »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #7

Arthur Brooks is speaking out now to get ahead of the shitstorm that people like Arthur Brooks created for themselves by being contemptuous of the rank and file American worker for decades. It's all peace and love and respect now that he's made a comfortable life for himself. And in typical AEI fashion, he's got a sense of history that mayflies would find appalling. Politicians are disagreeing and failing to use nons…

> Arthur Brooks is speaking out now to get ahead of the shitstorm that people like Arthur Brooks created for themselves by being contemptuous of the rank and file American worker for decades.

Sweeping generalizations such as "people like him" are bad, seems both contemptuous & a shallow examination.

Re: How can we break our addiction to contempt?

#20

Post by tombert »

At some level I will be a permanent victim of movies and media, and as such there are absolutely politicians that I hate, but I've been trying to acknowledge to myself that, generally speaking, most of their voters mean well [1], even if they are voting for politicians that I think are disgusting. As such, I've tried to not "hate" them, even if I don't particularly like a good chunk of them either.

[1] Though I have to say that some of the "build the wall" rhetoric around immigrants has made me question this.

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