here's the part of the show where you decide if I'm smart or I just have a big mouth:
I'm of the opinion that I really just have a big mouth.
On 4/24/04 3:23 AM, "John Racine" wrote:
Dear "Dug",
I recently stumbeld across Conservative Punk magazine somewhat by accident, at first I thought it was a clever, sarcastic spoof, especially after seeing the Micheal Moore cartoon (a fat joke? How utterly witty!), but alas, I was mistaken. I geuss you really are alone on that "common sense" island of yours. After reading your post (the editors must really get hard-ons when you write something with the words "puke" and "cramp" in them, huh? I mean, that's what the kids are into these days with their crazy rock and roll and their hip-hop, right? Now THAT'S what I call identifying with the youth of America!), I must say I am a bit confused. Hiding behind common sense is one thing, because by calling your position that, it is basically elevating yourslf above having to listen or attempt to understand anyone else's side of the argument, that must save you a lot of time. But a spiel about patience and commitment, as exampled by the effort it takes to become a medical practitioner or a civil servant? That is just, well, silly. I happen to know quite a few highly skilled, intelligent individuals who can find absolutely no work, and I know how pointless it is to bring in comments like that, because I have no proof or numbers to back up my statements (but hey, that didn't seem to stop you either), but anyone with even the slightest education in the sociology of work is famaliar with a concept called "downward mobility," and yes 'Dug,' we are in what's called a Recession, and yes, 'Dug,' that means high unemployment.
Now, I know that I'm not speaking from the humble foundation of 'common sense' like you are, but please just forgive me and let me beg of you just a few seconds more of your time. In your post, you make quite a spectacle of the recent terrorist attacks, saying "We face mass death brought to us from radical thinking people bent on a mission from God that will stop at nothing to destroy us." I see now that common sense and ignorance are not altogether mutually exclusive. Might I suggest that perhaps some brief readings into the field of the Islamist revitalization movement (as defined by Anthony Wallace) before firing off about how these nameless, faceless killers are on a mission from God to destroy us all? On his website, Osama Bin Laden states that his attacks were a retalliation for "80 years of humiliation." Do some quick math, and you'll see that this date coincides with the break up and dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire by French and British colonial forces. Now, let me be the first to say that I am in no way defending the slaughter of innocent people, but this goes for foreign terrorists as well as our own armed forces. There are many people who support Bin Laden, these are people who are frustrated and confused, and instead of doing the proper research (as the famed Sheikh Kishk calls for in his weekly sermons), they join a militant group. This is a small, vocal minority, 'Dug,' and are in NO way representative of the majority of the islamic culture. These are the equivalent of, say, someone posting a ridiculous, asinine, ignorant comment and playing God off as a red, white and blue American patriot (yes, we of the non-common sensivists call that last bit "sarcasm").
My suggestion, then, is to perhaps do some more research into the field, maybe start with Weber, Durkheim (especially his work on Anomie and the relative deprivation triggers) or Marx, then some Muslim-specific topics before throwing your two cents worth into the pile. Looking down your nose at a group of human beings simply because they believe in a different religion and are frustrated and angry gives "stupid" a bad name. And before you start mocking religous fundamentalists, perhaps take a long hard stare at our current president, who made the brilliant move of referring to our "war on terrorism" as a 'crusade,' and who in his State of the Union Address came millimeters away from saying that he was on a mission from God Himself. Also, saying things like "John Kerry will help the enemy kill all of us" doesn't do much to show you in a calm, calculating, and most of all, intelligent light. Personally, I find that it makes one look arrogant, stupid and paranoid. Of course, maybe that better represents your "idea of America."
God Bless America and our infalliable president, Mr. George W. Bush
Sincerely,
John Andrew Racine
and the reply, recieved April 27, 2:36 AM:
From: Dug
On 4/24/04 3:23 AM, "John Racine" wrote:
Dear "Dug",
I recently stumbeld across Conservative Punk magazine somewhat by accident, at first I thought it was a clever, sarcastic spoof, especially after seeing the Micheal Moore cartoon (a fat joke? How utterly witty!), but alas, I was mistaken. I geuss you really are alone on that "common sense" island of yours. After reading your post (the editors must really get hard-ons when you write something with the words "puke" and "cramp" in them, huh? I mean, that's what the kids are into these days with their crazy rock and roll and their hip-hop, right? Now THAT'S what I call identifying with the youth of America!), I must say I am a bit confused. Hiding behind common sense is one thing, because by calling your position that, it is basically elevating yourslf above having to listen or attempt to understand anyone else's side of the argument, that must save you a lot of time. But a spiel about patience and commitment, as exampled by the effort it takes to become a medical practitioner or a civil servant? That is just, well, silly. I happen to know quite a few highly skilled, intelligent individuals who can find absolutely no work, and I know how pointless it is to bring in comments like that, because I have no proof or numbers to back up my statements (but hey, that didn't seem to stop you either), but anyone with even the slightest education in the sociology of work is famaliar with a concept called "downward mobility," and yes 'Dug,' we are in what's called a Recession, and yes, 'Dug,' that means high unemployment.
Now, I know that I'm not speaking from the humble foundation of 'common sense' like you are, but please just forgive me and let me beg of you just a few seconds more of your time. In your post, you make quite a spectacle of the recent terrorist attacks, saying "We face mass death brought to us from radical thinking people bent on a mission from God that will stop at nothing to destroy us." I see now that common sense and ignorance are not altogether mutually exclusive. Might I suggest that perhaps some brief readings into the field of the Islamist revitalization movement (as defined by Anthony Wallace) before firing off about how these nameless, faceless killers are on a mission from God to destroy us all? On his website, Osama Bin Laden states that his attacks were a retalliation for "80 years of humiliation." Do some quick math, and you'll see that this date coincides with the break up and dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire by French and British colonial forces. Now, let me be the first to say that I am in no way defending the slaughter of innocent people, but this goes for foreign terrorists as well as our own armed forces. There are many people who support Bin Laden, these are people who are frustrated and confused, and instead of doing the proper research (as the famed Sheikh Kishk calls for in his weekly sermons), they join a militant group. This is a small, vocal minority, 'Dug,' and are in NO way representative of the majority of the islamic culture. These are the equivalent of, say, someone posting a ridiculous, asinine, ignorant comment and playing God off as a red, white and blue American patriot (yes, we of the non-common sensivists call that last bit "sarcasm").
My suggestion, then, is to perhaps do some more research into the field, maybe start with Weber, Durkheim (especially his work on Anomie and the relative deprivation triggers) or Marx, then some Muslim-specific topics before throwing your two cents worth into the pile. Looking down your nose at a group of human beings simply because they believe in a different religion and are frustrated and angry gives "stupid" a bad name. And before you start mocking religous fundamentalists, perhaps take a long hard stare at our current president, who made the brilliant move of referring to our "war on terrorism" as a 'crusade,' and who in his State of the Union Address came millimeters away from saying that he was on a mission from God Himself. Also, saying things like "John Kerry will help the enemy kill all of us" doesn't do much to show you in a calm, calculating, and most of all, intelligent light. Personally, I find that it makes one look arrogant, stupid and paranoid. Of course, maybe that better represents your "idea of America."
God Bless America and our infalliable president, Mr. George W. Bush
Sincerely,
John Andrew Racine
and the reply, recieved April 27, 2:36 AM:
From: Dug